[mvineet]

So here is the final one from Honda.. The engine is perfectly fine.. So are the brakes and abs units.. Final estimate is 10,700. As earlier this includes complete dryclean of inside of car, engine washing with oil, oil change, air fliter change, oil filter change and cleaning of piston as some material had come on top of it , so honda guys cleaned it with some solution.. the assistant service manager offered my dad anti rust of the floor and underneath as lots of water has gone through and also our area is prone to water logging.. Dad instantly said OK. Quoted 3900/- for the same.. im not sure if the price is right or not as have been out of country for about 2.5 yrs now and anyways never got this done on any of our cars.. called one of my friends and he said for a car like civic its around 2000 for just underneath the car.. so i guess 3900 for the underneath and floor from inside the car seems OK..

Thanks a lot to all for their help and suggestions... all in all a satisfactorily and thankfully not expensive solution to the problems

[pranavt]

cleaning of piston as some material had come on top of it , so honda guys cleaned it with some solution..

LOL, what? Get specific answers, this sounds like a money grab. How did they know the state of the pistons without taking the head off?

[mvineet]

Originally Posted by pranavt

LOL, what? Get specific answers, this sounds like a money grab. How did they know the state of the pistons without taking the head off?

Well this is what the guys told dad.. will get more details once the bill comes. dad is going to speak to the manager tomorrow to get more details..

[mvineet]

The car came back yesterday evening. This morning dad did a long drive and all was fine. The final bill was about Rs. 13900/-. the break down (based on my memory) is as belows

Engine Check - 500/-
Engine Open/Close - 500/-
Anti Rust - 3900/-
Floor Clean/Dryclean - 2100/-
Oil Change - 2200/-
Oil Filter Change - 200/-
Air Filter Change - 850/-
IPA -- 2700/- --> This is where they had to use some chemical to clean the pistons
Tax -- 10% on the bill

Thanks to all for your help here. Its all good and it was really comforting receiving updates from all guys here and helped a lot in final resolution of the problems.

[vigsom]

See , I told you all will be fine,right?

Charges for Engine Open/Close,Anti Rust and IPA are suspect,rest looks fine to me

Originally Posted by mvineet

The car came back yesterday evening. This morning dad did a long drive and all was fine. The final bill was about Rs. 13900/-. the break down (based on my memory) is as belows

Engine Check - 500/-
Engine Open/Close - 500/- - ?????????????
Anti Rust - 3900/-
Floor Clean/Dryclean - 2100/-
Oil Change - 2200/-
Oil Filter Change - 200/-
Air Filter Change - 850/-
IPA -- 2700/- --> This is where they had to use some chemical to clean the pistons - this is Iso Propyl Alcohol,but why did they use this?If they have to access the pistons,they'd need to open the cylinder head,which they haven't
Tax -- 10% on the bill

Thanks to all for your help here. Its all good and it was really comforting receiving updates from all guys here and helped a lot in final resolution of the problems.

[mvineet]

Originally Posted by vigsom

See , I told you all will be fine,right?

Charges for Engine Open/Close,Anti Rust and IPA are suspect,rest looks fine to me

Thanks! There is no separate labour charge, so the engine open/close and inspection charges were fine. my dad did question the IPA charge and was told that the pistons had to be opened and some chemical put to clean etc etc..
Any idea what the anti rust charges are. I asked a friend to check and he advised about 2500 for just under the floor. this is on the top also and is with 5 year warranty..

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by mvineet

So here is the final one from Honda.. The engine cleaning of piston as some material had come on top of it , so honda guys cleaned it with some solution..

This appears to me as a trick as rightly pointed out by pranavt. What he did would perhaps be a decarb.

Materials cannot come to the top of the piston unless some one remove the spark plug and puts it inside. In which case, as the engine was started tnere would have been some damage.

Find out what he did and what solution it is? Is it a liquid or a solution for a problem.

[pranavt]

If they decarbed the engine, you would feel a big loss of power because of loss of compression. They have probably cheated you for 4070 including taxes. Further, opening and closing the engine would incur a bigger charge than a measly 500 Rupees. A roadside mechanic charges more for that. Add in a new head gasket which probably costs a couple of thousand Rupees too. Opening the engine for 500 doesn't make any sense.

[mvineet]

Originally Posted by pranavt

If they decarbed the engine, you would feel a big loss of power because of loss of compression. They have probably cheated you for 4070 including taxes. Further, opening and closing the engine would incur a bigger charge than a measly 500 Rupees. A roadside mechanic charges more for that. Add in a new head gasket which probably costs a couple of thousand Rupees too. Opening the engine for 500 doesn't make any sense.

Well, i had contacted the owner's nephew (who owns honda and VW dealerships in Punjab) whom i know. This led to very low charges for us. My dad is not that technical so he wont be asking these questions.. I did try and asked him to but he didnt. I am currently sitting in UK, so really not possible for me to call the A.S.S and get the answers. In the end the charges were not that high. I understand the point about IPA, but in my experience of nearly 11 years with different honda A.S.S. (including 6 years with this one), heve never been led down or felt cheated. The charges have all been fair and explained. I am sure if I call them would get all the answers, but really dont want to spend the energy and time from here. Add to this the fact that the owner's nephew whom i know called me yesterday to confirm the car has been delivered and all is fine with it. I dont want to raise a question on charges and cause any insult or pain for him as the charges have been already explained to dad (though it seems either he didnt understand them well or the a.s.s. didnt explain well). The guy went out of his way to help us afterall..
But all points noted and God unwilling if this happens again, would ensure i get the answers first before agreeing to any work.

[mvineet]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

This appears to me as a trick as rightly pointed out by pranavt. What he did would perhaps be a decarb.

Materials cannot come to the top of the piston unless some one remove the spark plug and puts it inside. In which case, as the engine was started tnere would have been some damage.

Find out what he did and what solution it is? Is it a liquid or a solution for a problem.

It was a chemical liquid which was put in the pistons. The pistons had to be opened. IPA (isopropyl alcohol) was used..