Should I go to a Honda Repair Center for Tune-up and Transmission Oil change?Or a Local mechanic is enough?

Hi,





I'm planning to have my newly bought USED car, Honda Civic 2000 LX (automatic transmission) have a tune-up and transmission oil change.





I went to Honda and the tune up will cost about $220++ and the transmission oil change will cost $75.





The tune up covers all replacement needed, like cap and rotor/air filter/sparkplugs/high tension wires.





My local mechanic (which is also a good one), said that I just to pay him $90 and I should all buy the parts (for tuneup and transmission oil). $90 for labor.





My other questions are:





When Honda tunes up the car, do they run some sort of test? Like special tool to check if the car is properly tuned up.





I'm afraid that my local mechanic will just replace the parts for tune up and will not test it. I don't know if he has the appropriate tools available.





2) With Transmission oil change, is my mechanic good enough? He actually told me that I could do it by myself to save money. But I don't want to do that.





Please help.





Thank you.Should I go to a Honda Repair Center for Tune-up and Transmission Oil change?Or a Local mechanic is enough?
PARTS:


Ive worked on many cars and worked for shops in my day. One problem with local Mechanics. Is even if their quite good they tend to use Infior parts. They get their parts from local parts stores at ';commercial'; pricing. (ie on your parts list lets say you have a part that costs the local mechanic $10 they charge you $15 or $20 now retail on this part is $22. Lets just say the part from the dealer is $25 you feel like your getting a good deal, but the part may go out again) Honda and most auto dealers us OEM - Factory parts They are of a much higher grade even though every auto store %26amp; mechanic will tell you that they use OEM grade or better. All that means is that the parts are to spec and dimensions. And will work in the application.





Many make statements on how their parts are better/stronger etc than factory OEM. With Honda and most Import (Japanese especially) There is a major difference with the components in the parts them self's. That being stated some local mechanics may use bargain basement parts to increase their parts sales margins (remember the $10 part let say they found it for $5 and its from China and made of lowest grade Components)





The shop itself:


There is a differnce between a Local mechinic and a Technicin. A mechinic may or may not have gone to school to learn how to work on cars. A mechnic may or may not be certified. A Dealer technicnician typically has gone to school and learned the ';proper'; way to work on a car (theres may ways to fix somthing, some folks do it with a whole lot less banging and bending) and technicians typically are certified in something.


The local mechnic may not be all that bad and the cost savings may just be worth it especially if you persdonally know them. But the dealership usally has all of the epquiptment needed to properly repair and maintain your automobile, if you travel or have problems with your local guy stick ewith dealer.





The ';tool'; you mentioned sounds like a scanner. Scanners cost anywhere from $50-$5000 or more. Modern car computers can not only tell you whats wrong with your car but at what rpms %26amp; speed you were going when the problem happened. They can also tell you problems that may normally go unoticed. A scanner reads the codes the computer puts out. so.... the local mechnic may be so good that he knows what parts to replace with out looking at it or scanning, but hes only guessing and eventually his luck could run short. In his defence Im sure he does have a scanner, may not be the high grade expensive one a dealer may have but may have enough features to get the job done. Any mechnic who doesnt have a scanner of some type and works on modern cars is to be highly avoided (and I hope dosent exist).





As far as the tranny filter........


Heres where I dout your mechanic, did he actually look at the tranny pan on your Honda? I have dealt with a few hondas in my day and even thogh most can be quite easy a few can be pretty involved. Im not to fimular with your car however. Some cars have supension/support braces running across the pan of the transmission (with not enough clearnce to change filter properly) and must be removed to do the job right. Someone who doesnt do this may bend the pan and cause the tranny to leak.


There is a new movement in auto tranny fluid maintnence. What they do is put a tool down the neck of the transmission dip stick and it cycles and filters the old fluid. Its reported to remove water, sand and tiny metal shavings. I am not much of a activist of this, but its better than nothing and cheaper. what it doesnt do is change the tranny filter/screen in the pan or the magnets in the pan (maybe to a lesser extent but not clean). {They put maganets in the pan to keep tiny metal ';sludge'; on the bottom of a pan}





SO, I think any Mechanic/Technician that allows you to get parts your self is not (generally) out to get your money. Good parts stores are dealers some national parts stores but be carefuel some of their good parts are the same as cheap ones with differnt colors and warrenties. I can say for me NAPA always seems to have top notch parts but you get what you pay and vise versa. Just ask for OEM manafucture (the ones who made the parts in the first place) OEM evqulivent/better if the guy behind the counter looks 14 and says that there the same, there not.





Good luck and happy hunting, (No Good Mechinic Installs Bad Parts, Only Bad Mechnics Replace Good Ones.) Sorry my spell checker is quirkieShould I go to a Honda Repair Center for Tune-up and Transmission Oil change?Or a Local mechanic is enough?
get your local mechanic, its not hard to do and he will get you on the road and running. The honda will charge you lots of $$ for the same work as te mechanic did
Local mechanic is perfect if they have good rep.


Honda will charge you more
When I tune a Honda, I do things that most dealerships DON';T do. I start with a thorough power washing of the engine compartment with GUNK orange. I do this with engine running and warm. Any deficiencies in plug wires will show up now. very RARELY do the factory wires need replacing. Then, I clean the throttle body and the IDLE AIR CONTROL VALVE with butyl cello-solve and gum-out spray. (This is VERY important!!!) Then I remove the distributor cap for an inspection. I wash everything down with CRC chlorinated brake cleaner. Then I decide if a new cap and/or rotor is required. I run these chemicals through the engine to remove deposits from intake, O2 sensors, converter, sensors and other goodies. If your technician is good, this is what he'll do. I would only let the dealership do a trans fluid change, since Honda makes it's own trans fluid formula, Dexron-H!!! If anything should go wrong, they will be responsible. Make sure that your timing belt is checked for wear!!!! Good luck!!
I'd go to Honda for the first service. They will be more thorough in checking any recalls or Technical Service Bulletins for the car. I'm sure the mechanic is fine and will do a good job, but for me, I'd rather have a very good baseline on where the car stands if it were me. I know money is always an issue, but the difference is not that great, plus you can be sure the dealer will use true Honda parts and that DOES make a difference. You need to be prepared for the dealer to find things they suggest need doing, but don't take this as a sign of dishonesty. It's unlikely they will suggest things you don't need, and you can always say no.