[andysings]

I just purchased a 05 EX-L with 105,000, I made the small dealer write in a 30 day warranty/1,000. I'm still under it for another 300 miles or 7 days.
A few weeks into owning it I discovered the tranny had the judder and whine. I took it to a top rated tranny shop, they kept it over night and said the tranny has internal problems, a whine and judder. (torque converter and housing journals possible)

Dealer wants to buy me a warranty because he doesn't want to pay for buying a used tranny, I'd rather have it rebuilt personally by a shop I trust.

By law I am still under warranty and he needs to fix it or buy the Odyssey back from me. He says the warranties are good and I'll have the piece of mind knowing other stuff will be covered down the road and I can take the van to wherever I want to get it fixed. I think in his shop he sells AUL and PENN warranties. To me it seems like a big hassle, not honest..but a part of me would like the piece if mind knowing other problems that show up would be fixed. It seems very unlikely to me I would be able to get insurance if the company know the transmission is bad.

What is your take on this and does anyone have experience buying a warranty for an odyy with over 100,000 on it?

Thank you,
Andy

 

[MTPockets08]

Leave it up to the shop you bought it. Either way he's got to make it right for you. I doubt the aftermarket warranty he buys you will cover you for more than 12-24Kmi, but anything is a bonus in this situation IMO!

Be sure to get clear terms to the aftermarket warranty on deductibles and whatnot.

Joel

 

[Hawkinomics]

If you still want the van and think you know exactly what's wrong with see if you can get the dealer to write you a check instead of buying you an extended service plan, which are a ripoff for the most part. Use the money to get it serviced wherever you want and save whatever is left over for the next time you need parts or service. I'm not even sure an extended warranty would cover this anyway. If you could just pick up an extended warranty every time something happened that required an expensive repair everybody would be doing it.

 

[MTPockets08]

A remanufactured trans install would probably run $2-3K, where the aftermarket warranty is probably less than a grand for the used-car dealer to purchase. There's little/no cost savings in paying a shop to remove, disassemble and try to fix the existing trans.

You can see why he'd rather go the warranty route.

Joel

 

[Hawkinomics]

I guess as long as you're dead certain the extended warranty will cover the repairs it's worth it but I would go to the trouble to get something in writing that explicitly states that the warranty purchase is being done to remedy the current transmission issue. That way you have something to fall back on in case your extended warranty claim is rejected due to the problem being an existing condition since the dealer will still be on the hook for getting the transmission fixed. In other words make sure that simply purchasing an extended warranty doesn't absolve the dealer of any further responsibility in the case that the claim is disputed by the warranty company.

 

[Boogety Boogety]

If you still want the van and think you know exactly what's wrong with see if you can get the dealer to write you a check instead of buying you an extended service plan, which are a ripoff for the most part. Use the money to get it serviced wherever you want and save whatever is left over for the next time you need parts or service. I'm not even sure an extended warranty would cover this anyway. If you could just pick up an extended warranty every time something happened that required an expensive repair everybody would be doing it.

This. There is NO, and I mean NO, aftermarket warranty worth the paper they're written on. You may have seen my other postings on this topic: My good friend worked for many years for the Attorney General's office, and saw all the horror stories associated with these absolute ripoffs. Stay away.

Get the van fixed by the dealer, or get him to buy the troublesome van back. Period. But do NOT buy an extended warranty from anyone but a manufacturer. Ever. I'm assuming you're buying a van with that many miles because money is an issue: Why would you go to the trouble, and then squander valuable funds on something that's worthless?

Good luck...

 

[andysings]

Thank you for all your replies. I'm going to him tomorrow morning and tell him I wanted it fixed or buy it back from me. Wish I had the money to plunk down on a Honda certified one but I don't.

I'll keep you posted.

My friends who bought new honda's and bought the Honda extended care plan said it was great and they haven't had a problem with it when they utilized them, I know that one won't apply in my situation though.

 

[MTPockets08]

Based on my experiences, I disagree. Why would a dealer sell you a warranty that doesn't work?!? Not only do they make a profit selling you the package, they have the potential to make many times that in warranty pay-out repairs.

I'm no proponent of aftermarket warranties, but have bought them from selling dealerships in the past. For the most part they're a waste of money, but if you're buying a vehicle that has the potential for expensive repairs, they can be OK.

That said, if the dealership sells them, that means that dealership can easily deal with that particular warranty company.

I know I bought one w/ a used 2001 Ford Windstar years ago. At any dealer visit, they'd comb over that vehicle to find stuff to replace because the warranty package they sold paid-out well. I paid $800 for the warranty and they must have done $3000 worth of repairs to it in the time I owned it.

If someone is willing to buy you a warranty that's going to guarantee the transmission repair and potentially more, go for it.

Joel

 

[tC_demon]

I would personally return the van and get your self a 07+ just because they have a better tranny on them! If you can return it without loosing money then go for it, there's plenty of used ODY out there!

 

[bw03]

Wait. If the dealer is responsible to fix it, have him buy the warranty. It'll probably be cheaper that a rebuilt tranny.

 

[andysings]

The thing is about the warranty is it's a preexisting condition and I can't see any companies willing to insure because of it. I know he would rather buy the warranty, because it would be cheaper but I really think I would get screwed on this. I'll find out tomorrow what his thoughts are.

 

[andysings]

I took it to the dealer yesterday, looks like he wants to put a used transmission in it and never mentioned the word warranty again. I'd rather have a rebuilt one, hopefully I can find out what it would cost him and maybe I would make up the difference...maybe.

I'm really wondering how Honda gets there reliable claim when we have three hondas within in my family that all have bad transmissions.

Andy

 

[Boogety Boogety]

I took it to the dealer yesterday, looks like he wants to put a used transmission in it and never mentioned the word warranty again. I'd rather have a rebuilt one, hopefully I can find out what it would cost him and maybe I would make up the difference...maybe...

Andy

There should not be a single dime of out-of-pocket cost to you. Either he fixes it right, or get your money back. You are about to be screwed, my friend... don't let him give you any crap. Stand your ground!

 

[Hawkinomics]

I agree with Boogety, don't let the dealer wriggle off the hook. A used transmission sounds like bad news and I'd just as soon give the van up and start looking for another.

 

[andysings]

well, it's now getting ugly. He's had it since Saturday and he says nothings wrong with it and has it in writing after he took it to Aamaco ( who I have only heard bad things about) He says it shifts fine, which most of the time it does.

I have it in writing from a independent well known transmission shop that it is defective plus i can hear the whine and feel the shudder as sporadic as it is. I offered him to buy it back and he refused. I told him his choices are fix it, buy it back or go to court. I also told him why would I waste my time with all of this if nothing was wrong with it?

My brother in law is a lawyer.

Andy

 

[Boogety Boogety]

See #5.

See #6.

See #13.

I would offer him the following (and do it in a personal visit to the location, NOT by phone, because as Alfred Hitchcock famously said, "murder is easy... getting rid of a body is hard"). He fixes it, as per the warranty he gave you when you bought the van, and as per the agreement you say you signed with him and which is still in force time- and mileage-wise, which won't be cheap but which he offered to honor; or he buys it back, as he once offered to do, which would be much cheaper for him to do (and flip it to someone else or wholesale it) than dicking with you and your brother the lawyer. Because your brother the lawyer can bury him with paperwork he needs to respond to, which he would need to hire another attorney for hundreds of dollars an hour (but free to you) to do so, and which he would need to represent him when your brother makes him leave work and go to court for days and days and days at a time with legal but chickensh¡t delaying tactics designed to cost him more money than just taking care of you would.

Oh, and tell him you'll happily make it public, loud, and difficult for him to hide from, by having local media cover it for you. Local ombudsmen loooooove David and Goliath he-done-me-wrong human interest stories...

Good luck, looks like you're going to need it...

 

[andysings]

Getting Fixed!

Here's the latest.
I was persistent and the dealer finally agreed to get it fixed at the transmission shop that I wanted to do the work, The dealer is pulling the transmission himself (hope he knows what he's doing) and bringing it to buff-o-matic in glenmont, ny. I'm hoping to go over and visit the transmission so I can get more information on what actually fails in these. I also want to find out what else should be done while the transmission is out. I'm guessing the rear main seal on the engine should be replaced and I'll offer to buy that myself.

Andy

 

[andysings]

ugh, here's the update a bit late....so the he did not fix it as I assumed, woops on me, he put a used one in that has the whine, a bad pump and revs really high when going down a steep hill. So once again he's offering me another used transmission or he'd really like to buy me the warranty for 18 months. He won't have it rebuilt or buy it back. I'm torn but need to make a decision very soon. I'm wondering of all 05 transmissions are the same regardless of trim level. Mine is an 05 EX-L.
Comments?

Andy

 

[Boogety Boogety]

He's already playing you like an old piano, and you're creeping up on four months of letting him, so until you grow a set, there's nothing more to say here... Good luck, Pal...

 

[andysings]

Dear Boogety Boogety,
You'll be happy to know I grew a set and they're large, even for a Texan
The dealership even put another used one in at it was so bad he didn't even try and give it back to me. I clearly stated I am done playing this game and his options were have it rebuilt by my place of choice, buy it back or go to court.
He finally agreed to have it rebuilt, however he was going to pull it himself again but my tranny shop insisted he bring the vehicle to them and let them take care of all of it which they did. I went and visited it at the tranny shop and saw the tranny on the bench. It was explained to me what crap Honda was building and how they make it better than new. One of the biggest issues is the bearings spinning around in the journals, they sleeve them.
I've only had it a day, but no more whine, shifts were it's supposed to. I'll post a more detailed list of what was actually replaced, off the top of my head...rebuilt torque converter (they make them) bearings, 2nd and 3rd gear valve and more. The rebuild was $3,600, I didn't pay a penny of that. I did ask him to put in an oil cooler and get an alignment done. That I did pay for. The shop is Buff-O-Matic in Glenmont, NY Shawn Buffo is the owner, they are very busy and do a great job.

Andy