cost at dealer!

[Robertslowpoke]

good afternoon and happy new year to all!
I am NOT as knowledgeable as you guys.
OK, I am trying to be an informed consumer. wife's is a 2012 V6 Honda Accord. reading through the manual I saw you should change the brake fluid every 3 years, so we are over due for that. I read on forums that 6 year old tires might be too old. the tires were made in 2011 by the code on them. I had her bring to dealer, check brakes, change radiator and brake fluid, change oil, check tires.

dealer told her:
brakes have life left, but are "sticky" or frozen. and should be taken apart and lubricated. I do believe that. about 30,000 miles on the car only. dealer reports tires have tread but have dry rot. I believe that too.
cost: $1800.
they will do cabin air filter, engine air filter, radiator and brake fluid, repair brakes, 4 new Michelin tires. I told her to do it. I am picky about tires and brakes.

tire rack has the original tires for $800. Michelin pilots. so some of that cost is tires!

is this price reasonable? I did insist on the radiator fluid myself, and brake fluid myself, and to check brakes and tires. we are keeping this car long term.
I appreciate any and all comments to help me learn!

best,
Bob

 

[Trav]

You should be able to save $800 on that price by doing that minor work yourself and shopping for the best price on tires. These are perfect DIY jobs, nothing too complicated or expensive. $1800 is way too much.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Anything you could do yourself with simple hand tools that everyone should probably have isn't worth the $85 an hour the dealer charges. Is changing the cabin air filter worth $85 an hour to you?

Anything you can't do yourself, well, some people see a trusted independent garage and some people see the dealer. I do know some dealers who offer good prices on tires, but I also know some dealers who sell tires for MSRP and throw in fees for this and fees for that.

" ... tire rack has the original tires for $800. Michelin pilots. so some of that cost is tires! ..."

So, you're saying the other thousand dollars is for changing filters and flushing fluids? Re-read that sentence a few times, and get back to us.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Billy the Kid used a gun.

 

[69GTX]

My 3 year old Michelins are starting to show some light side wall dry cracking with 20K miles on them. Tread is still about 2/3. I have no intention of tossing those based on minor cracking. My last set of factory Michelins was 13 years old at 50K miles when I replaced them with useful tread gone and heavy dry cracking.

6 yr old tire life is the party life of many tire dealers, manufacturers, and service writers. Then again, plenty will say 10 yrs is long enough. Brake fluid? I've never changed it any car until last year. Some of those cars went 10-15 years on factory fluid. I'd say 2 yrs is extreme unless you're racing all the time. Some people on here never change brake fluid unless it's part of other brake maintenance where the system gets opened up any ways. I wouldn't be concerned at 3 yrs. And it can be checked too for remaining chemical life with a litmus strip. If you're using a longer life coolant, those are often good to 5 years/50K-100K miles. If it's the regular green stuff then every 2-3 yrs is probably about right. The coolant too can be checked for pH and/or voltage to determine remaining life.

Michelin Pilots are expensive tires. Unless you're a driving enthusiast looking for optimal handling/performance, there are plenty of lesser brands that are 90% as good...for around 50-65% of the price.

 

[Lyman]

Almost double what You should be paying.

 

[DuckRyder]

Well that was expected...

It is impossible to tell you much without an itemized list of the work and pricing as well as the labor rate.

FWIW, my friend who is a parts manager says he cannot buy michelins for what tire rack sells them for, so if the OE tires are 800.00 at tire rack, they could easily be 1000.00 at the dealer. Maybe even more after a 4 wheel alignment and nitro fill. I hope they are putting the correct tire on it...

If you requested flushing they may be whipping out the BG machine... so you'll be paying for that service.

At least from what you told us it sounds like they were pretty upfront with you about the actual conditions, probably the time to ask if the pricing was good was before you told them to do it.

 

[Rolla07]

Cabin air filter, engine air filter could be done on your own in under 5 mins..buy tires yourself cheaper online. Id do the brakes myself but having brake fluid flushed install tires..etc..id have dealer do it. Id have them replace coolant and brake fluid and install and balance your tires. For my dealer to do that..it would cost about 210$ plus tax. Id lube the brakes and change filters myself. Even if you buy OEM filters from dealer..say 60$ for both, you are at 270$ spent...add tires..id figure 600-700 $ for good tires. You are at 870-970$..yep..you are getting hosed.

 

[mclasser]

Why would you buy tires at the dealer? They're almost always a rip off there. Those filters can be done in 5 minutes and you're probably paying $100 for it.

Unless your 2012 already has 100K miles, why are you changing the antifreeze?

 

[Nate1979]

These are normal maintenance items that any independent shop can do for much less. Tires I would shop around to tire shops to get the best price you can find. The tires don't sound so bad so you should have time to shop some deals, maybe wait until President's day coming up in a few months.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
FWIW, my friend who is a parts manager says he cannot buy michelins for what tire rack sells them for, so if the OE tires are 800.00 at tire rack, they could easily be 1000.00 at the dealer.


I can vouch for this. Ford has a tire program that I can easily buy tires outright from for cheaper. When we price match Tire Rack we have to include a set freight amount in their price which even though it is in the Terms and Conditions, customers will scream at me about. We pretty much make nothing on tires, maybe on a $300 tire there is $10-15 profit on the table. Usually not worth the hassle.

 

[Robertslowpoke]

THANKS GUYS!!
I am pretty picky about tires, my friend spun out in a car and was in a body cast for 6 months. I DO like Michelin tires, for better or worse.

I have changed the brakes twice on my 2008 Caddy DTS, BUT, my friend the expert mechanic did it and I removed lug nuts and handed him tools. I would NEVER do brakes. I have changed the cabin air filter myself, but not the engine air filter, not as easy as on my Caddy. id do them both on my caddy. I would NOT do brake fluid or radiator fluid.

the brake fluid has FIVE years on it, I think quite reasonable to replace it! the coolant has five years on it too.

the dealer did not high pressure my wife at all. I think the tires, now six yrs old, DO have rot.

I DO appreciate all your comments. I look at it as $1800 and the car should be fine for 3 years. that is $50 a month, way better than a car payment!

please give me all your ideas! I did get lights for my garage, and wash, polish and wax my cars with an orbital buffer.

have a great new years!
best

bob

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Robertslowpoke
I am pretty picky about tires, my friend spun out in a car and was in a body cast for 6 months. I DO like Michelin tires, for better or worse.

You can stick with Michelin tires, but you can probably still save yourself a few hundred dollars by not buying them from a car dealer.

 

[SatinSilver]

There will probably be a President's day sale on tires at Discount Tire. Since tires are the biggest expense it will help getting them on sale. As for the other items, I would do one at a time with each oil change as long as the price of each service is reasonable. Kind of piece meal everything which is what I did at the Honda dealer with my Accord. The service dept there was very good and reasonable as long as I didn't do the 30k, 60k maintenance services. Even the guys there told me it was cheaper to have them do a mickey mouse type service like a throttle body cleaning then while it's back there have them check out an issue, for example a noise etc...

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
Why would you buy tires at the dealer? They're almost always a rip off there. Those filters can be done in 5 minutes and you're probably paying $100 for it.

Unless your 2012 already has 100K miles, why are you changing the antifreeze?


Time.

Mileage isn't the only factor in coolant change, time is also a factor. I believe Honda recommends 7 years, so while not yet needed, it's getting close. If it makes the OP feel better with fresh coolant after 5 years, then go for it.

Edited to add ideas.

You change the cabin air filter, engine air filter, and coolant. Have a local mechanic disassemble clean and lubricate braking system as needed. Then, get tires.

If you are only driving 30k miles over 5 years, I don't think I'd spring for Michelins that you will throw away due to dry rot before you wear them out. Look for a tire with a 40-50k treadwear life and replace when they have 30k on them.

You are going to pay the same for mounting and balancing, so you might as well pay less for the tires since you won't use a 90k mile treadlife tire.

It doesn't make sense to pay someone the labor rate to simply lube brake parts. You will probably pay $75-$1

 

[mcrn]

Sounds too much to me. Do you have a good indy shop near you?

 

[The_Jeff]

You might get a good price on michelin tires from sears if you keep an eye on the sales, Shop-Your-Way rewards, etc. You can also get ripped off paying their MSRP.

 

[Ihatetochangeoil]

My Buick has 9 year old Michelins on the rear. I run 80-100 mph every day on a very remote 4.6 mile long straight stretch of highway through level cornfield.

I use an Independent mechanic who is Master ASE Certified. He tells me that under state statute for safety inspections, he is NOT allowed to fail tires for "dry rot cracking."

Your services listed are very easy for Do it Yourself projects. I'm not familiar with your specific model vehicle, but you could start seeking information by doing a YouTube search for whatever you want to do. MY cabin air filter replacement is two plastic latches on the plastic cowl under the hood and about 10 minutes work. I'm sure my teenaged daughter could do it if I showed her how. I do not say this to insult you, I say it to encourage you.

Personally, I can't bring myself to pay $85-110 per hour for simple tasks I can do. For example, here are several videos for your front brakes: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=2012+honda+accord+front+brakes

You can buy test strips on Amazon to determine if your brake fluid needs changing: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E6T...d=ATVPDKIKX0DER

YouTube on coolant replacement: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=2012+honda+accord+coolant+replacement

Happy New Year and do whatever lets you sleep at night!!

 

[bigt61]

Yeah, it's a little expensive - but at least you know the dealer has more chance than anybody else to get everything done right. And will also likely try to take care of you if you have a problem. Tires and brakes are life saving items - money well spent IMO.

 

[Doc8404]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Robertslowpoke
I am pretty picky about tires, my friend spun out in a car and was in a body cast for 6 months. I DO like Michelin tires, for better or worse.

You can stick with Michelin tires, but you can probably still save yourself a few hundred dollars by not buying them from a car dealer.


Depends. I buy 90% of my tires at my local Nissan dealer. Even for my truck. Local mechanic can't beat their price and he matches Tire Rack.