what a Ripoff !!

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OtisBlkR1

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I got a notice of recall today on my Honda Accord, so while i was setting the appointment i thought to myself "why dont i just let them replace the squeeky belt) and asked about it, I was quoted $120.00 to replace a belt... seriously ?? I ran outside and popped the hood, the belt looks very easy to replace..

Needless to say i made my appointment for the recall notice but decline the belt.. I stopped at Napa and picked one up for $26.00 (discount price)
thumbsup2.gif
and i will throw it on in the morning..

Sometimes it just isnt worth being lazy..
 
If it is a spring loaded tensioner that you simply take the tension off with a wrench and pull the old belt and re-route the new that is insane! If it's like my dodge was and manually tensioned it requires quite a bit more work and would make sense.
 
well, i could be wrong but its a 07 accord and it apears to have a tensioner on it.. I will know for sure in the morning !
 
My wife's 2003 Accord has a spring loaded tensioner. I have no idea about a 2007 but all it takes to replace her belt is a wrench on the tensioner, a bit of patience and about ten minutes of my time.
 
Even if it's a spring loaded tensioner with 1 serpentine belt, some of them actually go through the engine mounts, which............has to be onbolted and the engine jacked up, to get the belt through.

I'd like to have a chat with the engineers who designed engines that way!
 
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Pretty outrageous to ask to be paid for performing a task for which you are in business. 8)
Being paid is one thing...demanding a right arm or a first-born male child is in fact outrageous.
 
Seems like a normal dealer price to me.

From what I've seen/experienced, shops have been charging over $100 to change a serpentine belt for years now. The belts themselves aren't cheap.
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
Seems like a normal dealer price to me.

From what I've seen/experienced, shops have been charging over $100 to change a serpentine belt for years now. The OEM belts themselves aren't cheap.


There, now that looks better....
 
Originally Posted By: MrQuackers
The belt is what? $10-$15.


Since the dealer gets a wholesale price on an factory OEM belt I would be that price is about right. If it is just relieving tension on a spring and slipping a belt on and off, that is ONLY worth 60 bucks even at a dealer.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Even if it's a spring loaded tensioner with 1 serpentine belt, some of them actually go through the engine mounts, which............has to be onbolted and the engine jacked up, to get the belt through.

I'd like to have a chat with the engineers who designed engines that way!


Something tells me that your experience was NOT on a Honda Accord! Come to think of it, I don't think it was a Honda or a Toyota. Could it be VW or Audi?? Whatever you might think of Honda or Toyota as a company, doing boneheaded designs is not their forte.
 
BTW, some people (like myself) always change the idler and tensisioner (usually one unit) when they do a serpentine. I have seen too many new serpentine belts not fix the problem, or fail in a short time because either the idler bearings were shot, or the tensioner was not working properly anymore.

The only down side to replacing the idler and the tensioner is that now days you never know where the parts are made, and what the quality of the new part is.

Also, while you have the belt off check that the items it turns seam ok in the way they turn, and how much slop is in their bearings.
 
Belt cost + labor + "shop supplies" + tax = what i think is a fair price.

Sure the belt is easy to replace on some engines while others are a royal pain in the rear and to 90% of the public who aren't mechanically inclined, it's easier and rather cheap to have the dealer do it.

My question to the OP is, why was he even considering to have the dealership touch the car? Shouldn't he already KNOW that they charge an arm and a leg? DIY!
 
Originally Posted By: Artem
Belt cost + labor + "shop supplies" + tax = what i think is a fair price.

Sure the belt is easy to replace on some engines while others are a royal pain in the rear and to 90% of the public who aren't mechanically inclined, it's easier and rather cheap to have the dealer do it.

My question to the OP is, why was he even considering to have the dealership touch the car? Shouldn't he already KNOW that they charge an arm and a leg? DIY!


did you read my first post ? there is a factory recall on the car so its going to be in the shop anyways, i was simply being lazy asking them there price on the belt job..

there price for the belt was $62.99
there price for the install was 3/4 a hours labor or $60.00

after tax etc.. final cost would have probably been up in the $130's

I stopped at Napa and with a discount picked up the belt for $26.28

The part that i found outragous was asking $60.00 some bucks to put the belt on.. if it is a tensioner (im sure it is) this is a simple one cup of coffee job (10-15 min tops).

Sorry if i ruffled in shops owners/managers feathers.. that price just seemed outragous to me..
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Zaedock
If the $120 included the belt, that was a fair price.


Seems fair to me. I know there are some Ford belts that are pushing $100 alone.
 
Our shop charges $80 per hour, and in our area, we are on the low side. Book time on most serpentine belts that I have seen is .75 to 1 hour. On most jobs, if we have to put it on a rack and pop the hood, it isn't worth it to the shop or the technician for anything less than a half hour.

Personally, I wouldn't pay that for a belt change, because I can do it myself. Better yet, I can use our shop to do it at no charge and don't have to worry about the cold. $120 may be more than it is worth for you to have them change it (it would be for me too) but it is hardly unfair or a rip off.
 
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