My car is almost here...and I don't know who to trust...the dealers here are a rip...way too much per hour...and I am not convinced they really know about the car...anyone know of an independent shop with a reputable mechanic????...thanks...Mike
Desperate for Denver-based Mechanic
- Thread starter mmmikemo
- Start date
Mike, I live in Colorado springs, and your right basically we're out of luck for a decent NSX mechanic in the whole state. If you have really significant stuff you need done it's worth driving to Phoenix to see Mark Basch. If you just need simple stuff done I'd suggest doing it yourself if your so inclined.
A good friend of mine owns a shop in Loveland. He has been a certified Honda tech for close to 15 years. He owns the shop with his dad, who has been a Honda tech since before time.
Anyway, he really knows his stuff. He will treat your car with respect and doesn't guess diagnose.
The shop is called Ramsey Import Auto Service. The number is 970-622-0226.
Anyway, he really knows his stuff. He will treat your car with respect and doesn't guess diagnose.
The shop is called Ramsey Import Auto Service. The number is 970-622-0226.
Thanks Nick...I'll check in with them...Mike
I asked a friend of mine with an NSX in Boulder if Flatirons Acura is good for service, and this is what he said:
"Yes they are. That is, one technician in particular, his name is Chris Weyland. I wouldn't let anyone else work on mine. He's very knowledgeable and meticulous, and from my standpoint, one of his best qualities is he loves the car, is very patient and answers ALL of my questions (which can be many!)."
"Yes they are. That is, one technician in particular, his name is Chris Weyland. I wouldn't let anyone else work on mine. He's very knowledgeable and meticulous, and from my standpoint, one of his best qualities is he loves the car, is very patient and answers ALL of my questions (which can be many!)."
Not to get into a pissing match here Ken, but the man who owns Flatirons acura also is part owner of Pikes Peak Acura. Pikes Peak Acura let one of their mechanics joyride in our car and wreck it and then they tried to blame some of the damage on us. When my father tried to contact the afforementioned owner (because his corp. is named on their insurance) he instructed his secretary to tell us that he would not talk to us. So if you take your car to Flatirons understand this is the kind of attitude you will have to deal with.
What to do???...thanks guys for all of your thoughts and suggestions...Mike
Chris, I can understand that if you encounter a problem with one dealership and even the management is not willing to resolve it in a matter that is satisfactory to you, you might not want to have any dealings with any other dealerships under the same ownership. I can even understand how you could be angry enough to discourage anyone from giving them their business, a year or more later, just like you are doing, no matter how good the service they provide might be. I would probably feel the same way.
However, while you had a problem caused by an employee at one dealership, that does not necessarily imply anything about the competence or professionalism of that other dealership a hundred miles away, since that would depend on the staff at that site. Sure, you would know that in the event of any problem, the off-site management would not be receptive to any escalation (and may even be deceitful in dealing with it) - but isn't the whole objective of service to obtain quality service in the first place, so that there are no problems to be escalated? And that depends on the staff on-site, not on the management located in another city.
If I had a car in the greater Denver/Boulder area, and had a strong recommendation from other NSXers for only one NSX mechanic in the state, that's where I would go. Heck, if I were really concerned about a problem reported at another dealership under the same ownership, I might even pass that along to the service manager at Flatirons; this would probably have more effect on avoiding any such problems than trying to talk down the entire dealership network. (And it would also give people looking for quality NSX service an option they can count on, instead of leaving everyone SOL by telling them to drive 900 miles every time they need service on their NSX.)
The fact of the matter is, the NSX is a great car but needs competent service to keep it in good shape. Routine service on the NSX (oil changes, tire mounting, brake pad changes) can be done by any competent mechanic, but the more complicated services - clutch replacements, valve adjustments, resolution of various problems - are likely to get done more efficiently and effectively by someone who services a lot of NSXs. I have an independent shop in my neighborhood who is very good and specializes in Hondas, and he changes the oil in my NSX. But when it needs a major maintenance or anything tricky, I take it 45 minutes away to the dealer tech who works on NSXs all day long, rather than paying for the learning curve of my neighborhood guy who has never opened up an NSX tranny or dropped the engine before. And I would take it to that same dealership even if someone had a problem with another dealer in another city that happened to have the same ownership. I'm just looking for reliable and competent service for my NSX.
Just my O.
However, while you had a problem caused by an employee at one dealership, that does not necessarily imply anything about the competence or professionalism of that other dealership a hundred miles away, since that would depend on the staff at that site. Sure, you would know that in the event of any problem, the off-site management would not be receptive to any escalation (and may even be deceitful in dealing with it) - but isn't the whole objective of service to obtain quality service in the first place, so that there are no problems to be escalated? And that depends on the staff on-site, not on the management located in another city.
mmmikemo said:
If I had a car in the greater Denver/Boulder area, and had a strong recommendation from other NSXers for only one NSX mechanic in the state, that's where I would go. Heck, if I were really concerned about a problem reported at another dealership under the same ownership, I might even pass that along to the service manager at Flatirons; this would probably have more effect on avoiding any such problems than trying to talk down the entire dealership network. (And it would also give people looking for quality NSX service an option they can count on, instead of leaving everyone SOL by telling them to drive 900 miles every time they need service on their NSX.)
The fact of the matter is, the NSX is a great car but needs competent service to keep it in good shape. Routine service on the NSX (oil changes, tire mounting, brake pad changes) can be done by any competent mechanic, but the more complicated services - clutch replacements, valve adjustments, resolution of various problems - are likely to get done more efficiently and effectively by someone who services a lot of NSXs. I have an independent shop in my neighborhood who is very good and specializes in Hondas, and he changes the oil in my NSX. But when it needs a major maintenance or anything tricky, I take it 45 minutes away to the dealer tech who works on NSXs all day long, rather than paying for the learning curve of my neighborhood guy who has never opened up an NSX tranny or dropped the engine before. And I would take it to that same dealership even if someone had a problem with another dealer in another city that happened to have the same ownership. I'm just looking for reliable and competent service for my NSX.
Just my O.
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That's a good recommendation...I am not anticipating any big issues with my low mileage car, and I'll probably do just that...find a guy to do the routine maintenance, and a dealer to do the major stuff...
My experience with the local south Denver dealerships has been "less than inspiring"...high labor rates, less than enthusiastic/knowledgable service writers and a kinda "matter of fact" attitude...I found this when I was taking various local cars to them for a pre-purchase inspection...and I was suprised, since they had the opportunity to "WOW" me and nab me as a future customer...
I am so pleased for the responses and help this site has provided me in my search for my car...thanks everyone....Mike
My experience with the local south Denver dealerships has been "less than inspiring"...high labor rates, less than enthusiastic/knowledgable service writers and a kinda "matter of fact" attitude...I found this when I was taking various local cars to them for a pre-purchase inspection...and I was suprised, since they had the opportunity to "WOW" me and nab me as a future customer...
I am so pleased for the responses and help this site has provided me in my search for my car...thanks everyone....Mike
Just as a FYI, to give you an idea what it's like elsewhere...
The Chicago area has nine Acura dealers. One does a lot of NSX service, and you'll usually find two or three NSXs in their service department on any given day. Another also does a fair amount of NSX service also. Both have two NSX techs who are quite knowledgeable. The other seven vary from "work on them once in a while" to at least one that will look at you funny if you bring in an NSX for an oil change.
So your description of the dealers in south Denver is not that unusual or surprising.
The Chicago area has nine Acura dealers. One does a lot of NSX service, and you'll usually find two or three NSXs in their service department on any given day. Another also does a fair amount of NSX service also. Both have two NSX techs who are quite knowledgeable. The other seven vary from "work on them once in a while" to at least one that will look at you funny if you bring in an NSX for an oil change.
So your description of the dealers in south Denver is not that unusual or surprising.
Ken I agree with much of what you said. However, I think your too quick to diminish the relationship between management and on site employees. I have found that the attitude of the owner of this dealership to be pervasive at all levels of Pikes Peak Acura, I have spent a lot of time with various members of their sales staff, sales management, service personel and mechanics, and they all seem to have an interesting approach to "service". In short it seems they will do whatever they can to extract as much money from the customer regardless of how much dishonesty it requires. Given these observations I don't think it is unfair to think that at this person's other dealership, Flatirons Acura, this same attitude may very well exist in some or all of their staff, regardless of how much skill they have.
Pikes Peak Acura has a mechanic who is very competent with NSXs, but there is no way I would go there or could in good conscience recommend that another NSX owner go there.
So my point, go to Flatirons, I'm sure it will probably be just fine, however if you have any kind of a problem that requires working with management prepare to be ignored and belittled. Will you have a problem? Probably not, but the more business you do with them the more opportunities you have. If you DO have a problem with them, the amount of money, time and aggravation it will cost you will seem huge compared to the cost (in time and money) of a nice drive down to Phoenix to have Mark Basch fix your car, IMO.
Pikes Peak Acura has a mechanic who is very competent with NSXs, but there is no way I would go there or could in good conscience recommend that another NSX owner go there.
So my point, go to Flatirons, I'm sure it will probably be just fine, however if you have any kind of a problem that requires working with management prepare to be ignored and belittled. Will you have a problem? Probably not, but the more business you do with them the more opportunities you have. If you DO have a problem with them, the amount of money, time and aggravation it will cost you will seem huge compared to the cost (in time and money) of a nice drive down to Phoenix to have Mark Basch fix your car, IMO.
cmarsh90 said:
Sorry, Chris, but I would trust the recommendation of people who have actually gone to this dealer and gotten excellent service there over your speculations based on a bad experience 100 miles away. Other NSXers have had their cars serviced at Flatirons; you haven't.
cmarsh90 said:
And I would disagree with you there, too. There is no way I would drive 2000 miles
round trip just to have my car serviced - especially when there is someone close by who is highly recommended by those who have had their car serviced there. This is no slight to Mark Basch or to the two dealers in Chicago and one in Milwaukee who are about the same distance from Denver; all provide excellent service too (and I would be happy to provide further information about them for anyone who wants to drive east instead of southwest). But driving 2000 miles for service just to honor someone else's grudge just isn't in my list of priorities.I'm sure every NSX owner will consider everything each of us has said and make his own decision based on what makes the most sense to him (or her).
