Over the years. I have had many great and 'not so great' experiences with my car. I have a 2005 Honda Civic, which I love deeply, but what I don't love is the repair aspect of my car... namely getting ripped off for the repair costs. My latest 'not so great ' experience was when I went to the Honda Dealer to get one of my visors replaced. For some reason (I am guessing the intense Florida heat) my visors were coming apart at the seams. I expected that would be the only thing to get replaced, but unfortunately I was wrong.
I was told that I needed two tires replaced, plus I needed them rotated and alligned. I wanted to see how much everything would cost, so I agreed to wait for the 45 min time period. After TWO hours I was told that I would need to pay $527 for the new tires, rotation, allignment....plus patching up my other two tires which, without my knowledge, had nails in them.
Needless to say, I agreed to the price and after waiting a total of nearly SIX hours my car was complete. I waited in the waiting room the entire time for this. This will definitely be a mistake I never make again. I should have gotten a quote from them and then LEFT and shopped around online, on sites like Auto Parts Network! I have been told by soooo many people that I should have gone pretty much anywhere but the dealership! I probably would have saved at least $200 if I had gone elsewhere, especially if I purchased my parts online and had a local repair shop install them. Let's just say I have learned my lesson and will go to a local installation center like Meineke next time for a better deal, and I'm sure, for a shorter wait!
Bottom line, the dealer isn't better, local shops have better pricing and are just as good or even better at service, and you can get really cheap dealer parts online, such as on www.autopartsnetwork.com
