Black_R

The car is a 2008 TL-S.

You guys may remember the previous thread about how the dealer didn't want to honor any warranty work for a squealing alternator:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/2008-tl-s-squealing-whirring-grinding-serpentine-belt-near-alternator-901678/

They had the car for a week total after several trips back and forth for them to look at it and diagnose repeatedly.

Well here's the continuing saga:

Wifey goes to the dealer to get 105k mile service... comes back paying $1800?! WTF!!!

She feels some sense of comfort or peace of mind in having the dealershop do work on her car.

I remember when I thought that the timing belt service was way overpriced - especially since the water pump is $114 and the timing belt is $47.

I know labor blah blah blah, but I've been working on my own hondas for 14 years, and this is rediculous.

She went in with a quote for $1100, with a coupon for $200 off.
I said fine since I don't have the time to deal with it, and $900 out the door isn't too terrible, but honestly I could be done for $600 including all honda parts.

Somehow she comes home with the timing belt service done, for over $1300, and then some oil pump seals replaced for an additional $350 and some multipoint inspection for another $140?!

I'm furious, and looking over things they took her for a ride in every possible way - including charging $18 for hondabond - which if you know anything, then you know they used a literal dab of it here and there, and kept the tube.

They charged her $32 for "shop supplies?!"
Are you fucking kidding me? A $1 pack of paper towels and $1 pack of rubber gloves is now $32?

And who the fuck charges for shop supplies?
Are they going to charge for their electricity and water bill too? WTMF!

After looking over the line items, they seem to have charged her roughly 200% the cost for every single part they put on the car.

I'm drafting up a letter for their gm, and will be calling her service advisor to ream them both out so stay tuned.

Nick216

moral of the story. don't let females go to places to get car work done. advantages were taken.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Yeah that's ridiculous. I gotta ask though, you guys didn't communicate this at all prior to her paying for the job? My wife's Accord is due for the 105 service soon and I'm pretty sure it would be me taking it to the dealer. Anytime anything is needed for the cars it's me that takes care if it. I'm surprised you weren't all over that. What did you say? "Hey babe go get the 105k service done, ok talk to ya later" lol.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Why didn't she call you? More importantly, even if your wife feels more comfortable with the dealer doing it, IMHO, you should have done it yourself with your 14 years of experience.

Why even take it back there with the existing problems you've had with the dealership? I'm not surprised this happened. I hope you don't think I'm being an asshole and that the dealership had a right to do this to her but this could have been prevented.

What's the dealer's name?

Black_R

I don't know what to say guys.

I thought she learned her lesson when they tried to charge her $650 to do the front brakes.

I had her leave there immediately and did the work at home for $150 in parts, and it took me all of 20 minutes.

This time, she took the car to the dealership like a ninja without letting me know.

And she never called me when the prices started magically going up.

Then she was reluctant to let me see the invoice when she got back.

I'm sure none of you guys have heardheaded wives that don't listen, so you're safe there.

This was at Jackson Acura in Alpharetta, GA.

Also, I'm wondering why they did the oil pump seals instead of simply replacing the oil pump, since it's only a little over $100 anyway.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

This is horrible. Sorry to hear...keep us updated.

Conan O'Brien

d1sturb3d119

iTrader: (1)

That sucks dude sorry to hear that. I've always told my wife to talk to me before doing anything like that since there's always a cheaper solution. Hate when dealerships do that.

Black_R

I'm just curious what the book hours are for the 105k mile service, and to replace the oil pump seals.

Anyone know?

Lechip

I hate when dealers take advantage of women! what a bunch of dirt bags! a dealer tried to charge me $625. to do my front brakes on a 08 TL, and I said no way! Took it to an independent shop and got them done for $350.

flyromeo3

"I said fine since I don't have the time to deal with it,"


So you don't have time to deal with it. Those 14 years of Honda experience would of paid off if you didn't procrastinate.


Now you want to write a letter and complain because the dealer didn't do the work at what you expected the cost to be?
They got your money, you send them a letter and it'll probably go straight to the trash bin. Unless they do read it and want to share it with their employees on how to get the most profit from a customer.


Live and learn.

Bankz

Should of done it yourself, dealership= stealership

NBP04TL4ME

Ouch - Sorry to hear. My wife tells me that among other things she married me for yard maintenance and car maintenance.............

d1sturb3d119

iTrader: (1)

At the most honest dealership I know of in Utah who saves me a ton of money on regular car maintenance 700 in labor and 500 in parts.

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

I had the timing belt water pump service done for 220 labour + 160$ for parts (amazon aisin kit).
Took my mechanic around 3 or 4 hours to do the job.

1800 is a big dent in the bank for sure.
Similar experience for me, got charged 720$ to get stuck rear caliper replaced with a new one, new rear pads, and new brake fluid.

Black_R

flyromeo, your level of reading comprehension is really pathetic.

"would of paid off" ?

r u srs?

fyi:

procrastinate != don't have time

the dealer didn't do the work at what I expected the cost to be AKA QUOTE!

And you apparently know jack shit about how dealers operate - they get even one bad review and people shit their pants - Acura of America is very stringent on these matters.

Black_R

That still sounds high to me.

The timing belt is $47.29 and the water pump is $113.24 - both from oemacuraparts.com.
Your dealership should be able to match those prices.
What other parts could you be buying at the same time?

Black_R

Here's the scans, with personal info edited out:

D's Up

IIRC, the full 105k service on my 04 TL cost me roughly $900 at an independent shop. He did a fantastic job and threw in a few other small repairs for free as well.

Edit: Seeing that "TOTAL DUE" at the bottom makes me cringe. . Sorry man, did you ask your wife why she didn't let you know prior to doing the maintenance?

ez12a

i hope you got a tube of honda bond back with the car. $18!? surely the seals dont take up the entire tube. I bet they just used some they already had lying around.

sorry to hear about your experience. Looks like they did every little thing to nickle/dime you like wiper blades, washer fluid, etc.

the water pump by itself costs more than the 5 piece aisin or gates kits :\ It looks like they didnt replace the idler.

i thought they dont charge inspection/diagnostic fees if you proceed with getting what they found serviced? I dont know, that's how the computer shop i worked at operated. imo they should only charge you for diagnostic if you decide to just take the car w/o getting it serviced. I would try contacting the service manager to get at least the inspection refunded.

d1sturb3d119

iTrader: (1)

Oh no doubt it is high. I'm going to do the service on my own. I found it cheaper on another site.

http://www.rockauto.com/

Kaiii

iTrader: (1)

ugh...never trust the dealership! hope everything gets sorted out. don't be too hard on your wifey about it - at the end of the day it's only $$. dirtbags at the stealership need to learn some integrity though

dirtyspitshine

Acura at Oxmoor in Louisville, KY quoted me $1,600 for the 105k service. They are the only Acura dealership within like 50 miles. I've told everyone I know to avoid that place.

bouncer07

You work on Hondas for over 14 yrs but yet let your wife take her car in when you could've done it.

So you only work on yours?

lusid

quit flaming this guy, he is just venting. i know it sux but lets figure out a way so others can avoid this issue.

ez answer is = never take to dealership + let wife negotiate then you have a winning combo.

FamilyGuy

Wow, they took her to the cleaners...that sucks!

Timing belt w/water pump and tensioner, plus plugs - yes...but the rest of the 105k service? Useless if you ask me, most of these items we should all be doing as needed...R&B tires, wipers, cabin air filter, fuel treatment(?), multi-point inspection? Wow...

I wouldn't be surprised if all they did was spray a little used oil on the oil pump and show your wife how she needed new seals, then simply cleaned it and charged her for new seals...

Stay away from that dealer.

Black_R

That's right, I usually only work on my projects for the most part. I'll do her brakes or whatever, but she didn't even ask me to do the timing belt. I have a local buddy who is a tech at honda and would do it for $600 out the door including parts - not sure why she just ran up to the dealer to get raped.

I'm not a mechanic by trade - I work in IT.


Here's the breakdown of the pricing for just the parts listed as I found them online today:


part #
description
jackson acura pricing
oemacuraparts.com pricing
(Delray) acuraoemparts.com pricing
other online
labor
OL999-9011A
coolant
14400-RCA-A01
timing belt
14520-RCA-A01
tensioner
19200-RDV-J01
water pump
208 BG 44K
fuel system cleaner
76622-SDA-A01
rub, blade
76632-SEP-A01
rub, blade
80292-SDA-A01
element, filter
9807B-5617W
IZFR6K-11 spark plugs
(x6 @ 26.23ea) = 157.38
(x6 @ 14.93) = 89.58
(x6 @ 15.14ea) = 90.84
38920-RCA-A01
belt, compressor
--------------------------------------------------
14510-RCA-A01
adjuster
--------------------------------------------------
labor
08718-0004
hondabond ht
15825-P8A-A01
filter, spool valve
15115-P8A-A02
gasket, oil hole
15221-RYE-A01
o-ring
91212-R70-A02
oil seal

GKinColo08TL

Dude...obviously your wife got screwed and you didn't get to watch. Talk to the Acura zone representative. In the future...find a Honda dealer if dealers make her more comfortable. My local Acura dealer pissed me off once and so now I take my car to a Honda dealer for anything I can't do. There are good ways to find independent shops that are reliable and fair too. A good way is cartalk.com. Go to Mechanic Files and put your city in and search, these are shops that have been reviewed and are reliable. Good luck, next time tell her you want to watch.

nttstt444

iTrader: (1)

Wow $1800 is high. But it also dosent really surprise me. If you give them the impression that your just going to smile and hand over your credit card when the car is finished they will try to throw any number at you. Its a dealership, they exist to make money that's it. Sorry to hear about that OP its unfortunate. Communication goes a Long way.

flyromeo3

if I had a dealership and your wife needed service done and had no clue about cars ( while her husband with 14 years of experience does ) I'd sell her whatever she doesn't need.




You my friend, have no clue how a business works. Next time, use your experience " as it will pay off " and if you don't have time. Then go take some personal organization classes and learn to make time.


"yes I m srs"

bigballer8526

dealer serice guys must be high 5'ing each other right about now

OP, sorry but you have no one to blame but yourself. I mean, even charging 1k for a timing belt job is too much imo.

Jackass

Wha?? Hard headed and stubborn? NEVER!! Wait...are we talking about our wives or ourselves?

Straight up 105k from Acura not including valve adj and plugs should have been right around $1200 which seems to be normal. I think I was quoted closer to $2k for mine with valve adj and plugs from Acura and just about half that from Honda.

As for shop supplies? Every dealer I have used in the past 10 years charges for shop supplies. I don't think I have seen them be more than a few dollars most of the time though. I guess Acura needs to pay for the fancy schmancy waiting room/lounge somehow. That "free" water and snack isn't exactly "free".

My wife does usually take my car to the dealer for maintenance since she works about 2 miles away. However I usually schedule the appointment and provide the initial details to the adviser before she arrives. When she goes in to pay, I usually have already told her roughly what it should cost and it if isn't in that range she knows to call me ASAP.

I found that my local Acura dealer charges about a 25% mark up on parts over MSRP while my local Honda dealer does parts at MSRP.

Like some on here I also actually like the dealer to handle the major maintenance on my vehicles. I have found that most independent shops around me are just as expensive as the local Honda dealer is for my car. The same applies for my wife's car with the Chevy dealers. So if I am going to pay roughly the same price for the maintenance, why wouldn't I take it to the dealer who gives me a loaner car as well as uses the proper OEM parts?

Stickey

Charlotte NC Acura dealer quoted me $850 for the timing belt + water pump service. Then another ~$200 for the plugs that also goes with the 105k. I got the quote, but will likely use a much closer Honda/Acura specific independent garage.

gsims

The 06 TL I just bought was serviced at that same dealer and I have the receipt from 8/13 for the timing belt service.

Timing belt service 409.68
Belt,Timing 73.49
Tensioner 141.70
Water Pump 165.27
Belt,Compressor 51.65
Coolant 25.96
Total 868.70

Other work performed on this invoice were mount and balance 2 tires, an alignment for a total price of 1306.31. Work was perfomed by a differnet tech than the one listed on your invoice.
HTH

GKinColo08TL

^^^wow

lusid

da plot thickens...to -11 degree oil.

Black_R

You're right, I had no clue that business works by ripping people off, and taking advantage of customers.
Shame on me for expecting integrity and honesty in this day and age.

You my friend can't even construct a meaningful sentence.

Wtf are you trying to say with that fob-speak?

Better yet, don't post - I lost brain cells trying to read your drivel.

usdmJON

Yeah. Wow. Yes that is how money hungry unethical people do business.
Respectful individuals provide the customer with what they NEED and get repeat business because customers trust them. What an asshat.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Damn, wtf!!!! Im gonna stay tuned to this thread. Can't wait to hear the dealerships explanation to this one!!

Alexns05

After buying my car from a dealership and seeing what kind of games they played I've vowed never to get work done at a dealer. To be honest, if you take off the $300 for the oil pump work and the $150 for the visual inspection, that puts you around $1500 for everything else. That's about how much all the stealerships around here charge... Honda and Acura. I don't know much about the oil pump, but besides that I'd be most upset about the inspection. How are you going to do almost 10 hours of labor and then charge to inspect something. It couldn't have been inspected while they were taking everything apart?

I definitely feel your pain but they probably wont give you a dime back. They might offer you a discount on future service but that means you'd have to go back to their shitty stealership.

I'd just make negative reviews on every single dealership rating website you can find. That's what I did for the dealership in my area and the head of the whole Sales department was begging to talk to me on the phone to "make things better". That's just their way of saying "I'm sorry you had bad service. It will be better next time." Bunch of crooks.

I'm not married yet, but I understand how women wont listen until they are taught a very valuable lesson. I hope she understands in the future to let you worry about the cars. And there's no "peace of mind" going to the dealership whatsoever.