Love my 99 Accord. 119k miles and no problems at all.
Last visit to the dealer they said I should get the timing belt/water pump replaced and it would cost about $950. They also said there is a little coolant around a hose going into the radiator so I should replace it (another $200+) and also the plugs I had were after market (not sure why) and I should put Honda plugs on ($200+). I bought the car in '02 with $60k miles. I saw the plugs and they were loose so I see what they were talking about. The total is going to be $1500 and it include an oil change. Last maintenance package I had was the 120k package at about 101k miles and it included all the basics including draining three quarts of tranny fluid and replacing, oil change, radiator drain/refill etc.
My question is should I go ahead and pay them to do it? It costs more than $1500 but they shaved off a few dollars and threw in a rental car. I know they are still charging too much compared to local mechanics, but I really prefer to go where they keep my maintenance history and use honda parts etc. I live in a condo with no tools/space to do the work myself, otherwise I'd be doing the basic maintenance. I'm more concerned about paying so much for the timing belt, radiator hose/flush, and plug wires replacement. I'd like to keep the car for many more miles and I know the consequences of not doing the maintenance will end up costing a lot more. By the way, I drive about 6k miles/year. Ten miles round trip to work each day and light weekend driving.
Thanks guys!

 

First things first, look at the service record of the 120k service you had done, that usually includes the timing belt service.

A timing belt job for $950 is a tad high; a lot of people report on here that the dealer charge around $750-800 for the timing belts and water pump.

You can get much better silicone radiator (upper & lower) hoses online pretty cheap (under $50.) Maybe take it to a friends house and drain the coolant and change the hoses there? Just to save a little cash, $200 is steep for hoses.

$200 for plugs? You must have the J30 V6 engine with coil on plug type spark plugs, which typically cost $25 a piece. That's an easy $150 right there.

Our forum sponsor, TAS Auto (http://www.tasauto.com), has the Honda genuine timing belt/water pump package, probably radiator hoses and spark plugs as well. I don't have a ton of money and if I was forced to go to the dealer for service I'd find the best deal online for Honda parts and just pay the dealer the labor time.

 

HOW do you spell total rip off...........( the dealer you are taking the car to )

go find a shop that specializes on Hondas .. i guarantee that they as well will keep all the maintance records

As stated $ 950 is too much for a t0belt kit..

$ 200 for a hose leak,, could be just that it needs a clamp but even if it needs a radiator hose ..$ 200 if way way way too much ,, as a matter of fact if you replace the hose when you do the timing belt you don't have to pay for extra coolant , it would be just the hose $ 20 upper $ 40 lower + labor $ 50-60 dollars max
$ 200 for plugs Wow ..someone must be real hardup on making a steal over there ..even if it is coil over plugs are about $ 16-18 each,, labor no more than 60 dollars ..

my advice if you want to take it to this dealer , do as Finch advised buy the parts yourself and have the dealer install them.. But I would still advise to find an independent shop that specializes on Hondas

 

Thanks for the replies. Very helpful.
I tried to post from memory before, but now I have the invoice in front of me. Not much info on it, but they itemized the expenses (If I get the work done):
Timing belt package: $980
Thermostat and Hoses: $356.25
Spark plug wires: $127.25
130k service: $399 (wasn't planning on this one in previous post, just the three above).

So $1500 is what they said for timing belt, therm./hoses, and wires. To break it down:

Timing belt: I will have a shop do it. I will shop around to see if I can get it cheaper, but if I have to go to the dealer, I won't sweat it since the investment is worth it.

Thermostat and hoses: Looked this up online and as deserthonda said, it's much cheaper. I wonder if they were planning on doing a full radiator flush? Still, I think I can wait on this one.

Spark plug wires: They wanted to change them because they are after market wires and they were loose (they showed me, and they were loose). I can get them online for $70 easily, but aren't bosch and ndk etc considered aftermarket as well? Every link I go to that says genuine "honda parts" always brings me to these main brands. If I need to change the wires, I can do them myself. If I remember from being younger and driving family clunkers, it's a quick job to do so, right?

I had a 120k maintenance done at 105k three years ago. I only drive 6k/year, so I think I can wait until spring for another maintenance package. Live in DC area so winters aren't terrible.

All that being said, am I right with my above actions, or do you guys suggest something different? My main concern is getting the timing belt done as soon as possible to avoid a more expensive fix if it goes.

You guys are great and I really appreciate your insights!

 

If you had a major maintenance done at 105k miles, has the timing belt already been done??

Changing spark plug wiresis just as easy as you think it is. Check out a couple more places... (along with TAS)
www dot hondaautomotiveparts dot com
www dot manhonda dot com

What does that 130k service consist of exactly?

 

Timing belt hasn't been done yet.
Not sure what exactly the 130k consists of. I will ask them.

I'm trying to locate honda certified mechanics (not the actual dealer) to get a better price, but can't seem to find anything with google. Any ideas how to locate them? I'm in the DC area so I would think there would be some.

 

[/quote]

Timing belt hasn't been done yet.
Not sure what exactly the 130k consists of. I will ask them.

I'm trying to locate honda certified mechanics (not the actual dealer) to get a better price, but can't seem to find anything with google. Any ideas how to locate them? I'm in the DC area so I would think there would be some.

[/quote]

why not let your finger do the walking.. Have you checked the yellow pages ?? I am sure you will find a shop ..