dealer oil changes not worth it

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I have 3 years of oil changes and tire rotations on the VW. not worth my time for oil changes but I dont like rotating tires. anyway, on an 18 month old car they called and wanted $311 to replace air filter, cabin air filter, flush brake fluid.
my cabin air filter was brand new. and they could not find the oil leak that has covered the bottom of the engine and transmission - and has oil dripping off the filter. clearly they go for the easy, high profit items.

so why do dealers give us DIY'ers a hard time if we dont do all of our maintenance through them? (rhetorical question)
 
Originally Posted by tomcat27
I have 3 years of oil changes and tire rotations on the VW. not worth my time for oil changes but I dont like rotating tires. anyway, on an 18 month old car they called and wanted $311 to replace air filter, cabin air filter, flush brake fluid.
my cabin air filter was brand new. and they could not find the oil leak that has covered the bottom of the engine and transmission - and has oil dripping off the filter. clearly they go for the easy, high profit items.

so why do dealers give us DIY'ers a hard time if we dont do all of our maintenance through them? (rhetorical question)


That price doesn't really sound too bad. A lot of maintenance is time based and by having service performed at the dealer they know what has, has not been done unless you do it yourself. For example the cabin air filter. You said it was brand new but did they replace it or did you?

As for the oil leak, well that's another issue all together.

Btw, the vast majority of vehicle owners, such as myself, do not have either the space, the tools, or the capability to perform all of their own maintenance.
 
A lot of independent garages will perform the service(s) you request when dropping off the vehicle, and only those services.

OTOH, if they spot something that is a safety issue they will likely say "you should get this taken care of, and soon".
 
My dealer never pushes any unnecessary repairs or maintenance. My SA does share my view that coolant and transmission fluids are not lifetime fills and those are changed either on the basis of time or mileage.
I still perform minor maintenance and repairs but my dealer's service prices are so reasonable that I leave most of the service work to the dealer.
 
Just say no to everything that isn't covered, and tell them to fix the leak. Read your manual as well, follow that maintenance schedule, not the dealerships.
 
Originally Posted by tomcat27
I have 3 years of oil changes and tire rotations on the VW. not worth my time for oil changes but I dont like rotating tires. anyway, on an 18 month old car they called and wanted $311 to replace air filter, cabin air filter, flush brake fluid.
my cabin air filter was brand new. and they could not find the oil leak that has covered the bottom of the engine and transmission - and has oil dripping off the filter. clearly they go for the easy, high profit items.

so why do dealers give us DIY'ers a hard time if we dont do all of our maintenance through them? (rhetorical question)


When my Chevy had only 20,000 miles on it, I had a dealer try to upsell me on $600 of unneeded items (Fuel system "cleaning", 4-wheel alignment, tire balance, blah blah blah). The oil change and tire rotation was covered under the Chevy complimentary maintenance plan, and then they were suggesting another $600 in upsell stuff. That was a big NO. They then bugged me once a week for 3 weeks straight to schedule an appointment to take care of the "refused services" until I finally told them to stop calling me about services that a 20,000 mile new car does not need. They then texted me a couple of times, but finally gave up.

Cabin filters are pure profit for dealers. Most take 5-10 minutes to replace, but the dealer charges $60-$100 to replace them. Same with engine air filters.
 
Depending on the country you live in you may have to have the vehicle serviced by a dealer or certified workshop to maintain the warranty. DIY doesn't cut it, no stamp in the warranty book no more warranty.
 
They assume nobody has done anything to the vehicle, and are a business that seeks maximum profit.

Now about your oil leak, if this should be covered under warranty then do not accept "we can't find it". At a bare minimum have it written up on a work order and their report about that, so it is documented.
 
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As with so many other things, YMMV.

The dealer I take the Sonata to for oil changes will suggest certain things, but when they're easy for me to do and not safety-related, I say "no" and they say "ok".

Now the oil-leak thing, that would get me mad too. Maybe it's time to try another dealer?
 
Rat the service manager out to the general manager of the dealership complete with emails, notices and text messages. If that doesn't solve the problem, rat them both out to the manufacture. If that doesn't solve the problem, do it on social media.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
Depending on the country you live in you may have to have the vehicle serviced by a dealer or certified workshop to maintain the warranty. DIY doesn't cut it, no stamp in the warranty book no more warranty.


What countries would that be?

That certainly does not apply in THIS country. "Stamp in the book" replaced by on line entry and tracking of work done by Indy or OWNER.
 
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Originally Posted by javacontour
I think I'd tell them to find the leak, and then we'll talk about the other items.


Exactly how I would approach it.

I've been down that road before with dealer service. It's amazing how things happen when you agree to throw some cash their way.
 
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