I have a 2007 Honda Fit Sport. My wife recently brought it in for regular service and they pointed out that the passenger side taillight is cracked. It’s a noticeable crack, but the light works fine and it is in no danger of falling apart or anything. I didn’t even notice it until they pointed it out. Nevertheless, they said it might not pass inspection next time we bring it in, depending on how nit-picky the inspector is. The quoted us a cost to fix of $280.
Now, I know that repair costs at a dealership are typically higher than at just a regular body shop, but this struck me as ludicrous. It’s a piece of cracked plastic! I’ve done some searching around on the internet, and it appears that the light is sold as a whole unit, so that explains a little bit why it’s more expensive than one might imagine. But the prices I’ve seen trolling around are anywhere from $75-115 new for the part.
So, I’m looking for some advice. According to some how-to videos I’ve seen, it looks like something I could replace myself if I had the part. (I’m not a car person but I’m not an idiot, either). So, some questions:
[ul]
[li]Is $280 a reasonable price to replace a cracked but not broken taillight on a Fit? If not, what is?[/li][li]Is it as simple to replace as it looks for a layman? [/li][li]If so, where is a reputable place to order such a unit?[/li][/ul]
When I busted my tail light I found one on ebay for cheap and was able to replace it myself. I am a completely inexperienced girly girl with no car maintenance experience to speak of. It is more difficult to change the bulb in my headlights than it was to replace the entire tail light. It is definitely as simple as it looks.
I can’t remember which vendor I ordered my light from, but I do remember there were a ton and that they had varying ratings from ebay.
Taillight assemblies are always absurdly expensive. I’m really surprised it’s only $280 - that sounds like an aftermarket price. So, if the dealer is quoting that price, I’d pay it and move on with your life.
Head over to your local salvage yard (junk yard) and try to find one there. Installation is usually very simple and you will save yourself a ton. I would be surprised if it would cost above $40 for a replacement off a wreck. I have saved literally thousands of dollars over the years purchasing used parts, and something like a tailight can save you hundreds of dollars.
I just checked the place where I would order Honda parts from and all the taillight pieces together seem to be about the same price. FTR, when I saw the tread title, the first thing that popped into my head was “Oh, about three or four hundred dollars”.
Check Collegehillshonda.com*. I’ve ordered stuff from them before with good results (as do people on the Honda board I frequent.)
*This should be the right page for your car, but I would suggest going back to the homepage and navigating back to it again in case I entered something wrong.
ETA, this one looks cheaper then $280, I did the math wrong and added the left and right taillights together.
Is this a real concern, or just something dealers say to sell you a new tail-light? What kind of inspection does it even have to passs where this is relevant? The tail-light is still functional, so it seems absurd to force someone to replace it.
What if they “repaired” it with some model airplane glue, or a piece of clear tape?
I am not familiar with the Fit, but I have a CRV and an Odyssey… I have replace a side-view mirror, head lamps, removed radios, installed Sirius, and Hondas are generally very easy to remove and replace things… I am sure there is a Honda Fit Forum with folks who have already done this and can share photos or pointers.
When I was restoring cars I lived in Georgia. It should be noted that most of what I was restoring were late 70’s early 80’s Japanese sports cars, so the newer taillight might bring more of a premium. Don’t forget that you can haggle with pick and pull lots. Never ever accept their first offer.
Thanks, that one looks like the right one. I found a similar site that had it for $112, and that one is $120. So it seems like the service center is pretty much trying to charge me $160 for a 1/2 hour of work (probably less for them). Grrrrr.
I’m in Boston. To be honest, if I’m going to replace it, I’d prefer to replace it with a new one, but perhaps that’s just some fear that I’d be getting a dud from a junkyard, never having gone to a junkyard.
I’m asking myself the same question. I’m in MA, and we need to get the car inspected for emissions and general road-worthiness every year. I’ve never had a car not pass, so I really don’t know if this is a concern or not.
Thanks to everyone for the helpful replies!
They probably charge about $100/hr for labor with a minimum of one hour. That’s pretty typical. Plus the markup on the part.
The dealership I use for my Honda charges $95 just to look at a car. But they’ll put it towards the repairs if you get the car fixed (and refund it if it’s under warranty). I blew a gasket at the GM the first time they told me that they were going to charge me $95 to tell me if my broken windshield wiper motor would be free to fix. Luckily he waived the diagnostic fee, but I presume that’s because of a combination of a boatload of other problems I had with their service writer and the fact that he knew it would be covered by my warranty.
Years ago I drove an ancient Ford Escort that was on its last legs. It would not pass PA inspection without new ball-joints, and the labor charge was more than the value of the car.
I managed to buy the parts and a Haynes manual from JC Whitney. I borrowed a set of jack stands. It took hours, and left me with a few minor cuts and scrapes, but I did it. I am not a car guy or a mechanic.
Probably. “Cracked but not broken” is irrelevant – the whole thing has to be replaced either way.
In this particular case, probably not. In my repair info, the first step in replacing a taillight assembly is “Remove the rear bumper.” Others’ experience on different cars is not necessarily applicable – they aren’t all designed the same.
No no no no no. That’s not how auto repair pricing works. The prices you’re finding are likely in the neighborhood of the wholesale price the dealer pays to buy the part from Honda. They’re in business; you don’t survive in business by selling stuff for the same price you paid for it. They’re selling you the part for its retail price; the labor charge is more likely half or so what you’ve calculated.
A Missouri Vehicle Inspection, for one.
A cracked lens assembly can admit water, which can cause a bulb to blow. More likely though, the state’s concern is that broken lenses can change how the light looks to other motorists, for example just a bare bulb shining without the red coloration that other drivers automatically associate with a tail or brake light. The state is not going to get into the endless fight of drawing the line between what degree of cracking or breakage is acceptable and what is not. They take the simple and unarguable position that ANY cracking or breakage fails inspection.
Taillight assemblies available from non-factory sources are not always up to factory quality. They may not fit just right, or may not be as sturdy. It’s possible they may be perfectly serviceable, but there’s some element of risk. If you choose the factory part, you can count on its quality.
On most cars, doing this yourself would be pretty straightforward and not a big challenge. On this Fit, if the rear bumper does indeed have to come off for access, it might well be more of a challenge than you’re up for.
