2002 Honda Civic EX Coupe with automatic transmission. stock...my commuter car

OK, the car has 60K miles on it so it is in need of the recommended 60k service (the maintenance needed light is buring in the dash), I called Crown Honda at Southpoint which is my nearest dealer (I live in Durham) to get a quote for the 60k service. They quoted me $363 which seems kind of high. It was an online quote so I don't have a run-down of all that includes, but I probably can eliminate some things I do already like air filter and oil change. So does that sound reasonable or should I take it somewhere else that would do just as good a job? I live in Durham and haven't been here long enough to know any good reliable mechanics that would be better.

I have 3 other problems that I want checked out, please let me know if you have any ideas as to the cause

1) sqeaking sound coming from the front end. Sounds like suspension but could just be something rubbing. it squeaks as the car is driving, more so as i go over bumps, really fast paced squeaking sound like something is rubbing as the suspension absorbs the bumps. not really loud, but it gets on my nerves. I took it to durham tire near my work and they told me it was the struts and i should just turn my radio up louder...not exactly my idea of solving the problem

2) possible transmission problem. under normal acceleration when the car shifts gears it will rev up on its own as it shifts into the next gear (usually 4th gear i think) and then immeadiately go back to normal after it upshifts. seems to do it worse when the engine is cold.

3) only happens occasionally (like once every couple of weeks), when I turn the key in the ignition I get an electrical buzzing kind of sound and the motor doesn't do anything. I immeadiately let off the key and it always starts no problem on the second try.

I know that is a lot to read but any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance guys!

1/3/2008 12:23:33 PM

You really need to quote exactly what they do for $363 for us to be able to tell you much... It doesn't really sound that high to me, especially from a dealer. I'm almost certain they'll get you in there, find 10 other things wrong and charge you 10x that price if you let them.

1/3/2008 12:29:19 PM

you can find out online, or at the dealer what is done at 60K service.

its not $360 worth i can tell you that

1/3/2008 12:37:24 PM

i have looked in my service manual at what is recommended at 60k and it mainly includes routine stuff...like changing out all the fluids, tire rotation, brake inspection, and other visual inspections...no timing belt or anything like that. i know all that stuff needs to be done, I was just hoping I could get it done cheaper then that somewhere else if I knew of a place I could depend on to take it.

The other 3 issues worry me the most and I want to take it somewhere I can trust to get opinions on what to do about those. like you said, if i take it to the dealer they will try and charge me for a million other things that may or may not actually need doing

1/3/2008 2:00:57 PM

If its not warranty work, take it a couple of exits down 40 to the 54/55 intersection. Wasp Auto. Guys there are great and they are the kind of shop that will not do work you don't need. I've been going to them for 5+ years.

Most recently I recently had some AC service done there. In July my AC was working intermittently, the places I took it to wanted to replace the compressor. I moved pretty far away from their location but decided to make my way over there and give them a chance to look at it. Wasp diagnosed the compressor clutch and replaced only that part. Voila, AC works all the time now and no tear down/recharge of the system was needed. In that instance alone they saved me well over $500.

http://waspautomotive.com/

-- Dave

1/3/2008 2:07:48 PM

^ thanks for the recommendation. I will check with them

any other ideas???

1/3/2008 4:42:07 PM