Big car service (£500) Can I get that price down?

Retrogamer

red_eye wrote: »

your being charged for jobs that dont need doing, like replacing the gearbox oil, the box is sealed so no dirt can get in, unless you like crunching gears there should be no metal in the box.

I agree on most parts with how the mechanic will probably work along the list, but if you want to keep a car for the long term then it's something i'd certainly be doing when it comes to changing gearbox oil.
The oil begins to break down after so many miles or years (whatever comes first) and then the synchromesh hubs will begin to wear.
Sometimes water or dirt can get past the breather system on it as well, depending on the car.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Agree with getting all the jobs on the list done.

How handy are you at DIY, for all these jobs are easy to do on Civics.

Good quality engine oil, Mann and Hummel filters, 4 NGK spark plugs and 2 litres of full synthetic Millers gear oil all bought from a good factor (not pray an accessory shop) will set you back about £70
.
It would take me about 5 hours to do the lot and i have done all these jobs on a VTEC, good videos on Youtube re the method and sequence for checking valve clearances...in fact at 100k the car in question needed no adjustments but it had been well serviced fron mew.

I presume this is the 2 litre VTEC with duplex chain cam?

If you don't feel up to it i suggest looking at the Civic forums, bound to be some good indies lurking about there, just read carefully and if a post is written by a plank that should tell you how much faith to place on the recommendation.

At a good indy i would expect to pay around £120 for the parts and between £200 and £300 labour.
Hondas £500 quote is a p take too far.

red_eye

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

Agree with getting all the jobs on the list done.

How handy are you at DIY, for all these jobs are easy to do on Civics.

Good quality engine oil, Mann and Hummel filters, 4 NGK spark plugs and 2 litres of full synthetic Millers gear oil all bought from a good factor (not pray an accessory shop) will set you back about £70
.
It would take me about 5 hours to do the lot and i have done all these jobs on a VTEC, good videos on Youtube re the method and sequence for checking valve clearances...in fact at 100k the car in question needed no adjustments but it had been well serviced fron mew.

I presume this is the 2 litre VTEC with duplex chain cam?

If you don't feel up to it i suggest looking at the Civic forums, bound to be some good indies lurking about there, just read carefully and if a post is written by a plank that should tell you how much faith to place on the recommendation.

At a good indy i would expect to pay around £120 for the parts and between £200 and £300 labour.
Hondas £500 quote is a p take too far.

you do know with hydrolic lifters there is no need for valve clearance checks as there is no way of adjustment. Gone are the days of mechanical lifters

Netwizard

Wouldn't trust a honda dealer as far as I could throw them after many of them quoted me for a cambelt change on an S2000!

The fluids and filters should add up to no more than £60. Few hours at an independant garage should sort it

C_Mababejive

Do they still produce modern cars with manually adjusted valve clearances ? I thought they would be all hydraulic lifters or bucket and shim jobs?

gilbert_and_sullivan

red_eye wrote: »

you do know with hydrolic lifters there is no need for valve clearance checks as there is no way of adjustment. Gone are the days of mechanical lifters

You do know that Honda VTEC engines and several others with secondary or variable cams like Mitsibishi MIVEC don't have hydraulic lifters, they are manually adjustable, look it up.

Mechanical lifters are not gone, strange coincidence that Hondas VTEC has proved to be one of the the most reliable engines ever fitted to a car.

patman99

DBGage wrote: »

It has a full service history with Honda yes.

Work to be done:

Engine oil change.
Replace engine oil filter.
Replace air cleaner element. DIY
Inspect and adjust valve clearances.
Replace fuel filter.
Replace spark plugs. DIY
Inspect washer bottle level. DIY
Replace transmission fluid.
Change oil.
Inspect front and rear brakes.
Replace brake fluid.
Check and adjust parking brake. Should tell you how to check yourself in owners handbook
Then visual checks of car components.

A good deal of the above can be (and should be) done yourself. The washer bottle should be done as part of the weekly checks.

red_eye

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

You do know that Honda VTEC engines and several others with secondary or variable cams like Mitsibishi MIVEC don't have hydraulic lifters, they are manually adjustable, look it up.

Mechanical lifters are not gone, strange coincidence that Hondas VTEC has proved to be one of the the most reliable engines ever fitted to a car.

yes I do know that, but the civic in question is not a vtec or a mivec or a purpose built race engine is it?

mattyprice4004

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

Mechanical lifters are not gone, strange coincidence that Hondas VTEC has proved to be one of the the most reliable engines ever fitted to a car.

But then think of how many problems you see about hydraulic lifters... none. I think you're on a hiding to nothing there!

Iceweasel

Check this web-site.

http://www.maindealerdiscount.com/

The service is done at a main dealer with a big discount.

That way you keep your full Honda service history.