Where do you go for your Fit repair and maintenance?

I go to the Honda Dealer where I bought my 2015 EX stick. Yeah I know it's more expensive than going to an indie mechanic. The Honda Dealer will fix and maintain my Fit the first time the right way.

 

I work on my cars myself, but as I commented in one of your previous posts my dad is a mechanic and so I spent lots of time as a kid helping him with repairs and getting comfortable around cars. Even though I don't live close to him anymore, he's only a phone call away and (so far) can always talk me though anything that I haven't already figured out from the service manual + Youtube videos.

If I didn't want to work on my car myself:
1) New car - I might consider using dealership repair services during the warranty period so that they would have a record of all service to the vehicle. Once the warranty was up I would find a good independent mechanic. I have never had a new car, or even a car with a warranty, so this hasn't come up in my ownership of ten or so cars in my life. I have bought a few parts for my Fit and previous cars from dealerships when it made sense in terms of price vs delivery time if ordered online.
2) Used car/no warranty - Independent mechanic.
3) Supercar/exotic - When I win the lottery and get my McLaren F1, I will do the right thing and have the single certified McLaren technician in the U.S. flown (first class, obviously) to my mansion and underground car bunker for annual service and repairs.

A Honda Fit is about as basic an automobile as you can buy today. There's nothing magical or exotic required to "fix it the right way." Working on a Honda Fit is not going to confuse an experienced mechanic. If it does you're not dealing with an experienced mechanic and you should find someone different. To look at it another way, it's probably easier to get a job as a dealership mechanic than it is to stay in business long-term as an independent mechanic.

If you're worried about the independent mechanic using the correct Honda certified fluids (e.g., ATF), you can bring your own and they will gladly use it. If you're worried that they won't know how to adjust the valve clearance, you can bring the service manual for them to consult. If you go to the dealership, are you 100% certain that the 22 year old mechanic working on your car is using the proper fluids or following every step in the service manual? I wouldn't be unless I specifically confirmed what they were doing.

In the end, if it makes you feel better to go to the dealership because of the giant Honda sign out front, that's what you should do. You just have to accept that you're paying a premium to help pay for the giant sign, the giant showroom, and the giant parking lot full of inventory.

 

I use official Honda dealers only here in the big city. Yes they are more expensive but you know it's done correctly. And if there are issues with the work Honda will be quicker to take care of it. Smaller shops may or may not back up their work. And Honda also most likely won't back private or smaller repair shops or their work. It's all up to your budget and the area you live in. Our Honda dealerships in the Seattle area all have great ratings and do take care of their customers no matter what. But if you live in the middle of nowhere that may be a whole different story.

 

Agree 1000%. I'd rather have a certified Honda Tech work on my Fit than a neighborhood local mechanic. I'd rather pay more at a Honda Dealer than pay less at a local mechanic.

 

I try to never go to the dealer. They don't know what they do, everything is super expensive and they are not able to be logical.

For example, on my old civic, I had a rusted brake line. The dealer wanted something like 2 k$ to fix it as they wanted to install the OE brake lines. To do so, they had to strip the car apart. Went to my mechanic, and he ran some brake line (on a roll), then added connectors at both ends, and it was done. All that for a little less than 200 $.

Important thing is to find a trusted and competent indie mechanic. Once you find one, keep it.

 

Great you found a trusted non dealer mechanic.

No such luck by me. The Honda Dealer I go to is trustworthy enough to work and maintain my 2015 Fit.

 

I'm lucky to live where we have multiple excellent independent mechanics. They compete, and have to maintain their reputation. My guy particularly is like a car whisperer.

Case in point: the underbelly pan came loose on my 2015 after running through some water. The dealer wanted me to replace it for $720.00. My guy charged me $39.00 for minimum hour labor and installed some new fasteners. I never returned to the dealer.

 

I guess I technically go to the Honda dealer to get my car serviced. The catch is that I'm still one one doing it since I'm a Honda technician. But I've worked for 1st and 3rd party shops. It really depends on what you're doing and the people at each. For instance, at indie shops, they often try to use "universal" fluids for things like transmissions and coolants which shouldn't be mixed. Of course some are better about this than others, but you have to keep an eye on them or bring your own fluids. I will also say that dealerships aren't that much more expensive than anywhere else for oil changes and you get an OEM filter vs some possibly cheap generic. That being said, for some things like the aforementioned brake line example, it can be much cheaper and less of a hassle to just have one made on site.

I always try to do everything myself anyway, but I'm a bit of a parts snob, so I did often stop by the local dealer parts department or any of the Honda parts sites to get OEM parts. Sometimes, aftermarket parts are alright. For example, when I did the timing belt on my 2006 Accord a few months ago, I used a Gates kit. It's a good quality kit and even a few of the master techs vouched for it, plus I paid $160 for it (ordered it off of RockAuto if anyone's curious) vs $400 for the Honda parts from our dealership (and that's with my employee discount). I also replaced the alternator a few months ago. An OE Honda one from the mothership would've set me back $500 (again, with my employee discount). I got a Denso (so still OEM) one from a local Parts Authority for $230 instead (no discounts on that one). Definitely do your homework when it comes to parts and what any indie shop will use or if it's worth it to buy your own.

 

It's a Fit: part of the charm is that it is basic, reliable transportation without a ton of complicated electronics and gimmicks.
If it were something exotic requiring specialized tools and know-how (e.g. if I lucked into a Ferrari that requires engine-out service), then maybe it makes sense to go back to the dealer.
Otherwise, a good, reputable indie mechanic (check reviews online) would be my first choice. The times I've gone to a dealership service department (albeit a Subaru dealer) I have been less-than-thrilled.
As an aside, it's no accident that the dealership service and parts department accounts for 44% of it's profits (https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/w...ake-money.html).

 

I try to do all of my own maintenance and repairs. But if I had to take it to a shop, it would probably be the dealer.