Non honda service on 96 Civic

Hello. I have a 96 Civic EX with 105,000 miles. It is in excellent
condition. The only ever wrong with it was a bad alternator. I am now
considering going somewhere else besides the dealer for maintanence. I
really do not know much about cars so trying to figure out how to choose. Is
sears autocenter good? Or how do you pick a good independent mechanic? How
will I know if they use non-honda parts? Thanks.

 

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Ask Honda owners who are friends, or Honda /Acura people you meet at the
gas station.

'Curly'

 

The number one rule is, do NOT go to any of the large franchises (Sears,
AAMCO, Midas, Firestone etc.). About a decade or so ago, Sears was
ordered by the government to close down its auto service centers due to
outright fraud committed against the customers. They struck a deal, and
was able to keep operating. If you follow this and other auto related
news groups, you will see that there is no better place to find utter
incompetence than at the large franchises.

Locally (Silicon Valley) the dealer prices for service range from decent
(Los Gatos Honda) to outrageous (Stevens Creek Honda), so call around
for quotes. I have had excellent (Steve Smith Auto Service, Mountain
View) and very good (Made in Japan, Sunnyvale) service from independent
shops. The independent mechanics can be hit or miss, so ask your friends
for referrals.

 

hell no. nor pep boys, firestone, kmart, walmart... they all suck.

got any friends or co workers with hondas? ask em where they go.

youll know if you ask. if theyre a good independant, theyll know what
they can get by with for aftermarket stuff, and what they *need* for
OEM, like tranny fluid.

or you can just specify honda parts. be prepared to maybe pay a bit extra.

 

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