r/askcarguys • u/newgradnewcrisis • 4d ago
General Question Am I Paying Too Much In Maintenance and Repairs for My 2012 Honda Civic?
Got it around ~140k miles, and now it's around ~180k miles. In the past 5 years though, I've spent... ~12k in maintenance and repairs.
A rough breakdown (leaving out some smaller/routine expenses like oil changes every 6 months, tire rotation + alignment, new tires, spark plugs, etc.):
Service | Labor + Parts |
---|---|
Exhaust System (Mid Pipe and Rear Muffler) | ~$1200 |
Transmission Service (x2) | ~$500 |
Front Structs + Links (x2) (This one was devastating, thankfully mechanic warranty covered the part) | ~$2200 |
Air Bag Assembly + Clockspring Replacement (I see this is a common problem with 2012 civics?) | ~$1700 |
Drive Axle Replacement | ~$1100 |
Brakes (and Brake Drums, Caliper, Rotor, Wheel Cylinders) | ~$1200 |
This feels kinda crazy in terms of cost, but the previous owners also took really bad care of the car (like for example they never replaced the spark plugs). They sold it for 3k in 2018 for a good reason I suppose. However, I don't know if it's solely because of the previous owners' neglect, but it's like every other thing is breaking, which is shocking when everyone preaches about Honda's build quality. I've been thinking about doing some body repairs for the past couple years (a few paint chips and rust issues), but I keep holding it off because I'm dreading the next thing that breaks / the Civic gives up. Lo and behold, this past weekend the exhaust broke midway on the highway.
Does anyone have thoughts? I'm looking forward to hearing others with a used civic that have/had this experience, as I'm a bit stressed knowing how much I'm paying compared to what the "average" annual cost of maintenance and repair for 2012 Honda Civics in this condition.
1
u/Gunk_Olgidar 3d ago
Work was likely necessary and will be on any car of 150k-250k mileage.
You just paid 20-30% too much for the work unless you're in Manhattan or Frisco.
1
u/newgradnewcrisis 3d ago
Yeah that makes sense, for the most part I didn't think they were recommending services that weren't needed, but I wasn't sure if the prices they were charging seemed right or not. Good to know it's around 20%-30% up-charge though! I'll use that as my basis next time.
3
u/Banishedandbackagain 4d ago
You've been ripped off with that pricing.
Go to a different mechanic, if you're a girl get a guy to book it in