Hi everybody, first I must say I know close to nothing about cars and don't have anyone in my life who does either, other than my mechanic! I hope you knowledgeable people can help me out. I think this is the right forum :-/ Thanks in advance.

I have a 1999 Honda Accord EXV6 and my mechanic told me last week I need all new transmission mounts. He rough quoted me about $400. Is this unreasonable? I checked Autozone/O'Reily online for replacement parts for my car and found the mounts for $13.99. Would a better option be to buy them myself and have him just install them for me? I'm moving away to college in 2 weeks and am majorly penny pinching so I'm trying to replace them as frugally as possible. Oh yes and I live in Los Angeles, I don't know if that makes a difference.

Hopefully those weren't too stupid of questions, I just figured where better on the web than Honda Tech to ask as I am seriously clueless.Thank you!

 

$400 is probably not terribly unreasonable. A lot of mechanics wont take customer supplied parts, or they'll mark the labor up to compensate for money lost on parts. (when a mechanic/shop buys parts they get them at a steep discount, but sell the for full list/retail to the customer)

If you're hard up for money you may want to look into replacing them yourself. They can be in awkward places but don't normally require more than basic hand tools to replace. (typically for a Honda a 1/2" drive breaker bar, ratchet and 14 and 17mm sockets will get the job done along with a prybar for getting the mounts in and out and a jack to support the engine and transmission from underneath (note, always put a block of wood between the oil pan and the jack when jacking on the oil pan to avoid denting the pan)