Pay attention!

[princess]

I got 2 different flyers for services at 2 different Honda dealers the same day....I noticed a few little things:

Dealer A only charges 79.88 Dealer B charges 119.99 (minor)

Both include:
oil & filter
lube locks & hinges
rotate tires
tire pressure
check lights
inspect boots
inspect brakes (B adds adjust Parking brake)
inspect belts
inspect cooling system (B includes pressure check)
top off bydraulic fluids
inspect struts & shocks
inspect battery & cables
inspect fuel lines
inspect for leaks
inspect exhaust system
inspect wipers

A adds: retorque front suspension, horn operation & inspect steering linkage.

B adds: test lap & sholder belts, test transaxel neutral start switch, test brake transmission shift interlock, test power windows, test power mirror, test heater & A/C panel functions, lube antenna, road test.

Now maybe some of the things not listed ARE actually part of A's service, I don't know..... the point is they are not all the same!!

There were also differences on the intermedate & major services..... the prices were 99.95 & 219.95 for their intermediates...... 329.95 & 489.95 for the majors.

The point is if you switch around there's a possiblity of some stuff being neglected. I have known someone that had NEVER had her coolant changed in years because of assuming they were all the same! This car was more than 10 years old at the time!


:eek:

[Inspector1]

Great post Princess !!!! All should heed :thmsup:

I1 :)

[princess]

I1,
Do you have to make me blue each time or do you have it in some sort of quick method??:confused:

I thought it was good to know.....the odd thing is that the little dealer is the one that's doing more.... Knowing both I honestly would've assumed the big one would be the more efficient one!

[Inspector1]

I just put one letter in the color box and pull down then insert the text!! No harder than editing pictures..ha
and if you notice it's only occasionally..

Little guy's usually tend to be more service oriented to get their numbers up instead of volume... Those are the guy's that are such a minority now!

I1:)

[princess]

The little one used to have such a bad reputation that Honda stopped sending them parts! The owner died a couple of years ago & his wife runs it now. She's been trying to build their rep. back up. They have a brand new building, separated out the other makes from the Hondas.... maybe it will work! If so, I'd sure like my prince to go there, it's so close! No commute & home for lunch! He's waiting to see what happens with it.

Several years back he did get most of our local dealers to use the same service lists. That stayed for a few years, then somehow fell apart with changes in ownership with several.

Since you need to think about it before hand, I rarely bother. I have more of a tendency to want to make the changes after I'm done....then it's cutting & pasting all over the place!:sorry:

[anysia]

I've noticed that even oil change prices vary a bit from dealer to dealer.... The one I bought my first Civic at sends me flyers for $19.99, the one I bought my second one at sends them for $24.95, I've seen other ones listed anywhere between the $19.99 and $29.99. :confused:

Oh well, I had started taking my car to our family friend who is a mechanic instead because I know I can trust him. The odwnside?? I have to leave my car with him for the whole day, no waiting room or half hour express oil changes.... :(

[benjamming]

Wow! $80 to change oil & rotate tires! I don't see the need in having someone do the other stuff for anyone that is able to drive a car.
I hope they really don't top off the brake fluid. That's a no-no.
Tire pressure should be checked a lot more frequently than when you change the oil, but it does need to be checked then as well.
Coolant pressure check is not needed unless you have coolant in the oil or coolant is disappearing.
Retorque front suspension? That sounds like Toyota recommending retorquing the driveshaft on their pickups at every 5k mile oil change. If the bolts come loose that easy, I don't want it. I can drive my Lego vehicle.
Horn operation?! Come on! Some people shouldn't be allowed on the road.
Check lights. See previous.
I am curious how they test lap & sholder belts. Could be interesting.
Lube antenna - I would assume this is for the older models but then again I have went to the dealership before.
Check for leaks? How about the leak in my billfold when they are finished!

anysia,

Sometimes dealers are using different oil when charging different prices, sometimes not.

[princess]

In the side work years we actually had people leave blank checks! They'd planned to pick up their cars late & trusted us. It was a bit spooky!!:shock:

[princess]

benjamming, that's the things Honda used to recommend for a "minor service". Some people feel better to know more got done than the oil change. Not everyone wants to get their hands dirty....

My point being, they aren't all the same....some may change coolant at a 15K service & some at 30K. So it's up to the owners to know what they need....not just go for the best price.

Older cars need more TLC, of course. ;)

[benjamming]

princess,

But cars would be easier to diagnose if people would understand their car somewhat & take the initiative. Also not being so reliant on others for things they can do themselves would be a plus. It helps me to take more pride in things.

I guess the biggest thing that bugs me is that I've never been to a dealer that would actually do those things. All they would do is what I said: oil change & tire rotation. If I could trust them to do whatever they promised, it would be a different story.

That speaks volumes about you & your husband's ethics for people to leave a blank check. I bet he was never short of work, unless he fixed them "too good". I have two mechanics that I trust like that. I've never left them a blank check to keep the tempatation away from them. Trust is very simple: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Unfortunately it's not accomplished very often in a greedy world.

[princess]

Funny you say that....when the kids were younger & work would get slow, they'd say that daddy fixed them all! We did have quite a few people calling. It was all word of mouth. When he worked at the dealer in Lodi, he had people coming in from Sacramento just to have him be their tech after one visit. Some followed him here. He does have reputation of honesty & quality. He has fought with his manager forever about the dishonest guys he's worked with! It's an ongoing thing. He believes to treat the owners well means more money in the long run for the shop...even if you're talking them OUT of work at the time. He would get in trouble for suggesting that an owner not bother an expensive repair on an old car, when the repair cost more than the car was worth. Sometimes it was a well loved car & the owners would do it anyway.

It IS so hard to find quality people. The shops/dealers end up hiring some real nasty ones since the pickin's are slim.

We'd planned on having our kids take auto shop before they got their drivers license, but it fell through. He used to "make" me do my own services... with his watching over me, so I'd know the basics.

Diagnosing has changed so much with the computer systems in the cars now. Unless you're willing to invest in & learn how to use the things that help with it, it's getting more & more impossible for people to do their own repairs. That's one of the reasons he bought a new PDA & little dyno scan.....to use at home with the friends & family that still need his help!

I used to think ANYONE could change their oil until I made son in law #1 do it! This was in our garage with our tools & jack stands. It took him 3 hours!!! He was a mess! So was the garage!! I laughed for days!!!:lmao:

[BenjiBoy650]

Hey Princess, if I bring my car into a Honda dealer, you mean I can actually request for a certain tech to do the service? If so I might be giving the Prince a visit :)

[princess]

Sometimes, yep. He has had people ask for him for years.....most of the time they do get him, but it depends on how much is going on......

It would be quite a drive for you & remember you'd still be paying their rates!