In April of last year, I passed 20,000 miles on my 2004 Honda Civic. I took my car into the dealer for regularly scheduled maintenance. Needless to say, this attracted a bunch of comments focusing on how much I overpaid.
This time around, after passing 50,000 miles recently, I took the car to Pep Boys instead. It really is the cost of labor that is the biggest expense. While I did better than I did at the dealer last year, I still walked away $100 poorer. However, I will supposedly receive $20 back in the form of a rebate… someday.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I am someone that drives about 30,000 miles a year and I attempted the same thing with the dealer the first time around. I got scared off by the price and started asking people at my work what they do. I was recommended to a really good local shop about a mile from my work. Not only does he do good work, he’s honest, had great references from my work, he’s close by and above all, he is cheap. I take both of our cars there now and don’t even look back at the dealer.
I even had a repair after warranty that the dealer wouldn’t do for less than $2,000. My guy did it for $60. The dealer is bound by their warranty sometimes to completely replace items such as a $2,000 entire bumper (in my case) instead of the $60 temperature gauge.
I’ve had my car for 98K miles. I took it to the dealer once for an oil change and to check why the gas mileage had plummeted mysteriously. (I had moved out of state and my driving habits were really different, though I didn’t notice it.)
I didn’t take my car to the dealer again until the check engine light came on intermittently last month. I got the 90K mi service check up and spent quite a lot. Turns out I need a new clutch soon and will probably take it back to the dealer for the replacement.
Jiffy Lube stinks, but it works for me when it comes to regular oil changes. I’ve been learning how to do small things myself, like change the wiper blades and headlight bulbs.
I think the dealer has its place and purpose. My car is getting older and needs the TLC of the dealer for major repairs like the transmission. That doesn’t bother me. What bothers me are the other little small consumable things.
What did you have done? $100 seems cheap…
The work included an oil change, oil filter, tire totation, inspection, brakes check, fluid levels, shocks and struts, wheel alignment, suspension, wheel torque, tire pressure, steering linkage, air filter replacement, and cabin air filter replacement. Basically, nothing major, but the cabin air filter and related labor was more than $40 of that $100 ($80 after rebate).
I doubt they did all of that for $100.
I just replaced my spark plugs, air filer, fuel filter, and oil change all for about$90. if i were to take it to the dealer for all that rookie mechanical maintenance i probably would have spent around $300. so if its in your reach do it your self. i mean its pretty hard to mess up any of those things.