Car Dealer Rant

First of all, I like our honda and our subaru, both are pretty reliable cars and work well. But they require maintenance from time to time. But dealerships just like to rip you off for service. Because that's where they make their money.

Our 2001 Civic had a bunch of repairs this week.
There was an airbag inflator recall which I brought the civic into Lakeshore Honda. I had had an SRS light on for some time but didn't find much on the civic forums about it except how to reset it myself. I'd reset it a bunch of times and it always came back. I was hoping that it was the airbag inflator.

The dealer said that they would scan the SRS system and find out if it was the airbag inflator. They replaced the airbag inflator and then scanned the system again for the code. What annoys me is that they say they have to scan the various subsystems of the SRS to find out the code. If they were going to do it anyways for the airbag inflator, why wouldn't they get ALL the codes from the SRS system.

You see. The recall is free. So they have to get some money out of you anyways. So they tell you they need to scan it again to find the others. So $104.00 just to tell me that the SRS check light is because of the drivers belt buckle. So that's all I paid for. Because if I wanted to replace that, it would cost $284.00 plus labour bringing it to $384.00 + taxes.

I found out that the SRS system has a lifetime warranty on it in the US. But in Canada it's only 5 years/100,000 km. So I was going to have to pay.

They also told me I had a huge crack in my exhaust manifold. Another $1300.00 plus labour + tax. The lower control arm bushings were cracked and broken and needed replacing, a $362.00 cost. And then they were telling me that the brakes needed adjustments. Another $200.00 + labour + taxes. So about $2000 to $2700.00 for just going in for a recall. Wow! This recall was going from free $$ to major bucks. Oh but there was a 10% off parts and labour. What a deal . I should jump on it while it's hot off the toilet bowl waiting to be flushed.

One thing I found on the Honda canada site was that prices will vary from dealer to dealer for parts and labour. And they do...slightly. Still expensive. But hey...they have to pay for their ferrari's, hummers and villas somehow you know. Recalls don't cover those.

I'm sick of getting taken to the cleaners at these dealerships. Which is why I do my own laundry as much as I can. And if you know a mechanic that you can trust. Use him or her. Not everyone can be like Andy B, but we can try. And more importantly resist parting with our money so easily.
So before I decided on anything I called a bunch of other places including the dealer in the US to get some prices.
I didn't get a price on the part in the US, but they were the ones who told me that in the US it would not cost anything to replace an SRS component. It's a safety issue. But it's a different story in Canada.

Honda Canada doesn't care if your SRS fails, you pay if it's beyond the 5 yr/100,000km base warranty.

I ended up getting most of the work done at our mechanic. He replaced the manifold with a used one that was still in good condition, the vent shut valve for the P1457 code. (I got the part in the US for half the cost compared to here in Toronto, I wonder if the buckle would have been half the price too I didn't get that info...the service guy wouldn't give it to me). And John did the bushings and rotated the tires (something I could've done but it's so much easier if it's on a lift, plus John probably didn't even charge me for it).

The only thing I did was the belt buckle for the SRS malfunction. I knew the part was going to run $250.00 + tax. But labour was an additional +$100.00 + tax. But it's easy enough to do yourself.

What you need to do is:
1. remove the caps off the bolts at the back of the seat
2. loosen all the bolts
3. disconnect the harness to the buckle
4. lift up the seat so you can remove the plugs that are holding the harness wire to the seat
5. loosen the 1 bolt and remove the buckle from the seat
6. do the reverse to install the new buckle and reinstall the the other stuff
7. reset the SRS check light. I found this on the CivicForums.com basically all you need is a paperclip to short the connector as you turn the key to II position. The light will go out.

Easy PEASY! It took me an hour and I didn't know what I was doing. At the dealership they'll charge you an hour. It should take less than 30 mins to do this. But hey...the dealership will charge you an hour but will take 10% off. What a deal!

Total cost for all this. $900+ for John's work, $288 for the buckle and $104 for scanning the SRS system to tell me that the driver's buckle was defective. So about $1300.00.

More than I wanted to spend, but better than the alternative - lining the dealer's pocket with my money.

What bugs me is that if they did a scan of the SRS for the recall, why didn't it also obtain the code that the buckle was defective? I know why. Cause the recall was free. I called other dealers to see if they would tell me the same baloney, and they do. The Buggers.

I even brought this to Honda Canada's attention and the CSR just said "sir I'm not a service technician, I cannot comment."

Ya, because you know its a scam.

Kids of Steel

Our Kid of Steel

It was Kieran's very first triathlon ever.
I did my sprint tri earlier in the day. Same venue as I did in June.
But this time Lou was there to do the race with me.

It's a 2hr drive to get to this venue from Toronto. It's pretty far, but the venue is really nice. Sandy beach and clean small lake. I was concerned it would be too chilly. Weather forecast was to be a high of 17 deg C. And the morning was chillier than in June. I was concerned about the swim. But the last 18 days had been sunny and summer like. So the water should be warm.

Kieran was in the very first wave the 3-5 year olds. This is our first Kids of Steel so we had no clue what to do.
So there's swim, bike and run. Even for the kiddies. They basically walk out 15 m to an orange buoy and the water only goes up to their pits and they run in. Then they head to the transition and change and get their bikes and ride 200m. I think the distance from the bike to the road is 200m, then it's a 50m dash from the transition to the finish.

Before the race, I took Kieran on a walk thru the course so he'd know what to do and where he needed to go, where to turn around and where to go next. Also so Tresa would know where to go too.




I wish I had recorded a video because the Kids race was so exciting. What made it exciting were the other parents taking photos. It was like a stampede! The whole race course for the kids is fenced off so only the parent with the kids can be in the course assisting. So while I was nice and dry Tresa was in the lake with Kieran. And I ran like a mad man trying not to run over a 75 yr old white haired grandmother who kept walking into my shots. I was ready to retire her. Just kidding.

I didn't get cramps in my race, but in the Kids of Steel I was cramping sprinting from one vantage point to another.

Tresa was running with Kieran on the bike course. And Kieran was drafting off some of the other kids. Then passed them to the transition area.

Then it was a sprint to the finish.

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My 2nd Tri - Sprint distance 600m swim, 20km bike, 4km run

The swim went better than the last time. With the wetsuit on it felt warm.
I finished it in 15 mins. Not that great but a definite improvement over my first race. No anxiety, no tightness breathing. But I was fatigued going out to the first buoy. I was surprised how fast I got there. Then I rounded the buoy and sighted the next buoy and as I popped my head up to sight the next buoy I hear "Your way off!". But if I was way off, I saw people to my right who were farther off than me. They were definitely playing follow the leader. So I sighted the next one and made course corrections. I had to do this a few times cuz I kept going to the right.

I rounded the last buoy and headed for home. People in front of me getting tired were slowing me down. I had to chuckle cuz one person swimming on their back was going on a diagonal. I was like this in the first race. I noticed that one person had a swim cap from the wave in front of me. I knew what that was like having the wave behind catch up and pass. All I can say was 'rookie'.

But it was certainly a different experience being more in the pack. The splashing, the legs in front and bodies beside you and people stopping and sighting. I didn't get kicked because I was careful not to get too close, but after that first turn it started to string out. Then at the third buoy it bunched up again.

The lake is shallow so the weeds from the bottom aren't far from the surface and if you tread your feet can catch in the weeds. Not the nicest feeling in the world, but incentive to get this part over with.

I got out and was I ever dizzy. The water was 68 deg C or around there. I got to my bike and had a tough time transitioning. Tresa and Lou said it was the cold water in my ears. Reason to wear earplugs, which I didn't bother with. I even dropped my bike. I was tired. My transition was slow.

Lou was out of the water first about 2 or 3 mins ahead of me. And his transition was a minute faster.

The bike was fine, I caught a lot of people. I averaged 30.4km/hr, Lou extended his lead on me on the bike. He averaged 32.7km/hr. I knew he'd add time on the bike but I figured I'd catch him on run. I managed a faster transition from the bike, but he was a km ahead of me. I had a 5:08/km pace and Lou did a 5:16/km pace. It wasn't enough. My brother beat me today.

I was beat. At one point on the run before the first km I felt like stopping but just kept my legs going. And I dropped a hammer gel on the road coming into the transition area. I should have ate it before I got on the bike but I was rushing to get out on the road. All I can say is 'rookie'.

Eventhough my right hamstring was and is a little sore, it was a blast. It was good for me to have someone to chase after. It was even better that Kieran and Tresa were there to experience it too and cheer me on. I needed it. It's really nice venue. I knew Tresa would like it. There's less than 300 athletes and the Kids of Steel races were amazing to watch. The kids were stars. Some you could see would be future Pro athletes or Olympians. Man they were amazing.



We were cheering them on from the car as we left the area to head home.








Our kid of steel was out like a light. Clutching his medal.

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Lakeside II event photos #505

Lakeside photos index: #104

Lakeside photos index: #105

Chip time results

Luis Garces
City: Hawkestone
Bib #: 105
Place: 60
Time : 1:15:03
Class: TM40-44
Place: 10/24
Swim Place: 106
Swim Time: 12:35
Swim Pace/100m: 2:31
T1: 3:14
Bike Place: 21
Bike Time: 36:48
Bike Speed km/h: 32.6
T2: 1:26
Run Place: 84
Run Time: 21:02
Run Pace/km: 5:16

Raymond Garces
City: Toronto
Bib #: 104
Place: 116
Time: 1:20:21
Class: TM40-44
Place: 19/24
Swim Place: 196
Swim Time: 14:59
Swim Pace/100m: 3:00
T1: 4:14
Bike Place: 61
Bike Time: 39:31
Bike Speed km/h: 30.4
T2: 1:09
Run Place: 73
Run Time: 20:30
Run Pace/km: 5:08

Can you find Kieran?

Kidz

For the past 2 weeks we did our yearly visit to the Garden State. Kieran and Liam are like siblings. It's great for Kieran. They play, they fight, they entertain themselves. What more could you ask for as a parent.

Gracie, now 2 years old is in there as well.

The first week went by really fast. I was working so time really flew. I got my stitches out and before I knew it it was Friday.
It was the end of the first week and to cap it off they all went for a hike in the hills. We even hired Crocodile Dundee as our guide. Put another shrimp on the bar-b, we're gonna do a walk-about mate!

I missed this outing. I was tied up at work.
But I did get to do some open water swimming in Hightstown just 8 miles up the road. It was great. The Jersey Area Multisport club is really a great bunch of people.
The check the ecoli levels of Peddie Lake just to make sure it's all good before you take the plunge and do a 400+yd lap. I managed to do 2 laps and it really helped me get over my open water anxiety and get ready for my 2nd triathlon this weekend coming up.

Peddie Lake swim area

Mini-people. Mini-putt.
It was fun. It was something to do with the kids. Can't be inside all the time you know.
Sometimes the golf balls were going off the green somewhere, as long as you had good insurance coverage, you were fine.

"Everyone is entitled to universal health care."


It didn't matter that it wasn't sunny. It didn't matter that it was also windy and cold.
Kids and the beach just go together.
Just like sand and your mouth and eyes.

But we didn't stay long. Clouds were rolling in and the surf was really rough.
Even the lifeguards were huddled together on their platforms.


The second week was Liam's first day of school. We all walked him to the bus stop. And hung out with him until the familiar yellow bus came to pick him up.
Even I waited with him one morning in the pouring rain with no umbrella. The darn bus driver who'd been early every day by at least 20 mins, picked the day I take to come on time.

Both of us were soaked.
Thanks Mr. Bus driver.
How's that Lenny Kravitz song go again. #%@( #$& ... I'm a survivor.


We were packing up to head back to TO but what can you do when a big box with lots of styrofoam gets delivered to your door?

You gotta take advantage of it while you can. Otherwise it's going to landfille. Reduce, Recycle, Reuse and RE-fun it.




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