Could they be serious about this?

[Tom7227]

Daughter called to get a 30,000 mile check and service on her 2008 Subaru Imprezza and they had a total of $694 on the bill. Oil and filter, three different charges for maintenance, flush cooling, flush brakes, flush tranni, change fluid and front and rear differentials and new air filter. Could they be serious about this? I can't ever remember flushing a brake system. She didn't go for it and I think it is outrageous.

[efgh]

Did she authorize any repair work when she had the checkup?

[Tom7227]

She never took it in. After seeing the list of proposed work she canceled and decided that we could do a lot of it ourselves.

[LwnmwnMan2]

One year one of my new mowers, I was going to do all the maintenance "to a T" out of the book.

I started doing the calculations and over the 3 years I normally keep a mower, I would have paid $2k less than a new mower, just on the maintenance.

I decided to keep the current maintenance plan.

[PierBridge]

Daughter called to get a 30,000 mile check and service on her 2008 Subaru Imprezza and they had a total of $694 on the bill. Oil and filter, three different charges for maintenance, flush cooling, flush brakes, flush tranni, change fluid and front and rear differentials and new air filter. Could they be serious about this? I can't ever remember flushing a brake system. She didn't go for it and I think it is outrageous.

That's absolutely nothing Tom compared to some of the stuff that is going on in the industry. Glad she didn't bite as a lot of the Dealer set suggestion guidelines for these repairs are a little wacky and unnecessary at those mileages.

Doubtful the tranny would need flushing at 30K LOL not sure on the others..

[Scott K]

I would suggest following the owners manual maint schedule. Do half now, half next oil change, do what you can do yourself, have someone else do the rest. Its recommended maint. You dont HAVE to do it, and they wont force you. Your vehicle also wont fall apart if some of the stuff isnt dont until 40+. But I wouldnt skip the oil change! Things such as air filter can be left alone if it is clean, cabin filter if it is still clean. I actually blow mine out on every oil change, and I hardly ever change air filters. Tranny service, like said, I doubt that is do yet, but if it is, it will say so in your owners manual. Coolant, I doubt would need to be done now either.

I would guess the things that need to be done now are oil change, fuel filter, air filter if needed, cabin filter if needed, and a tire rotate, if needed.

[TooTallTom]

She never took it in. After seeing the list of proposed work she canceled and decided that we could do a lot of it ourselves.

Smart girl. I suppose she takes after her pops?

[BobT]

Of course, if you don't follow the recommended schedule, especially with regard to lubricants and coolants, don't complain if your transmission or engine require major overhaul premature to your expectations.

They can and should test the coolant to be sure it is needing replacement. They have the technology and the equipment to do so and it involves more than just a test for temperature control.

There ways to test the tranny fluids to be sure they are due for replacement but like engine oil we change it on a schedule based on previous testing and experience. We never really know if is needed though. None of us has the equipment or know-how to perform the tests that would be required.

[Scott K]

Bob, a good easy free test for tranny fluid, is to take a white paper towel, and pour some (about 6 ounces) of the fluid onto the paper towel, and let the fluid soak through, like a filter, then you can see how much dirt is flowing in the tranny fluid, if there is much at all, I would change it and flush it.

Another thing about tranny services, that I ALWAYS recommended to customers, was to remove the pan, and replace the filter before it runs out of warranty, so if there is a lot of copper, or clutch material in the bottom of the pan, you can get the tranny fixed under warranty.

[LightningBG]

Daughter called to get a 30,000 mile check and service on her 2008 Subaru Imprezza and they had a total of $694 on the bill. Oil and filter, three different charges for maintenance, flush cooling, flush brakes, flush tranni, change fluid and front and rear differentials and new air filter. Could they be serious about this? I can't ever remember flushing a brake system. She didn't go for it and I think it is outrageous.

They want your money, nothing more. Get an oil change and move on.

[Tom7227]

I'm all in favor of preventative maintenance and keeping things running a lot longer than most. But $90 for transmission oil change, $95 to flush and change cooling system fluid, $67 for front differential service, $48 for rear, and nearly $250 to change the brake system fluid?

First of all I frankly can't see how any of this would be needed at 30K miles. Sure, check the cooling system and see if it's up to snuff. Transmission test the fluid, very likely OK. That's a lot of grease in those differentials. But $250 to flush the brake system? I have never changed the brake fluid in any vehicle I've own and I surely can't see that it would be needed in this car.

The foolish part of it in my opinion is that my daughter very likely will never even consider going back to a dealership. She probably would have been ok with a bill of around $300 or so bu $700 is just nuts.

[catchin'whopper]

With all due respect to our mechanics and the reason to find a good one - it's hard to know if they are being honest. What's wrong with the pricing is that there is little if no discount for "bulk" work. The fact you are already under the hood and getting at parts, valves, drain plugs should mean that there is less time getting moving on an additional service.

It's a simple marketing ploy, but I think most of us would be more inclined to actually ADD services and work if we knew they were discounted from a one-time stop and shop pricing mentality... That would make for more trust that you were getting a "good" deal and they are looking out for you and your car's best interest.

Guess I'm fortunate to have a good, reputable, and honest mechanic near my house (D&D Auto in St Louis Park). Each time they suggest things that can be done but arent necessary at this point - but should be considered for next oil change...

[CAMAN]

They simply saw her coming, but she didn't bite. They saw a girl and thought 'she doesn't know anything about vehicles, we'll see what we can get out of her'. Same thing happens to my Mom, she has her Prius serviced at the dealership, whenever they give her a list of things that they need to do, it usually ranges in price from $500-$1000. She always says she can't afford to do them at the moment. One time she asked me to bring it in to get the oil changed before we went out of town. I bring it in and get the oil changed and tires rotated and leave with a $60 bill. NEVER telling me they needed to do anything 'extra'. What changed, other than having a man in the drivers seat?

[LightningBG]

On my wifes last car, the dealership would just automatically mail out a list of all the stuff "needed" at each time interval. I always just threw it in the trash.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I brought my truck in to a Ford dealership in New Prague about a year ago for a tranny flush. I got a call from the service manager halfway through the day. His exact words, "We were looking over your truck, and we don't feel safe letting this thing out of the shop with the brakes in this condition." There was another comment about my serpentine belt having a crack almost through it. Roughly $1000 for all that stuff to be fixed to be "safe" enough to let it out of the shop.

What he didn't know...the week before, my brakes were making a funny noise, so I ordered 4 rotors and the pads to go with them. Much to my delight, when we got the wheels off, the pads were well OVER 50% remaining. The noise was a rock stuck between the pad and rotor.

My reply back, "Tod, actually, I'm a step ahead of you. I have the pads and rotors sitting in the garage at home. I had the wheels off 4 days ago, and the pads were way over 50%. How could they have worn that quickly?" After a lot of "well...ummm" the phone call ended, and I drove the truck for another 35,000 miles before I changed the brakes, and never did have any troubles with that "cracked" serpentine belt....

There was probably $500 in profit that they could have made on that service work. Not bad. Unfortunately, 3 weeks ago when I bought my new $48,000 truck, it wasn't from them. Nor will I be back there. EVER. I tell every single person I can about that nonsense, and I will continue to for the rest of my life.

Moral of the story...have at least basic "working" knowledge of your vehicles, or a mechanic you trust. NEVER trust the dealerships.

[Jim Almquist]

Unfortunately, 3 weeks ago when I bought my new $48,000 truck, it wasn't from them. Nor will I be back there. EVER. I tell every single person I can about that nonsense, and I will continue to for the rest of my life.

You sound like you do things the same way as me

Screw me once and it will be the last time you get ANY business from me and my word of mouth will NEVER be good

[reinhard1]

+2. good luck.

[BobT]

Quote:

NEVER trust the dealerships.

Why lump all dealerships in one package. So, what do you do when you happen to run into a shop that pulls this. NEVER trust ANY mechanic. Are you prepared to do all your own work?

There are always bad apples and when I run into them I make sure they know that I pulled them out of my bushel basket and threw them away.

So Tom, did you actually test the tranny fluid yourself for viscosity, contanimation, and thermal breakdown to be sure it really doesn't need replacing? Did you actually test the coolant for both temperature and oxidation? Not saying the shop did these tests but I would check your daughter's owner's manual and see when they recommend changing it. You are exercising due diligence by not just falling for an over-zealous mechanic but what are you basing your rejection on - truth or hunch?

We run into this all the time with our industrial machinery. We specify the change interval for replacing the gear oil in all the gearboxes on our machinery. Some of our customers don't follow these recommendations and then get P.O.'d at us because their gearbox stripped out the gears and bearings. Like it's our fault they didn't maintain their equipment.

You can let that tranny go and maybe, just maybe, she'll get by until you decide it is time or maybe, just maybe, she'll be facing a $4,000.00 tranny replacement bill instead. You're free to take that risk and you might get lucky but at $.003 per mile cost, I'd say the benefits seem to outweigh the cost. Ninety dollars for a tranny flush is pretty reasonable. It costs me almost $200 for my truck.

My '85, with Type F, recommended never changing the oil. My '01 recommended changing it at 30K intervals as Ford went away from the Type F fluid. My '09 recommends changing it at 60K intervals. Who knows why but I'm betting they have tested and retested to determine these intervals.

Oh yes, I forgot. They are only interested in selling oil and service and have no plan whatsoever toward pleasing a customer or delivering a quality product. My bad.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I probably shouldn't have been quite so strong on that, but I've heard too many horror stories. Like one of the gals that works in my office. Recently brought in her 2009 Explorer with under 30k on it to a NTB. Before she left, they had a $1,400 bill worked up for her. Brake fluid flush, coolant flush, power steering fluid flush, brakes & rotors, and on and on. About the only thing not on there, was "muffler bearing" replacement. Brought it to a different place, and was out the door with an oil change and air filter replacement. Brakes weren't anywhere near worn.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

Yes, in college I fell for the "your brakes are so bad we can't legally let it out of the shop" claim too

[Jeremy airjer W]

Daughter called to get a 30,000 mile check and service on her 2008 Subaru Imprezza and they had a total of $694 on the bill. Oil and filter, three different charges for maintenance, flush cooling, flush brakes, flush tranni, change fluid and front and rear differentials and new air filter. Could they be serious about this? I can't ever remember flushing a brake system. She didn't go for it and I think it is outrageous.

What services does the owners manual suggest for the 30k maintenance?

Are you more shocked at the price or what the dealer suggested?

Did you confirm the services with what the owners manual suggested?

Are you or have you ever been a Subaru factory trained tech or service adviser?

If all of those services are suggested by the manufacturer at the 30k mark than they have done nothing wrong and we have wasted several days and two pages of posts ranting and raving on how automotive shops (dealer and independent) are out to rip you off. Not to mention if these are recommended services and they are not performed good luck getting any warranty work done if something should happen!

Most of the brake fluid we test is starting to or is bad at around the 30k - 36k mark. Brake fluid likes to absorb moisture. The more water in the brake fluid the lower the boiling point. A hard stop with a low boiling point and your pedal will go to the floor.

Anybody that has a DVM (digital volt meter) give this a try. Place the negative lead on the negative battery post and the positive lead in the brake fluid making sure not to make contact with the reservoir body. What do you get for a reading?

Also is the fluid green in color? Ford and Chevy are really good for this. Dark green fluid indicates that there is a lot of copper in the fluid. Another sign that the brake fluid needs to be flushed.

[dougger222]

30K miles and they want to swap put the coolant, tranny and brakes? That's crazy!

I swap tranny fluid on my pick ups with syn every 50K miles. Coolant 100K+ miles. Brakes done that in two of the three around 200K miles or so.

Dealerships make big bucks on service. It's no shock they want a bunch of money at 30,000 miles.

[Scott K]

The dealers are in business to make money, ALL businesses are. If they are recommending the same as what is in the owners manual, then they are doing what their job is. Some of this work, may not be normal labor, or parts on foreign vehicles, and may cost more. I dont think it is fair to say the dealer is ripping you off, when all they are more then likely doing is, offering you the recommended work, that the manufacturer has recommended.

[fishing tech]

Here is one for you.

Ford offers a Works Package for $39.99. You then get a $10 rebate.

This includes oil and filter, tire rotate, and brake inspection.

The dealership won't tell you about it but will sell you a 6k. which is

oil and filter, tire rotate, and brake inspection. For $99.00.

Would you keep going to these dealers?

They don't think that they are being dishonest, just if the customer doesn't know why tell them.

I think it wrong!!!!!!!! and Dishonest!!!!!!!!!

[Scott K]

You sure it is the 6k, and not the 15k?