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Car Forum / Honda Cars / February 2006Honda dealer cheaper, *much* cheaper than independent mechanic
My Civic 2001 needs new front struts. Only passenger's side, but they recommend to replace both sides to make sure car stays straight. So I go to an independent mechanic, well praised by my coworkers. I talk to him, really nice guy, he takes a look at the car, says it's safe to drive for now, if I don't mind the noise. He gives me an estimate: Parts: 2 x 233.86 labor: 178.00 Alignment: 89.95 Tax: 44.14 TOTAL=779.81 Then I get home and check a few web sites, Majestic Honda lists the struts assembly for 233.82 but sells it for a discounted price of 175.88. All right, there is some savings. If I were to order the struts online and then only pay for labor and alignment I could save 100 bucks. Then I call a Honda dealer, and they quote 478.82 with OEM parts, labor and tax, and alignment (if needed) 79.95 Bottom line: honda dealer is 558 (with alignment) or 478.82 without alignment, a saving of 200 or 300 over the independent mechanic. HOW CAN THAT BE??? Usually the dealer rips you off, in this case it seems the independent mechanic rips you off. I check another independent mechanic, and they offered to replace only the strut (not the entire assembly, i.e. the shock absorber WITHOT the spring for 250 or so, only in one side. I think I'll go to the dealer, what do yo think? > My Civic 2001 needs new front struts. Only passenger's side, but they > recommend to replace both sides to make sure car stays straight. So I [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > HOW CAN THAT BE??? Usually the dealer rips you off, in this case it > seems the independent mechanic rips you off. I think dealer service and parts are generally becoming more competitive. I priced a new Interstate battery at Firestone and my local dealer not long ago. Dealer was over $10 cheaper for the same battery. OTOH, I priced new ignition wires at Majestic and my local dealer: The dealer wanted about 50% more. > I check another independent mechanic, and they offered to replace only > the strut (not the entire assembly, i.e. the shock absorber WITHOT the > spring for 250 or so, only in one side. > > I think I'll go to the dealer, what do yo think? Sure, try the dealer for this one. If it does not go perfectly, chalk this up to giving you more experience. Or it might go great. :-) > I think dealer service and parts are generally becoming more competitive. I > priced a new Interstate battery at Firestone and my local dealer not long > ago. Dealer was over $10 cheaper for the same battery. costco. $35ish, made by johnson controls. >I check another independent mechanic, and they offered to replace only >the strut (not the entire assembly, i.e. the shock absorber WITHOT the >spring for 250 or so, only in one side. None of the places are planning to replace the springs. It seems the second place is about the same as the dealer. You could might money on aftermarket shocks. I would do both at once at the dealer since it doesn't cost any more. > None of the places are planning to replace the springs. It seems the > second place is about the same as the dealer. You could might money > on aftermarket shocks. I would do both at once at the dealer since it > doesn't cost any more. This Civic has independent struts up front, not the usual double wishbone setup with shocks and springs. >> None of the places are planning to replace the springs. It seems the >> second place is about the same as the dealer. You could might money [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > This Civic has independent struts up front, not the usual double wishbone > setup with shocks and springs. Did you tell them to replace the struts? Why aren't you just getting the shocks replaced? For a shock replacement, the part's they need to replace cost $84 ($104 MSRP) each from majestic. You might want to replace the rubber bumpers too at a couple bucks each. I suppose it might be more expensive in labor to replace the shocks than it is to replace the whole cartridge. That's why Honda's labor is only an hour. It's a straight swap. You're going to need the alignment too. You may want to do a goggle search on the design defect in the struts which causes the 2001's to fail prematurely. Armed with this info, I'd inform your Honda shop that this problem is worthy of a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin - Recall). They should replace it for you for free. Everyone with a 2001 Civic has or will have the same problem as you. As for $178 labour, it's ridiculous. When I had both front struts replaced at a Honda dealership, I drove in at 8am and was on my way home by 8:30am. That mechanic must bill out at $356/hr, or he has no clue what he's doing. Good Luck > My Civic 2001 needs new front struts. Only passenger's side, but they > recommend to replace both sides to make sure car stays straight. So I [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > I think I'll go to the dealer, what do yo think? > home by 8:30am. That mechanic must bill out at $356/hr, or he has no > clue what he's doing. I don't know what auto shops/mechanics are doing these days, but decades ago when I was a motorcycle mechanic for a Yamaha dealership, all work was done at flat rate. Flat rate was the amount of time, determined by Yamaha, it should take an experienced mechanic with all the right tools to do a certain job. The shop could not charge more if the mechanic was a klutz and took longer, but would charge the full flat rate if the mechanic could do the job quicker. Since warranty work is labor lost, beating the flat rate was the only way shops could turn a profit. I don't think places do flat rate anymore. nb not quite a recall, but wasn't there a service bulletin or something re 2001 struts? definitely a known defect > My Civic 2001 needs new front struts. Only passenger's side, but they > recommend to replace both sides to make sure car stays straight. So I [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > I think I'll go to the dealer, what do yo think? Wow, I wasn't aware of this. If it turn out to be true, and I can get the struts replaced, even if I pay labor, I will invite you all to a party! |
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