So, I'm a little over 30k and 3 years with my car. I just got the oil and brake fluid changed. I bought the ow-20 oil for $5.23 a quart at my local Honda dealership. The brake fluid was $4.48 and the oil filter was $7.27. I took all this stuff over to my friendly neighbor mechanic and he charged me $12 for the oil and filter change, $80 for a brake fluid flush and replacement, and rotated and balanced my tires for $15. He also told me I had 70% left on my front and rear brakes. How do others feel about these prices and charges?

Well Jeff;

We charge at the Hourly rate of $75.00 Per Hour for repairs. But at the same time the (Normal) Service Items you speak of are all Discounted to be Competitive with other Independent Shops.

Back to your Question. Your Price for work done seems Fair to me.

Terry

Here's probably what some may seem as a dumb question, but I don't know. Does the brake fluid have to be flushed or can you just replace it like you do the oil?

Jeff;

I'm not a tech at the dealership, but it seems to me that they hook up and use air pressure to completely flush the old brake fluid completely out of the system. That is why it cost more. It is time consuming. Then the system is replenished with New Brake Fluid and System Bled to remove all air out of it.

HTH;

Terry

Also, flushing the brake fluid removes (hopefully) any moisture (H2O) and other contaminants that may have condensed in the master cyl or lines over time. It is VERY important that only a qualified person do the flush and only use unopened (fresh) containers of fluid and DRY compressed air to reduce H2O contamination of the system. Unless you have the proper tools and bleeder pump, I wouldn't attempt this job by myself.

Speaking of brakes... I still have the original set of brake pads installed -- 3.5 years and 93k miles later.

Yeah, water (even in trace amounts) can *royally* screw up the brakes. It never happened to my HCH, but it did happen to my old motorcycle.