$1500 worth of maintenance!

[Ron5937]

Last weekend I bought a 1996 Civic LX with 102k miles. It's in nice condition and runs well. Since it has 102k miles and I want to drive it on ski trips, I thought I should go ahead and replace the timing belt. Any number of people said to do the water pump at the same time. The timing belt was $368. When I added the warter pump the bill went to $720. That surprised me. Then the mechanic (who I think is a pretty straight shooter) called to tell me I had a broken motor mount that should be fixed for $149. And the water hoses were original and "crunchy." He thought the spark plugs should be replaced along with the gaskets that were part of a timing belt/water pump kit. In the end, bringing my car up to fully maintained status cost $1500. The air filter was good, though.

I'm a bit surprised at these costs - though individually they don't seem high: timing belt/water pump - $720; hoses $175; flusinhg coolant $89; motor mount $149; plugs $84; fuel system flush - $89; and, a brake adjustment - free! Total: $1500. Am I being had?

[Jabes]

water pump and timing belt usually are 150-200 for parts soo thats about $500 labor to install it. They aren't really that hard to do, other then that the other prices seem a little high but not outrageous. I do all my work myself so it seems a little high to me but thats about average cost for all that maintenance.

[2slo4u]

now is the perfect time to learn how to do it yourself..i let honda do my timing belt one time and the bill along with the 90k service was so high i never let anyone touch my car again and from then on did all the work myself and saved a bunch of money too..without switching to geico :)

[Logan98036wa]

You pay for his time, If you feel comfortable doing it your self you could have a few bucks or if you have family who is into cars you could probably save your self a few bucks

[Osiris19]

Originally Posted by 2slo4u

now is the perfect time to learn how to do it yourself..i let honda do my timing belt one time and the bill along with the 90k service was so high i never let anyone touch my car again and from then on did all the work myself and saved a bunch of money too..without switching to geico :)

Hahaha, it's things like this that make me never want to take a car to a shop, and that's why i do everything myself also. Best to learn how early so you're prepared to fix anything that your car has a problem with.

[Jose1027]

Or you become friends with a mechanic lol

[2slo4u]

Originally Posted by Jose1027

Or you become friends with a mechanic lol

true! sadly in my case i became the mechanic..now every family member brings their car to me.

[JohnS.]

Unfortunately, the price sounds about right for the timing belt/water pump. It's not hard to replace them yourself. My friend did it for me while I watched and helped where I could and it really is simple. The scariest part is making sure the timing is correct and the belt isn't off a tooth/teeth.

[mymmeryloss]

Yep. Better off doing it urself!

[Civiclover16]

Nothing better than doing your own work and having pride knowing you did it yourself! but $1500? woweeee

[Billy.]

$175 for hoses? thats crazy. $89 to flush the coolant (which the hoses are already removed!) is overpriced. $89 for spark plugs, WTF!

you got had in my opinion. learn from the mistake. download the maintenance manual and buy some hand tools. most of this stuff is pretty straight forward


$89 for spark plugs. LOL

[Jersey8]

Originally Posted by Ron5937

Last weekend I bought a 1996 Civic LX with 102k miles. It's in nice condition and runs well. Since it has 102k miles and I want to drive it on ski trips, I thought I should go ahead and replace the timing belt. Any number of people said to do the water pump at the same time. The timing belt was $368. When I added the warter pump the bill went to $720. That surprised me. Then the mechanic (who I think is a pretty straight shooter) called to tell me I had a broken motor mount that should be fixed for $149. And the water hoses were original and "crunchy." He thought the spark plugs should be replaced along with the gaskets that were part of a timing belt/water pump kit. In the end, bringing my car up to fully maintained status cost $1500. The air filter was good, though.

I'm a bit surprised at these costs - though individually they don't seem high: timing belt/water pump - $720; hoses $175; flusinhg coolant $89; motor mount $149; plugs $84; fuel system flush - $89; and, a brake adjustment - free! Total: $1500. Am I being had?

welcome to the world of owning a 16 year old car. i would say if you don't have the knowledge or confidence to tackle all of this yet, have the mechanic do the more complicated stuff, like timing belt/water pump. then do spark plugs, gaskets, motor mounts, and coolant hoses yourself.

[Logan98036wa]

s*** my spark plugs were on sale for $3 bucks at autozone and 30 bucks for some wires it maybe took 5 minutes to change them, that was the first thing I ever touched on a car

[RonJ]

Originally Posted by Billy.

you got had in my opinion.

[Trekk]

Not only do you pay for time, you pay towards the overhead (light, rent, water, equipment, ect). The few shops I've been in charge around $100-$120 an hour for labor. Mechanics are also looking for work (problems on the car), so they can make money. However some of those cost are a little crazy.

I personally wouldnt charge labor on a water pump for a civic since its a few bolts (few seconds) more work in an area where I was working. Even if I did, say I charged a 5/10's an hour. The water pump would be (lets say) $40. + 50% increase on part + $50 labor. That would bring the timing belt and water pump up to $498. IDK how they jumped from $368 to $720 unless they are charging you labor to pull and install the timing belt twice.