Dealership repairs…

[DannyQ]

I feel like the chump who got stumped…

Long story short, I took my girlfriends car into the Honda dealership and was suppose to get the “special” for brake replacements and resurfacing because it ended up beating all other surrounding shops’ prices.

I just got a call saying the rotors are too thin to resurface, which I am almost positive is not true, because Burien Japanese Auto said they could have resurfaced them when they did work on my car the other day, I just didn’t have the time.

It is going to cost me an EXTRA $200 (Parts??!)now that I wasn’t anticipating on paying for. Should I call their bluff or could it be that Burien Japanese Auto would have done it even if they were too thin and just has lower standards or am I being reemed?

Might I say I took the car in originally to have a recall taken care of and a warrantied item fixed. That’s why I choose to have them do it other than the great price.

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[redblack]

hard to say, danny. but rotors are metal parts, and they will outlive their usefulness, so you’ll have to replace them eventually.

but if money is tight, i’d say tell the dealership, “no thanks,” and have japanese auto look at it. if there’s enough meat left on the rotors to resurface them, then you win.

but you should be prepared for them to start resurfacing only to find out that the dealer was right.

since safety is the bottom line here, are you having trouble stopping the car effectively, or is this just proactive preventative maintenance?

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[Ken]

Nearly all cars made since 1980 have rotors that easily get too thin to resurface. That was one of the places all car makers that sold to the US market could trim about 30 lbs of weight which goes directly to fuel economy test results.

The rotors on my 74 impala could be machined 3 times before they had to be replaced. every car since then has been “too thin to resurface” at every place I checked. I just automatically replace them myself now when I do a brake job.

The replacement rotors are not much better. I put 5 replacement rotors on my sable wagon in the 12 years I had it. The 1990’s sable/taurus line was famous for the rotor being so thin it warped and became a pulsating pedal, even with moderate braking.

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[Mr. X]

Danny, curious which Honda dealer you are talking about? If it’s Burien Honda, they recently had an ownership change. I’ve been going there for routine maintenance for years and always felt like I got good, honest service. BUT I was there two weeks ago for an oil change and noticed some different folks in the service department, and I’m not sure the changes are for the better…

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[WSB]

For what it’s worth: Both our cars are Hondas (both in the six-digit-odometer range, too) and we have taken them to West Seattle Autoworks and Tom’s Automotive (both of which happen also to be WSB sponsors, though we do not limit our business dealings to sponsors) for various things, and have been pleased with the service and results at both. Might not be applicable to the OP but in case anyone happens onto this looking for Honda servicing … TR

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[kayo]

I don’t know if this helps, but I got my brakes done at Burien Honda about a year ago and they were able to grind down the warped rotors on my Honda Odyssey and fix a wicked shimmy. They did a great job and even gave me a free loaner car for the day. I have no idea if the service will stay the same now that ownership has changed, but they did a good job for me. I had never used a dealer before that, but I was impressed and have gone back for routine oil changes (which are cheaper there than most places).

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