Scheduled Maintenance Costs

[dadkind]

Hello All,
I just took my 2010GT in for its 30K mile checkup.

I had done all the oil/filter changes myself. But since the car is now officially one year old, and it is at one of the major mileage checkpoints, I figured, I'd let my local dealer give it an official "once-over".

The cost is going to be (haven't picked it up yet) $459. American.

That seems a bit excessive. So I'm curious :

What do other pay for a similar "dealer service" ??

Do you think it's worth it??

Thanks!
-tomas

 

[streethorse]

Well at 30k not that much needs to be done.
Other than mabey change the air filter and fuel filter. Also your still
under warranty. So I would want a list of what they did other than
visually inspect a few things.

 

[tomustang]

Do you think it's worth it??
-tomas

Not really, some of the Scheduled Maintenance isn't necessary, like changing the air filters and trans fluids at very low mileage. It is yet another scheme to get more money out of you.


Check your owners manual to see what their suppose to do

 

[stanmckinney]

Sounds excessive to me.

 

[Spdfreak]

Total ripoff. Wait until you hit 50k...about $800.

 

[dadkind]

OK. Got the car back. Feels the same. ;-)

So I'm going over the invoice with a fine-toothed comb. It seems that some of the items that I authorized were not requirements, but recommendations from the dealer. This one's on me, since I should have gone over my scheduled maintenance guide and referred to it when they were writing up my work order. Buyer beware.

Nonetheless, I will be visiting my dealer and pointing out that at no time was the word "recommendation" used by the service tech. I wonder if the local "on your side" TV reporter would be interested in this practice.

If anyone is interested here's a jumping off point to owner's manuals and maintenance guides for Ford products (Hope the link is valid): https://www.flmowner.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Owner/Page/IdentifyVehiclePage&BackToLogin=Owner/Page/OwnerGuidePage&ord=97984474

I've had several run-ins with Ford Customer Service since buying this Mustang. Very different since I bought my 1984 Mustang and 1996 Ranger. To be honest, I probably won't be buying another Ford again. I only got a mustang since I wanted to "buy American." See what happens when you try to do the right thing!

Anyway, here's what $451.28 buys you these days (wondering when Ford will match the free scheduled maintenance offered by other makes).

Power Steering Flush: $101.62
Fuel Injection Service: $126.00
Brake Pad Inspection: $ 34.95
Replace Air Filter: $ 37.95
Lube, Oil and Filter Change $ 35.70
Courtesy Vehicle Inspection $ 0.00
Brake Flush: $100.67

 

[streethorse]

Damn, you got tore up. Live and learn. At least you got a $400.00 air filter.
None of that needed to be done on a 1 year old car. Now if it were a 10
year old car with 30k miles yes.

 

[Ateup]

I wonder if the local "on your side" TV reporter would be interested in this practice.

LOL, I seriously doubt it. The day after the first car was invented, mechanics started ripping people off.

 

[Spdfreak]

LOL, I seriously doubt it. The day after the first car was invented, mechanics started ripping people off.

I'm a producer at a "local TV news source", and I can honestly tell you "NO WAY." Who are the biggest advertisers on local TV? CAR DEALERS.

Never get that crap. It's a total ripoff. f you can't change yor oil, or keep with regular maintenance...give it up.

 

[prae_21]

Don't feel too bad. My mom bought a new Hyundai (ugh) and did the same thing after one year.

 

[Coyote5.0]

OK. Got the car back. Feels the same. ;-)

So I'm going over the invoice with a fine-toothed comb. It seems that some of the items that I authorized were not requirements, but recommendations from the dealer. This one's on me, since I should have gone over my scheduled maintenance guide and referred to it when they were writing up my work order. Buyer beware.

Nonetheless, I will be visiting my dealer and pointing out that at no time was the word "recommendation" used by the service tech. I wonder if the local "on your side" TV reporter would be interested in this practice.

If anyone is interested here's a jumping off point to owner's manuals and maintenance guides for Ford products (Hope the link is valid): https://www.flmowner.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Owner/Page/IdentifyVehiclePage&BackToLogin=Owner/Page/OwnerGuidePage&ord=97984474

I've had several run-ins with Ford Customer Service since buying this Mustang. Very different since I bought my 1984 Mustang and 1996 Ranger. To be honest, I probably won't be buying another Ford again. I only got a mustang since I wanted to "buy American." See what happens when you try to do the right thing!

Anyway, here's what $451.28 buys you these days (wondering when Ford will match the free scheduled maintenance offered by other makes).

Power Steering Flush: $101.62
Fuel Injection Service: $126.00
Brake Pad Inspection: $ 34.95
Replace Air Filter: $ 37.95
Lube, Oil and Filter Change $ 35.70
Courtesy Vehicle Inspection $ 0.00
Brake Flush: $100.67

Damn, you got taken for a ride. And it's not because you bought American, it's because your specific service department is lousy. No car requires this much service. Did you authorize all of that item by item, or did the dealer just "do it" as part of a "30,000 miles service?"

Everything single item on that list was a rip-off. Power steering flush, brake flush, and fuel injection service are totally unnecessary after just one year. Brake pad Inspection means you paid $35 to have someone look at the pads for 3 seconds to see if they were still there. The oil change was probably unnecessary, since as you said you change your own. And if you are mechanically inclined enough to change your own oil, you could easily do your own air filter for about $8 as well (or for the $40, get a K&N).

For comparison, my daily driver is almost 10 years old with 137k miles. The only service I've ever had done (other than oil changes and air filters, which I do myself) was plugs and wires, a trans flush, and a fuel filter all at 100k. Total cost was about $179.

 

[racerraj]

I'll crack 100k next week on my 06 GT. I've done all work. 2 air filters, Spark Plugs, Mobil One oil changes, rear brake pads, and the battery. I doubt I've spent as much as you. I'll be doing the Coolant/Anti Freeze in a week or two, but I am not flushing the brakes or power steering.

Didn't do that on my 88 till it was well past 200k miles. It is at 357k now and still starts right up.

 

[dadkind]

Damn, you got taken for a ride. And it's not because you bought American, it's because your specific service department is lousy. No car requires this much service. Did you authorize all of that item by item, or did the dealer just "do it" as part of a "30,000 miles service?"

When I went in I asked for the "30000 mile service". The service tech wrote this up and presented this as the "30000 mile service".
I knew it was a little expensive, but (foolishly) I trusted the guy, since the only previous time I dealt with these guys was for a warranty repair and he seemed straight-up then. And to be honest, I was pretty distracted with work stuff when I dropped the car off. So I did not focus too much on the price (just the "cost of doing business").

I do all my own stuff normally (oil changes, filter changes, etc). But since I had put on a lot of miles on this car, I wanted a Ford tech to look at things, just in case there was something wrong that I had not checked. Especially since I will be out of warranty by the time the car is 2 years old.

Needless to say, I will continue doing my own regular maintenance on this car myself. And I will only reluctantly go back to this dealer when I must go to a Ford dealer.

-tomas

 

[dadkind]

Forgot to add:
As for "buying American", most of my recent dealings with a car dealer was with the local VW dealer.

Since they're a much smaller local dealer, it seems that they try harder to have happy customers. Just one more reason I was caught a bit off guard by the Ford service guy.

 

[Art161]

What? They didn't replace the cabin air filter or the fuel filter?

 

[StreetsideStig]

I'm wondering what the $0.00 "Courtesy vehicle inspection" included if they charged you $35 to take the wheels off and look at your brake pads. Yeah, air filter, oil change, I think I would have done most of this myself. But there's always a next time.