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75k major service coming up £421?!

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darrenspragg

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Messages
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Location
Leicester
Car
Accord Diesel Tourer
hi my 55plate tourer has been mine for two weeks now. trying to learn lots before service due but rang local dealers in leicester and they said 75k is a "big one" where they do a lot of work...

but they want £421 and having always had older cars and serviced them myself it seems a lot of money to change a few filters and oils - especially reading the DIY service section on here! problem is the car has full dealer history and want to try to keep the value.

so, the questions are:

are marshall honda in leicestershire any good for my money?
is that price correct?
what will they actually do for me for that price? what filters, work etc? is there a pdf of what they do that i can look at?
do they run full diagnostic or just run through basic stuff then give my car back to me?
will they carry out other stuff that i ask them for within that price, for example - check wheel alignment, egr and ecu software updates? the dreaded IMRC thingy valve? (etc etc as i learn more from forums!)
would i be better off buying all the genuine parts from HH (cheaper?)and then taking them to local place for the service?
or better off driving up to HH for the day?!

any help or opinions appreciated.
my car seems fine reallly except for slight occassional hesitation but i think i mostly drive round it and girlfriend complained about it other day. mine doesn't seem to smoke excessively or at all that i've noticed, starts immediately from cold, runs well, goes really well(!) and apart from the rist tank of fuel disappearing rather quickly it seems a bit better on juice now too - will monitor from now n as filled tank before VAT increase. think my first tank was in the 30's - oops!
;-)

ps is the facelift really abetter car? nearly bught an 06 one too and dont wana feel i made the incorrect choice? :-(it was before i knew about the 06 facelift - just liked the cars for ages and found one locally that i could not RESIST!
 
That is a whole lot of money for what amounts to some oil and filters. Nothing you cant do yourself for under a ton to be honest, Honda is very very expensive when it comes to servicing. If the car is out of warranty i would take it to a good indi or tackle it yourself if your fairly confident.
Just remember to keep reciepts for any work done if you do it yourself and fill in the service book accordingly.
If you wnat to keep the service book up to date take the car to a reputable mechanic and get the work done for half the price and get your service book stamped.

Hesitation could be the EGR needing a clean, Fuel filter or MAF sensor possibly.
Im sure one of the diesel gurus will be along shortly to give you some pointers shortly though.
 
75k is regarded as alot to do as its the bigger service ie fuel filter and also gear box and brake fluid change as well.

Ive lost track what garages charge now as Ive DIY'd my car for a while, if I needed to get a garage to service the car it would be HH.
 
Another thing to look at is doing some off the easier jobs yourself, and getting somewhere local to do the rest.

i'll be doing a service in the next couple of months and priced up some castrol edge 0w30, decided to have a laugh and look on halfords website, 4 litres is on sale at £35, and 1 litre is £15. Considering i want to have a litre in the boot as well in case i need to top up, this was looking to be one of the big costs....until...i looked on the national tyres website. £36 for an oil change including filter and up to 7 litres of edge :blush: i'll prob buy the honda oil filter and haggle a wee discount for them using that instead of whatever they would have used :(
 
I had my 75K service done at Honda earlier last month. Cost me £399.

They also said it was a 'big one'. Don't trust myself to do it myself so let them do it.

They went through everything they did - shed loads - well that's what it sounded like to me!!
 
Also worth giving the affiliated dealer Holdcroft Honda a call and see what they can do the service for as it isn't that far from you and those guys are in a different league from many of the dealers.

Maybe you can do some of the simple stuff and then take it down there for them to do the rest of the service and cut out some of the cost.

Don't forget to let them know your from the forum !


Generally as well as normal things such as oil and filters and depending when some things were last done on this service
the fuel filter is replaced
Manual transmission fluid replaced
Coolant replace (depending whether it was replaced on the last service)
Brake fluid replaced (depending whether replace in the last 3 years)
pollen filter.

You should be ok replacing the engine oil and filter following the DIY's on here, make sure it is 0w-30 though!
Fuel filter again depends on your perseverance, but the DIY's are on here again keep to original part
Pollen filter easy to replace
Air filter easy to replace.

However personally I'd leave the gearbox oil and the brake fluid and coolant to the dealer and have them check over the car then you get the best of both worlds. Alternatively if you go to Holdcroft you can rest ***ured that everything will be done correctly, simple things like actually dipping the oil levels to ensure correct. You may laugh but I've had my oil significantly overfilled twice by a main dealer.


As for the slight hesitation, don't worry about it too much, unless it gets much worse, you will know when if it is the IMRC solenoid as the jerking can be quite noticeable. It maybe just turbo lag if it is a slight pause before acceleration as you car is running the standard MAP.
 
Just take it to HH mate. Even if they charge you the same money, their service is second to none and you will have the confidence that when they said they've done/changed something.. it IS actually done!
 
thanks for advice, i still have approx 2months of miles to go so will keep reading and maybe price up the genuine parts from HH - decide what i'm happy to do myself and let them go over the car and do the big fluid changes, etc. i think my car is fine and probably just the way the missus drives ;-)
booted it up the dual carriage way in third today to look for smoke out the back and couldn't see a thing....
if it all goes well and service ok then will save for remap - maybe diy could help me towards some of that cost so not a bad idea
good to know there's quick advice here anyway!

what can i do about the "musty" smell when i first use my heater? would service include A/C check and top up/service? do i need to get one of those aerosol cans you let loose in the car while the A/C is on and leave it running for a bit? anyone tried that?
 
I managed to haggle my local Honda dealer down to £280 for a 75k service. Had a couple of other quotes nearby which helped (the other garages are no longer offical Honda dealers but still on their network for aftersales/servicing). Got oil & filter, coolant, gearbox oil and brake fluid changed. Didn't need fuel or pollen filter as they had been changed at 65k. Make sure they use Honda MTF. I reckon my dealer used a castrol mtf and the gearbox was notchy in 3rd near enough from the word go. Just got my local mechanic to change it for Honda MTF at the weekend and its back to normal again.

The service wouldn't check the A/C. I've tried one of the cans, some work better than others. HH would likely also check your exhaust manifold and timing chain if the car is covered by the extended warranty.
 
nodrogs said:
I managed to haggle my local Honda dealer down to £280 for a 75k service. Had a couple of other quotes nearby which helped (the other garages are no longer offical Honda dealers but still on their network for aftersales/servicing). Got oil & filter, coolant, gearbox oil and brake fluid changed. Didn't need fuel or pollen filter as they had been changed at 65k. Make sure they use Honda MTF. I reckon my dealer used a castrol mtf and the gearbox was notchy in 3rd near enough from the word go. Just got my local mechanic to change it for Honda MTF at the weekend and its back to normal again.

The service wouldn't check the A/C. I've tried one of the cans, some work better than others. HH would likely also check your exhaust manifold and timing chain if the car is covered by the extended warranty.
Click to expand...

Thats a fair price, I dont know why but the accord seems to love Honda MTF and plays up with other stuff strange but true.
 
Might have a word with HH when get nearer time and me gbox isn't great into third so I may change oil for Honda stuff at weekend. Hoping that makes it smoother?
I had an old lotus that was very sensitive to gbox oil too.
Spoke to my local Honda to ask about service at 75k. Booked in for aircon service as cheaper to get them to regas and clean than it is for me to buy filter, debug kit and gas top up can! But thus told me they wouldn't look at aircon or bother with on board diagnosis unless there was a dash light on. When I pressed about ecu and egr updates they said they could offer as a courtesy!?
I cannot believe u can service a modern car without first checking on board ecu to get a baseline of car, then they can check it at end to be sure all ok.
Seems they only want to replace filters, drain and refill fluids and take your money - not worth £400 if they don't convince me they're taking care of my car!
 
Not sure that the ECU really has that much to do with baseline figures - it doesn't have a gas chromatograph or built in dyno track.
 
Darren, there is no need to run a diagnostic if the Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) is not on - so the Honda guys are right.

This is because if there is a recurring issue picked up by the ECU (normally minimum 3 times) it will activate the light. Likewise if it has 3 clear starts or instances of the fault not recurring, the light will go out. I might be wrong about the number of checkpoints it makes, but it's either 3 or 5 from memory, either way the principle is the same.

What makes you think a baseline needs to be taken prior to a service? Not picking holes, just interested in your thought process here.
 
i suppose i thought that a dealer might want to keep a "history" of your car so that if you go back with a problem they could see if there was somet on previous diagnostics, which might help them to diagnose issue? i'm new to modern cars and i thought the ecu had more play in servicing schedule. i considered and looked at a top spec laguna and when i spoke to renault about a major service - which was due - they told me it was £250 all in for same level of filter/fluid changes as honda major BUT they would also perform a full on board diagnostics to run through all the electronics.

just seems daft to me that on a modern car that relies so much on the electronics working correctly that a servincing agent would check that everything worked or whether there might be issues coming up.
similarly i would expect honda to dirve the car before and after to check things like the known clutch slip, hesitation, brakes or other issues that may only show up on dirving the car - then they could ***ist the owner about problems and solutions. as we all know - if a problem comes on gradually then you get used to it and a fresh set of eyes can spot potential problems. most ppl are not technically minded and rely fully on the dealer to help them maintain their car. ppl on here will have more clue about them and chack and notice things - like the overfilling of engine oil for example!

i think i expect a bit more "service" from a service!
 
If theres no diagnostic light on then theres no point running a diagnostics as it won't normally show anything. A fault will stay logged on the system until it is cleared by the computer even if the light goes out on the dash. Some dealers have told me that they do a ecu software update as part of the service foc if it is needed, but to be honest theres no real way of checking they've done it unless you have the kit. If you bought a Renault then it probably would need a full work out of all the electrics ... (no offence to anyone who owns one). Some car makes now require you to get the car serviced at the dealers otherwise there'll be a service light on. But just imagine what might happen, if a dealer runs a diagnostics as part of a service? Whats to stop "Sorry sir, our diagnostics show you now need a new egr valve, turbo and injectors"....

A fair bit of the cost of the Honda service is in parts, oil and fluid which have to be all genuine otherwise you may have problems in the future and that alone can keep the costs up. If you want real value for money diy and get the exol 0w-30 (£90 for 25 litres) and get the parts ordered from HH. That way you know its been done right. I usually spend ages marking up filters and drain bolts etc before a garage service. And I would do that regardless of what make the car is.

Honda will do a health check as part of the service. This will include clutch operation, engine noise, brakes, lights etc. How much time they spend on it will depend on the mechanic.
 
Darren, some cars have a far more complex 'computer system' such as BMW with their I-Drive system. That system is an electronic hub of the vehicle and everything from climate control, radio, on board diagnostics and every other sensor of the car are all an integral system..

In this case BMW need to run through the system at service time and reset the appropriate service lights (these cars also have a variable service plan so the computer tells you when the brake pads or oil change need doing etc).

The 7th gen accord OBD is really much more simple in comparison. Whilst the HDS (Honda diag system) can check nearly every sensor on the car and even stuff like central locking, rain wiper sensors etc - it's not a live system in the same was the more complex cars.

To be honest, I prefer the Honda system as it will only warn when you when there is a problem. There is no need to go into the system every so often to check for faults.

I can't comment on the 8th gen as I believe that is probably CANBUS now and has greater reliance on the onboard computer system.
 
ok so the accord isn't as complex as i thought! that's good.
just been to get air filter and gearbox oil - they only had 1L oil in stock - amazing!
did a quick search for a K and N air filter but didn't see one listed - is that why there is a thread about a Piper foam filter?
 
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