Honda Civic Service Guidance

xyz123

Hi Guys, i need some advise regarding servicing my honda civic.

Its 52 Reg and has done 58k miles. I only do about 5000 miles a year. I bought it a year ago and do not have the full service history as the dealer had lost the service book. The dealer claimed that he gave the car to me after servicing it last year (accompanied by a stamp in a new service book), to be honest I doubt it !!!

Now I am due an MOT and service and have been ringing some garages to find out about my options. I range Chiswick Honda in west London and they advised that as per Honda the 7th year service is only a regular service costing £178, however the 6th year service should have been a full one (costing £350). As I am not sure with regards to what was done last year i was advised that I may want to consider a full service.

Then I rang another Honda garage in Ruislip and I was told that they offer 5 levels of service ranging from Level 1, £99 for a basic oil service to Level 5 £299 for a full service. Level 4 and Level 5 services include price for MOT.

Unfortunately I do not know any good local garages and a bit suspicious of going to a unknown garage. However I did ring one of them and it said they charge £120 labour and will check the car for whats needed to change and then change the required bits. So I am looking at £120 + parts.

Considering all three options the Honda in Ruislip seems to be a good one as I can get a full service for £299 including MOT.

Can someone please guide me on this.

hewhoisnotintheknow

xyz123 wrote: »

Hi Guys, i need some advise regarding servicing my honda civic.

Its 52 Reg and has done 58k miles. I only do about 5000 miles a year. I bought it a year ago and do not have the full service history as the dealer had lost the service book. The dealer claimed that he gave the car to me after servicing it last year (accompanied by a stamp in a new service book), to be honest I doubt it !!!

Now I am due an MOT and service and have been ringing some garages to find out about my options. I range Chiswick Honda in west London and they advised that as per Honda the 7th year service is only a regular service costing £178, however the 6th year service should have been a full one (costing £350). As I am not sure with regards to what was done last year i was advised that I may want to consider a full service.

Then I rang another Honda garage in Ruislip and I was told that they offer 5 levels of service ranging from Level 1, £99 for a basic oil service to Level 5 £299 for a full service. Level 4 and Level 5 services include price for MOT.

Unfortunately I do not know any good local garages and a bit suspicious of going to a unknown garage. However I did ring one of them and it said they charge £120 labour and will check the car for whats needed to change and then change the required bits. So I am looking at £120 + parts.

Considering all three options the Honda in Ruislip seems to be a good one as I can get a full service for £299 including MOT.

Can someone please guide me on this.

At that age i would just take it to an independent and explain your situation, not point in having it serviced at the main dealer now

I'm sure the honda fan club will be along soon to tell you the only service it will need is the front bumper cleaning from all the muck spat out by european cars!

Anihilator

Tbh your service history is shot anyway so this isnt a concern to consider. For you I would ask a proper Honda garage all items that should have been servicable up til now (including belts etc) and unless you have proof these were done get them done now. At least this way you are partially restoring confidence in the servicing. If you cant find out if Belts etc have been done then get them done.

cajef

hewhoisnotintheknow wrote: »

I'm sure the honda fan club will be along soon to tell you the only service it will need is the front bumper cleaning from all the muck spat out by european cars!

No you got it wrong Honda's don't need cleaning they are so well made that the dirt just slides off.;)

TBH I have had one from new and have had no reliabilty problems, but have had a couple of minor niggles, but I am realistic enough to know that nothing is perfect.

Timing belt change on the Civic is recommended at 75,000miles or 8 years whichever comes first, so the OP's is not due till next year, however I had mine done at six years mainly for my peace of mind.

Vomityspice

Honda dealers have a fixed price fee for Cambelt changes. Was £200 when our car was done last year.

I'm sure someone will provide a link to it shortly.....

kabayiri

I have the same model Civic as OP, bit older : Y-reg.

Done 98K now and just seems to run as fine as ever, I've been using an independent garage for at least 3 years. It hasn't made a difference to me.

OT, but this reliability theme does work both ways. When my car was just over 3 years old, the starter motor failed. Mr AA man stated this the case, so I ring up my Honda dealer ..."Oh, it can't be that Sir", the lad replies, "we haven't had a starter motor failure yet". I ended up having the car taken to a local place; they ordered the starter motor from Honda and it was shipped from Germany....no UK stock of that part apparently (eh?! The car is built in Swindon).

Anyways, at the next service in the dealership, the lad was espousing the benefits of the VTec engine. "We haven't had one of these fail", to which I replied "I bet I'm the flippin first". Karma eh?

xyz123

Thanks a lot for your replies. I think i will go for the level 4 service which includes price for MOT,,,just for my piece of mind....

One more question though, when i rang honda chiswick they said honda recommends doing valve adjustments every 2 years. Is it required as it is not included in the price quoted to me by other honda garage?

hewhoisnotintheknow

xyz123 wrote: »

Thanks a lot for your replies. I think i will go for the level 4 service which includes price for MOT,,,just for my piece of mind....

One more question though, when i rang honda chiswick they said honda recommends doing valve adjustments every 2 years. Is it required as it is not included in the price quoted to me by other honda garage?

Doesn't sound necessary to me, as any Honda owner will tell you on here, all they need is the basic servicing and nothing else:rolleyes:

cajef

xyz123 wrote: »

One more question though, when i rang honda chiswick they said honda recommends doing valve adjustments every 2 years. Is it required as it is not included in the price quoted to me by other honda garage?

Just checked my service book and the schedule does recommend check and adjust every 24,000 miles or 2 years.