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Car Forum / Honda Cars / July 200515,000 Checkup?
I'm leasing a 2004 Honda Civic. It has just over 17,000 miles on it. I've been doing the regular maintenance, oil changes, etc. The dealer wants to do the suggested 15,000 mile checkup. It will cost me around $240. Is it worth it? I don't recall what it entails. GK > I'm leasing a 2004 Honda Civic. It has just over 17,000 miles on it. > I've been doing the regular maintenance, oil changes, etc. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Is it worth it? I don't recall what it entails. You "don't recall what it entails"? Then I don't recall if it's worth it or not. Did you Read The Fine Manual?  SignatureTeGGeR® The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ Unless you want to get taken to the cleaners, I suggest that you start paying attention to what the checkups entail. Most times these so called checkups end up costing more than the individual jobs. Call your dealer up and find out what exactly they will perform for the 15k checkup. Post back and we will tell you if it is worth it and how much each individual job will cost. Nick >I'm leasing a 2004 Honda Civic. It has just over 17,000 miles on it. >I've been doing the regular maintenance, oil changes, etc. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >GK Thank you for your courteous reply. I do pay attention. I thought that these checkups were more standard. Perhaps they vary from dealer to dealer. I don't know all Honda everywhere. Here's what they will do at Planet Honda in Matteson, IL, for $240: * change oil and filter * inspect belts and hoses * clean, inspect, and adjust rear brakes * inspect parking brake * rotate tires, inspect tires, set proper pressure * check all fluid levels * check functions of all lights * wiper/washer fluid levels * inspect battery (run test), clean terminals * inspect valves * replace air filter * change wiper inserts Thank you. GK > Unless you want to get taken to the cleaners, I suggest that you start > paying attention to what the checkups entail. Most times these so [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >> >>GK > Thank you for your courteous reply. I do pay attention. I thought > that these checkups were more standard. Perhaps they vary from [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > * replace air filter > * change wiper inserts About 1 to 1.5 hours of labor. Many other places do the same thing for 30%-40% less. My local Midas shop does the same thing for $159 regular, and I have a $20 coupon for it. It is a lot of dopugh for some one to walk around your car with a checklist. > Thank you. > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >>> >>> GK >> Thank you for your courteous reply. I do pay attention. I thought >> that these checkups were more standard. Perhaps they vary from >> dealer to dealer. I don't know all Honda everywhere. >> Here's what they will do at Planet Honda in Matteson, IL, for $240: >> * change oil and filter $25 >> * inspect belts and hoses They're going to look at them and watch them go around. Modern belts don't go bad at 15k miles, never-ever. >> * clean, inspect, and adjust rear brakes Assuming drum brakes here, put it in reverse and drive in reverse for about 50 feet. Press the brake pedal 3~4 times over that distance. Pull the rear wheels and blow out the dust w/an air hose. Doubtful they'll even bother to pull the drums. They'll have the wheels off already for the rotation, so this "extra" step will maybe add 30 seconds. >> * inspect parking brake They're going to set the brake and put the car in gear, forward & reverse to see if the brake holds. Trust me, it will. >> * rotate tires, inspect tires, set proper pressure $20 (lifetime free rotation **AND** balance at NTB and Discount Tire w/purchase of 2 or more tires) - This service by the way is probably one of the best things you can do to prolong the life of your tires. Do it every 5k miles and your tires will last a very long time. >> * check all fluid levels Included in the $25 oil change, above. Takes all of 2 minutes. >> * check functions of all lights Try them all and watch them through mirrors. Takes 1 minute. >> * wiper/washer fluid levels Included in the $25 oil change, above >> * inspect battery (run test), clean terminals Battery and charging system load tests are free at Autozone. Terminals won't need cleaning at 15k miles so this is BS. Takes 5~10 minutes. If they -really- did this it would require disconnecting the battery meaning all your radio presets would be lost. If your radio presets are where they were, then all they did was smear some red goo on the battery cable connectors. >> * inspect valves Huh? How do they plan to do this without pulling off the intake manifold, exhaust manifold(s) and doing a detailed disassembly of the cylinder heads? This one I have to see. Maybe they meant they'll do a compression check, but I even doubt that much effort will be expended at 15k miles. >> * replace air filter Adds $10~15 to your $25 oil change, above. >> * change wiper inserts $20 at Autozone. Tip the kid $5 and he'll probably put them on for you. Send your wife in wearing some tight jeans and high heels, the kid will put 'em on for free. ;) >About 1 to 1.5 hours of labor. Many other places do the same thing for >30%-40% less. My local Midas shop does the same thing for $159 regular, and >I have a $20 coupon for it. >It is a lot of dopugh for some one to walk around your car with a checklist. Indeed. I called the local Midas. They told me they do the whole package for $29.95. They're having a special right now. The only thing I need to watch for is if they do this, they might find something "urgent" that needs $300+ immediate work. I'm sure that's how they make the "special" pay for itself. But, at 15K it is doubtful they'll really find anything. GK >>>Thank you for your courteous reply. I do pay attention. I thought >>>that these checkups were more standard. Perhaps they vary from [quoted text clipped - 76 lines] > > Indeed. >I called the local Midas. They told me they do the whole package for >$29.95. They're having a special right now. >The only thing I need to watch for is if they do this, they might find >something "urgent" that needs $300+ immediate work. I'm sure that's how >they make the "special" pay for itself. But, at 15K it is doubtful >they'll really find anything. That's a common 'gig' they all play. You take "ole Nellybelle" in to have a belt tightened and you get the dreaded call 2 hrs later that your muffler bearings are in urgent need of replacement and it'll be another $200 or more. Find an auto repair shop that *won't* do that to you and you have found yourself a priceless treasure. I'm happy to say I have found just such a shop. Westheimer Auto Center 6233 Westheimer Rd in Houston, TX. (Not Sal's) If you note, most of the items are "inspect" or "check" which means glance at it and mark it as ok. For an Oil change, Tire rotation, wiper blades, and air filter, I would say $240 is way out of line. Just make sure you do the actual required maintanence. When you go to sell your car, or you crash your car, having paid extra money for someone to visually inspect your car ever once and a while really won't do you any good. > Thank you for your courteous reply. I do pay attention. I thought that > these checkups were more standard. Perhaps they vary from dealer to [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] >>> >>>GK >Thank you for your courteous reply. I do pay attention. I thought that >these checkups were more standard. Perhaps they vary from dealer to [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >* replace air filter >* change wiper inserts I'm not a mechanic or anything but that looks like about $30 in parts and an hour's worth of somebody's time. Funny you should say that. That's what Midas said they would charge me for doing that work. GK >>Thank you for your courteous reply. I do pay attention. I thought that >>these checkups were more standard. Perhaps they vary from dealer to [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > I'm not a mechanic or anything but that looks like about $30 in > parts and an hour's worth of somebody's time. Most of what they're going to do you can do yourself. However, since it's leased you may be under some fine print in the contract clause to have a dealer do it. If not, then do it yourself else take to an independent garage (not Sears, Firestone, Goodyear, Walmart, etc) and let them do it for probably ½ what the dealer wants. $240 really isn't too awfully bad. My wife has a Lexus and you feel the pain when they stab you for $1100 worth of "recommended service" at 90k miles, most of which by that time are more than just recommended, they're pretty much mandatory if you plan on keeping the car (and we do). Interesting tho on the Lexus 90k service I found out I can get it all done at a Toyota dealer for about 60¢ on the dollar ($675 vs $1100). I'd check the independents too but she'd shoot me. So far no one outside of the Lexus store has ever touched "her" baby ;-) >I'm leasing a 2004 Honda Civic. It has just over 17,000 miles on it. >I've been doing the regular maintenance, oil changes, etc. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >GK Who cares if this is a lease car and you do not intend to buy it after lease. Do not waste your $240. You can use it as the down payment for the next lease. > I'm leasing a 2004 Honda Civic. It has just over 17,000 miles on it. > I've been doing the regular maintenance, oil changes, etc. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > GK > Who cares if this is a lease car and you do not intend to buy it after > lease. Do not waste your $240. You can use it as the down payment for the > next lease. Aww man, then we gotta hear about some poor sucker that bought a crappily maintained Honda and all the problems that comes with it! TOO MUCH MONEY! $240 is way to high for the services he will do. Perhaps$100 TO $125 is more realistic, providing he does all that's on that list. If he won't budge from his ridiculous price, find another dealer or an independent Honda specialist. It's good preventive maintenance to do all these inspections to prevent problems or premature failure in the future. Check out the Honda recommendations by clicking the link below. Make sure the service done includes the steps indicated for your mileage. He should probably find nothing that would need to be done except maybe tightening a belt or two. There should be no need for a valve adjustment at this mileage. You'll notice there is no maintenance suggested at 15000 miles. If I were you, I'd rotate tires at the next oil change and at 20000 miles do that maintenance. http://www.freewebs.com/civicmaintain/civic.pdf Good luck, Howard > I'm leasing a 2004 Honda Civic. It has just over 17,000 miles on it. > I've been doing the regular maintenance, oil changes, etc. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > GK > I'm leasing a 2004 Honda Civic. It has just over 17,000 miles on it. > I've been doing the regular maintenance, oil changes, etc. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > GK My dealer charges $55 (less my customary 10% discount) for such services... known as a "Minor Service." If the air filter needs replacement, then that'd be somewhat extra for the filter. The other Howard > TOO MUCH MONEY! $240 is way to high for the services he will do. Perhaps$100 > TO $125 is more realistic, providing he does all that's on that list. If he [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Good luck, > Howard This PDF is excellent. Thank you for the resource. GK Does this match the owners manual? 10,000 miles seems a bit long between oil changes. > TOO MUCH MONEY! $240 is way to high for the services he will do. Perhaps$100 > TO $125 is more realistic, providing he does all that's on that list. If he [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > > > GK The owners manual actually calls for oil changes every 5,000 miles. BTW, I had the work done at Midas for $29.95. GK > Does this match the owners manual? 10,000 miles seems a bit long between > oil changes. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > independent > The owners manual actually calls for oil changes every 5,000 miles. no - the owners manual says 10k. extreme service is 5k, but unless the op lives in alaska or arizona i doubt they qualify. modern injection makes engines much more clean burning. this loads the oil with combustion product much less than "the old days". and oils are much improved. 10k for the average family honda is fine. > BTW, I had the work done at Midas for $29.95. > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >> >> independent > Does this match the owners manual? 10,000 miles seems a bit long > between oil changes. Owners manual states 7500 mi. for my Accord EX 6 cyl. I usually go about 4K-5K, that's about 6 months for me..... >> TOO MUCH MONEY! $240 is way to high for the services he will do. >> Perhaps$100 TO $125 is more realistic, providing he does all that's [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] >>> >>> GK |
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