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been receiving these ads in my email on a regular basis for quiet some time now. when i look at the things that are on the list and the price that the dealership charges, i kind of have to take a deep breath and tell myself to relax.
1. engine oil and oil filter replacement
* 5 qts of full synthetic oil plus a quality filter should cost around $30 ($20-$25 for the oil, $5-$10 for the filter)
A few months ago, walmart had a deal on mobil extended performance 0w-20 engine oil，you can buy 5qts of the oil for $15.
2. replace oil drain plug
* this to me is optional. i change my own oil, every time i remove the drain plug, i check it myself, if i don't see anything wrong with it, i normally don't replace it. in case you do decide to replace it, it costs around $5 on amazon
3. add oil booster
* never added oil booster on any of my cars, never noticed any problems. personally, i feel like there are probably a million things that you can do or spend money on to make your car runs better, smoothier, faster... but is it really worth to pay the dealership to do these services?
for example, i know some shop charges $70 for cleaning 4 spark plugs, and brand new spark plugs costs around $7 each.
4. inspect exhaust system and leak
* never heard any weird noise from the exhaust system of any of my cars, never touched it, never had problem with it
5&6, replace engine and cabin filter
* probably one of the easiest things that you can do on your own; don't even need any tools to replace them. an average quality engine air filter costs around $10, cabin filter is about the same.
7. rotate tires, correct tire pressure and check brakes
* it is just work. loose all the lug nuts on all 4 tires, jack the car up, rotate them. tire pressure, spend $10 and buy a tire gauge and check it yourself, should be 32psi.
NO! It should be what the manufacturer of the vehicle recommends. That could be 32, could be 26, could be 38. It on the placard on a doorjamb. Don in Austin
Quote:
Originally Posted by some1livesinamerica
brakes, just check the thickness of the pads and rotors.
8&9. perform multiple point inspection&vacuum
* who knows what the hell multiple point inspection includes. after they perform the multiple point inspection, they will recommend me to pay $49.99 for the fuel cleaning service, it will clean the fuel system of my car inside out, yea right.
vacuum, no comment
together, in parts, it costs around $55($30 for the engine oil&filter, $20 for the engine air&cabin filters, $5 for the drain plug) and the dealership is charging over 160 US dollars to do the things that are on the list and this is actually considered as a coupon and has an expiration date on it, lol. what a joke!
I can get my oil changed at Walmart and it's 64 bucks (3.5 gallon of oil). I can't even buy the oil for that cheap much the less the filter and labor plus getting rid of the old.
I can get my oil changed at Walmart and it's 64 bucks (3.5 gallon of oil). I can't even buy the oil for that cheap much the less the filter and labor plus getting rid of the old.
after reading some of the replies, this is what i want to say.
whatever the amount that the dealership wants to charge for its services is its own business. BUT i think as dealerships, they should know what kind of services are necessary, what kind are not. the tricky part is how do you define the word "necessary". I am more upset about those unnecessary services that on the list than the $160 price.
Clearly, services such as add oil booster, replace oil drain plug seal, check exhaust system for leaks are not as critical as changing the engine oil, oil filter and transmission fluid. And imo, the reasons those services are on the list is b/c the dealership is being greedy! they recommend all those services, not b/c your car really need them, but b/c they want to make their wallet fatter, bigger! and thats what really pisses me off!!!! When i took my car in for a recall last year, they pretend to be nice to me and did a free multiple inspection on my car! free! no charge! even though they didn't find anything wrong with my car, they recommended the $49.99 fuel injection cleaning service. when i saw the recommended fuel injection cleaning service on my receipt, it was like the dealership was trying to shove a dirty fly into my mouth and make me pay for it.
Things like cabin, air filters should be replaced if they are dirty, it will be a waste of money to replace them if they are not dirty and in good condition. If you take this coupon to the dealership, the dealer will replace your cabin filters and air filters regardless of the condition of the filter, which in imo is totally unnecessary and im sure the cost of the filters are included the $160 price.
When i was a kid in school, my teachers and parents always taught me you need to be honest with other people, you need to be some1 that has integrity, that do the right thing! as an adult, maybe im not as honest as i would like to be, maybe i don't do the right thing ALL THE TIME, but i really try to follow those principles in my daily life. As humans, i think we all want to live an affluent life, to have a good family, live in a nice house, go on vacation every year, but you got earn it thru hard work, thru making sacrifices!!! not thru pushing customers that don't know much about cars to pay for those imo useless cleaning services!
but when i go to car dealerships for a recall, when i go to car shops for a routine oil change, and i see car mechanics try to push for all those imo unnecessary services, just so they can get their $10k bonus at the end of the year, it really pisses me off!
Last edited by some1livesinamerica; 05-18-2017 at 12:16 PM..
I can get my oil changed at Walmart and it's 64 bucks (3.5 gallon of oil). I can't even buy the oil for that cheap much the less the filter and labor plus getting rid of the old.
There is a lot of capital investment in a dealership. People seem to forget that the property, building, lifts, equipment, and operating costs for a dealership are substantial. Just the diagnostic tools and updates are potentially tens of thousands of dollars. There are not only the technicians and sales reps that need paychecks, but supporting staff like office manager, title clerk, receptionist, porters, lot attendants...
I understand that auto dealerships have a lot of overhead which they have to recoup somehow.
But they have to recoup it from someone else. Not me.
after reading some of the replies, this is what i want to say.
whatever the amount that the dealership wants to charge for its services is its own business. BUT i think as dealerships, they should know what kind of services are necessary, what kind are not. the tricky part is how do you define the word "necessary". I am more upset about those unnecessary services that on the list than the $160 price.
Clearly, services such as add oil booster, replace oil drain plug seal, check exhaust system for leaks are not as critical as changing the engine oil, oil filter and transmission fluid. And imo, the reasons those services are on the list is b/c the dealership is being greedy! they recommend all those services, not b/c your car really need them, but b/c they want to make their wallet fatter, bigger! and thats what really pisses me off!!!! When i took my car in for a recall last year, they pretend to be nice to me and did a free multiple inspection on my car! free! no charge! even though they didn't find anything wrong with my car, they recommended the $49.99 fuel injection cleaning service. when i saw the recommended fuel injection cleaning service on my receipt, it was like the dealership was trying to shove a dirty fly into my mouth and make me pay for it.
Things like cabin, air filters should be replaced if they are dirty, it will be a waste of money to replace them if they are not dirty and in good condition. If you take this coupon to the dealership, the dealer will replace your cabin filters and air filters regardless of the condition of the filter, which in imo is totally unnecessary and im sure the cost of the filters are included the $160 price.
When i was a kid in school, my teachers and parents always taught me you need to be honest with other people, you need to be some1 that has integrity, that do the right thing! as an adult, maybe im not as honest as i would like to be, maybe i don't do the right thing ALL THE TIME, but i really try to follow those principles in my daily life. As humans, i think we all want to live an affluent life, to have a good family, live in a nice house, go on vacation every year, but you got earn it thru hard work, thru making sacrifices!!! not thru pushing customers that don't know much about cars to pay for those imo useless cleaning services!
but when i go to car dealerships for a recall, when i go to car shops for a routine oil change, and i see car mechanics try to push for all those imo unnecessary services, just so they can get their $10k bonus at the end of the year, it really pisses me off!
I'm with you on this, unfortunately, this is the dealership business model, and it apparently works for them, or they would stop doing it. High pressure sales tactics with samples of old and new fluids to push people into them.
My worst case of this, I took it one of my vehicles in for a 30k miles service. Factory manual basically calls for an oil change, and a bunch of inspections, and perhaps grease a couple of zerk fittings. Of course, the dealer recommended all kinds of fluid changes, flushes, services, induction service, etc....turning a $50 visit into a $950 visit. I told them I want EXACTLY what the factory specifies, showed them the page, and said "no more, no less".
In their notes for my service, they said "customer refused 30k miles service". Every dealer for that brand has access to those records and notes, so basically my car was "branded" as not doing the 30k, service, even though I did exactly that. Needless to say, I never set foot in that dealership again.
takes dealership 20 minutes might sound good on paper, but in reality, it is bad for your engine. when do your own oil change, you will learn that it takes quiet bit of time for the dirty engine oil to be drained out completely from the engine. the reason dealership and other auto shops only take 20 minutes b/c they don't want to wait that long for the engine oil to be drained out completely. time is money and they are there to make money.
this is one of the reasons why i do the maintenance myself, when you are trying to do maintenance work on a vehicle, it is about doing whats best for your vehicle, not how can i make the most amount of money from doing the work.
Again, who has time to let their car drain for an hour? No one I know!
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