Ah, car karma

[drloretta]

I have a 6yo Honda Fit. It has had zero issues, and maintenance has been minimal. Until yesterday.

Major service

Replace brake pads

Recharge A/C

Alignment and balance

Annual inspection

Replace drive belt

$1097

Oh, and in a year I'll need a new timing belt and tires

Just a month ago, I took it in because the brake lights weren't working. I only needed 2 bulbs, to the tune of $15. It's all catching up to me...

[ssmjlm]

Wow it really needs a new timing belt already? That's not usually until 100k on cars.

[MeMyselfandI]

You might want a second opinion on the timing belt. I have a fit and it has a timing chain, not belt, and shouldn't need to be replaced.

[Mrs.Rad888]

Most of those just sound like normal periodic maintenance. A few of them, like recharging the AC or the alignment, kind of sound like they were taking advantage of you not being familiar with the maintenance and troubleshooting. Normally they don't all happen at once, but none of it is unusual to have to do.

ETA: I recommend that anyone taking their car in for maintenance Google to see exactly what needs to be done. Garages are notorious for upselling customers.

[drloretta]

Aug 23, 2015 18:12:20 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Wow it really needs a new timing belt already? That's not usually until 100k on cars.

No, I said in a year. It's at 87k miles, and they replace at 100k

[drloretta]

Aug 23, 2015 18:22:05 GMT -5 Mrs.Rad888 said:

Most of those just sound like normal periodic maintenance. A few of them, like recharging the AC or the alignment, kind of sound like they were taking advantage of you not being familiar with the maintenance and troubleshooting. Normally they don't all happen at once, but none of it is unusual to have to do.

ETA: I recommend that anyone taking their car in for maintenance Google to see exactly what needs to be done. Garages are notorious for upselling customers.

Yes, all that was routine or something I brought up, like the AC (it was taking forever to cool). It was due for a tire balance and alignment. I trust this place, they have never screwed me over. It just wasn't fun having it all happen at once

[AAM2012]

Aug 23, 2015 19:00:43 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

Sometimes I'm so happy to be married to a mechanic.

Yes or a family member that lives close by. We just spent $700 on a belt and alternator because the mechanic said the alternator looked like it was wearing and would need to be replaced soon.

I told my dad who is a mechanic and he just laughed and said we overpaid by $400 as we shouldn't have replaced the alternator until it goes.

[macmars45]

Aug 23, 2015 18:12:20 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Wow it really needs a new timing belt already? That's not usually until 100k on cars.

When H and I were a one car family and commuted an hour each way for work we put 100K on said car in 4-4.5 years.

[aurora]

$1k for a car with almost 90k miles sounds amazing to me! Things do wear out on cars.

[sfy]

Aug 23, 2015 23:32:24 GMT -5 aurora said:

$1k for a car with almost 90k miles sounds amazing to me! Things do wear out on cars.

Yes, if this is car karma, it's the good kind, honestly.

[womet]

Yup, mine needed a new transmission. Not worth it when the car is 10 years old and has over 100K miles on it. That was after I'd paid to fix the back gate.

[drloretta]

Aug 24, 2015 8:15:29 GMT -5 womet said:

Yup, mine needed a new transmission. Not worth it when the car is 10 years old and has over 100K miles on it. That was after I'd paid to fix the back gate.

Ouch!