$980 on a honda civic timing belt? is that right?

Question

I have a 2003 Honda Civic with 72,500 miles and I took it to the Honda Dealership for an oil change and they told me it would $980 for the timing belt. Is that right? Please help I know nothing about cars. :(

Answer 1

Timing belts are not too expensive. The labor to change the belt can be VERY expensive. If you are at a Dealer, you are paying TOP DOLLAR for labor. Probably around $70.00 per hour! If you car has Twin Camshafts, that price is probably still a little high.
You need to know if they are pricing their 60 thousand mile or 90 thousand mile maintenance. These include: oil change, brake check, coolant change, tune up, transmission service.
Best advise is to get in the Yellow Pages under Automotive Repair and find a shop that employees ASE certified technicians.
Ask for a price quote (over the phone) give the make, year, model, and ENGINE SIZE. Also, if the car has Air Conditioning and Automatic Transmission. Shops need to charge more for these items because it inter-fears with the job.
If you are not in a hurry, call a Vocational School Automotive program in your area. Ask them if they do customer service work. It will be A LOT cheaper but the time for repair will be quite long. They need to train their students and the time is a trade off for the cheaper price.

Answer 2

Yes, at the dealer, that is about right, especially if they do the water pump as well, which you **REALLY** should get done at the same time. Check your owner's manual though, because usually you don't need to do it until 90,000 miles.

A local shop should charge between $250 and $400 depending on your local area. I always take my 1994 Civic to places that only do Hondas, and I've had great luck.

Answer 3

Not sure. You may get a better price if you do it in a privately owned garage. I've seen it cost more than that for timing belts. So from a dealer that's not a bad price.
The belt isn't what cost so much it's the installation charges that can rape you depending on the engine and how much needs to be removed to get to the belt to remove it.

Answer 4

Did the belt break?
If so , then they are probably quoting the price to replace the belt, seals(cam and crank),belt-tensioner and water pump, as it is timing belt driven. I would ask for an itemized "QUOTE" from them detailing the parts and labor charge. If I remember right the timing belt service "recommended" interval mileage is: 105,000 miles, so if it didn't break you can probably go a little longer on the replacement. GOOD LUCK, hope this helps.

Answer 5

The timeing belt is not that much I just looked it up and it is like $30. Did the car have a problem other than that? if the belt broke than I could have bent a valve or if the head gasket was blown they would have to tear apart the engine to fix it than with the parts and labor costs it would be about that much. you should be able to talk to the mecanic or service Reps. they should be able to awnser any questions. if not see if there are any other dealerships that could awnser questions.

Answer 6

Here in Tennessee a non dealer garage $300.

Answer 7

$980 dollars for a timing belt wow.i hate to see what they would charge you to put it on.go to auto zone and pick up a belt and have someone (like a shadetree mech.)to put it on for you.its probably cause your a woman they would take advantage of you.

Answer 8

OMG!! You can get that belt for $20 off of ebay or any autozone or advance auto... you can get someone to put it in, they arent that hard to change. Dont goto the dealership, what aholes for trying to rip you off so bad!!!!

Answer 9

you got gypped over