Recently got that figure from Autofair Honda in Manchester NH to replace 97 civic CX muffler-parts and labor. I’m tired of these outrageous stealership prices. What’s the Honda area reps name and number
AutoFair is a SCAM outfit. When I lived in Manchester we drove 20 miles away to buy the Wifes Accord. Total Sleeze outfit.
Why are you bringing your vehicle to the dealer for a muffler replacement? Have you priced out the cost for a muffler replacement from let’s say a muffler shop? Afterall, the car is over ten years old.
Tester
Look for an independent mechanic.
Every muffler RockAuto sells for these things costs under $110. Should be about 1 hour to install. $200 job, at most.
“What’s the Honda area reps name and number?”
Geeze! Quit your bellyaching and just have an independent shop install a new muffler. The area rep has no control over the price of parts nor local mechanic’s rates.
The contact info is probably in the forgotten booklet in the glove box; the owners manual.
Go ahead and contact the rep. You’re going to find out the price is on the up and up.
The OEM parts are higher than aftermarket and it’s generally not the dealers’ fault; the distributor is not providing the parts to the dealer at a cheaper than dirt price in spite of that perception which you and many others have.
If you don’t like the dealer price then you, and everyone else, should call and gripe at the people who provide the parts to the dealer; that’s where the real markup is at.
The Advance Auto site shows a direct fit aftermarket muffler available but even that one is 214 bucks, sans any shop markup, taxes, labor, etc.
AutoFair has a pretty decent BBB record.
http://concord.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=104&bbb=0051&firm=3005170
OK. You know very well that the Honda dealer isn’t going to have an OEM muffler for this vehicle. The dealer will just order an aftermarket muffler from a parts store down the street, and add their markup to the part. The CarQuest parts store I deal with is constantly running parts to the four new car dealers down the road from them.
Tester
There’s a place in Manchester called Mom’s garage. It’s on the West side. They’re FAR CHEAPER then the dealer and they are honest mechanics. They also replace mufflers with a life-time warranty on the muffler/labor AND PIPES.
I’ve always wondered how good Mom’s was. Thanks.
I was going to suggest Ron’s Toy Shop on Elm Street. He’s honest, but on the higher end of the private-garage price curve. Still less expensive than a dealership, however.
It’s on Kelley st. Very honest. They don’t do work unless you authorize it…I was there getting an inspection one time…and this woman was picking up her car that was towed there the night before because it wouldn’t start. The tow cost her more. Turned out to be a faulty gas cap. They could have easily gouged her…but they didn’t.
Odds are the dealer will not have a muffler for that particular model but it was not stated by the OP that the part was in stock and ready for installation. Maybe the part will be added to the next freight order, overnighted, or who knows.
When I worked for the VW and SAAB dealer they had an assortment of genuine factory mufflers hanging on a rack and these were used as needed.
In regards to the dealers I’ve worked for, none have used aftermarket parts except on rare occassions. This was always cleared with the customer in advance.
The only things purchased from local parts houses was fluids, lubricants, various other chemicals, and whatnot.
Matter of fact, not using a factory part led to many heated discussions. An example could be a front crank seal on an old Subaru that let go and was puking oil pretty badly. We did not have one in stock but the parts house down the street had a Fel-Pro seal for 6 bucks. The obvious thing to do was get the seal and have the car out that day but management insisted on ordering one from Subaru. This led to the car being in the shop over the weekend and left the owner without a car for almost a week. The seal price from Subaru was about 7 dollars so it was pretty much a wash.
That’s been my experience with them anyway.
If the mileage is less than 150k, it might be covered under Honda’s emission’s extension for this year. I am not sure if mufflers are covered, but I know most of the exhaust system is.
Dealers are no better (or worse) than independent mechanics for almost anything you might need done on your car. They will almost always charge more per hour and often more for parts and supplies. They also tend to look at repairs a little different than the independent.
A dealer may well recommend work that strictly may not be needed, but could be connected to the problem or maybe replace a part when a little repair would fix it ALMOST as good a new.
There is no need to bring your car to the dealer for any service other than service that is going to be paid for by a recall or original warrantee. During the warranty period be sure to document all maintenance work.
I suggest that most people would be better off finding a good independent (Not working for a chain) mechanic.A benefit of Honda replacement muffler is lifetime warranty not just for parts but also labor. I replaced two “free” after the first but did not pay near the $429 for it on my Civic(maybe half but this was 95 years back) at the Honda Barn(stratham nh). I believe that is built into the pricing.
All things considered, I still don’t see that 429 as being excessive. Consider the Advance Auto aftermarket replacement at 214 dollars. Assume for the sake of arguement that muffler is marked up a bit (as it should be).
Assume 300 dollars with markup and sales tax.
New England, so figure a labor rate of 70-80 dollars per flat rate hour (at least).
Figure a flat rate labor time of 1 hour minimum (probably more like 1.5, but…).
That puts you up to 380 dollars already on an aftermarket muffler and does not include any enviro fee charge if applicable, shop supplies charge, etc. Add another 35-40 if the flat rate labor 1.5 instead of 1 hour.
A benefit of Honda replacement muffler is lifetime warranty not just for parts but also labor. I replaced two “free” after the first but did not pay near the $429 for it on my Civic(maybe half but this was 95 years back) at the Honda Barn(stratham nh). I believe that is built into the pricing.
I don’t consider that an advantage when the cost is 3 times what a muffler at a muffler shop is (who also has a lifetime warrenty).
Look closer at their warranty’s. When replaced it was twice for Honda muffler at the the time vs quality aftermarket AND labor was covered. There are so many aftermarket parts with lifetime warranty however very few if any with lifetime labor too.
I agree, the price sounds just about correct for a dealer. If you want to save a couple of dollars, go find an independent or a “muffler shop” and have them do it, or do it yourself.
Really? Personally, I have never received an after-market part from a dealer, the dealer park may (in some cases) come from the same manufacturer as the current OEM part but it certainly doesn’t come from the McParts place down the street.