Funny how car maintenance works

[tgoeujon]

dan , i agree completly on the green( theres a new yellow thats supposed to mix with everything, im hoping it proves to be good). im just having difficulty figuring out what they did to the tcase to cost so much, i may have to add a little to my bills when i do servicing, lol

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by banditpowdercoat

Trevor, by her list, All that was done was routine fluid changes. No warrranty work. SHe DEFFINATELY needs to find a different shop. Thats over Double what it should cost.

Groan, and I thought that by going to the dealership to get the work done I was doing the right thing. *sigh*

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by banditpowdercoat

HOLLY CRAP !!!!!! A good Synthetic 75w140 should be $12-16 If I remeber correctly. Thats outrageous. And they charged $371 for labour. Holly crap. How slow was that Mechanic???
Did I say Holly Crap???

I'm thinking I should of asked around on here 1st before I had anything done At least I know for next time. Thank-you everyone for your help it's good advice to know.

[Lance]

It is always a good idea to ask for the replaced parts, etc. before the work is done. This way they know they may be caught-in-the-act of replacing perfectly good parts. I, for one, have never trusted dealerships. The mark-up on new cars is not as good as it used to be, so they gouge you in other ways, such as for warranty service. I come from a smallish town that only has two dealerships. Any warranty work has to be taken to another city by ferry. (PITA!). My wife has an '06 Mitsubishi Eclipse, and they are the only dealership I have ever dealt with that allows us to have warranty service done by any licensed mechanic of our choice. The only stipulations are that approved oil, filters, etc. are used. This works out to large savings as our mechanic of choice charges about 25% less than most; no ferries; and I know I'm not getting ripped-off as our mechanic is a most trustworthy fellow.

[Skimmerking]

For record plugs shouldnt be changed at 50,000 they are good for 120,000 km that is from jeep its self they install the new ones for 120,000 on all vehicles. they took your wallet for a ride.

a flush on your rad at 50,000 is crazy you dont need it, just drain it and refill.

PCV valve are not a must and they arent really important, tell them that you have some one later on to replace it.. they charge you like 80 bucks to change it and they cost about 6-10 bucks each just like the oxygen sensor too what a waste of money.

[balistidae]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

This is what the bill says

Transfer case svc. tech(s):3811 $371.54

Complaint: Check transfer case fluid; advise if service is required
Use sythetic oil if required; advise if full 4x4 service required
Do not perform before advising please (which they did)

Cause: Dirty driveline fluids

Correction: Performed 4x4 service, used synthetic fluids

Description
Sealer 01-081-003 $6.94
75W140 01-081-020 $110.37
Lube 01-081-090 $31.14
Multipurp 01-081-02 Internal

Total labor and parts $519.99

Any ideas as to what it all means? Thanks for the advice I appreciate it. I thought maybe they replaced the transfer case, and I was under the impression that whatever they did it needed to be done at 50,000km.

It looks to me like they changed out ALL driveline fluids (Front diff, tcase and rear diff). And judging by the sealer charge it most likely means the rear diff had to be split to be serviced which is where the labor charge would have come from.
Although it was a pricey service I doubt they were ripping you off. All of those items are set menu pricing generally and full synthetic fluids are quite expensive.
I think it would be a good idea to call tomorrow and get a full explanation of the services performed and just verify they fall into your maintenance schedule, good luck!

[Skimmerking]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

Minor tune up and spark plugs- $249.99
Transfer case SVC- $519.99
Transmission service- $183.51
PCV valve- $96.00
MISC (environ fee & shop fees)- $34.00
Tax- $61.00

On the last page it's broken down as:

Labor $732.96!!!!!! (boy am I in the wrong field)
Parts $453.01
MISC $34.00
Tax $61.00
Total $1280.97 *YUCK!*

ok the plug thing is all that is said there its taken out the plugs and putting in new ones , they dont install the new wires either that is extra I will bet my tank and a years pay on that one.. a transmission service Im sorry you have 50k on your vehicle you dont need them to flush out your tranny

[PoonTang]

Minor tune up at MOST would be air/fuel filters and a set of plugs. Everything else is computerized and unadjustable. 1 hour at most if they did it all. I think you got hosed on that 1 too at $250.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by balistidae

It looks to me like they changed out ALL driveline fluids (Front diff, tcase and rear diff). And judging by the sealer charge it most likely means the rear diff had to be split to be serviced which is where the labor charge would have come from.
Although it was a pricey service I doubt they were ripping you off. All of those items are set menu pricing generally and full synthetic fluids are quite expensive.
I think it would be a good idea to call tomorrow and get a full explanation of the services performed and just verify they fall into your maintenance schedule, good luck!

Thanks for explaining. I don't think they ripped me off for the work they did (might of been cheaper else where but I didn't know who to trust) and I knew that the synthetic was more money, but I just didn't think that the work being done was going to be so pricey.

[dsaundry]

Ok I will put my 2 bucks in.
I own an automotive repair shop and yes some of the prices you got seem high, some are not. The transfer case service does seem quite high and without a detailed report on what they do when they service the transfer case and differential fluids next time I would check around. As for the fluid types, full synthetics are quite expensive compared to regular oils, As for some of the advise about what to get done, your manual is a pretty good guide in most cases, however you can go to any warranty approved shop and get the services done there, The average dealership here is about $120.00 per hour and the average shop is about $90.00 per hour, so you save some there. As for the coolant flush I agree to go green, the north american manufacturers seem to have a problem developing gaskets that stand up to the degredation of the long-life coolant. Green is better and there are animal friendly versions out now as well. Tune-ups are a word of the past, there is only scheduled maintenance now. Spark plugs from a lot of manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers are rated at well over 120,000km, but on higher milage cars I wouldnt put a long-life plug in. A regular v-groove actually works better. A bad oxygen senseor will screw up a motor real quick{sorry asmodeus} I have seen that firsthand, but the pcv price seems high too. Depends on what motor you have as far as labour goes, some spark plugs a real pain to get at and pull. Jeeps included. Try doing plugs in a newer Ford with a Triton motor in under 2 hours. Bottom line is if you feel you got hosed find another shop, ask around. There are a lot of good honest shops out there as well.
Ok just to stir the pot even more, A coolant flush would definately be recommended at 50k It deteriorates too quickly,not to flush the coolant can screw up a heater core. Pcv valves are important! 75/140 is about $20 perlitre. Mark up on parts is not where shops make their money, to the heavy duty mechanic. Try paying out insurance for your buildings, payroll tax's, Insurance for the techs, benefits, etc etc etc, and I hate to say this but you are all lucky the dealerships and private shops arent charging $200.00 plus per hour...By the way..its coming, The "Mechanic" has taken a bad rap for a lot of years, not all deserved, now that vehicles are changing to computerized modular systems you need to study a lot just to work on them, let alone the equipment to work on them. Nobody seems to have a problem giving a lawyer $200-500 dollars an hour, but look out if the shop charges you $200-500 to do your brakes. As for my qualifications I am inter-provincially licenced, a master tech and I get a lot of vehicles towed to my shop that a lot of back yard wannabe techs try to fix themselves. I go to courses every year just to keep up to date on the advances[good+bad] that are coming out. So do I think I am worth less per hour than any lawyer...or anybody else..Nope.