Need Factory Hitch Installed in San Diego

[aviate]

Hello.

I'm not interested in crawling around under my brand new (yesterday) Pilot and ripping off a bunch of body parts to install a factory hitch and coolers. Does anyone have any experience with dealer installed hitches in San Diego or South Orange County? Please provide prices and whether you would recommend them for other service work. I have read the other threads about hitches but have not seen anything specific to San Diego. We'll be towing a 4000 lb. boat (I hope!).

Thanks.

[smurray]

Originally posted by aviate
Hello.

I'm not interested in crawling around under my brand new (yesterday) Pilot and ripping off a bunch of body parts to install a factory hitch and coolers. Does anyone have any experience with dealer installed hitches in San Diego or South Orange County? Please provide prices and whether you would recommend them for other service work. I have read the other threads about hitches but have not seen anything specific to San Diego. We'll be towing a 4000 lb. boat (I hope!).

Thanks.

Welcome aviate. Good to see another SD Pilot owner. There are some really good DIY instructions if you check out this thread starting with the post from hoppy on 9/21/02. There are links to several other accessory DIY instructions in this thread.
If you're close I might be interested in helping you out. I'm anxious to get the towing hitch myself and wouldn't mind experimenting on someone elses car

[smurray]

Oh, and you'll want to get on wwong's Southern California Owners list here. One day we might actually have a meet.

[wwong]

aviate has been added to the So Cal list. Here's the link,
Southern California Members List

[PNW-Pilot]

I purchased my CRV from Poway Honda and they were very good on pricing. Most dealers will give you 10% off if you purchased your vehicle from them.

From what i have read you need to make sure to purchase the towing package not just the trailer hitch if you plan on towing over 1500lbs, you nned the tranny and oil cooler for heavy loads.

I purchased a Acura from Cush, they gave me 10% off labor and parts (for either my honda or Acura as they own both dealerships), as did Poway Honda for my CRV purchase.

[wwong]

PNW-Pilot,

Should I add you to the So Cal list?

[aviate]

smurray: I'm sure you would love to dig into a right-off-the-truck new Pilot but I'm afraid of what could happen. I'm mechanically capable although not too efficient. The DIY hitch install would probably take the weekend if everything went according to plan, but I'm not going to try. I read another post where the owner had Honda install the coolers and he/she installed the hitch, however I think I'll let the dealer do the whole thing.

My issue is that I bought the car out of the area and did not want to make a return trip to have the hitch installed (3-4 hours round-trip). So I thought I would see if anyone has been to the dealer to have a hitch installed after they purchased their Pilot. A service writer for a nearby dealer quoted me about $1250. When shopping for the Pilot the hitch price added to the sales contract was usually about $900-975. I think I'm going to have to pay more since I will be paying the service department and not the sales department for the hitch. Does that make sense?

If anyone knows a good dealer to have this done for a reasonable price, let me know. Thanks.

[Geo]

Originally posted by aviate

If anyone knows a good dealer to have this done for a reasonable price, let me know. Thanks.

Why are you limiting yourself to a honda dealer for installation?

Take the downloadable installation instructions to any good mechanic or shop, and ask them how much for install. A body shop can also do this.

The entire OEM 2004 tow kit (hitch, harness, coolers) is $525 and $50 delivery on the net.

My guess is that plenty of qualified shops will install for $175 to $250. That is $750 to $825 total. At $1250 your local dealer is taking $500 parts cost and adding $775 labor!

I would not be at all worried about having a non honda shop do this since you already drove off the lot without the hitch (I believe dealer installed at time of vehicle purchase makes a difference on the warranty of accesories). so at this point it makes no warranty difference.

The DIY on this is pretty easy for the mechanically inclined amateur. The instructions are clear as a bell and for a certified mechanic this will be a two three hour cake walk. Just photograph your front and rear bumpers (the only cosmetic damage a total idiot can do) and you will know if there was anything wrong with coolers install if you have any leaks.

there are a number of things I would have honda do, but the great majority of work can always be done by any qualified mechanic and this will almost always be cheaper. By law Honda can not disallow warranty soley because a non honda dealer did the work.

[aviate]

Okay, how about this . . . If I can't find a local dealer to do this for less than a grand ($400 labor) then I'll have a tow hitch installation party and all you SoCal torque wrenchers can come out and help me figure this thing out. And thanks Geo, I should also consider the non-Honda mechanic approach too.

Let me say that there are peace-of-mind issues to consider since we have a 4000 lb. boat to tow. Having a dealer or a reputable mechanic do the work will look better in the eyes of my insurance company if something goes wrong.

[PNW-Pilot]

Originally posted by wwong
PNW-Pilot,

Should I add you to the So Cal list?

I don't live in San Diego anymore, I moved to Seattle a few months ago.