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LATEOTT

E Ticket,

I was one of the early purchasers at SLH (Oct 99) and have had only some delivery/install stuff done there. My overall feeling is neutral, with some hesitance... I personally have not chosen them for the big stuff (trans, clutch, seatbelts.) On the contrary, Doten Honda in Berkeley seems competent and eperienced with the S2000. Some of my less-than-positive experience reflects the "interaction" between sales, parts and service and I don't know which group was actually driving the process in my case.

First of all, the service people are friendly and easy to talk with. The shop is very clean. I saw them unwrapping a new S2000 and they seemed to be careful and educated about the predelivery stuff. I always kept notes on the mileage, and they never took it out joyriding while I had it in the shop.

But my impression from the beginning has been that they don't have that much experience with the S2000. My purchase price included the following dealer-installed items: CD changer, alarm, badges, cargo net, door mats, "Perma-Plate", car cover. Like a lot of things for this car at the beginning, nothing was in stock at a given time, so I had multiple days with my car in the shop.

At some point they decided a "Karr" alarm was "better" than the Honda alarm. (Better might just mean higher margin for them.) They had the Karr people out to educate them on how to install an alarm into the new S2000--that made me the guinea pig. I don't know all the wires they cut up, but the alarm they put in didn't work very well. I insisted that they put in the Honda alarm for compatibility purposes. The sales manager agreed and they took care of it. I never got a good explanation of why they switched the alarm from Honda to Karr. It took repeated calling on my part to see when the module, then the harness finally arrived. My impression was that Parts was not staying on top of it.

CD changer install was flawless, once again after they got both the changer and the harness in (not at the same time).

They also included 3 free details and the "PermaPlate". I had only one of the details done after I realized that the windshield washer spray nozzels were scuffed up (by a buffer???!) Otherwise the car was clean and shiny. I won't take it back for the other details. I hope to get them to replace the nozzels.

The cargo net had one critical hook improperly installed (I still need to go back for that...) so the thing is fairly useless. They forgot to install the peg for the driver's floor mat, so I had to remind them. (They then did it while I waited.)

I never, ever recieved a call telling me that a part was in, so I had to frequently check back to see if something came in. I got busy for a while (months) then, when in to buy some filters, asked if my black badges ever came in. The guy dug through the paperwork and told me that, not only had they come in, but I had picked them up. (?) I convinced him that I had not picked them up, so he gave me an "extra" set he had in stock. Fine result, awkward process. I chose not to have them install the badges.

I have done my own oil changes.

I was in to pick up some parts for my Accord, and sat down with the service people to discuss the clutch, trasmission TSBs. First, they had no knowledge of the TSBs, and had never done the work on an S2K (as of last summer/fall). But they were able to locate teh TSBs. They said I would have to bring the car in twice, first for inspection, then for work (if they got it approved). They seemed happy to go through the process, but the inexperience bothered me.

Bottom line: they seem to have a great shop. I would gladly have them work on my Accord, but you can probably tell I'm more picky about the S2000. I am in the same position as you--need to get the grind/rattle/belt stuff done, and I would rather take my S2000 to Doten Honda, where they seem to have more experience with the S2000.

Sorry for the length of this, but I wanted to share my experience.

Good luck!

yu888

Personally, if I were in the east bay, I'd head up to Jim Doten Honda in Berkeley. They have one of the best service departments I've ever been to. Their people are nice, educated and courteous. Talk to the service department manager, Jim Neilsen. (tell him that Ed with the Silver S2000 referred you) He and his staff are really straightforward and honest folks. When I had my TSB 054-055 done with them (last year) I knew I was the First one they were doing, but since I was introduced to the technicians who did the job, I felt confident that the combined experience they had would more than suffice...I was not disappointed.
I arranged for a weekend drop off on a sunday afternoon (after a quick drive on Skyline and Tunnel Rd) left my car with them for the work week, and picked it up on Friday. The car came back perfect with no scratches or anything you hear about. It is still one of the best dealerships around. Good luck!

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LATEOTT & yu888,

Thanks for the info. The seatbelt recall is some major surgery.
So getting some info ahead of time is much appreciated.

yu888

I had my seatbelt thing done at the same time as my 054-055 work. I have been taking my Hondas to Jim Doten Honda for over 12 years (I used to live in Berkeley) and have come to trust that dealership more than any other! That is why I trust them with my car so much. I recommend them highly. Good luck!