I wanted to reply to this thread so that people who actually use search would be able to see my review; however, I wasn’t allowed to reply to it since it has been idle for 90 days… http://www.brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=454731

Just want to add my experience to this thread for future readers. I had a 2005 Acura TSX repaired at Kenny Hawkins (when it was about 2y.o which was about 1 yr ago). The review is late but some new details have emerged.

Got into a wreck which wasn't my fault and therefore went to Kenny since I was going to pay either way. I believe I received a very thorough repair. The wreck caused body damage to my front bumper, side panel, and hood. Also, my passenger side airbag deployed. KH tested the vehicle so well before returning it to me that they noticed the spring controlling my glove box had been damaged causing it to open in a rather non-luxurious fashion.

I think I would agree with the comment by zxappeal (third from the bottom), my car is fairly high end and therefore probably had higher profit margins for them (especially with simple repairs like a glove box dampener). The repairs totaled ~$10k.

Ok, this part may get long: to summarize-there was a problem with my vehicle that I believed should be covered by my warranty through Acura. Acura blamed it on my wreck. KH ended up reimbursing me the amount Acura charged to fix the car without any real prompting from me.

Long story: Driving down the interstate my car starts smoking like crazy. I get it towed to the Acura dealership. Luckily, it is just that the clamp holding the hose that carries coolant to the engine had failed. Therefore no coolant to engine=hot engine (luckily I noticed and stopped teh car before more damage occured). Also, coolant was sprayed all over the engine bay causing the excess smoke. The Acura dealership (Leith Acura in Cary), refused to cover the repairs under warranty. They didn't really give a clear reason but made statements such as: 'the clamp doesn't just come undone by itself so it must have been installed improperly after your wreck'. However, in between the teim of my wreck and this new problem I had maintenance done at another Acura dealership (Hendrick (sp?) Acura in Charlotte, NC) during which the hoses were supposedly checked. The guy at the dealership said that at that time the hose was visualyl inspected and also found to be holding pressure properly. This to me meant it was installed properly but later the clamp failed permaturely (manufacturing defect covered under warranty). However, even after going through Acura Client services the warranty claim was still denied with the reasoning that it must have been an improper install.

Therefore, I contacted KH with the hope that they would provide a statement such as "1) Either they never disassembled the clamp holding the hose on or 2) They reinstalled the clamp according to Acura’s specifications using either the original part or a new Acura part."

The next day, Bryan at KH called me asked a couple of questions, the called the dealership, and then thirty minutes later called me back took my address and said a refund for the cost of repairs was on the way.

In other words, with no prompting, KH readily refunded the costs of repairs that I do not believe they were required to cover.

Thanks, sorry for the long post but hopefully hte information will be helpful to others looking for a body / repair shop in the area.

11/13/2007 9:23:50 AM

I see the argument and Im not not trying to sound like an ass but you should have just thrown a clamp on it and been on your way.

11/13/2007 1:03:36 PM

^??

^^thats good to know, thanks for the info.

11/13/2007 1:23:13 PM

lots of words

11/13/2007 1:28:28 PM

I thought this thread was about the guy who sang 'Highway to the Danger Zone'

11/13/2007 1:41:15 PM

Quote :

"^??"

he's talking about the hose clamp that fell off.

from the post it seems like there were repairs made, so something went wrong.

he could have put the clamp back on, but trouble would have came down the road

11/13/2007 1:58:41 PM

Quote :

"I thought this thread was about the guy who sang 'Highway to the Danger Zone'"

Dude...that was motherfuckin' KENNY LOGGINS.

11/13/2007 2:13:16 PM

Quote :

"Got into a wreck which wasn't my fault and therefore went to Kenny since I was going to pay either way"

does not compute.

11/13/2007 2:27:36 PM

I think a crucial n't was missing from that sentence...at least the way I read it...

11/13/2007 3:27:46 PM

yes, the n't is missing from the was.

As far as doign the repairs myself:
1) When my car is smoking, I do not consider myself qualified at that point to diagnose the problem. I am pretty handy at doing regular maintenance on my car; however, I have no faith in my diagnostic abilities.

2) I broke down 30 miles from home on I-40, I have free towing through Acura, and I assumed it would be covered under warranty. Therefore, I let them tow it to the dealership where I assumed it would be covered. When they said it wouldn't be covered at first, I still let them do the repairs because I live in Charlotte now and needed to get to work ASAP and I was still assuming it would be covered once I spoke with them about everything.

3) According to the dealership more than just putting the clamp back on was performed. The list included, reinstalling clamp, refilling coolant, washing sprayed coolant from engine bay, and most importantly ensuring there was no air in the coolant system. All of those items I would have felt comfortable doing, except ensuring there was no air in the coolant system. I still have no idea if this would have been a difficult DIY but at the time, I needed to get thigns done quickly.

BTW, is ensuring the coolant system is free of air a difficult procedure?

Thanks

11/13/2007 6:18:48 PM

It's not difficult...it IS a pain in the ass and does take a little time.

11/13/2007 6:19:44 PM

fuck kenny hawkins.

11/13/2007 7:38:22 PM

Quote :

"he's talking about the hose clamp that fell off. from the post it seems like there were repairs made, so something went wrong. he could have put the clamp back on, but trouble would have came down the road"

Thats exactly what I was thinking. The ? was for how could the previous poster make such a stupid remark.

11/13/2007 11:34:17 PM

^^, I'm not saying they are the best or anything. I actually decided to use them after reading reviews on here. However, the reviews that have been posted since my repairs probably would have led me to choose somewhere else.

Also, to update the review a little: it took KH over a month to repair my car. Wasn't a huge deal to me since the other person's insurance was covering the rental. It should have only been about 2-3 weeks except for the following two things:

1. Even though I called KH and told them they would need to replace a certain part on the car, the guy on the phone disagreed. A week or so later they call to tell me the car wouldn't be ready for another week or so because they would have to order that exact part and it takes a while for it to be delivered from the factory.

2. A couple of days before I was suppossed to pick up the car they noticed the problem with the glove box and once again had to wait for a part from the factory.

11/14/2007 8:24:41 AM

Yes, I am having a really slow week at work and writing long posts. Sorry guys.

11/14/2007 8:25:09 AM