EP3 Type R - split engine mounts

[thenortherner]

Hi,

I bought an '04 Ep3 Type R 2 months ago privately. At the time it'd only done 35k. I know essentially sod all about car mechanics so paid the Honda main dealer - where the car had been serviced all of its life - to carry out an inspection.

Two months on I can feel knocking / movement through the steering wheel. I took the car into Bristol Honda this morning. The technician test drove the car with me but said he could feel nothing wrong with it. He said he'd stick it on the ramp and check anyhow.

Twenty minutes later I'm invited into the workshop and he shows me underneath the car. He found:
1. Front engine mount split
2. Bolt completely missing from front panel support

Fair play to the guy, he was really decent and it's rare to be invited into a workshop and be shown a fault first hand in my experience.

So, £50 to find the faults and £162 to rectify.

Question is, should either of these faults been picked up during the inspection? It's hardly an uncommon fault on this particular car, surely it's something they should check for? Bristol Honda tell me it certainly would have been worn at the time of the inspection.

And is £162 about right to carry out the work?

Cheers,

[Bigfatnath]

Yes, they should of seen this.

Its not an uncommon fault though.A fair few people have reported this fault on the CTRO website.


200 odd quid to sort is fair enough.

Happy motoring.

[thenortherner]

Bigfatnath said:

Yes, they should of seen this.

Its not an uncommon fault though.A fair few people have reported this fault on the CTRO website.


200 odd quid to sort is fair enough.

Happy motoring.

Yep, from what I'd read before buying the car I knew it was a common fault. Which is why it's so annoying that they failed to spot it.

But fair play to Bristol Honda. Andy Hodgson, the technician, was as decent as they come.

Maybe it's just me trying to talk myself into buying a DC-5 Integra.

[thenortherner]

Forgot to add, I won't be able to get this done til late next week - I'm guessing I'm fine to carry on driving it as normal...?

[Old Gregg]

thenortherner said:

Maybe it's just me trying to talk myself into buying a DC-5 Integra.

I think you should listen to yourself

[thenortherner]

Old Gregg said:

thenortherner said:

Maybe it's just me trying to talk myself into buying a DC-5 Integra.

I think you should listen to yourself

I'm still thinking about it. I can imagine it's a bit of a minefield what with them all being imports.

[SiH]

thenortherner said:

Bigfatnath said:

Yes, they should of seen this.

Its not an uncommon fault though.A fair few people have reported this fault on the CTRO website.


200 odd quid to sort is fair enough.

Happy motoring.

Yep, from what I'd read before buying the car I knew it was a common fault. Which is why it's so annoying that they failed to spot it.

But fair play to Bristol Honda. Andy Hodgson, the technician, was as decent as they come.

Maybe it's just me trying to talk myself into buying a DC-5 Integra.

Perhaps the problems weren't there when it was inspected and have only just appeared? Certainly a possibility.

[Wadeski]

thenortherner said:

Old Gregg said:

thenortherner said:

Maybe it's just me trying to talk myself into buying a DC-5 Integra.

I think you should listen to yourself

I'm still thinking about it. I can imagine it's a bit of a minefield what with them all being imports.

There's nowt wrong with imports. The Japanese actually look after their cars. I would be more worried checking for signs of a previous chav UK owner.

[Old Gregg]

thenortherner said:

I'm still thinking about it. I can imagine it's a bit of a minefield what with them all being imports.

No more than any other car. There are plenty of nice ones on the market at the moment, check the owners forum if you haven't already

[thenortherner]

SiH said:

thenortherner said:

Bigfatnath said:

Yes, they should of seen this.

Its not an uncommon fault though.A fair few people have reported this fault on the CTRO website.


200 odd quid to sort is fair enough.

Happy motoring.

Yep, from what I'd read before buying the car I knew it was a common fault. Which is why it's so annoying that they failed to spot it.

But fair play to Bristol Honda. Andy Hodgson, the technician, was as decent as they come.

Maybe it's just me trying to talk myself into buying a DC-5 Integra.

Perhaps the problems weren't there when it was inspected and have only just appeared? Certainly a possibility.

Possibly, but the technician said it was pretty damn unlikely it would go from problem free, to deterioration, to completing splitting in 2 months.

[thenortherner]

Well, a few insurance quotes have put a halt on a DC-5.

Currently paying £1200, DC-5 is £1800.

No thanks.

[Old Gregg]

thenortherner said:

Well, a few insurance quotes have put a halt on a DC-5.

Currently paying £1200, DC-5 is £1800.

No thanks.

Do you mind me asking who you're getting quotes with?

Try Sky (08701 121759) and A-Plan (01635 874646 - tell them you want a quote on a Japanese import and they'll poke you in the right direction), they tend to undercut some of the big names by a substantial amount for some owners.

[thenortherner]

Old Gregg said:

thenortherner said:

Well, a few insurance quotes have put a halt on a DC-5.

Currently paying £1200, DC-5 is £1800.

No thanks.

Do you mind me asking who you're getting quotes with?

Try Sky (08701 121759) and A-Plan (01635 874646 - tell them you want a quote on a Japanese import and they'll poke you in the right direction), they tend to undercut some of the big names by a substantial amount for some owners.

Admiral. They're one of the few companies that'll touch me. 26, 0 NCB, car parked on the street in a decent enough post code. 1 (at fault) accident only damaging my car around 15 months ago.

Cheers for the advice though. May check them out.

[Old Gregg]

thenortherner said:

Cheers for the advice though. May check them out.

No problem.