OK i am new here and am glad i am here because i need some advice. This is going to be a longer post so i am sorry in advance but desperately need help. I have a 1991 civic cx hatchback it has presently 198,200 kilometers or 123,155 miles. I bought the vehicle on consignment at a dealer about 3 hours away for 2900.00 dollars Canadian. I noticed some banging in the back and the springs were bad somewhere so i decided to take my car into the local Honda (Regina Honda) and see what was what. They came back with a majorly long list of things that needed to be done and i wanted a safe car so i decided to max my Visa out rationalizing that if nothing else was needed after this then it would be like making a way smaller car payment than for a new one so i asked the service advisor whose name was Ken that if this was everything to go ahead and do it all. The 55$ self proclaimed "peace of mind" inspection that was done included an oil and filter change, check for fluid leaks, battery load and charging test, cooling system pressure tests inspect hoses clamps tires brakes, tire rotation, fluid levels drive belts, distributor cap and rotor, exhaust inspection, springs and shock absorbers, and all lights and bulbs inspected. this was all done at mileage 193,763 kilometers on December 7th 2004. the repairs i was told that needed to be done were as follows; block heater cord replacement, timing belt, cam shaft seal and crank seal, replaced both broken front springs, cooling system flush, replaced right front axle seal, replaced leaking oil sending unit, rear brake pads and brake job, front brake service, replaced distributor and rotor, transmission service, and a 4 wheel alignment for a grand total of 1649.75$ Canadian paid by Visa on December 8th 2004. Fine all is well for my travels up north with my 82 year old grandmother, except not, because on the way back a few blocks away from her house the oil presure light comes on, i inspect and there is no oil in the car they haul it in via tow truck on the 28th of december and discover a faulty crank seal of which they had put another in free of charge, at this point i asked for a compression test to see if my rings had been scorched or fried and i was also dealing with another service advisor whose name is Craig as Ken was on holidays, no compression test was done nor was any info of the state of my motor given to me, in fact i was told in this situation a compression test wouldnt give me an accurate picture. fast forward about a month or so. I get a job delivering pizzas to help out with my meager university student budget, oil pressure light comes on and off for a day and then solid the next day, look at the motor low and behold little to no motor oil again, call honda they tow it in and tell me under comments that the pcv valve needs replacement, the spark plug o-rings are leaking, the oil pan gasket is seeping but not serious at this time, a possible head gasket leak, antifreeze leaking from water pump and or head gasket and it needs a muffler (i had to rip it off because it was hanging there). This was all at 197,303 kilometers and the date was about 2 weeks ago february 15 2005. I was told to drive it so they can do an oil consumption sheet to see if the oil usage was within spec well here we are and i took it in half the oil was gone within 800 kilometers and he said that there is no way that the incident with the crank seal would have caused this and that they would help me out to get a used motor to the tune of 2000.00$ because they felt "partially" responsible!!! Here is my thing as well, would logic dictate to spend this kind of money to begin with on a car that consumed this much oil especially on a timing belt etc, of course not. What i want to know is what kind of ammunition should i go in with, to be honest i am thinking about small claims court and some bad publicity, what do you all think about this whole thing, thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post.

Sirjammer[:'(]

 

Get a lawyer and go in and tell them what you want them to do free because the $2500 the dealer spends to make things right is well worth the damage you could do to the dealers reputation for extremely bad service and if you wanted to press the issue, you maybe able to sue because they left you with an unsafe vehicle.. but its up to you

 

I agree w/ Anakin..Also find out if there is a local forum you can post to as well because alot of these mechanics(local) post on those as techies. Once they hear you they may offer some help and inside advise. I know our local Police Officers and Mechanics do on one of the tuner forums hear in OK.

 

Awesome thank you both i will see if there is a local forum, to think that the other day they said the alternator was going hence the car died after a stereo install, yet it was a bare ground wire and lose clamp on the battery terminal combined with some slushy spring roads that killed it and a walmart tech to find it not a "true certified" Honda tech how lame. They are trying to quote me 2125.00$ plus tax Canadian for a used motor with 100,000Km's how lame, especially the part that "this kinda of damage couldnt be done to your motor" i may not be mechanically inclined as much but i am not stupid there is oil in my motor for a reason without it due to your faulty tech/seal the motor can be messed up it only takes once wouldnt honda have insurance for that sort of thing if the seal was faulty from the seal company?

Thanks Again

JC

 

Yea just go in pissed off and get loud, get louder if there are people thinking about buying a car lol that works good too, the dealer sucks anyway...

 

Well..Loud does not mean satisfied you definitly do not want to be removed or cause to big a scene in case you wind up in court for damages.
I do mean you taking them. Does Canada have a Better Buisness Bureau?

 

yep we sure do have a BBB thats a great idea, i am going to speak with the original owner as well and get a signed affadavit swearing the car didnt burn oil up to the point of sale as well i have a carfax report to show it was not a tl and of course all of the receipts of oil changes in the past to show it was taken care of by the previous owner as well as all of the current receipt's from honda showing a blown crank seal as well as their lame quote for a used motor the BBB and threatening with court, it's too bad people cant just be honest...

JC

 

yeah, youll have your sh*t in order, you should have them by the neck. good luck.

 

Thanks Sacicons i hope so, might be tough getting that affidavit, the guy is teaching in like India and his older mom is close by but she wouldnt know, and the dealer only had it as consignment, nevertheless i think i can still be a thorn in their side without the affidavit, although that would make it pretty airtight...

Thanks again

JC

 

Good luck