Guest

I'll be hitting 30k on my way home tonight, how much should I expect to pay for the "30k service @ the dealer; should I "a la carte" just what's listed in the owner's manual, or should I go with the dealer's potentially over-priced package of services?

Looking forward to your experiences & opinions. Thanks.

Gomez

a' la carte, or better yet - do it yourself. A simple Chiltons manual or similar will show you what to look out for while inspecting all those underbody parts, plus you'll have fun. You'll need a jack, jack stands, wheel chocks, filter wrench and socket set. Also, oil filter and oil. Duh!

All the tools and supplies incl. manual will be less than $100, and next service will only be the cost of parts and supplies, i.e. - oil and filter. A torque wrench is really not necessary for the oil plug, but is still less than $50 for a nice one.

the next step is to learn how to replace brake pads, which will save you a LOT of money over the years. It's a lot easier to replace them before damage happens than to pay $500 for new rotors and other brake parts from Acura when you ruin yer stuff...

Gomez

Oh, yeah - about brake jobs: do it right and don't be a knucklehead and kill yourself and others on the road due to stupid mistakes.

It's really easy, but just follow the instructions in the repair manual to a tee. it took me about an hour and a half to do it when I learned the first time on my Honda, now I can do the front brakes in about 1/2 hour. The rear brakes will probably never need servicing during the life of the car while you own it - I've never worn them out until well after 50,000 miles. It only takes five minutes to inspect them, though.

I can't stress how easy it is to do routine, preventative maintenence on your car yourself and save a LOT of money. Looking under the hood of my TL, though, it might be worth it to pay a mechanic to replace the drive belts 'cause it looks like a major pain.

Also, you will want Acura to do valve adjustments for you unless you become quite skilled, and replacing a timing belt can be a major ordeal as well.

------------------
'01 pearlescent white
-Wing, tint, cop-finder
'88 White RX-7 Convertible
-Permanent tinitus courtesy of Rockford-Fosgate

Guest

I recently had the 15,000 mile service, state inspection, and seatbelt recall done at the dealer. I asked them to do the "normal" maintenance, and they did much more, including new air filter, transmission oil, and a $30 package of non-Acura additives.

Needless to say, I was unhappy about it. I politely emailed the service manager, and they refunded about $60+ of the $200 service. Still, my Honda dealership just did the same service to our CR-V (less the recall) for only $90 with tax and all.

They admitteed doing more work than the severe maintenance calls for, and it's because "most people don't service their car frequently than they should." I don't buy it.

Anyway, be sure to call/fax ahead and ask them what they will charge for the maintenance list IN THE OWNERS's MANUAL, NOT THEIR DEALER'S LIST OF ITEMS. Fax them a scan of your book. They often make their own charts that look almost exactly like the owner's manual, but contain much more items.

Bottom line, if you find a good dealer, you will probably do better taking your car in for the 15, 30, 45, etc. service than doing it yourself. I'm very pleased with my local Honda dealer, and I really wish there was a local Acura dealer that doesn't prescribe more medicine than you need. This forces you to go "Ala Carte", costing you more for service than you should be paying.

------------------
2000 3.2 TL, Paper maps.
Comptech axle-back exhaust.
225/55ZR-16 RE730s on OEM alloys.
205/55QR-16 Alpins on steel wheels w/covers (winter).

Pictures