$1200 for an 80,000km service!!!

**Alpine** · 14-09-2006 09:18 PM

Got my Civic done today for its 80,000km service at a Honda dealership. I was quoted $690 for the logbook 80,000km service but fell off my chair when I went to pick up the car and the bill came to a touch over $1200 due to a "RH rack boot air tube broken off" and "front brake pads low in material", which were both replaced and a wheel alignment and machining of rotors required.

In my opinion, this was much much too expensive.... :shock:

Because my car is well out of warranty (1999 model), I am considering using a trusted local mechanic to possibly look after my servicing needs from now on as I have heard that independent mechanics are generally cheaper. Please tell me if this is not the case!

I drive past Mark McCarthy Automotive on the corner of the Kenmore Village roundabout in Brisbane every day and I notice they service all makes of vehicles, but seem to specialise in European makes, but would assume Japanese cars would be doable. Has anyone tried this bloke before and would you recommend his service?

Alternatively, can you recommend a trusted local mechanic that I would be happy with and won't charge an arm and a leg like Honda is doing?

Thanks.

**m3ntAL_l2** · 14-09-2006 09:19 PM

$1200........ WOW, i think i better off sell mine car when it reches 80,000km
mine full service at 60,000kms was $350

**destrukshn** · 14-09-2006 09:23 PM

dude, where are you located?!
lol

**jamchen** · 14-09-2006 09:23 PM

um... dats weird... because the dealer has the responsibility to inform owner if any extra works have to be carried out... and they have to get permission from owners if such extra works can be carried out...
in ur case, u got quoted for that amount of money,,, ur dealer should ring you before they do the extra works... god... that;'s the first time i hear such thing happen... at least my dealer is honest and calls me when any additional things have to be done...

**Alpine** · 14-09-2006 09:26 PM

Originally Posted by destrukshn

dude, where are you located?!
lol

Originally Posted by Alpine

I drive past Mark McCarthy Automotive on the corner of the Kenmore Village roundabout in Brisbane every day

You obviously missed it.

**destrukshn** · 14-09-2006 09:26 PM

lol, my bad, i just saw the $1200 and i freaked
lol.

**bevis90** · 14-09-2006 09:33 PM

damn thats a rip!

**sports06** · 14-09-2006 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by jamchen

um... dats weird... because the dealer has the responsibility to inform owner if any extra works have to be carried out... and they have to get permission from owners if such extra works can be carried out...
in ur case, u got quoted for that amount of money,,, ur dealer should ring you before they do the extra works... god... that;'s the first time i hear such thing happen... at least my dealer is honest and calls me when any additional things have to be done...

your exactly right! its illegal for them to do work without informing you first!
have you paid in full? if it was me i would have just paid what they quoted, as they didnt have yuor permission, what if yuo couldnt afford it?

**|N|** · 14-09-2006 09:55 PM

i think u got owned big time... i would only pay wat i got quoted for... they shoudl ve inform u b4 performing extra work.

**aaronng** · 14-09-2006 10:01 PM

I agree that you got owned. I wouldn't pay for it since they did not inform you about it. If they insist you pay, tell them to take it off and only leave what you agreed to pay for.

**Vinnie** · 14-09-2006 10:03 PM

wat the other guys hav said is true, its unethical and illegal to do wat they did without first informing u... not to try and discredit any1 and not that ive heard nething but did u go to westpoint honda at indro?

**panda[cRx]** · 14-09-2006 10:09 PM

i wouldnt say he got 'owned' as the work wouldnt have been done unless it was necessary. they're hardly gonna let you pickup your car if it has metal to metal on pads for example coz then it will come back on them for not changing them (as brakes are prolly the most important repair safety-wise).... but yes he should have been called and quoted before the work was carried out

did they say how low your pads were? they would have had to be down to metal if you needed a disc machine.

an 80k service would normally be around 580-680 at a dealer.

as for goin to some small cheap ass place i'd think twice as it doesnt always work out cheaper in the long run. for example i work at a dealer in service and we have 3 cars in our workshop that are there due to major f*ckup from smaller 'honda specialist' workshops (-_-)

everyone is quick to bag out honda servicing but it's at a much higher caliber than the majority of other workshops/dealers.

edit: another note, if your changed your pads when you first heard your wear indicators you prolly wouldnt be up for a disc machine...