Would dealerships have problems installing parts from elsewhere?
 

My mom has her '91 Accord at a Honda dealership, getting it serviced (Broke down on Monday, some kind of electrical problem towards the engine, as blinkers etc. would work, but the engine wouldn't run) and she wants to have the battery replaced, but she wants to buy the battery from somewhere else and give it to the dealership since it's cheaper to get a battery replaced this way...

Does anyone know if a car dealership would have any problems with installing parts that aren't from the dealership?

Most likely they would have a problem with it hehe
You can't change the battery yourself? Batteries are usually quite easy to change :)

I would, but it's already at the dealership getting checked up since last night...They suggested to replace the battery today, since they found out it was shot, but replacing it there would cost $180 plus the labor...My aunt suggested about replacing the battery ourselves, but since it won't run without a new battery, we'd have to pay for another tow service to bring it back home, and it just wouldn't be worth it then... ;)

And that's why I'm asking... :)

I think in the UK, main dealers have to use parts if you supply them, and they are of adequate quality and obviously the correct fitting...

Chris

Bring the new battery with you when you go to the dealership. When they roll the car out of the shop and into the parking lot, pop the hood and replace it yourself. ;)

Also, a lot of people don't know this, but keeping the top and sides of the battery clean will actually make it last longer. Every couple weeks or so, disconnect the negative terminal from the battery post and clean the battery with a damp cloth. Make sure you don't rub and debris into the vents at the base of each of the caps, though. If it's a maintenance free type, you don't have to worry about that... just wipe it down and keep it clean. When you're done, make sure you wash the cloth and your hands really well, too.

The reason for this is because large amounts of debris and build-up on the top of the battery can actually cause a weak short between the positive and negative termincals on the battery, causing it to drain slowly. It would normally take a month of inactivity for the battery to drain completely down, but after a year or two of build-up causing that weak short, it will decrease the overall life of your battery.

So keep it clean, and it'll last a long time. :)

180 plus labor? hahahah Rip off. Batteries cost about 50 bucks, and labor charges for changing one is a laugh.

A new one on me. .... Learn something new every day! :up:

You know, I actually thought about doing that...

My mom's car broke down when she was supposed to be picking me up from my dad's house...Her car gave way not long from where my dad lived, so my dad went over there to pick my mom up and bring me home at the same time...

When we got there, my dad thought it could've been a problem with the alternator, but when he checked the terminals on the battery, they were just corroded with this green stuff...He suggested that I should clean the terminals off before we would give changing the battery a try once we got our car back home...

We had the car towed back the same night, and I would've done it the following day, but it just downpoured all day and didn't stop until the tow truck did finally come...My grandpa wanted to take it in for service, but I forgot to make mention of the corroded terminals to him, so I didn't have a chance...

My mom's gonna go to the dealership today and let them try to "fix it"...I'm gonna try to make mention to the dealership guys to, uhh, check the terminals if they havn't yet before, uhh, doing anything else... ;)

[edit]D'OH! I fucked up...It's actually $118, but it's still mroe expensive than buying the battery yourself... :D :p [/edit]