$80 for a 60-second job

LouDawg · May 23, 2007

Just changed the cabin air filter in my Accord. I was at the dealer this morning and just out of curiosity, I asked them how much they charged to do that. Answer: $80.00. Of course, that does include the filter.

I did it in LESS than 60 seconds. I know these guys have to make money, and I know they quote book rates. But sheesh...who's writing the book? At their rate of I think $86/hr, that's 48 minutes labor plus $21 for the filter.

Steve S · May 23, 2007

Will you go there again?

punisher · May 23, 2007

Stuff like that our service writers would do on the service drive, no charge on labor.

01rangerxl · May 23, 2007

That's a Honda service department for you. My dad drops nearly $80 for oil changes on his Civic Hybrid! I am not sure what all that entails (I am sure there is some sort of multipoint #@$%! inspection involved), all I know is that he told me he spends that much for an oil change on the car. To top it off, they are not putting in the oil that Honda specifies for the car (0W20). It probably makes no difference, but #@$%!, at least use the right oil for that price. What really surprises me is not the dealer, but my dad. He used to be a Havoline loyalist for one reason only - it was the cheapest oil at Wal-Mart!

Auto-Union · May 23, 2007

I just did the fuel filter and air filter on the CRV, $30 for Puralator filters. The dealer would probally want $100 for the FF and $50 for the AF.

LouDawg · May 23, 2007

Quote:

Will you go there again?

Probably. First, they're the only Honda dealer nearby (Evansville). Two, what little experience I've had with their service department, they've always been otherwise very reasonable. Of course, I've only had them do the A2 inspection service (no charge), the B1/2 inspection service (no charge), and rotate the tires the first time ($20).

Overall, I think they're a decent enough dealer, and I've heard this same story on Accord forums. But that's probably one of those little things they throw in to make a few bucks to help fill in the gaps where they *don't* make money or even lose money. Women and busy men who don't know any better or don't care...those are the ones who pay through the nose.

But there's no way they can do that and feel they're doing right by their customer...unless they just consider their customers as cattle.

01rangerxl · May 23, 2007

FWIW, Jiffy Lube would most likely charge at least $60 for the same job. All shops love cabin air filters.

LouDawg · May 23, 2007

The phrase "cash cow" keeps coming to mind.

obbop · May 23, 2007

Independent repair shops need to market themselves better.

I have wondered why several independent shops haven't combined forces, money and efforts to create a large shop with each of the owners taking charge of wither their area of expertise and/or the manufacturer they have specialized in.

Combined efforts plus volume would allow procuring the various specialized equipment and data bases for the various makes.

Sheer size of the facility would convey a sense of professionalism to the shop.

The owners and hired help could assist each other with out-of-the-norm problems and difficult diagnosing.

Just seems to make sense to me. Get the right folks working together and strive to do the job properly and watch the money roll in.

And, with several owners, vacations and sick days of said ownerswould allow the business to continue functioning efficiently.

It would take folks with the proper mind-set and a willingness to work together for the common good. Egos would need to be parked outside, allowing cooperation to rule the day.

I would revel in finding a shop like that.

Too many cooks can spoil broth but multiple minds with varied experiences can achieve great things.

DC84 · May 23, 2007

I know exactly what your talking about... I recently left a Honda dealership where techs would complain they it takes one hour to do these filters and after parts and labor the total would be in the ballpark of $100-$125. I got into many arguments with techs and even management over this and other items which to me are just total #@$%!. This is another reason that the automotive business has such a bad name and im glad to no longer be a service writer. For what its worth the highest labor time for a Honda cabin filter is 60 time units and if i remember only two honda vehicles call for that amount. Dont even get me started on the costs of "major services" its a bunch of garbage.

Gary Allan · May 23, 2007

The only problem with the dealership is that there are so many people with their hand out. There's no way you can pay a service manager, service writer, parts manager, parts counter person, office managers, cashier, the OWNER, and last but not least, the mechanic/technician .and not have a BIG BILL. Plus periodic software updates ..for both parts and service ..and all the shop service tools that aren't on the single mechanics Snap~On® revolving account (alignment rack, bulk lube system, trans fluid exchange machine, etc.)..and maintaining that much of a physical plant

Independent shops have it all over a dealer ..even if they go para-dealer in the level of state of the art service.

wileyE · May 23, 2007

See this at the bike shops where they have a flat rate for valve adjustment and carb syncs. 2 cyl, 3 cyl, 4 cyl. etc.

No consideration is made into how much body work needs to be removed (or not) or whether they have to lift the cams or just adjust screws. So the guys with ez bikes to work on subsidize the ones that are a PIA to wrench. I'd bet there are some cars that are a real pain to change the cabin filter (and probably never gets changed).

oilnoob425 · May 23, 2007

Quote:

I just did the fuel filter and air filter on the CRV, $30 for Puralator filters. The dealer would probally want $100 for the FF and $50 for the AF.

How hard is it to change fuel filter on CRV? More complicated that air filter? Because I know my Civic is pretty similiar in mechanics and layout. I got Haynes manual that is for both CRV and Civic. It lists that procedure but it seems complicated and dangerous. Should I still atemt to do it or leave it for the pros?

Max_Wander · May 23, 2007

Wait, what dealer was that?

surfstar · May 23, 2007

"$80 for a 60-second job"

What kind of "oil" are we discussing on this site?

Talk about getting r aped by a shop

Gary Allan · May 23, 2007

Quote:

Quote:

I just did the fuel filter and air filter on the CRV, $30 for Puralator filters. The dealer would probally want $100 for the FF and $50 for the AF.

Click to expand...

How hard is it to change fuel filter on CRV? More complicated that air filter? Because I know my Civic is pretty similiar in mechanics and layout. I got Haynes manual that is for both CRV and Civic. It lists that procedure but it seems complicated and dangerous. Should I still atemt to do it or leave it for the pros?

I don't know the difficulty level of this task ..but every procedure has its learning curve. Some more miserable than others. The general rule I've observed in practice is that no conceptually simple task will be all that simple ...and that rather PITA tasks aren't that bad once you get in deep enough to see headway.

One word of advice though: Never do a timing belt on a 2.4 in a PT Cruiser. Just trade the car often enough. Way too much bump and grind body language required. You'll do the limbo and the high jump and develop some accidental skills ..probably buy lots of new parts too.

oilnoob425 · May 23, 2007

no i don't like pt cruiser at all. not gonna have one.

as for this statement: "The general rule I've observed in practice is that no conceptually simple task will be all that simple"

I don't really get it. For example changing cabin filter in my civic is really easy and fast so why wouldn't it be "all that simple", according to your logic?

Vilan · May 23, 2007

$80 might be worth it, if your mechanic is 38DD and had to bend over several times to pick up the dropped air filter during installation.

H2GURU · May 23, 2007

A quarter of driving populace can't find their dipstick. The dealers know that finding a cabin filter is "too tough for them" so charge double. I'm constantly getting mailings for this "service". This has got to be one of their highest profit items, considering they buy these by the container load!

cmhj · May 23, 2007

First time I did my Vibe it took all of 15 min.

First time I did my Kia it took lees than 15 min.

In both cases the dealer wanted 3/4 hour labor.

My mother has a 02 Montana. Was at her quick lube place with her when they wanted to change her cabin filters. They quoted her 65 bucks. I told ma right in front of the manager it was a ripoff and I'd do for 25. Turns out it cost 28 and took all of 10 min.

$80 for a 60-second job

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