Resale Value - Servicing Query

fRostiE

fRostiE

fRostiE

Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
6,212
Location
UK
The time has come for me, a lowly final year university student with no job prospects... to pluck up the funds to service my car:

2005 Honda Civic

My question is, do I continue with the cars current trend of servicing at the Honda Main Dealer, or do I now, being as the car is 3.5 years old flick to a local garage, an potentially save £100.

It’s the 48,000 Mile service, Honda have quoted me £330inc.

Will it really make a massive difference to the resale value of the car if I stick with Honda? Or is it a marketing ploy to get me to spend too much for a service?

Separate question, family members have had to pick their jaws up off the floor when I told them it was £330… Its not a Type R either, just a lowly 1.6 Sport… how much should a major service cost on this?

Thanks,
 
You could go for a level 4 service dealer service, that's what I did for my Accord, came to around 294.xx all-in but that also included a free MOT. The equivalent manufacturers service would have come to just 400 notes so for me a saving.
 
What are they doing which is costing that much? I have NEVER had a bill of more than £300 in total for ANY service I have ever had done at BMW and that includes a major service (Inspection II) on a 530d. At first glance £330 for a Civic seems like daylight robbery.
 
[TW]Fox;13553622 said:
At first glance £330 for a Civic seems like daylight robbery.
Click to expand...

Which is why I'm querying it!!!

The book says they will be:

replacing engine oil
replace oil filter
inspect brake wear
check parking brake
check light alignment
test drive (noise, stability, dashboard operation)

visually inspect:

tie rod ends, steering gear box and boots
suspension component
driveshaft boots
brake hoses and lines
all fluid levels and conditions
exhaust
replace spark plugs
fuel lines and connections
inspect and adjust auxilary drive belts
replace dust and pollen filter

doesn't sound like anything major 2bh!
 
Thats very expensive for what seems like an oil service?

If that included a full fluid change (coolant, brake / clutch and oil) then i might understand but as it stands that seems very very expensive.

I can't remember our Accord costing that much to service at honda and thats a shed load more complex than your car.
 
So then oil and filter about £15-£20 and maybe an hours labour (2 maximum i would've thought). Maybe £10-£15 for sparks. So what exactly is the other £300paying for?!?! Christ, daylight robbery!! My advice would be take it to the local garage and save yourself a fortune.
 
For my level 4 service they checked/set the tappets, changed the brake fluid and topped up other fluids in the car such as diff/gearbox in addition to the above. They also threw in 2 rear bulbs as supposedly they had gone but after I queried this they decided to not charge me for them :)
 
maybe its just garages trying to make some money since new car sales are down so massively... going to phone another Honda dealership further afield to see if its cheaper there.

Also going to phone a local garage to get a comparative price for a non Honda service.
 
That's a complete rip off, ring around lots of dealers and get the best price, always ask is that the best you can do.

That should be £150 max IMO.
 
Honda are a complete rip off when it comes to any sort of after sales!
i was quoted £350 to change 1 outer CV boot, they wanted close to £80 for the boot alone the rest was labour.
Ended up buying the boot myself for a tenner and getting a local Indy to do it for 1 hours labour.

The Honda Happiness Scheme is a different story, £200 for a cambelt change, absolute bargain!
 
Honda servicing isn't that cheap unless your car is old enough to qualify for Honda happiness. There's a couple of things that will bump up the price and at 48k I suspect it's spark plugs - Honda will bend you over for £80 for them - get them off the auction site for £30 and take your own oil.

As for dealers vs A.N. Other garage vs Honda specialists.

I've had Honda's for 15 years and from dealers I've had very good service (Yeomans in Bognor), decent service (Harrogate) and rubbish service from the clowns at Stratstone in Bradford :p

I've had no luck at all with regular garages, they just don't seem to see a lot of Honda's and aren't as aware of some of the common problems/things to look for.

I now use a specialist (Unit 8 near Blackburn) and although they are small they know their stuff and I'd rate their work well above that of most dealers and at about 60% of the price and for that you get a very experienced mechanic and not some youngster who doesn't know what a greased nipple is ;)

So in short, if you have a good dealer stick with them unless you can find a specialist with a proven record.
 
Ring round to be honest, i payed just over £100 for roughy the same service for my 1995 Prelude 2.0i which tbh was a waste of time for me (Cars worth about 5-600 quid). Next time i'll take it to a nice independant garage or get a friend to do it and keep the recipts.

Also be careful where you take it also they came back with a list with a number of "faults"

They said the tyre was below the legal limit, had the MOT three months later and the station said it was approaching the legal limit.

They said the power steering pump was leaking, there was no visable sign of the pump leaking, had no problems with steering now 8 months later.

Master slave cylinder was leaking, again no leak or fluid loss but the cluth makes a light squeek when its depressed, guy at the mot station said some cars get that. Keep an eye on it if gets worse.

The only thing they did get right was the rust along the rear arches which is very common on these cars, its got pretty bad. Very expensive to fix properly

Sorry for the bit of a thread hijack but my first impression with a main dealer wasn't the best, just be careful :)
 
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Just a note, the Honda happiness is for cars that are older than 3 years :)

Edit - Even thats £350 for a level 4 service :eek:
 
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I've been phoning around garages for the past 30 minutes, found a local garage who would do it for £150inc (using Honda Parts)

Phoned Honda back with that info and said the minimum they would do was £250, he then listed the numerous jibberish things that needed doing at this 'very major service' and that it would be in my best interest to continue with a main dealer...

So i asked him to make a note on the service booking that £250 was the agreed price, guess i just stump it up. They are a good garage and have looked after me and my dads car in the past. Still, didn't know they could knock £80 as easily as that!

Thanks for your help all! £80 is better than nothing!
 
So you're willing to pay £100 for a Honda dealer stamp?!
Blimey, the fact he knocked £80 off straight away should get your back up, bloody con artists.

They once quoted me £260 to replace a length of aircon pipe about 1 foot long. The part cost me £60 and took me 3minutes to replace, it was 2 x 8mm bolts and that was it. Never again will i use a main dealer unless i have a brand new car but then again im not stupid enough to buy 1!!
 
I'd save yourself £100 and go with the local garage. You don't need to use a Honda dealer as the warrenty is out now and the only reason they looked after your car and your dads car was because you paid them to!

Phone them up and say you want to cancel it as you cannot justify £100 extra just for the stamp, bet they'll known a lot more off it. If they don't agree to price match go to the local.

As far as I know the 1.6 is a pretty basic engine and the local garage shouldn't have any problems. Just make sure you get a service list off the internet and ask them to fill it in so you know everything has been done, and keep that with all your paper work.
 
Seems a lot of money, however I have never serviced a car before (never owned one long enough / done enough miles) to know how much they are. I would never go to dealer to get it serviced anyway, just go to an indy, save the cash.
 
fRostiE said:
I've been phoning around garages for the past 30 minutes, found a local garage who would do it for £150inc (using Honda Parts)

Phoned Honda back with that info and said the minimum they would do was £250, he then listed the numerous jibberish things that needed doing at this 'very major service' and that it would be in my best interest to continue with a main dealer...

So i asked him to make a note on the service booking that £250 was the agreed price, guess i just stump it up. They are a good garage and have looked after me and my dads car in the past. Still, didn't know they could knock £80 as easily as that!

Thanks for your help all! £80 is better than nothing!
Click to expand...
Did you ring around other Honda Dealers in your area?
They are usually best to play off each other as you're comparing like with like.
 
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