by Claire
I’ve posted in the past on the idea of negotiating and am getting more comfortable with the idea of “everything is negotiable…you just have to ask” but I have a long way to go. Earlier this week, hubby showed me that even as a master negotiator he will also do the right thing.
His Honda Civic was due for its regular maintenance. He did a great job of researching what to expect and paid attention. We use a repair shop that is owned by a Honda trained mechanic with prices at a fraction of what a dealer would charge. This is a no frills, small operation….as car repair places should be in my opinion. Out of curiousity and to get himself informed (this is the first maintenance since we’ve had the vehicle although it did have 35,000 miles on it when we purchased it) he called the dealer to discuss what would be done. Of course, their estimate was off the charts but it was how they delivered the info that was most striking. The man on the phone would only discuss what was recommended almost as though everything that Honda “marks” as “necessary” was MANDATORY. I know those guys get financial perks for upselling maintenance on the cars but it is still offensive.
Next Steve called the small Honda shop and received clear information and a fair estimate. We really like these guys and it is refreshing to feel comfortable with car repair folks. That said, there was still what amounts to a miscommunication of some sort because when Steve went to pay for the repair, he was charged for a tire rotation that he did not approve. The repair shop handled their error well and offered to waive the fees—but due to the good relationship and the fact that Steve knew we would need the tire rotation in the very near future, he offered to pay half of the tire rotation. This impressed me because I think when you are in this major debt reduction mode you can sometimes fall victim to “take what you can get for free and run” but ultimately that is not the right thing to do. Knowing we needed the service and that this is a small (new) operation– I think Steve made the right quick decision and thought about the future relationship and likely saved us money down the road by doing the right thing. That is the kind of stuff that “pay it forward” is made of!
Born and raised in Texas. I’ve at least driven through every state in the US courtesy of a roadtrip loving Dad.
I’m single with two children and a good parenting relationship with their father.
I am a “life is just half full of funny” kinda gal. Humor is my saving grace and I am thankful for it every single day. I have a strong Catholic faith and am thankful for that foundation.
I read a lot for a living but still enjoy a good book. I love biographies but in recent years have found the need for fun fictional books–sadly, for a long time I just didn’t enjoy fiction!
I love live theatre of any kind–from local productions to Broadway.
I love to scrapbook and pride myself in my kids’ albums.
I love being a mom but also love my career. I’m blessed to have found a balance allowing me to be at everything my kids need and want me to be at–while also having a career.
Favorite Quotes: Well behaved women rarely make history.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. -James Bryant Conant
We own 2 Hondas that are a couple years old now that we bought new from a local dealership in town and always have them do the service on the vehicles. They’re very reasonable. In fact, we always receive coupons in the mail when we’re close to a maintenance point and get an oil change/tire rotation for less than the local mechanics in town. Plus, it’s recommended at every 5,000-6,000 miles or 6 months so we typically only need to service them twice a year. We just recently did a big 30k service on one of our cars and while it cost over $300, there was a lot involved with that maintenance and I personally wouldn’t have trusted it to anyone but Honda.
Maybe it’s because we purchased them new and they’re still under warranty, but I would rather know the “mandatory” maintenance is being done by the dealership in order to keep these cars running properly for years and years as Hondas are well known for. We even did one of our big “no-nos” and purchased extended warranties up to 100K miles for $400 at the time of purchase so we can drive these vehicles forever with few worries and less expense.
In our experience, Hondas are not expensive to maintain over the long haul as long as you do what’s “recommended”. This was definitely not the case with our previous Toyotas. Those were some costly vehicles.
I know a lot people like yourselves that swear by the small mechanic and it’s great if you can find one that you trust, but the dealership isn’t necessarily out to screw people. Obviously it’s your choice what/how much you have serviced, but if you look at the cost break-down of what’s involved in those large maintenance points like 30k, 60K, etc. and factor in the hourly labor rate, it’s actually pretty competitive at the dealership.
Totally agree with you on this one….so many people get caught up in the debt payoff/frugal lifestyle that they forget that being frugal and making wise choices with your money doesn’t mean being cheap or profiting at the expense of others!
Agree totally. Integrity should complement frugality; no reason to throw out the baby (morals) with the bathwater. Another example is rarely eating out, but when you do, going to an independent business owner instead of a chain even though it’s slightly more expensive. If integrity seems to conflict with frugality, you’re really dealing with integrity versus cheapness. Good lesson for the kids.
I drive a VW and normal maintenance with the dealer – like oil changes and tire rotations are super expensive, since it is an import. A few months back the outlet for devices like iPods and GPS was pushed back into the console, I took it in and the quick fix cost me $100 – not saying these mechanics aren’t worth the money but I really felt that was a crazy amount, especially since it took them about 15 minutes. Now, for small tasks, I take my car to a less costly place.
I am from a state where there is little or no public transportation so having a running car can be a necessity especially if you live 10 miles out of town (even more so when you have 6 months of winter)! When I began my debt payoff, I had to make sure that I set aside a descent amount of money to cover any car repairs. In the past, I had never kept enough savings to cover even small repairs and that is one of the many things that lead to my ultimate debt emergency. Luckily, I only had oil changes, tire rotations and regular maintenance during my time getting out of debt. And since paying off my debt, I have a good amount saved for car issues.
We have a ’03 Honda Odyssey and it has around 100400 miles. A week ago right before we were suppose to go on vacation I had some hesitation when I was driving around 20 mph. I took it in and had it looked out. The mechanic told me that Odyssey is known for needing a timing belt which is about $1000. and they also have problems with the transmission going out which would be around $3700. Thank you God they ran tests and everything was fine. Now the ? is to save up for new vehicle or to put the money in this paid off one. Claire I love that you are in San Antonio as well..would you share the mechanic that you take your Honda to? It would be great to have a second estimate. Thank you so much for sharing the different sources that you and your husband have found it has been very helpful. Blessings, Monica
Monica–it is HNA auto off of De Zavala. Highly recommend!
Thank you Claire!
My mechanic won my trust (and loyalty) when the first two times I took the car in to get the brakes checked out (about 6 months apart in each case) he told me that they were fine and didn’t need any work. The next time he did the front brakes, but assured me the backs were fine.
Since then, I’ve taken my car there for all routine and non-routine maintenance and I am happy to do whatever he recommends (usually nothing!).
His prices are on the high side (but not as high as dealer rates), but it’s well worth it to me knowing I don’t need to hear a hard sell on random work that may or may not actually be necessary.
One quick point for Monica – My experience with Honda Odysseys (I’m on my third since 2000), is that they are worth keeping until they hit about 140,000. Putting in a new timing belt around 100,000 is important, because if it goes, that’s very bad news for you. Think about the investment, though. If your car is paid off, why would you want to take on 60 months of debt in order to avoid regular maitenance? BTW, I never had a problem with the transmissions in any of my Odysseys. I have only moved on to the next (used) Odyssey when the cost of fixing it is more than the blue book value.
I love my dealership, and always go there. I have found that with the coupons I receive from them, I do pretty well. They are willing to negotiate price on the big ticket expenses if I am really wavering. I just have to ask. And I always ask if something is truly necessary. Often it is not, and can be put off. The other nice thing about my dealership is when I’ve had problems with my car (there was something weirdly squeaky about my first Odyssey’s brakes), I only had to pay once for the service to fix it. It was an unusual problem that they had never dealt with (and didn’t get it right the first time) and the 2 subsequent trips were free – as it should have been.
One last story – when I once asked them to put a new light in my digital clock, they did it and it cost $150 (they had to remove the whole dashboard). I was really horrified. I spoke to the manager and explained that if they had told me that the lightbulb would cost $150, I never would’ve done it. He totally agreed and removed the cost from my bill. Not only that, he gave me a free tuneup the next time I came in. Now he greets me by name when I enter the door.
The truth is, a dealership should work really hard to keep us happy so that we will continue to buy our cars from them. Brand loyalty is their lifeblood.
Thanks Jaye, I just saw your post. We do not want any payments. We are debt free besides our home and we have a target on that as well. Thanks for your suggestions.
Way to go on the negotiating! It feels good when you know that it is a win-win transaction. I recently bought a car for my wife and got $500 off the price by just asking. The guy was very happy to get that price and so were we!