Acura of Oakland Experiences?

[nsx-sf]

Hello Primers,

I've been shopping around for some basic service for my '94 - oil changes and the like (hey... I'm an apartment dweller and not all that confident wrenching on my own car). I was thinking of taking it to an actual Acura dealer, and while I'm at it, also having them check out my clutch master cylinder.

I dialed around the bay area and the only dealer that actually had a working phone number that matches their website, and a human being answer my call, was Oakland Acura. I wasn't sure what to expect given that the NSX has been out of production so long - I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did they know what an NSX was, but they have an NSX tech. They also seem to have decent reviews on Yelp, although none explicitly mentioning the NSX.

I was curious if anyone here has had experiences (good/bad) with them? I figure the price is going to be higher than an independent shop, and they may even find some questionable service items to recommend, which is tolerable as long as they don't screw it up or go around hooning in it while I'm eating donuts in the lobby.

 

[SFNSXguy]

I think you'll find that while the dealer may be OK (don't know about Okland Acura) most guys here will suggest you use a super-knowledgeable independent shop (like several recommended here on Prime).
Where are you actually located?

P.S. I use Hill Top in Daly City.

 

[nsx-sf]

I'm located in SF itself ... normally I would go to Jim at Cologne, who is just an incredible tech and all round great guy - but it seems he's ill and out for an extended period of time. Hilltop is closer and they actually did my last oil change as well as my original PPI. I pinged them to see if Don is available (he tends to have a back log), and I've also been looking into the shop that Ben recommended in San Jose ... he's not an NSX tech but seems highly regarded, and this work isn't that specialized.

 

[bngl3rt]

If you need a free loaner (I've gotten to drive shiny new ILXs and TLs) and really incredible turnaround times you should check in with Justin Winn at Acura of Fremont. He's super responsive on email, [email protected]

 

[solidol]

I'm biased. Dealer - never. Nothing personal.. it's the culture that I don't like.

 

[bngl3rt]

Usually I'm with you but the NSX techs at Acura Fremont have Jim R.'s personal blessing from having worked with him at Acura Authorized Service in Sunnyvale (RIP) and Justin is an owner who installed his own turbo kit so I think he knows what he's doing....

 

[nsx-sf]

I ended up going with TLS in San Jose. Definitely worth the drive, Dan has a great shop and great customer service, let me in the shop and explained everything he was doing. Can't really get that at any dealer.

 

[bngl3rt]

Glad to hear it.

Jim is still out, I let him know that whatever's up he has best wishes from the whole NSX community and lots of new owners chomping at the bit to get him their cars...

 

[B2FiNiTY]

I ended up going with TLS in San Jose. Definitely worth the drive, Dan has a great shop and great customer service, let me in the shop and explained everything he was doing. Can't really get that at any dealer.

What did you get done?

- - - Updated - - -

Glad to hear it.

Jim is still out, I let him know that whatever's up he has best wishes from the whole NSX community and lots of new owners chomping at the bit to get him their cars...

Wish Jim the best.

From: one of those owners hoping he makes a steady and safe return

 

[nsx-sf]

What did you get done?

Just an oil change, filter, general inspection, and I'll be going back later for pads. A few interesting things I learned - he recommends regular over synthetic oil (b/c synthetic offers no benefit in this engine), recommends overfilling by a half quart (to account for oil burning off), and recommends idling the car for a minute or two in the morning before taking off (to get everything flowing). Judging by the wisdom of the Internet, these things seem to be a subject of debate with firm opinions on either side ... I'll need to see how it works out, but Dan seems like he knows his stuff.

 

[nsxtasy]

he recommends regular over synthetic oil (b/c synthetic offers no benefit in this engine), recommends overfilling by a half quart (to account for oil burning off), and recommends idling the car for a minute or two in the morning before taking off (to get everything flowing).

Wow, I disagree with all three of those recommendations!

 

[solidol]

Wow, I disagree with all three of those recommendations!

So do I except warming up.

 

[nsx-sf]

Hm, do you think any of these will pose a problem for track driving? Or should I just let it be until the next change?

 

[bngl3rt]

I don't see an issue letting the car warm up for 1-2 minutes before putting it in gear and driving off - I'm happy to do that if it will prolong the life of the car and reduce wear, etc.

I have run dead dinosaurs in my car in the past when we were tracking down an oil leak (no reason to dump expensive synthetic all over the garage floor) and had no issues then, but prefer to run synthetic now. I have had issues at the track when I overfilled so I would advise against that.

When you make the decision as an owner to take your car to a very good general mechanic vs. someone with specific & deep NSX experience, YOU take responsibility for interpreting their advice and deciding whether it is relevant to your car and the way you want to use your car. The benefit of being an involved and informed owner is that you can save time and money by using shops that may not specialize in NSX but are closer/cheaper/less backed up/etc, with the caveat that you have to supervise more closely. It's very different from the dealership experience of dropping off the car and not thinking about it until you pick it up.

 

[nsx-sf]

Agreed - and getting advice from Prime is great in helping me learn what's appropriate and needed for my situation, no knock against Dan, who is fantastic. It seems like people lean one way or the other based on personal experiences and preferences, and there's not a lot of data for me to go on.

I think when I go back to get the pads done, I'll ask him to drop the level to recommended or just a smidge above, and run with the regular oil until the next change. I'm not sure if 1/2 quart is going to present a significant risk but I don't want to be paranoid about it. Ar risk of totally derailing my own thread - I'd be interested to know what kind of issues it can cause so I can learn and also state my case :smile:

 

[bngl3rt]

Nothing really bad happened when I overfilled half a quart. I blew a big cloud of blue smoke shifting from 3rd gear redline to 4th on a long straight at the track, and when I pulled in to check the oil level, it was back down to stock. So my motor essentially "spat out" the extra oil - I take that as an indication that it didn't want it in the first place and I shouldn't have overfilled.

I'm not sure I would go to the track running dead dinosaurs (or at least, I would be short shifting if I did) but for street use it was fine for almost a year.

 

[golfnutintib]

+1 for Don Lam at Hilltop. If Jim at Cologne in the South Bay is out for a while, Don is the first and only call you should make.

I think you'll find that while the dealer may be OK (don't know about Okland Acura) most guys here will suggest you use a super-knowledgeable independent shop (like several recommended here on Prime).
Where are you actually located?

P.S. I use Hill Top in Daly City.

- - - Updated - - -

+1 overfill is not smart, synthetic oil absolutely protects the engine better

So do I except warming up.

 

[nsxtasy]

I don't see an issue letting the car warm up for 1-2 minutes before putting it in gear and driving off - I'm happy to do that if it will prolong the life of the car and reduce wear, etc.

It won't. It won't hurt anything, either, but it's not necessary and it wastes gas.

OTOH I recommend warming up the car before doing any hard, high-rev driving. And of course, you won't be able to rev the engine to redline until it's warmed up, anyway.