New car delivery expectations

[Jazz2021]

We picked up our new Honda Jazz at the beginning of the month and have done 600 miles. I used the windscreen washer for the first time yesterday and nothing happened. I filled it up and it worked fine. So it seems it was empty when we picked the new car up. I checked the PDI form and the box next to windscreen washer was ticked, so presumably an engineer thought it was full. There is no evidence of leaking liquid on the drive before or after filling it up.

So a couple of questions.

• Is it normal for dealers not to fill the windscreen washer tank before delivery?
  Should I be worried about any other reservoirs that might be empty?

There is another reservoir immediately behind the blue-topped windscreen washer reservoir. It's white, and looks like a two litre plastic milk container. It seems empty apart from some brown liquid near the bottom (please see pictures below). Does anyone know what this container is for, and whether it should be full? And, if it is not full, why is it so tall - and empty above the brown liquid?

Oh, and by the way, when we picked the car up there was no fuel in it. We asked the dealer about it and they apologised saying "oh, I forgot".

So I am a bit concerned.

[nowster]

It's the Engine Coolant Reserve Tank and it's meant to be between one quarter and one half full when the engine is cold.

[Jazz2021]

It's the Engine Coolant Reserve Tank and it's meant to be between one quarter and one half full when the engine is cold.

Thanks for that. I haven't used the car for 24 hours, and the brown liquid is at the level of three parallel lines near the bottom of the white container. Is that about right, then?

[nowster]

Page 551 in the "landscape" version of the owner's manual.

[Kremmen]

My 2009 Civic was handed over in a less than expected state.

I would check your tyre pressures.

My 2009 Civic :

Rear numberplate seriously wonky
Red battery positive terminal cover hanging loose
Floor mats not anchored
Front windows didn't work
Tyre pressures ranged from 24psi to 36psi, should have been 30psi all round.

I fixed all of them and found another dealer for servicing.

[sportse]

Make sure you let the dealer and Honda know about the poor pdi when you receive the feedback form from them both.

Tyre pressures are always a good sign of how well the pdi was done - I bought a Yaris once from a main dealer and one of the tyres was 24lbs when it should have been 32 like the rest!

I made sure to email the dealer about filling my car with fuel beforehand, but you shouldn't have to when buying a new car.

Check the paintwork closely if you have had lifeshine - my car had several streaks that just looked like water marks on collection, but were actually dried lifeshine and couldn't be removed by me, so I had to take the car back twice to have it done.

Small details can make a huge difference to the overall experience - the pdi is supposed to cover them, but obviously some dealers aren't actually doing them, just ticking boxes thinking it's a new car so will be fine.

[Jazzik]

What's going on with the Honda dealers in the UK? Are they too busy getting all those new cars ready for delivery and "forgetting" something here and there?
A month ago we received our Jazz EX and yes, the windscreen washer tank was full, engine coolant was at proper level,
the Yokohama BluEarth tires were replaced by the requested Vredestein Quatracs. Tire pressure ok .

As a surprise, there was a boot tray and a nicely wrapped bottle of (French...) Merlot wine on the passenger seat...
A week after delivery we were called by our dealer, asking if there were any problems or questions...

Oh and by the way: this was a car bought with about £1865,- discount...

[123Drive!]

Take it back and get them to check everything for you again. Was going to say get them to give you a free tank of petrol but at this rate, no chance! My friend recently picked up his Crosstar at Crown Honda Hendon and the whole process was 5*

[Neil Ives]

I bought my car from Listers in Solihull. I was satisfied with the presentation of the car.

I got a £500 discount, mats and a boot tray. I paid extra for the application of interior and exterior protective treatment.

A nice surprise was the trade-in allowance for our 2019 BMW;  because dealerships are hungry for stock I got back almost what we'd paid for it, a year earlier.

[Kremmen]

Good point,  lets praise the good dealers.

Thumbs up for Crown Honda Bushey from me.

[sportse]

Good dealers I've used in the past were Guildford and Gatwick - they serviced both my Accord and Civic.

It's likely that they will be getting my servicing and future sales too, as they have given excellent service in the past.

When I was considering other models they were able to provide loan cars of the type I was looking at - Civic, CRV, CRX.

Their normal service loan Jazz were where I first became interested in the model too.

[Neil Ives]

*

[John Ratsey]

I've had no problems with Fish Honda in Swindon (they also do this https://hondadirectparts.co.uk/ as a sideline). They wanted about a week between receiving my Crosstar and giving me the keys so there was plenty of time to make sure that everything was OK. A full tank of fuel was part of the deal. If it isn't included then the dealer has no obligation to put much in the tank. Any sub-standard PDI should be complained about. It might be a lax individual who needs reprimanding.

I had an issue about 18 months ago when my HR-V was serviced and afterwards noticed that the oil was higher up the dipstick than it should be. I contacted the head of the service department and then took the car round. He checked the oil level for himself not once but twice and agreed it was too high so it was taken to be fixed. His explanation afterwards was that the service technician had just moved from other dealer and thought that the kink in the dipstick was the oil level indicator. My reward for the hassle was that they had just taken delivery of their first Mk 4 Jazz and Crosstar so the service manager got the keys and we inspected the vehicles.

[Hugh R]

the Yokohama BluEarth tires were replaced by the requested Vredestein Quatracs.

Did you pay extra for them - and how much?  Thanks.

[embee]

.....There is another reservoir immediately behind the blue-topped windscreen washer reservoir. It's white, and looks like a two litre plastic milk container. It seems empty apart from some brown liquid near the bottom (please see pictures below). Does anyone know what this container is for, and whether it should be full? And, if it is not full, why is it so tall - and empty above the brown liquid?
.......
So I am a bit concerned.

Brown liquid. Brown?
It shouldn't be brown, should be pink or red or purple, or at a stretch possibly blue/green, but not brown surely. Anyone else had brown engine coolant?