Well, it should have been a dream car. After 12 years of Honda ownership Id finally bought into the legendary Type R badge. Great! Or so I thought. Now 2 years on I feel qualified to make a judgement on both the car and Hondas "legendary" Customer Service. Neither makes a good read The car has had numerous problems over only 20,000 miles 1. Paint- incredible ability to chip, poor finish and orange peel wherever you look. Many parts have had to be resprayed 2. Engine- oil consumption is to be expected, but 1 litre every 2000 miles? It was worse initially, managing 4.5 litres in the first 6000! Honda refused to allow my dealer to investigate this, stating that up to 1 litre every 600 miles is normal. Not in my book 3. Suspension- front suspension had to be replaced as the strut tops came loose!!! The rear geometry was atrociously dangerous and had to be adjusted independently at my cost as Honda again refused to allow the dealer to investigate 4. Interior trim- Ive driven Yugos with less rattles and better quality. Over 14 different rattles have had to be looked at by the dealer but Honda refuse to allow them to investigate by removing the dash, the worst culprit, to investigate 5. Wheels- all 4 wheels were replaced after 4 months due to paint bubbling 6. Gearbox- went through a phase of refusing to go into 5th gear, and occasionally 4th. Remedied itself after Honda couldnt find anything wrong! Terrible in 1st and 2nd when cold. Apparently Honda think this is a feature of the car As for the rest? Well, after the above I find it difficult to find any affection for the car. Even if it was perfect though, its just not that good. The handling is all grip and no finesse, except in the wet when its simply rubbish. The ride is overly stiff and poorly damped, heightened by poor quality, bouncy seat cushions. The interior is practical but all the plastics are very low grade and mark very easily. The engine needs hammering to get going at a decent pace and even then, it just isnt that fast On top of that, I have never dealt with such an ineffectual group of people as Honda Customer Services. They never answer the phone, though when they do they never know anything anyway. They never get back to you and you will never speak to the same person twice. Oh, and they never actually sort anything out anyway so its really not worth the hassle and stress No. After 12 years of Honda ownership, I will never buy another one All the good that 10 previous years of great cars has done, has now been undone buy a complete lemon and, more importantly, a company that doesnt care in the slightest. |
