Honda Anti-Freeze Rip Off

I went to my local Honda dealer yesterday to buy a gallon of
anti-freeze. He brings out the bottle and enters it in the computer.
When he handed it to me, I saw it was a premix, 50-50, and the price was
$15. I complained about the premix, asking for concentrate. After first
telling me this was all Honda was making, he found a bottle of
concentrate and entered that in the computer. Guess what, same $15.

So now Honda is selling a premix with only 1/2 gallon of anti-freeze for
the same price as a gallon of pure anti-freeze. And they wonder why
people want to use aftermarket products?

Norm

 

I love the premix!. Poor it in and I'm done. I don't have access to a garage
and don't want to keep half empty bottles of the stuff around for two years
between fluid changes, so it works for me. I don't love the price, but its
worth the convenience for me.

Bruce

 

You cheapskates slay me. So Honda coolant costs $7 more than generic brand, big
deal. You could easily make up the difference skipping that extra Whopper or
canceling online porn.



U.S.A. "Go West Young Men..."

Mexico "El Norte Hombre..."

 

The issue is not the price of the antifreeze, which we all know is high.
It's charging the same for premix as for concentrate. The aftermarket
couldn't get away with it, but Honda thinks nothing of sticking it to us.

Norm

 

It's charging the same for premix as for concentrate. The aftermarket

So? It's the same in aftermarket. To some people convenience is worth the
price. Concentrate is pretty much useless if there were no water around.



U.S.A. "Go West Young Men..."

Mexico "El Norte Hombre..."

 

Just go to Wal-mart and buy a gallon of Dexron II or any other type of
"new" formula anti-freeze for about $7. I really haven't found out
what's so special about Honda's formula, despite all the yack about
Honda's special formulations.

dan

 

I would not recommend using Dexron in a cooling system.

It's supposed to be silicate-free, which is better for the water pump.
But so are some aftermarket antifreezes.

 

Just go to Wal-mart and buy a gallon of Dexron II

why would u put ATF in the cooling system?



U.S.A. "Go West Young Men..."

Mexico "El Norte Hombre..."

 

There's no problem with aftermarket coolants as long as they're the
correct type. I don't even seen dealership mechanics using Honda's
coolant. They'll have a big drum of a store brand in their shop.

 

|In article <>,
|
|>I went to my local Honda dealer yesterday to buy a gallon of
|>anti-freeze. He brings out the bottle and enters it in the computer.
|>When he handed it to me, I saw it was a premix, 50-50, and the price was
|>$15. I complained about the premix, asking for concentrate. After first
|>telling me this was all Honda was making, he found a bottle of
|>concentrate and entered that in the computer. Guess what, same $15.
|>
|>So now Honda is selling a premix with only 1/2 gallon of anti-freeze for
|>the same price as a gallon of pure anti-freeze. And they wonder why
|>people want to use aftermarket products?
|>
|>Norm
|>
|
|There's no problem with aftermarket coolants as long as they're the
|correct type. I don't even seen dealership mechanics using Honda's
|coolant. They'll have a big drum of a store brand in their shop.

To be safe, use G-05 coolant. G-05 is very nearly a universal coolant. It's
commonly used by fleets. Gold/orange in color. Should run about $8/gallon.
Zerex offers it and probably others as well.
Rex in Fort Worth

 

I meant Dexcool, or Xerex orange type coolants, but you guys knew that
already. Honda's new type is still green, which just adds to the confusion.

dan

 

Mine has a Honda part number and label.

 

Dream on, Kemo Sabe!

 

Your dealer is overcharging. I've gotten the Honda Type 2 for as low as
$11.95 per jug. Much of the cost is in the packaging, transportation and
storage - what's in the bottle doesn't matter much, though the pre-mix has
demineralized water in it.

Umm, if you check the details you'll find that the Type 2 pre-mixed has a
change interval of 60K miles and the concentrate 30K miles - same fluid
cost in the end for a better product which saves you the labor of a change.
If you use aftermarket antifreeze, you'd better be very careful about which
kind - the regular Prestone will wreck your water pump and take the timing
belt with it.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

I left Community Honda in Orland Park Illinois today after they
attempted to rip me off on a repair.

Quoted me $220 over the phone for a wheel bearing replacement, parts
and labor. As they were writing me up, guy says the labor is $99 per
hour. No way he can let me have it for less than $400..

I started going to that dealer because Bill Kay Honda in Bradley
Illinois has been charging 50% over list price for parts. Had to pay
$120 for a battery one day when they were the only place open. Found
out later the list was substantially less.

Too bad. This is my third Honda, it will also be my last.

 

Since you have so much money to throw away, why not donate some to the
poor, or your local church. I am sure they won't mind taking money
from an idiot.

 

I started going to that dealer because Bill Kay Honda in Bradley

You really are a nitwit, aren't ya.



U.S.A. "Go West Young Men..."

Mexico "El Norte Hombre..."

 

4Oil (DrPimpDadi) wrote in

Why is he a nitwit if he can't stand the 'stealer'?

I'm lucky, my Honda dealer doesn't over-charge for labour, and parts are
reasonable, although not the cheapest. Still, their work is good, they
are customer focused, and they never try to rip me off. They'll even
tell me when something doesn't need to be done to save me some coin.

Still, I realize that others are less fortunate. Another Honda dealer I
went to was well known for charging 3x parts and service and generally
ripping people off. Their own staff were some of their biggest critics.

I had a 2002 M3 for almost 2 years... just sold it. Biggest reason was
because of ongoing service issues with the dealer. They couldn't be
trusted to do anything, not even the simplest things, too many to mention
them all. Here's just one example, I went to the Parts dept to buy front
reflectors as mine were cracked. He sends me to the Service dept and
says it will be warranty. I leave the car, give them my cel phone
number, and check out the mall across the street. No phone calls, I come
back 4 hrs later and they want to charge 90$ CDN per hr labour to install
2 front reflectors, 30 min each side. I tell them that's a joke, ask
the parts guy to sell me the reflectors (again) and pull out the old ones
and install the new ones in the service bay in less than a minute. The
service writer got all pissed with me for not paying over $100 (parts
plus shop materials) have them do it.

This is just one example of the numerous stupid things some dealers do.
Point I'm trying to make here is that usually it's more than just the
cost, but the poor service that turns people off. People are often
willing to pay more if they're shown excellent service to prove that the
cost is worth it. But if they get the high price and same old crappy
service, they'll walk. Big surprise.

If the guy can't find a dealer he can trust, then count yourself lucky
you're not in the same situation. Not a day goes by that I don't I wish
I still had my M3. My Accord Wagon is a reliable but boring substitute.
On the other hand, I know that at my Honda dealer I never have to worry
about being bent over without benefit of lubricant as was so common with
the BMW dealer.

Aquaintence of mine got an Acura CL from the Acura dealer right across
the street from my Honda dealer. He figures it's time for an upgrade, so
he was going to get a G35 coupe. But the dealers all tried to screw him
before he'd even bought the car. Meanwhile, his buddy at the Acura
service dept did a bunch of work for free even though the car is 9 months
out of the warranty. So he's going to stay with Acura, even though the
cars aren't his first choice, because he can trust the dealer.