Replacing my Honda "H"

April 16, 2005 4:35 PM

I just bought a 1999 Honda Civic Ex coupe. The front grill "H" emblem was missing. The salesperson ordered one and told me that it was easy to replace as it affixed with double sticky tape, or something like that. The H arrived, but . . .

The salesperson was wrong. It appears that the the entire bumper and part of the air conditioner must be removed to install the emblem. I don't feel confident to do it myself and I'm not going to pay someone else to do it. I called the salesperson. He told me to "superglue it." Does this sound plausible? Both the emblem and grill are shiny plastic. What brand of glue would sustain rain, snow, heat, humidity and freezing cold?

posted by Juicylicious to travel & transportation (11 comments total)

Beacon Multi-Grip is meant for marine use where it stands up to heavy weather.
posted by nicwolff at 4:46 PM on April 16, 2005

Then glue it onda onda.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 4:50 PM on April 16, 2005

Superintendent Chalmers: "Holy jumping Caesar's catfish! My H has been stolen! Awww, thats how people know its a Honda. Why would you drive a Honda if you cant show it off?"
posted by zsazsa at 5:00 PM on April 16, 2005

My H fell off the BACK of my Honda Accord... I'm thinking about finding a BMW emblem (or some such) and put it there to mess with people's minds. Funny that I've never seen that done yet.
posted by rolypolyman at 5:17 PM on April 16, 2005

although yes, you have to take off the bumper, it doesn't look too hard. Will probably consume a precious weekend afternoon but it's not mechanic-grade stuff.

If you must glue I would not use superglue. Perhaps some kind of epoxy. Epoxy is tough stuff. "Construction Ahesive" might work also.
posted by RustyBrooks at 6:20 PM on April 16, 2005

Forget about super-glue. What happens when you've super-glued it, but do need to fix the air-conditioning? What happens to the resale value? Is this sort of "fix" even legal under your state's car inspection regulations?

Go into the dealership, button-hole the floor supervisor, get the floor supervisor's name, and tell him that the affixing of the emblem was a condition of sale, and that you expect the dealership to live up to its salesperson's words.

It shouldn't be your loss if the salesperson talked out of his ass in order to close the deal.

If the supervisor agrees, fine.

If not, you explain that you've already posted about this on a nationally-known website but have so far been gracious enough not to post the name or location of the dealership, as you didn't want to see them get the sort of negative publicity that inevitably generates a human-interest story on the local TV stations' news shows: "Local dealership made famous on national web site for advising customers to use super-glue. (Name of floor supervisor) had this to say when we interviewed him...."

(And if it comes to that, you can count on a lot of support from the MetaFilter community.)
posted by orthogonality at 6:33 PM on April 16, 2005

There is a special kind of double-sided emblem tape that enthusiasts and aftermarket vendors can use for this sort of thing. Epoxy stands a good chance of causing some damage. Ask at your local Pep Boys &c.
posted by dhartung at 9:21 PM on April 16, 2005

I've glued on an emblem with regular epoxy. Two years later, it's just fine. This was on the rear, nothing beneath it but paint, metal, and the traces of the previous emblem. If it ever has to be cracked off, it'll be because the area is being repainted anyway, so no big deal.
posted by gimonca at 10:09 PM on April 16, 2005

Oh, and that's two years of Upper Midwest hot, subzero cold, salty slush, and many, many car washes.
posted by gimonca at 10:11 PM on April 16, 2005

Juicylicious -- did you buy it from a Honda dealership? Was it part of the Honda Certified Used program? If so, please email me. My email is in my profile.
posted by SpecialK at 12:37 AM on April 17, 2005

Man, if ever there were a problem just tailor-made for The Electric Company's Letterman... Damn that Spell Binder!
posted by blueberry at 6:58 AM on April 17, 2005