<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Jerry O:
Yes, Chuck, but you have "changed" your van. I'm talking about vehicles which are basically the way they came and perceptions gleaned over the first few months of ownership. Had you not made all the "mods" you have, would you say that the expectations formed in your test drive would have been realized? What I'm saying is that it is tough to really notice how things are when driving a new vehicle for a few miles/minutes and are overwhelmed by all the "newness". Bringing it up to a higher standard causes all bets to be called off. You have been saying that the vehicle should be delivered in somewhat the shape you now have it in, and I am saying that it is very hard to assess the vehicle before purchase to see how refined it really is. Call me crazy, but, I'm a very picky car guy and I still remain fairly clueless during a brief test drive.
Jerry O.
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Heh, heh, yes and no. How's that for an answer, Jerry?
I'm not sure I can completely answer because, for me at least, there are a number of different parts to the answer.
Of course, none of us can ever know all of the idiosyncrasies of a vehicle before we've owned it for a while, but I can't say I've ever been really surprised about how a car rode or handled or otherwise behaved after I bought it. If it's ever happened, I don't remember it. I HAVE been surprised when a couple turned out to be junk after a while, but that's not something the test drive reveals.
Some of it is the fact that I'll usually have driven the model I'm interested in two or three times at least. I was very lucky to have test driven two different Odys for a total of about an hour so I didn't feel I had any unpleasant surprises when I finally got to drive my own. Our crappy roads around here reveal a lot about a vehicle's solidity. In fact mine felt more solid than the ones I'd driven when I drove it home.
I also can't say I bought mine thinking everything was gonna be tight and rattle free forever. I knew after my first test drive that Honda put emphasis in places where Toyota didn't and vice versa and decided that I'd be willing to make the tradeoffs. I knew, to at least some degree anyway, that I'd have to do a little soundproofing, etc. and I was prepared and even looking forward to it.
I had driven a new Corolla and Civic and I also drove and rode in a number of Siennas, so I pretty much understood the different philosophies and was more or less prepared.
I think what I wasn't prepared for was the extent of the cavalier attitude of Honda and their slow response in fixing problems. That was something I DIDN'T expect, especially from a Japanese company so closely in competition with Toyota. I had more or less accepted the rattles, etc., as things I was prepared to deal with, but my real disappointment started showing up when the problems that people with 99s had complained about started showing up on mine, like cracked spoilers and squeaky window motors. One strong feeling I had when I ordered mine was the '01 was old enough to have the bugs ironed out. This is the major place I placed confidence in Honda because of their rep and it's probably the biggie when it comes to my disappointment with them.
I also have to admit that my disappointment is greater because of how great I think the Ody is compared to other vans, and I've driven a lot of them. None of them measures up to what I like out of a vehicle like the Ody does.
This doesn't mean I expect Honda to make it flawless. That won't happen at ten times the price. It's just that I hate to see them design such a great van in the ways I appreciate and then get so careless about the last little bits that would make it a flat out, hands down world beater. The bottom line is that I'm disappointed because I like it so much. Does that make sense?
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Chuck
Click here for Ody pics, mods and fixes on FotoTime.
[This message has been edited by ckonarske (edited 11-11-2001).]
