Excessive Car servicing costs at Honda dealerships

RandomRando said:
Holy thread Revival, Batman!

So. The wife owns a 2018 HRV CVT comfort 1.5. We take it to Honda for the 90k service in 2025 cos we want to be religious in keeping the FFSH. Its a 'major' service so it comes to R8.4k. Can't recall everything they did, but tranny fluid was among them. Fine, no problem. Its a major,next is a minor service so will be half the cost, right?

LOL.

So we go back this year to get a quote for the 105k... they send one back for R9100 odd. I call them to understand how the prior major service was cheaper than the minor. Low and behold, they need to change spark plugs at 1200 each... yet my brief research online at Midas says they like R600.

She also needs brakes done, that's possibly another 5k they say,maybe more if disks must be replaced too.

The kicker? The front wipers blades need replacement. So I ask if they have stock of the rubber blade insert so I can replace it. No, they only have the whole wiper. Big one is ~R900. The small one for passenger - thats R1.5k. WTAF. 2.5k for 2 wiper blades!!

Im a diehard honda fan. Loved my 97 Vtec back in the day. Really want an S2K one day. But no ways are those prices realistic. Told them they pricing themselves out the market entirely and they gonna lose business.

I have a Bosch Mech nearby - he says 2.3k service and brakes 3.5k.

Im curious though, what to do about the wipers? I just need the rubber inserts to lock into the OE wiper. Any advice here folks - anybody bought the inserts locally or used Boschbrand alternatives?
Click to expand...

Just get the Bosch wipers. Easy peazy.
 
Also took the wife's Honda to a Bosch service station - much better experience and way cheaper than Honda.
 
RandomRando said:
Holy thread Revival, Batman!

So. The wife owns a 2018 HRV CVT comfort 1.5. We take it to Honda for the 90k service in 2025 cos we want to be religious in keeping the FFSH. Its a 'major' service so it comes to R8.4k. Can't recall everything they did, but tranny fluid was among them. Fine, no problem. Its a major,next is a minor service so will be half the cost, right?

LOL.

So we go back this year to get a quote for the 105k... they send one back for R9100 odd. I call them to understand how the prior major service was cheaper than the minor. Low and behold, they need to change spark plugs at 1200 each... yet my brief research online at Midas says they like R600.

She also needs brakes done, that's possibly another 5k they say,maybe more if disks must be replaced too.

The kicker? The front wipers blades need replacement. So I ask if they have stock of the rubber blade insert so I can replace it. No, they only have the whole wiper. Big one is ~R900. The small one for passenger - thats R1.5k. WTAF. 2.5k for 2 wiper blades!!

Im a diehard honda fan. Loved my 97 Vtec back in the day. Really want an S2K one day. But no ways are those prices realistic. Told them they pricing themselves out the market entirely and they gonna lose business.

I have a Bosch Mech nearby - he says 2.3k service and brakes 3.5k.

Im curious though, what to do about the wipers? I just need the rubber inserts to lock into the OE wiper. Any advice here folks - anybody bought the inserts locally or used Boschbrand alternatives?
Click to expand...

~11 years ago they used to sell the inserts on their own but it was still a bit pricey. I paid R350 for a set back then.

The blades themselves have their own lifespan so you'll only get away with replacing the inserts upto a certain point.

I replaced my wipers with Bosch AeroTwin it was the closest to keeping the OEM look.
 
chickenbeef said:
~11 years ago they used to sell the inserts on their own but it was still a bit pricey. I paid R350 for a set back then.

The blades themselves have their own lifespan so you'll only get away with replacing the inserts upto a certain point.

I replaced my wipers with Bosch AeroTwin it was the closest to keeping the OEM look.
Click to expand...
If the bosch blades fit it’s a no brainer to use them, they are like a quarter of the Honda price?
 
chickenbeef said:
~11 years ago they used to sell the inserts on their own but it was still a bit pricey. I paid R350 for a set back then.

The blades themselves have their own lifespan so you'll only get away with replacing the inserts upto a certain point.

I replaced my wipers with Bosch AeroTwin it was the closest to keeping the OEM look.
Click to expand...
I saw them online, but it seems that the passenger blade is not the shorter 40cm one? Wufes car has one 60cm, one 40cm. Aren't the bosch ones both 60cm? Looked like that on the link I saw on Amazon.
 
RandomRando said:
I saw them online, but it seems that the passenger blade is not the shorter 40cm one? Wufes car has one 60cm, one 40cm. Aren't the bosch ones both 60cm? Looked like that on the link I saw on Amazon.
Click to expand...
Not sure what size the HRV uses. I got the AeroTwins in the correct sizes from my local spares shop so they do sell them individually. Not sure why and how Amazon pairs the sizes.
 
Jet-Fighter7700 said:
you pay for the branded shiny box the part comes in essentially,
the ACTUAL OEM part is peanuts and super cheap from midas/autozone ect..

essentially to get the book stamped and the details on the service system is the entire bread and butter of these so called dealers.
they have to make money somewhere, so servicing is a big part of that, markups and commissions are another,

but Saffers want a big flashy building with plenty of balloons and huge billboards everywhere,
and guess who pays for it.
Click to expand...

That's not always true, my dad owns 3 Hondas that he services.

I can't remember the exact details but he cut open the Honda part and a OEM part.

The Honda part was superior quality.
So the answer is it depends.
 
WanderingMind said:
That's not always true, my dad owns 3 Hondas that he services.

I can't remember the exact details but he cut open the Honda part and a OEM part.

The Honda part was superior quality.
So the answer is it depends.
Click to expand...

Maybe you need to go look at what OEM means.

OEM part = The Honda part.

If it's different from the Honda part...then it's not OEM.
 
RandomRando said:
I saw them online, but it seems that the passenger blade is not the shorter 40cm one? Wufes car has one 60cm, one 40cm. Aren't the bosch ones both 60cm? Looked like that on the link I saw on Amazon.
Click to expand...
You can typically use slightly longer or shorter wiper blades, my wiper size on the one side isn't stocked in South Africa for some reason so I get the next size up which actually works better because it wipes more of the windscreen, just measure your existing wiper blade on the car and see - as long as the longer blade won't hit the windscreen surround at any point it will work fine,
 
RandomRando said:
Holy thread Revival, Batman!

So. The wife owns a 2018 HRV CVT comfort 1.5. We take it to Honda for the 90k service in 2025 cos we want to be religious in keeping the FFSH. Its a 'major' service so it comes to R8.4k. Can't recall everything they did, but tranny fluid was among them. Fine, no problem. Its a major,next is a minor service so will be half the cost, right?

LOL.

So we go back this year to get a quote for the 105k... they send one back for R9100 odd. I call them to understand how the prior major service was cheaper than the minor. Low and behold, they need to change spark plugs at 1200 each... yet my brief research online at Midas says they like R600.

She also needs brakes done, that's possibly another 5k they say,maybe more if disks must be replaced too.

The kicker? The front wipers blades need replacement. So I ask if they have stock of the rubber blade insert so I can replace it. No, they only have the whole wiper. Big one is ~R900. The small one for passenger - thats R1.5k. WTAF. 2.5k for 2 wiper blades!!

Im a diehard honda fan. Loved my 97 Vtec back in the day. Really want an S2K one day. But no ways are those prices realistic. Told them they pricing themselves out the market entirely and they gonna lose business.

I have a Bosch Mech nearby - he says 2.3k service and brakes 3.5k.

Im curious though, what to do about the wipers? I just need the rubber inserts to lock into the OE wiper. Any advice here folks - anybody bought the inserts locally or used Boschbrand alternatives?
Click to expand...
I would buy Bosch wipers and remove the inserts and put it on the existing wipers
 
RandomRando said:
Holy thread Revival, Batman!

So. The wife owns a 2018 HRV CVT comfort 1.5. We take it to Honda for the 90k service in 2025 cos we want to be religious in keeping the FFSH. Its a 'major' service so it comes to R8.4k. Can't recall everything they did, but tranny fluid was among them. Fine, no problem. Its a major,next is a minor service so will be half the cost, right?

LOL.

So we go back this year to get a quote for the 105k... they send one back for R9100 odd. I call them to understand how the prior major service was cheaper than the minor. Low and behold, they need to change spark plugs at 1200 each... yet my brief research online at Midas says they like R600.

She also needs brakes done, that's possibly another 5k they say,maybe more if disks must be replaced too.

The kicker? The front wipers blades need replacement. So I ask if they have stock of the rubber blade insert so I can replace it. No, they only have the whole wiper. Big one is ~R900. The small one for passenger - thats R1.5k. WTAF. 2.5k for 2 wiper blades!!

Im a diehard honda fan. Loved my 97 Vtec back in the day. Really want an S2K one day. But no ways are those prices realistic. Told them they pricing themselves out the market entirely and they gonna lose business.

I have a Bosch Mech nearby - he says 2.3k service and brakes 3.5k.

Im curious though, what to do about the wipers? I just need the rubber inserts to lock into the OE wiper. Any advice here folks - anybody bought the inserts locally or used Boschbrand alternatives?
Click to expand...
I am the OP. Had the same story with the plugs. The originals I pulled out of my car were not even Honda branded but NGK. There were about 600 each at local spares. I opted for the bosch equivalent around 250 each. Takes about 15 mins to change if you not a mechanic. For the blades I got Bosch aero eco. If I recall less than R500 for both at goldwagen.Works very well. Recently replaced front and back brake pads ferdodo eco at r800 for the front. Febi bilstein at the back were around 450. Braking much better than oe pads which they wanted around R2500 for the front.. Part only. I did then myself but suggest get a pro to fit it will still be a lot cheaper than dealers. Dealers charge some stupid prices but I draw the line when they not even Honda branded parts and dealers still want to charge crazy prices.
 
They should sell the inserts. Dealers dont always know or what to sell you them. I had this experience twice at Lexus/Toyota parts counter.

The first time, initially the parts guy didn't understand what i was talking about until i showed him a video, he then used vin and zoomed into the windscreen section of their system and found the inserts part number. Ordered and received 2 days later. He did however say this was the first time he sold this.

Most recently, Another Toyota dealer refused to help say no stock and they only sell wipers even after giving him part number. He says no stock.

Went back to my usual dealer after, zoomed in and found newer part number. Ordered and received next day for R280.

Point of the story is, do some research before you blindly trust dealers
 
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