Enjoy your beautiful RDX with that shiney new timing belt!
Wow, blown away at Acura dealership service price
- Thread starter GON
- Start date
I need to get the timing belt replaced on my 99 Civic. I called the local Honda dealership first and they quoted me $1499. I called a couple of local independent shops and the best price I found was $760. The owner of the lowest price shop gave me the quote, told me exactly what he would be replacing and genuinely sounded interested in the job. I didn’t expect Honda to be double the price, but I’m also guessing they probably don’t want the job. A $2,000 timing belt job would likely keep me from buying that car, that just seems like an insane price.
It's absolutely ridiculous that Honda is still using timing belts in their V6s. Even the new Honda Pilot, which is getting a new engine, is still going to use timing belts. What the **** Honda.
Are you sure that service did not include:
Timing belt
Spark plugs
Valve clearance adjustment
I got a similar price $1600 for my 2015 Honda Pilot but included items above which are part of 100k service . I am shopping for Indy prices .
When I had Acura dealer do my 2007 MDX timing belt/tensioner only was $700 instead of $1100 on a “special” because techs were out of work on a snow day with customer cancels.
Timing belt
Spark plugs
Valve clearance adjustment
I got a similar price $1600 for my 2015 Honda Pilot but included items above which are part of 100k service . I am shopping for Indy prices .
When I had Acura dealer do my 2007 MDX timing belt/tensioner only was $700 instead of $1100 on a “special” because techs were out of work on a snow day with customer cancels.
That's a reasonable rate for a dealer timing belt job, including the "other" parts. Difference is they're using Honda parts and the independent definitely isn't for the price quoted. @The Critic has posted the discounted prices he gets Honda parts for (or maybe he PM'd the info to me
) and even his cost ends up more than an aftermarket kit. There will also be a difference in the hourly labor rate but that will vary greatly. Some independent shops charge close to dealer rates while others may be 50% of the rate.
When my son's Accord V6 needed a timing belt replacement, the Joe Morgan Honda I posted about above had a coupon for maybe $500. That was timing belt only and I asked what about the water pump, tensioner, etc and to give me the price for all of that. No doubt they start the job with customers thinking they're paying $500 + tax then get a phone call..... "once we got in there, we're going to have to replace...." and now the job is 2-3x more $$$. The local Honda/Acura specialist is cheaper than dealers but he doesn't replace the belt only. He only does the full job.
How thoughtful of you to not call me a liar.
However, I have compared prices between the Honda dealer closest to me, and the Honda/Acura specialist I have used for years.
I have noticed a price difference of anywhere from 25-35% less than the same service at the dealer.
The point is, that there would be a moderate to substantial savings vs. a dealer.
BTW, 20%=1/5, 25%=1/4, 35%=7/20. It's all fractional.
This is why you need a trustworthy independent shop that uses first quality parts (not Honda factory parts). Also a good locksmith should be able to provide a new key fob for less than $200. I paid a locksmith $175 for a new key fob on a 2017 RDX in March 2021.
I agree with this, however if you have a specialist available why not?
They probably have done more of them, thus more experience doing them.
Besides, it is good to cultivate a relationship with this type of business.
They are cheaper than a dealer, and I have found them invaluable at troubleshooting because they have enhanced familiarity with the product.
Jackson_Slugger
$50 Site Donor 2022
Yeah, timing belts and valve adjustments are now deal killers for choosing a car for me, even at $1000. The big lumps under the hood should go 200k with maintenance and replacing some stuff attached to them, maybe a waterpump or alternator, or maybe not need anything expensive or buried if you're lucky.
I kind of appreciate Honda's engineering ethos and the performance benefits of a timing belt and solid lifters, but for a DD car going to the wreckers at 15 years old, losing 5hp due to timing chain wear is fine...
Emphasis on "good'. Yes, I've never had an indy shop ever exceed the dealership in cost. I'm sure they exist but I'm lucky to have some very good and affordable shops around me.
Overhead.
I have nothing against specialists and for a lot of jobs, they are probably the wiser choice for going to. With timing belts on Hondas though, if a mechanic does 1-2 a week vs a specialist who does 3-4, at some point I'm not sure it matters, at least not when it comes to doing the job 100% correctly. The difference will only be the time it takes them but how many will charge for the 3 hours it took them when the book says 4.25 ?
Granted, if you're a regular customer, they might but don't count on it.Same car I refer to above had a flashing "D" light and (2) transmission-related codes. Took it to the specialist and he said don't worry, it's almost certainly something simple and said "those transmissions don't fail". He diagnosed it and confirmed the same two codes we read and said "both solenoids didn't fail at the same time" and explained one solenoid is known to fail and when it does, it causes the second to think something is wrong, hence two codes. He replaced one solenoid with a Honda part and problem was solved. Under $200 repair for transmission related - told our son to keep giving that man your business ! I posted this in another thread here but if he went to a transmission shop, a dealer, etc, what would the diagnosis and repair have been ?
For sure the OEM parts are a major factor in price. The Honda dealership didn’t disclose all that would be replaced, but I understand that there is more to the job than just replacing the belt. The Indy shop quoted me for the belt, water pump, valve cover gasket, cam and crank seals and coolant. I generally do my own work on my cars, but there have been times that I have used a shop. I’ve been less than impressed with one of the larger shops in our town, so I’m hoping this new shop will do great work and I’ll finally have a shop I can trust.That's a reasonable rate for a dealer timing belt job, including the "other" parts. Difference is they're using Honda parts and the independent definitely isn't for the price quoted. @The Critic has posted the discounted prices he gets Honda parts for (or maybe he PM'd the info to me
There will also be a difference in the hourly labor rate but that will vary greatly. Some independent shops charge close to dealer rates while others may be 50% of the rate.
When my son's Accord V6 needed a timing belt replacement, the Joe Morgan Honda I posted about above had a coupon for maybe $500. That was timing belt only and I asked what about the water pump, tensioner, etc and to give me the price for all of that. No doubt they start the job with customers thinking they're paying $500 + tax then get a phone call..... "once we got in there, we're going to have to replace...." and now the job is 2-3x more $$$. The local Honda/Acura specialist is cheaper than dealers but he doesn't replace the belt only. He only does the full job.
Dealer here is $125-140 hr.
FWIW, just had the timing belt, tensioner, water pump replaced for the 2nd time (200K) on our 06 Solara V6. Done by the same independent shop that did it the first time. I requested he use only Aisin parts for the kit, he agreed.
Little over $1100 parts and labor all in.
Little over $1100 parts and labor all in.
Rather have a belt with a schedule than a "lifetime" chain that costs twice as much and fails randomly.
The price mentioned in the OP is in-line for my area. The local Jeep dealership is $145/hr labor. I haven't been to the BMW dealer in a couple years, but the last time I bought a part there I saw a sign that was approaching $200/hr labor. Parts costs have also gone through the roof.
How much of this is location?
Those of us in the Midwest look at a lot of prices you pay in this area and shake our heads.
You don't give a date for the previous experience at $790, so we don't know if this was 5 or 10 years ago, and so on. Seems to be about 2.5 times what it was before.
As others have mentioned, were other services part of this visit that were not in the $790 visit?