Went to my local Stealership for the timing belt work and told them to go over it for me since Ive just bought it and I dont really know how to maintain a honda.

Here is the list he gave me:

Both Front Struts and bumpstops 276 labor 282 parts

Both Front Lower Control Arms and Bushings 276 labor 28.16 parts

Oil Pan Gasket 184 labor 33.65 parts

Is there any advice you guys can give me to save me some coins off the stealership?

their billing rate is 92.00 an hour!

I just wanna fix this thing up to stock height make it last another 150k miles.

Thanks

 

What year/model is your car? How many miles are on it? All of those are DIY projects if you have some basic tools and a little bit of handiness within you. If you DIY, you can save hundreds of dollars.

Judging by the price quotes, I'm assuming you have an older model civic(92-95)?

If so, you can buy the KYB GR2 shocks which are OE replacements for about $130 for both for the front. You can reuse the original bump stops.

As for the arms, their price quotes don't add up... I smell scam. If they are replacing even just one bushing in one arm, the price of the bushing is at most $30(which is around their price for parts) and labor to replace one bushing would probably be an hour($92 at their rate). If they were to replace all the bushings in both the front arms, the price for parts alone should be $70-$100. They are charging for 3hrs worth of labor...It just doesn't add up.

For the oil pan gasket, just get one from your local parts store.


I used to work for a couple dealerships, I know how some technicians are. If I were you, I would inspect all of these items yourself, it's very simple and can save you from wasting big bucks.

For the front shocks, press down hard on each of the front fenders. If the car bounces more than about 3 times, then yes your shocks need to be replaced. Another sign of bad shocks is when you hit bumps in the road, do you notice the car bouncing around a lot after you pass the bump? If the car does not bounce more than 3 times when you press down and doesn't bounce annoyingly after bumps, your shocks are good.

For the front lower control arms, visually inspect them. Jack up the car and look at all the bushings. look for cracked, and I mean deep, tearing types of cracks, and also any miss-shaping of the bushing(it should be solid and round). If there are only minor "spider" cracks and the bushing doesn't look egg shaped, they are fine.

For the oil pan gasket, get under the car and look for any oil leaks around the edge of the oil pan where it mates to the engine. If it looks clean, or even just some minor oil residue, it's fine. If it is really dirty and you pick up wet oil by running your fingers around the pan, then it needs replacing.

 

Thx exracer. It's 2001 model with 137,000 miles.
I was told that the struts need replacing when I bought it. Well I believed
the seller since he's a friend and it takes bumps way too rough.
I have not confirmed the oil pan leak but I will this weekend.
Service guy said he had to remove exhaust lines to replace pan gasket.
I'm gonna get a quote at another place for the bushings just to compare.