do you do regular service on your car

[johnjosh]

I own honda acccord 2003 and i am comming up on 20,000 miles, in manual it says the car is due for 20,000 miles intermediate service. Do alot of you do this service and if so do you let the dealer do it or take to your mechanic.
This 20,000 service includes
replace engine oil & filter
replace drain plug washer
replace transmission flud & drain plug washer
Rotate tired and check tread condition
set tire pressure
clean battery terminals and aply protectant
check front brakes & report on thickness
check operation of all calipers & lube slide pins
check read breaks & report on thickness
check & adjust parking brake
check rear wheel cylinders
check operation of lights,signals & honr
check collant condition
check operation of cooling fans
check and adjust clutch(don't apply to my car as its auto)
check wiper blades & washer function
add windshield washer fluid
check all fluid levels & advice if necessary
check and advice of any fluid leaks

I don't do any repairs on cars my self so i can do only couple of items my self on this list. This service cost $189.95 at dealership.

edit:i do oil change every 5000 miles

 

[CraigRT]

I do my own oil changes every 5,000 kms, and spark plugs every 2nd or third oil change. I haven't done anything else myself, as it's all either been covered, or not worth doing (for example, coolant is for 160,000 kms before it needs to be changed!)

 

[KarenMarie]

My b/f does all of that for all vehicles in the house.

there is not an option for that, so I said yes, since it is getting done!

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: CraigRT
I do my own oil changes every 5,000 kms, and spark plugs every 2nd or third oil change. I haven't done anything else myself, as it's all either been covered, or not worth doing (for example, coolant is for 160,000 kms before it needs to be changed!)

When do spark plugs need to replaced normally? And have you noticed a performance gain or gas mileage change when doing so every 2nd or 3rd oil change?

I could probaly go for a spark plug and air filter change right about now.

And yes, I get my oil changes down regularly.

 

[johnjosh]

forgot to mention that i do oil change every 5000 miles

 

[FoBoT]

i did the last time i had a new car

i am now buying older cars, so i just do oil changes and fix stuff when it breaks

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Regs

Originally posted by: CraigRT
I do my own oil changes every 5,000 kms, and spark plugs every 2nd or third oil change. I haven't done anything else myself, as it's all either been covered, or not worth doing (for example, coolant is for 160,000 kms before it needs to be changed!)

When do spark plugs need to replaced normally? And have you noticed a performance gain or gas mileage change when doing so every 2nd or 3rd oil change?

I could probaly go for a spark plug and air filter change right about now.

And yes, I get my oil changes down regularly.

Car work yes, of course I am a mechanic so its not that hard for me.

Spark plugs avg. = 30K, except the Plat. ones that can go 60K city driving and 90K mostly highway driving. Replacing them every couple oil changes is a waste of money. Get some good plugs and a decent running engine and 30K is very easy. Use the double Plat. ones by ACdelco, Champion, etc... are good for 60K if the car is running good. Bosch Plat. plugs are NOT double Plat so they fall in the 30K service

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Funny you should ask. This weekend on my GF "Barbie Car", 01, 3.8, Camaro conv. red/blk
42k, I will give it a full service.

Plugs w/silicon sealant grease.
Change oil&filters in a/t and engine.
Replace gear oil in the diff, have to remove inspection cover.
Rotate tires & inspect brks at this time.
Replace serpentine engine belt.
Remove clean & reinstall batt cables.
When the tires are off I will grease any zerks, If plugged I will install zerks.
Tire pressure is checked every 2weeks when we wash it.

A K&N a/f I installed at 30k and will look at it at 60k.

I bought a Haynes Manuel and no internal trans adjustments are shown, If there were I would do them at this time.


Old mechanic's saying, Pay me now, or pay me later. Later costs more......

 

[johnjosh]

Marlin1975 do you recommend regular intermediate service or should i just continue doing oil change and fix it when it breaks down?

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: johnjosh
Marlin1975 do you recommend regular intermediate service or should i just continue doing oil change and fix it when it breaks down?

Cheaper to keep maintaince up then for something to break.

On your list of stuff you had, all YOU need to do is change the oil and filter and drain the trans fluid and refill. Hondas, at least all I have worked on, have a drain plug for the Auto trans. Open it, drain fluid and refill. Thats it. So if you came to me to do that I would probable charge like $40 to change oil and trans fluid. Then all you have to do is ask if I see anything that is going bad or might cause a problem. I am honest so I tell people how I see it. So don't ask that of a mechanic you don't trust, esp. ones at places like Presision Tune, Firestone, etc.... Of course you should not be at a place like that to begine with.

If your tires need rotating then do that. But at 20K, all the other stuff should be fine and it is still under warrenty. And if you plan on keeping the car over 60K do the oil changes at 3K, unless you use Syn. like Mobil1, then do them at 5K

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: johnjosh
Marlin1975 do you recommend regular intermediate service or should i just continue doing oil change and fix it when it breaks down?

The things that require changing are easy to do so I would just get a manual and do it myself if I were you. Course, I'm not you but I do all those things myself anyway

 

[johnjosh]

marlin thanks for reply

 

[FuZoR]

im no car mechanic so to the shop it goes for its service....

i should learn how to do a few things myself/.. save some money. Anyone like to teach me

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Regs

Originally posted by: CraigRT
I do my own oil changes every 5,000 kms, and spark plugs every 2nd or third oil change. I haven't done anything else myself, as it's all either been covered, or not worth doing (for example, coolant is for 160,000 kms before it needs to be changed!)

When do spark plugs need to replaced normally? And have you noticed a performance gain or gas mileage change when doing so every 2nd or 3rd oil change?

I could probaly go for a spark plug and air filter change right about now.

And yes, I get my oil changes down regularly.

Car work yes, of course I am a mechanic so its not that hard for me.

Spark plugs avg. = 30K, except the Plat. ones that can go 60K city driving and 90K mostly highway driving. Replacing them every couple oil changes is a waste of money. Get some good plugs and a decent running engine and 30K is very easy. Use the double Plat. ones by ACdelco, Champion, etc... are good for 60K if the car is running good. Bosch Plat. plugs are NOT double Plat so they fall in the 30K service

late model imports often come with iridium spark plugs these days which go ~100k miles

 

[Regs]

Ok, here's a question:

How much will a dealership charge for an Air filter, spark plug change, and a oil change?

 

[StageLeft]

I said no. Not because those things shouldn't be done, but because dealers will charge you an arm and a leg for them. With a haynes manual you can do most of this stuff yourself and save literally hundreds of dollars. Think about it - do you really want to pay hundreds of dollars to have car checked out that is in perfectly good running order?

Basically that list is full of filler crap and you paid $190 for an oil and transmission change. The rest can be done very, very quickly (I'm sure it was done very, very quickly by the mechanic who did it).

If for some reason you don't want to do the rest of the list yourself (seriously it's not hard with a manual!) then bring it to an independent mechanic like marlin. He'd charge you for real work like the fluid changes and probably spend all of 20 minutes checking on the rest. I bet it wouldn't cost $190!

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Regs
Ok, here's a question:

How much will a dealership charge for an Air filter, spark plug change, and a oil change?

It would depend on the dealership. However, an air filter for my nissans cost around $10 and can be changed in about 30 seconds. Oil change you could get done at my dealership for $21.95, and spark plug change cost $70 in OEM plugs, plus I'm guessing they'd suck probably an hour labor out of you ($90 I think these days!). Probably around $200 for the lot. It's amazing how much money one can save with a haynes manual, and anandtech for when problems arise I've saved hundreds in maintenance already and I hardly know anything!

 

[Regs]

Can't argue with you there skoorb<that old clich'e to what Im about to do>! 200+ dollars is realistic, considering the price of 4 honda spark plugs with labor. When I start school again I'll have little time to do anything, plus I live in a housing complex with no garage or tools. So if I have the money...

 

[johnjosh]

air filter i can change my self forgot that i did it in my other car, thanks for everyone reply will take to my own mechanic and have him do what he feels is actually needed that is not covered under warrenty

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Regs
Can't argue with you there skoorb<that old clich'e to what Im about to do>! 200+ dollars is realistic, considering the price of 4 honda spark plugs with labor. When I start school again I'll have little time to do anything, plus I live in a housing complex with no garage or tools. So if I have the money...

I would tackle those little things in a parking lot, assuming I wasn't afraid of being hit by another car.