New S2000 - Missing Oil Cap?
12-03-2014, 01:13 PM
#21
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Originally Posted by Spagolli94
The Honda tech had to remove part of the dash and found that it was coming from a plate behind the radio or something like that. But get this... as I reviewed the paperwork, I learned that they also found the OIL CAP back somewhere around the firewall. The dealer tried telling me that sounded like a crock just to boost up their hours and charge more for the repair (the Acura dealer was paying for the repair).
I think the Honda dealer stoopitly took dash apart looking for noise, and when that didn't work they googled it and found out (probably from us) about the oil cap. They reached up under where Billman says to look, found it and solved the issue for almost zero cost. Except for all the time they wasted messing with the dash. So they made up the part about a loose plate so they could charge for their wasted time.
I am convinced your problem was oil cap the whole time. If you bought the car with the noise, and just posted here asking about it, you would have gotten the answer quickly. Meanwhile the dealer ended up charging a mint, and still probably came here for the answer.
Lesson I hope you learn, STAY AWAY, far away, from the dealer. They don't know these cars, and when they try what works on every other Honda, they often do major damage to these cars (which they will then deny and blame you for).
There is a sticky thread for new owners. Read it. A lot of it won't apply to your near new car, but a lot will (like torquing the axle nuts).
I have to get a PA inspection done on the car and have a thread started in my local forum to find a mechanic. I've read that dealers are a bad idea when it comes to these cars. I bought the car from an Acura dealer that happened to have a Honda dealer right across the street. The Acura dealer was responsible for the repair and they took the car to Honda. I didn't care, as long as it was fixed before I agreed to take delivery.
Oh, and when I sent Acura an email about the missing oil cap, along with the photo evidence from their AutoTrader listing, I got a call back in 30 seconds from the manager. He was very pissed at his staff and very apologetic. He asked what he could do to make it right. I told him I was going to get an oil change and proper inspection, and they needed to pay for that as well as any repairs caused by the missing oil cap.
From everything I've learned since, I don't think there should be any repairs related to the missing cap so hopefully everything turns out just fine. And, I have an interesting story to tell!!
12-03-2014, 01:13 PM
#22
Originally Posted by Mister Clean' timestamp='1417630386' post='23425679
[quote name='Spagolli94' timestamp='1417627999' post='23425638']
[quote name='Mister Clean' timestamp='1417620009' post='23425469']
Congratulations with the purchase! I was actually looking at that particular S2000 at Bridgewater Acura three weeks ago, but ended up with the other 6K mile AP2 they had in stock as I preferred the color better.
Maybe the tech just genuinely forgot to screw the cap back on, or didn't screw it on tight enough?
Anyway, I recall reading your post in the "Is this worth it?" thread. Do you mind sharing the final price you settled on for that S2000? I was in the same situation when buying my car, they were only going to negotiate in the hundreds, not thousands.
Hope you're enjoying your S2000 as much as I am!
[quote name='Mister Clean' timestamp='1417620009' post='23425469']
Congratulations with the purchase! I was actually looking at that particular S2000 at Bridgewater Acura three weeks ago, but ended up with the other 6K mile AP2 they had in stock as I preferred the color better.
Maybe the tech just genuinely forgot to screw the cap back on, or didn't screw it on tight enough?
Anyway, I recall reading your post in the "Is this worth it?" thread. Do you mind sharing the final price you settled on for that S2000? I was in the same situation when buying my car, they were only going to negotiate in the hundreds, not thousands.
Hope you're enjoying your S2000 as much as I am!
All of my typical negotiating tools failed and I was only able to talk them down a couple hundred bucks to $24,750. Did you happen to notice the price they had on the sticker. It was $29,900!!! The $24,900 price was their online listing price. Were they hoping somebody was going to walk into the dealership without looking online first??? Anyway, my failed negotiation went like this:
Me: Look at all these other S2000s for sale in the teens and low 20's.
Them: They all have 30, 50, even 70k miles on them.
Me: Good point
Me: But look at the book values for an S2000 with 6k miles, they are $2-3k less than yours
Them: Some book values are based on actual sales of cars. For an Accord, where there are thousands of sales to use for reference, book values can be more accurate. Finding an S2000 with only 6k miles on it doesn't give enough data for an accurate price are there are zero other cars to compare it to.
Me: But you've had this car for 5 months now. I'll give you $22k and you can sell it today.
Them: We'd rather wait another 6 months if we have to. We know these cars are rare, especially with only 6k miles. We know that if we hang onto the car until spring, we can get top dollar.
At this point, I realized they weren't going to budge, so I had a choice to make. I threw the book values out the window and searched AutoTrader one more time. This time, I searched for S2000s all over the country, but with under 30k miles. And to my surprise, they all had asking prices in the high $20s. I had already driven 2 hours up from Philly to look at the car. I knew I would have to wait a long time to find another one with such low miles, if ever. And for all I know, that seller could even be asking MORE. And I didn't feel like driving all over the place and possibly settling for a car with over 50k miles, only to save a couple thousand dollars. My time is worth more than that.
So at the end of the day, did I overpay? Maybe. But I really didn't think they were going to budge. Why would they? Finding an S2k that's practically brand new is like finding a needle in a hay stack. So maybe they were right. Maybe if they waited long enough, they would find a buyer willing to pay full price. And all that matters is that I'm happy with the car I got. If I over paid buy $2k, that's fine. My monthly divorce support payments are more than that, so it's really just a drop in the bucket.
To be honest, I haven't had much of a chance to drive the car yet. I brought it home Monday evening and it started to rain, so I wasn't even able to push it. And it hasn't stopped raining since!!! Uhghghg
Don't feel bad! They would not move much on the price for mine either. I got them down to $24,800 from $25,500 with some bluntly aggressive negotiation. The managers tried to give me an attitude, so I gave it right back to them. They agreed to discount the price if I financed through them, and I knew walking in that my discount would come via that, so I took their bait. They offered a 6.9% APR even with a 843 credit score, so while signing the papers I told them I would pay off the loan or re-fi via a credit union before the second payment came along. The manager cringed a little, knowing that we weren't as ignorant as they made us out to be
At the end of the day, both sides got what they wanted and I drove home in a real clean AP2. It was a tough choice between the one you bought and the one I got, though! I needed the front plate mount since NY requires it, so that wasn't too much of a factor for me. My dad and myself preferred the darker grey, which was our main motivation. How many miles were on your odometer when you drove off? Mine was about 6899 or so.
[/quote]
Mine had 6,847 miles and we wound up paying within $50 of each other? Are we living parallel lives or something? That's crazy!!
You had to do a lot more negotiating than I because your starting point was higher. They had already dropped the price of mine to 24,900, so I didn't have much room to go. The fact that we both got deals within $50 for practically identical cars tells me that really was their "bottom line" and I would've wasted my time if I pushed for more. And yes, I got some attitude as well. They made me agree to a deal before I drove the car. They let me drive their red S2000 because it had more miles to confirm I like the S2000. Then once I agree to a price, I was able to test drive the actual car with the deal being contingent upon the car running perfectly. When I heard the rattle, I told them they had to fix it before the deal was final and they agreed. The fixed the rattle and I gave it another test drive to confirm, then drove off in my new S2000.
Not sure about you, but I felt like I was over-paying until I searched AutoTrader for S2000s with under 30k miles. Turns out, many low mileage cars are listed for close to $30k so now I don't feel so bad. Sure, many people get better deals but not many people find cars with only 6k miles on them!!
What are your plans for the car? My preliminary plan is for a weekend toy / garage queen. I plan on keeping it bone stock because it will retain the most value that way. Who knows, if I keep the miles low, it might even turn into an appreciating asset years down the road. Option B would be to get into mods and take it to the track.
[/quote]
Yes, Bridgewater was being tough with me on test drives too- I was more motivated to make them put the car on a lift so I could see the underbody. By the way, who was your salesman? Mine was AJ, the guy whose desk was first by the front door. I don't feel like my dad and I overpaid for the car- and you are right, the asking prices for non-CR AP2s with this low mileage are in the high 20s, with little room for negotiation I bet. Sussex Honda in NJ is asking higher prices for higher mileage AP2s! I don't lose any sleep at night when I think about the price paid for my AP2. Neither does my dad. We're happy with the purchase, and that's really all that matters at the end of the day
We are most definitely going to be twins, both in our purchasing stories and our plans for our cars! This AP2 is going to be and already is a garage queen. Definitely a nice weather car/sunday driver type of thing. I have no plans to track it or mod it- I'll be keeping it bone stock with the only parts purchased for it being extra sets of high wear parts (like door sills and floor mats). It's a fun car in stock form, and I've already made up my mind that if I will be modding an S2000, it's going to be a higher-mileage unit that needs work to begin with. I joke with my dad that he can stare at me one day when I'll have a daily "beater" AP1 that I happily drive every day, while he just stays in the garage to wipe the dust off his mint garage queen AP2
12-03-2014, 01:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Spagolli94' timestamp='1417644110' post='23425946
[quote name='Mister Clean' timestamp='1417630386' post='23425679']
[quote name='Spagolli94' timestamp='1417627999' post='23425638']
[quote name='Mister Clean' timestamp='1417620009' post='23425469']
Congratulations with the purchase! I was actually looking at that particular S2000 at Bridgewater Acura three weeks ago, but ended up with the other 6K mile AP2 they had in stock as I preferred the color better.
Maybe the tech just genuinely forgot to screw the cap back on, or didn't screw it on tight enough?
Anyway, I recall reading your post in the "Is this worth it?" thread. Do you mind sharing the final price you settled on for that S2000? I was in the same situation when buying my car, they were only going to negotiate in the hundreds, not thousands.
Hope you're enjoying your S2000 as much as I am!
[quote name='Spagolli94' timestamp='1417627999' post='23425638']
[quote name='Mister Clean' timestamp='1417620009' post='23425469']
Congratulations with the purchase! I was actually looking at that particular S2000 at Bridgewater Acura three weeks ago, but ended up with the other 6K mile AP2 they had in stock as I preferred the color better.
Maybe the tech just genuinely forgot to screw the cap back on, or didn't screw it on tight enough?
Anyway, I recall reading your post in the "Is this worth it?" thread. Do you mind sharing the final price you settled on for that S2000? I was in the same situation when buying my car, they were only going to negotiate in the hundreds, not thousands.
Hope you're enjoying your S2000 as much as I am!
All of my typical negotiating tools failed and I was only able to talk them down a couple hundred bucks to $24,750. Did you happen to notice the price they had on the sticker. It was $29,900!!! The $24,900 price was their online listing price. Were they hoping somebody was going to walk into the dealership without looking online first??? Anyway, my failed negotiation went like this:
Me: Look at all these other S2000s for sale in the teens and low 20's.
Them: They all have 30, 50, even 70k miles on them.
Me: Good point
Me: But look at the book values for an S2000 with 6k miles, they are $2-3k less than yours
Them: Some book values are based on actual sales of cars. For an Accord, where there are thousands of sales to use for reference, book values can be more accurate. Finding an S2000 with only 6k miles on it doesn't give enough data for an accurate price are there are zero other cars to compare it to.
Me: But you've had this car for 5 months now. I'll give you $22k and you can sell it today.
Them: We'd rather wait another 6 months if we have to. We know these cars are rare, especially with only 6k miles. We know that if we hang onto the car until spring, we can get top dollar.
At this point, I realized they weren't going to budge, so I had a choice to make. I threw the book values out the window and searched AutoTrader one more time. This time, I searched for S2000s all over the country, but with under 30k miles. And to my surprise, they all had asking prices in the high $20s. I had already driven 2 hours up from Philly to look at the car. I knew I would have to wait a long time to find another one with such low miles, if ever. And for all I know, that seller could even be asking MORE. And I didn't feel like driving all over the place and possibly settling for a car with over 50k miles, only to save a couple thousand dollars. My time is worth more than that.
So at the end of the day, did I overpay? Maybe. But I really didn't think they were going to budge. Why would they? Finding an S2k that's practically brand new is like finding a needle in a hay stack. So maybe they were right. Maybe if they waited long enough, they would find a buyer willing to pay full price. And all that matters is that I'm happy with the car I got. If I over paid buy $2k, that's fine. My monthly divorce support payments are more than that, so it's really just a drop in the bucket.
To be honest, I haven't had much of a chance to drive the car yet. I brought it home Monday evening and it started to rain, so I wasn't even able to push it. And it hasn't stopped raining since!!! Uhghghg
Don't feel bad! They would not move much on the price for mine either. I got them down to $24,800 from $25,500 with some bluntly aggressive negotiation. The managers tried to give me an attitude, so I gave it right back to them. They agreed to discount the price if I financed through them, and I knew walking in that my discount would come via that, so I took their bait. They offered a 6.9% APR even with a 843 credit score, so while signing the papers I told them I would pay off the loan or re-fi via a credit union before the second payment came along. The manager cringed a little, knowing that we weren't as ignorant as they made us out to be
At the end of the day, both sides got what they wanted and I drove home in a real clean AP2. It was a tough choice between the one you bought and the one I got, though! I needed the front plate mount since NY requires it, so that wasn't too much of a factor for me. My dad and myself preferred the darker grey, which was our main motivation. How many miles were on your odometer when you drove off? Mine was about 6899 or so.
[/quote]
Mine had 6,847 miles and we wound up paying within $50 of each other? Are we living parallel lives or something? That's crazy!!
You had to do a lot more negotiating than I because your starting point was higher. They had already dropped the price of mine to 24,900, so I didn't have much room to go. The fact that we both got deals within $50 for practically identical cars tells me that really was their "bottom line" and I would've wasted my time if I pushed for more. And yes, I got some attitude as well. They made me agree to a deal before I drove the car. They let me drive their red S2000 because it had more miles to confirm I like the S2000. Then once I agree to a price, I was able to test drive the actual car with the deal being contingent upon the car running perfectly. When I heard the rattle, I told them they had to fix it before the deal was final and they agreed. The fixed the rattle and I gave it another test drive to confirm, then drove off in my new S2000.
Not sure about you, but I felt like I was over-paying until I searched AutoTrader for S2000s with under 30k miles. Turns out, many low mileage cars are listed for close to $30k so now I don't feel so bad. Sure, many people get better deals but not many people find cars with only 6k miles on them!!
What are your plans for the car? My preliminary plan is for a weekend toy / garage queen. I plan on keeping it bone stock because it will retain the most value that way. Who knows, if I keep the miles low, it might even turn into an appreciating asset years down the road. Option B would be to get into mods and take it to the track.
[/quote]
Yes, Bridgewater was being tough with me on test drives too- I was more motivated to make them put the car on a lift so I could see the underbody. By the way, who was your salesman? Mine was AJ, the guy whose desk was first by the front door. I don't feel like my dad and I overpaid for the car- and you are right, the asking prices for non-CR AP2s with this low mileage are in the high 20s, with little room for negotiation I bet. Sussex Honda in NJ is asking higher prices for higher mileage AP2s! I don't lose any sleep at night when I think about the price paid for my AP2. Neither does my dad. We're happy with the purchase, and that's really all that matters at the end of the day
We are most definitely going to be twins, both in our purchasing stories and our plans for our cars! This AP2 is going to be and already is a garage queen. Definitely a nice weather car/sunday driver type of thing. I have no plans to track it or mod it- I'll be keeping it bone stock with the only parts purchased for it being extra sets of high wear parts (like door sills and floor mats). It's a fun car in stock form, and I've already made up my mind that if I will be modding an S2000, it's going to be a higher-mileage unit that needs work to begin with. I joke with my dad that he can stare at me one day when I'll have a daily "beater" AP1 that I happily drive every day, while he just stays in the garage to wipe the dust off his mint garage queen AP2
[/quote]
I worked with Mikhail but can't remember his last name off the top of my head. I also worked with Gene and Michael (the sales manager) because Mikhail was on vacation when I took delivery.
You and I are on the same page. If I was planning a bunch of mods and track days, I wouldn't have paid a premium for a mint car. I would've picked up and AP1 for less than $15k. I still can't believe how new the car is. There literally isn't a scratch on it, inside or out. Typically, used cars will show a bit of wear on the touch points - seats, steering wheel, gear shift, etc. Not this time. Everything looks totally fresh. I test drove the red one with 30k miles. While it ran great, the one I ended up buying was definitely a bit tighter.
Oh, I should ask you... My car has the stock tires on it, and being that the miles are so low, I'm assuming they are the original tires. Although they have plenty of tread left, I am worried that they might be completely dried out and petrified being that they are pushing 10 years old. Thus I might want to toss em and put some fresh Pilot Super Sports on the car. What tires does you car have?
12-03-2014, 05:17 PM
#24
Originally Posted by wadzii' timestamp='1417558978' post='23424756
it's not a terribly uncommon thing to have an oil cap not quite tight enough to vibrate and fall off. seen it a bunch of times at the dealership i used to work at. Thats probably what the rattle was, the cap has nothing to do with oil pressure..
it takes no effort to tighten a cap and I've never worked at a shop, but I have never seen an oil cap fall of due to vibrations.
I'd be worried about any bugs that have found their way down in there, but most likely there isn't anything wrong internally. And speaking of oil caps, I'm thinking about finding an aftermarket one for mine, maybe a piston design or just a black metal cap...
I forgot my cap once... Got home, smelled a lot of oil being burned, it was right in between bank 1, and the strut tower on my car lol.
12-03-2014, 09:57 PM
#25
I worked with Mikhail but can't remember his last name off the top of my head. I also worked with Gene and Michael (the sales manager) because Mikhail was on vacation when I took delivery.
You and I are on the same page. If I was planning a bunch of mods and track days, I wouldn't have paid a premium for a mint car. I would've picked up and AP1 for less than $15k. I still can't believe how new the car is. There literally isn't a scratch on it, inside or out. Typically, used cars will show a bit of wear on the touch points - seats, steering wheel, gear shift, etc. Not this time. Everything looks totally fresh. I test drove the red one with 30k miles. While it ran great, the one I ended up buying was definitely a bit tighter.
Oh, I should ask you... My car has the stock tires on it, and being that the miles are so low, I'm assuming they are the original tires. Although they have plenty of tread left, I am worried that they might be completely dried out and petrified being that they are pushing 10 years old. Thus I might want to toss em and put some fresh Pilot Super Sports on the car. What tires does you car have?
You and I are on the same page. If I was planning a bunch of mods and track days, I wouldn't have paid a premium for a mint car. I would've picked up and AP1 for less than $15k. I still can't believe how new the car is. There literally isn't a scratch on it, inside or out. Typically, used cars will show a bit of wear on the touch points - seats, steering wheel, gear shift, etc. Not this time. Everything looks totally fresh. I test drove the red one with 30k miles. While it ran great, the one I ended up buying was definitely a bit tighter.
Oh, I should ask you... My car has the stock tires on it, and being that the miles are so low, I'm assuming they are the original tires. Although they have plenty of tread left, I am worried that they might be completely dried out and petrified being that they are pushing 10 years old. Thus I might want to toss em and put some fresh Pilot Super Sports on the car. What tires does you car have?
12-04-2014, 07:21 AM
#26
Originally Posted by InTheZone
if someone is limp wristed enough to not be able to tighten down an oil cap then they don't need to be working on cars...ever...
it takes no effort to tighten a cap and I've never worked at a shop, but I have never seen an oil cap fall of due to vibrations.
As stated earlier in this thread, our caps have an o-ring that keeps it from coming loose. When this o-ring is old and dried out, it can be very difficult to make it tight enough to not vibrate loose on an engine that revs to 9k. So while your cap might have a good o-ring and not need much torque to make it vibe proof, that doesn't mean all other cars are the same.
With age comes the wisdom that when we shoot off our mouth, we often end up with our foot in it.
12-04-2014, 03:47 PM
#27
Originally Posted by InTheZone
if someone is limp wristed enough to not be able to tighten down an oil cap then they don't need to be working on cars...ever...
it takes no effort to tighten a cap and I've never worked at a shop, but I have never seen an oil cap fall of due to vibrations.
As stated earlier in this thread, our caps have an o-ring that keeps it from coming loose. When this o-ring is old and dried out, it can be very difficult to make it tight enough to not vibrate loose on an engine that revs to 9k. So while your cap might have a good o-ring and not need much torque to make it vibe proof, that doesn't mean all other cars are the same.
With age comes the wisdom that when we shoot off our mouth, we often end up with our foot in it.
ok...
I apologize I came to this conclusion because of comparisons to my 14 year old oil cap on the civic that is exactly the same as the s2000's. Or the 16 year old cap on another civic that is the same. And I apologize if I hurt anyone's feelings here, I was directing my comment more towards these incompetent shops that don't know what they're doing...
12-16-2014, 09:38 AM
#28
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Congrats on such a low mile purchase. This reminded me of my dealership with an 09 with and they were asking 29k for the car. I found this car after a black 07 sold with 6k on the motor for 27k!!! The black one was located in SD and the 09 one was located in LA.
Not too far away but still, I missed my chances on the low mile one so congrats on the purchase.
I ended up picking up an 05 for cheaper since the 09 one didn't want to work with me.
Not too far away but still, I missed my chances on the low mile one so congrats on the purchase.
I ended up picking up an 05 for cheaper since the 09 one didn't want to work with me.
12-16-2014, 10:36 AM
#29
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Congratulations with the purchase! I was actually looking at that particular S2000 at Bridgewater Acura three weeks ago, but ended up with the other 6K mile AP2 they had in stock as I preferred the color better.
Maybe the tech just genuinely forgot to screw the cap back on, or didn't screw it on tight enough?
Anyway, I recall reading your post in the "Is this worth it?" thread. Do you mind sharing the final price you settled on for that S2000? I was in the same situation when buying my car, they were only going to negotiate in the hundreds, not thousands.
Hope you're enjoying your S2000 as much as I am!
Maybe the tech just genuinely forgot to screw the cap back on, or didn't screw it on tight enough?
Anyway, I recall reading your post in the "Is this worth it?" thread. Do you mind sharing the final price you settled on for that S2000? I was in the same situation when buying my car, they were only going to negotiate in the hundreds, not thousands.
Hope you're enjoying your S2000 as much as I am!
Bridgewater and Sussex Honda are two places I just could never give my business to. They have ridiculous asking prices for their S2000s. Sussex is by far the worst though. Both located in New Jersey with absolutely no clue as to the current market value of these vehicles. Go figure.
Congrats on the new rides Spagolli94 and Mister Clean. Enjoy them.
12-16-2014, 11:03 AM
#30
Moderator
I did the same thing a few years ago so dont feel bad. Buddy called while I was in the middle of an oil change and I just forgot to screw the cap back on while I finished up. Drove down the road about 1/4 mile and the car sounded very different, like I had an intake or something...and then I remembered. In a panic I pulled over and popped the hood. A had a little oil on the valve cover and the underside of the hood. I started walking back the way I had come, and after walking the full 1/2 mile there and back and finding no oil cap I checked under the hood for it. Lo and behold it was back by the firewall. 
I cleaned up and all was well.
I cleaned up and all was well.