Honda Civic D-tec - Honda 12 and 12+ service vs independent garage

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Sun 9 Sep 2018 21:19
Honda Civic D-tec - Honda 12 and 12+ service vs independent garage - Circle-L-Civic

It's time to get my 9th gen Civic serviced. I aquired the car a few months ago, it is 4 years old and has a full main dealer service history so far.

Does anyone who is familar with the Honda 12 and 12+ think they are good value for money compared to taking the car to a local garage which, from my PoV would be more convenient?

Whenever I speak to independent garages all they ask is if I want a "full" or "intermediate" service. Whereas I know Honda would do whatever was required in terms of mileage/age.

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Sun 9 Sep 2018 21:38
Honda Civic D-tec - Honda 12 and 12+ service vs independent garage - RobJP

Have you asked your Honda dealer for a quote for the work, and what they consider should be done at the age/mileage ?

Have you got prices for 'full' and 'intermediate' services from the independent garages, along with what would be done for those prices ?

Without all those details, you aren't in a position to be able to compare anything.

Edited by RobJP on 09/09/2018 at 21:38

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Mon 10 Sep 2018 01:10
Honda Civic D-tec - Honda 12 and 12+ service vs independent garage - SLO76
The independent has neither the training or equipment to properly maintain a complex diesel motor like this. They’ve no access to manufacturer technical bulletins, don’t have Honda diagnostic equipment and can’t install any software updates either.

As far as saving money is concerned well factor in that you’ll no longer gain any manufacturer or dealer goodwill if a fault develops and the car will be worth a bit less when you come to sell on especially if you want to sell it yourself then you may not actually be much better off at all.

With complex modern turbocharged cars I always recommend either main dealer servicing or a genuine local specialist. I’ve seen too many wee backstreet garages fumble their way through jobs and it’s very common that they use the incorrect oil. Many bulk buy cheap oil and every car gets the same thing dumped in it whether it’s right for the job or not yet modern engines and gearboxes are highly dependent on the correct lubricants and this is often neglected or ignored by the backstreet guys and fast fit centres.

I’d get a quote from a few Honda dealers or one from a specialist if you have one nearby then call your own local dealer and ask them to match it. They’ll usually discount it to match or come close. I last did this with our VW Polo and the main dealer came within £20 of the nearest VAG specialist on a service plus timing belt and water pump change, despite the specialist quoting using non-VW parts. It was a no brainier and I’ve a waiting list of people wanting to pay top money for this wee car if I ever decide to sell on thanks to that full VW history and it’s saved me several times with faults that occurred out of warranty. A seatbelt, boot lock and EGR valve which combined would’ve been five figures yet cost me nothing thanks to an excellent local dealer and VW who seem determined to reward loyalty.

Edited by SLO76 on 10/09/2018 at 01:12

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Mon 10 Sep 2018 11:28
Honda Civic D-tec - Honda 12 and 12+ service vs independent garage - Falkirk Bairn

5 x Honda stamps on my petrol CRV - year 6 it's off to the Indie.

The Honda servicing so far has been oil & filter & safety checks & little more.

I asked for the wheels off brake checks last year & they quoted £220!!

My Indies quotes was 1 hour labour for that!

The service is due but some Honda parts are on back order so delayed for 2 weeks - dropping of all fluids (excl g/box), brakes fettled - It is nigh on £400 - mind you £165 of that are the Honda parts, about £180 labour & then the Vat.

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Mon 10 Sep 2018 11:45
Honda Civic D-tec - Honda 12 and 12+ service vs independent garage - gordonbennet

The Honda servicing so far has been oil & filter & safety checks & little more.

I asked for the wheels off brake checks last year & they quoted £220!!

My Indies quotes was 1 hour labour for that!

Honda garage taking the mickey there.

That used to be part of (and might still be the case) of a major service at Toyota, which alternate major/minor every 9 or 10k or every 12 months, and yes they carried it out, i did check @ 2 years, and i used to do the same myself in the interim minor services.

To put that in perspective, a minor service on the Hilux was roughly £170 and the major about £320ish, the major service changed every oil apart from the automatic transmission oil, a Hilux holds a lot of oils plus greasable propshafts, 7.5 litres engine oil alone, though i got those charges reduced somewhat when they finally agreed to me supplying my own bulk bought engine oils...though that happy state of affairs was when the dealer was a family owned affair, i wonder what the answer would be now.

I was going to mention getting the brakes serviced properly because it's not part of Honda normal service plan, and it might not be included in what an indy thinks is a full service either, but you've now alerted the OP to this issue.

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Mon 10 Sep 2018 15:30
Honda Civic D-tec - Honda 12 and 12+ service vs independent garage - catsdad
I have a 2012 Civic petrol and it has full Honda service history. Last April when my Honda dealer had a service offer on 6 year + old cars for £99. We took up the offer and it was pretty much the same as the Honda 12 service. As we also get free breakdown cover and MoTs as part of the original sale, it was a real bargain.

Even at full price (£165 petrol, extra £20 for diesel) I think the Honda 12 is relatively good value, especially if they include the breakdown cover which my dealer does. I say "relatively" because all servicing seems to be costly for what amounts to oil/filter/visual inspection. I doubt an indie would be much cheaper and you lose the Honda stamp if that matters to you.

As for the 12+, it adds brake fluid change and air and pollen filters. I would just have the 12 service and pay them for the brake fluid change on top and do these filters myself. I did this at the April service, buying the OEM filters online from Cox's and changing them in 10 minutes. Having done them once I could now do them in 5 minutes they are so easy. Dealers should be ashamed to charge for fitting. I assume diesel versions are similar.

The only short-coming in my approach is the lack of wheels-off brake inspection and fettling. I will use an indie for that. Hondas seem prone to brake wear, and pads and discs all round are nearly £600 from Honda so a bit of preventative maintenance will not go amiss. In my own case I have left it too long but I only recently realised that this was not part of the standard services it had received.

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Tue 11 Sep 2018 15:26
Honda Civic D-tec - Honda 12 and 12+ service vs independent garage - skidpan

When Dad had the Micra the dealer was offering lower cost servicing for cars over 3 years old that only did low mileages so he took them up on the offer. Simple problem was that instead of using 5w30 semi synthetic oil as specified by Nissan they used 10w40 mineral oil to save money. Considering that these engines were known to have potential cam chain issues if the wrong oil or oil changes were were neglected we were not happy. After a lengthy discussion at the service desk which resulted in a very long queue at 5pm on a Friday afternoon they took the car back in and claimed to have changed the oil and they deducted the cost of the oil (£25) from the invoice. Being a trusting soul I did not believe for one minute they had done anything and the next day I dropped the oil and refilled with Asda 5w30 B3 spec at £15 for 5 litres.

As with everything in life when things are cheap there can easilly be a pitfall. How many of the cars they servised using the wrong oil have actually suffered failures I wonder, one would be too many.

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