[babresa]

I am in the Virgin Islands. Not to many honda pilot owners here. I am scheduled to get my pilot on Thursday. Took a week and 1/2 from date of order. :2:

I wanted to order the accessories on my own and have the fog light and lower trim installed by Honda. Honda claims that in order for them to do the installation, I have to order the accessories through them. They do not install accessories any other way.

I think this is a piece of crap. :3: What difference does it make if I order it through them or not. It is genuine Honda parts.

The also claim that this is standard for all dealership which I do not believe.

Is this really true? :8: Have this been your experience?

I am on a little Island with only one Honda dealer. I believe this is why they can say and do their own thing.

 

[SteveLuman]

This is a bunch of crap! They are just sore that you didn't buy from them. They charge a different line item for accessories than for installation. If the parts are OEM Honda, it shouldn't make a difference. So they lose a little on parts mark-up. Why lose the money for installation hours?

Talk to the Service Manager or General Manager.

:cursin: :ucrazy:

 

[ammdaddy]

How much of a price difference is there between what your dealer quoted and wherever you were going to order your accessories from?

I just took delivery of my Pilot a week ago and I was planning on ordering accessories on-line and doing the installation work myself. For the six accessories I have listed below, my dealer was only charging $115 more than the lowest prices I could find on-line (including shipping, of course), but my dealer's prices included all installation costs. For $115, I didn't think it was too outrageous of a price to have my dealer install the side steps and cross bars.

After all, I just purchased a car costing $34,000 out-the-door.

 

[AlH]

It is not "Honda" you are dealing with but an independent dealer.

This is not unusual at all. The dealer makes some money on the accessories as well as the labor. You cut him out of part of the profit. Try having repair work done if you bring the parts bought elsewhere. Most shops will not touch it. Why should the dealer risk himself and accept liability for the "job" at less than normal profit?

I discovered this is true with motorcycle dealers too. Almost none in my area will mount and balance mail order tires. The few that do charge a lot extra so you may as well buy from them.

You guys that think a dealer should do this are just naive, this is standard business practice in lots of industries.

 

[colorider]

It is not "Honda" you are dealing with but an independent dealer.

This is not unusual at all. The dealer makes some money on the accessories as well as the labor. You cut him out of part of the profit. Try having repair work done if you bring the parts bought elsewhere. Most shops will not touch it. Why should the dealer risk himself and accept liability for the "job" at less than normal profit?

I discovered this is true with motorcycle dealers too. Almost none in my area will mount and balance mail order tires. The few that do charge a lot extra so you may as well buy from them.

You guys that think a dealer should do this are just naive, this is standard business practice in lots of industries.

All very true - and I too can speak from experience on motorcycle dealers and the position they normally take on mounting tires. Fortunately, I have a pretty good relationship with my local stealer and he will normally mount my mail order tires with only a little razzing - mainly because I order other stuff through him often.

YMMV

 

[clarity]

it may be naive, but the point of using honda accessories is that honda parts = honda parts = honda parts. I can see not wanting to mess with random aftermarket stuff. If I pay for labor, I should not be required to buy them from them only. If I have genuine honda parts, a honda dealer should have to install them. Maybe that's not how it really works. But I'd call honda corporate and complain. 'Course they could always make labor so ridiculously expensive you'd lose anyway. But still!

But, if these people are being so crappy, would you want to deal with them on a warranty repair? In which case, get someone else to install them. A bunch of dealerships (including mine) in my area use one shop for their aftermarket electronics....he told me he'd put my accessories on if I wanted. I was talking to him about some electronics, he's done other stuff for me before. He'll install electronics I get elsewhere that he doesn't carry too...since neither of us believe Best Buy is who I'd want to trust with my Pilot. But of course if he carried it, I'd buy from him.

 

[GlenH]

I think it's pretty lame that the dealer won't install the accessories. However, I can also see their point of view.

If a customer brings their own accessories in, there is no way to tell if the accessories are damaged in any way. For instance, if the accessory is something like a foglight or DVD changer or rear view camera, it is possible that the item may have been damaged when it was shipped to you. When the dealer installs the accessory and it doesn't work, there is no way they can prove that the accessory was already damaged before they installed it. Even if they told you this, you would likely not believe them and there would be no way for you to prove that the accessory was fully functional prior to the dealer installing it.

When you buy the accessory from the dealer who is also doing the installation, they have some peace of mind knowing that the accessory they are installing came off of their parts shelf. If they happen to damage it during installation, they are willing to eat the cost of the accessory because they have made a decent profit on selling you the accessory in the first place.

If you buy the accessory elsewhere and ask the dealer to install it, the labor charges that they can earn may not offset the potential hassle noted above.

Thus, IMO, the best thing to do is to install it yourself. There are many posts by members here with detailed instructions for installing accessories. In fact, wwong has already posted detailed instructions on installing the lower trim and foglights. You can see them in the accessories forum under the DIY accessory instructions sticky. Furthermore, the PDF instructions available are also very clear and easy to follow.

Personally, I would rather install accessories myself not because I want to save money, but because I feel that I would be much more careful with my car than a dealership mechanic would. Just take a look at this recent thread where the dealer mechanic neglected to install the required protective tape resulting in a scratched hood:

http://www.honda-pilot.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5326

Practically all the accessories available are fairly simple to install. Afterall, we're not talking about dropping the transmission or rebuilding the engine.

Glen

 

[babresa]

I can definetly see both sides of this and I thank you all for the input. I think some of the cost are outrageous though. For instance:

Crossbars - 616 installed

I can order this for 130 dollars!

What I think I will do is have the more difficult things installed by them like the fog light an lower trim. Things like the cross bar I will get someone else to do it.

I am on a little island and I just want to make sure that I have not been taken for a ride. We don't have another dealer to go and bargin with down here.

I think they are making a killer on accessories cost. They could not even quote me the difference between the accessory cost and installation so that I can see if I am getting a fair deal!



I just can't wait to get my pilot so I don't have to do this anymore. That is what happen when you can't pick up your car right away. You do a lot of thinking in the mean while and wonder if you are really getting a good deal

 

[babresa]

I am also wary on having someone else do it. This is a brand new vehicle and I can't afford for anyone to damage it. If honda damage my vehicle you better believe they will repair it. :3:

 

[kbusaf]

Crossbars - 616 installed

I can order this for 130 dollars!

IMO the cross bars are the easiest OEM acessory to install yourself. If I remember correctly, it only took me about 30-35 minutes and I took my time. There are several threads with detailed instructions on them.

 

[robrecht]

The Virgin Islands are so awesome. You are really lucky to live there. My wife and I spent two weeks on St. John a few years ago and we would love to go back--I'll even install the cross bars for you! :jump3:

 

[vkarcher]

I can definetly see both sides of this and I thank you all for the input. I think some of the cost are outrageous though. For instance:

Crossbars - 616 installed

I can order this for 130 dollars!

Are you kidding?????? My dealer charges less than that to purchase and install back-up sensors ($595). My dealer charges $195 to purchase and install cross bars. Are you talking 616 American dollars? WOW!!!

 

[ramirami]

well its about demand and supply....what the dealer said is Bu**$hit but if there is no competiton for them what can you do.

See if they will price match the accessory..

 

[my3kids]

Any chance there is an Acura dealer? Would(could?) they do the installation? Would that make the parts covered for the 3/36 warranty?

Too bad it is fog lights and trim you want....the cross bars and rear splash guards are do it yourself projects. No way I could take off the front of my car though.

 

[michaelp95]

Crossbars - 616 installed

I can order this for 130 dollars!

IMO the cross bars are the easiest OEM acessory to install yourself. If I remember correctly, it only took me about 30-35 minutes and I took my time. There are several threads with detailed instructions on them.

No the easiest is the Cargo Tray

 

[babresa]

Are you talking 616 American dollars? WOW!!!

Yes that is US dollars. Don't worry, I ain't spending that kind of money to get that installed. I will use the instructions and installed them myself.

The Virgin Islands are so awesome. You are really lucky to live there. My wife and I spent two weeks on St. John a few years ago and we would love to go back--I'll even install the cross bars for you!

Boy, would I take you up on that offer! I live 30 minutes away from St. John


Any chance there is an Acura dealer? Would(could?) they do the installation? Would that make the parts covered for the 3/36 warranty?

They are covered under warranty and this same dealer is the only dealer that sells Acura. If I ever win the lottery I will have to open my own Honda dealership and give them some competition. :headslap:

My Pilot is still scheduled to come in three days and wouldn't you know it, a hurricane is on its way

Lucky me

 

[babresa]

I must say I love this site. Not an hour after I posted my question I got my first response. I love it! :2: