Re: Honda maintenance schedule

"Jude Barnes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
> After a warantee is over is it advised to still have pro-active
> service done at a dealership, and if so, what is the approximate cost
> hike by doing so versus some other maintenance shop (certified or
> not)?

What model and year Honda do you have?

Once you post this information, maybe more people will respond with how much
they paid for the same model's timing belt replacement.

My 1991 Civic's timing belt cost $250-$350 to replace a few years ago at a
non-dealer. The higher price includes a new water pump.

There are shops that know what they're doing, and there are those that do not.
One of the shops that replaced my timing belt over the years dented the oil pan
(pretty common "mistake" if the shop does not do Hondas and certain other
imports' timing belts regularly). Cosmetic, but still.

I have also had one really bad repair job done at a Honda dealer, too. They took
me for a ride. So one rolls the dice.

> My real big problem with proactive services are that there is nothing
> tangible to tell that anything has actually been done, other than a
> belt replacement when they can actually hand you the old part(s).
> I'm up for a 105K mileage visit and the dealership wants over $800 to
> do the timing belt replacement and the standard 105 proactive
> maintenance which includes valve inspection/maintenance.

What exactly do they do on a "valve inspection/maintain"? Take off the valve
cover, do some measurements? Replace, installing a new valve cover gasket?

My Civic has never had one done. (Though I have a new gasket for other reasons.)
Maybe that's bad. But at 149,000 miles, and having heard little on this at the
newsgroup, I am not concerned. Yet.