"Recommended" car service UPDATE

[whoisjohngalt]

My DH is keeps "suggesting" to me that I need to take our '11 Subaru for 7500 miles service. It includes oil change, tire rotation, fuel injector cleaning and something to do with the battery (cleaning or checking) all for a very low price of $100

I think it's all BS. I've never done any of this with my '97 Nissan and have been driving it for 14 yrs and it's as good as new.

Did I just get lucky with my Nissan and being foolish about not doing the "recommended" service??

Lena

P.S. He is also worried that if we don't do the service, it will void the warranty. yes? no?

[chiver78]

I guess it would depend on whether you had the funds to cover those unplanned emergencies when stuff goes wrong. most of those "recommended service" checklist items are for preventative maintenance. changing out transmission fluids, checking brake lines, replacing spark plugs - none of the above lasts forever.

I hope you at least keep your oil full.

[raeoflyte]

We drive older cars so I don't know about the warranty part. But for our older cars I go to a mechanic that will check to see if the 'recommended' items actually need to be done, and then only does the work that needs it. He charges a bit more on individual items than the oil change places, but since he doesn't just assume we have to do things at certain miles he saves us a ton of money.

[whoisjohngalt]

I hope you at least keep your oil full. [image]

There is oil in my car??


Yes, I've always done oil changes and I think I did one or two tune-ups. But even though I bought it new, I never did 7500/15K/30K, etc services. Been driving it for 14 yrs and it's been good to me.

Lena

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

The only recommended maintenence I do on my 2007 Subaru is at the 30K points. From the time I bought the car new, I got the oil changed (and fluids checked and topped off) every 3000 miles and tires rotated every 10,000. With AWD cars, if you need to replace a tire, you'll have to replace them all.

I just had the 30K maintenence done and the dealer wanted >$700. I paid $500 at an independent mechanic and it included changing out all the fluids, tire rotation, spark plugs and a dozen other things that were on the list.

[illinicheme]

Yes, in general I do all the "recommended" car maintenance. Certainly oil changes and tire rotations. I change things like the air filter myself, since that's cheap and easy.

I avoid dealers as much as possible and do my best to find an independent shop that I trust.

[azphx1972]

I believe in preventative maintenance (especially since I only have one vehicle) so I read my owner's manual and follow the manufacturer's recommended service schedule. I used to go to independents, but now I take my car to the dealer since the independents around here don't tend to stay in business long. I know I'm paying a bit more, but I also feel that if anything goes wrong, the dealer has the resources to make things right.

[phil5185]

I avoid the recommended service things, they try to do several unnecessary things - most are simply to keep the service dept busy.
There is quite a history to this - 40 years ago every shop wanted to change your shock absorbers because your car could get 'unstable and go off of the road'. Some dishonest shops even squirted oil on shocks and then called you out to 'see the leaking shock'. Then there was the decade of 'idler arms' - every tire shop showed you that your idler arm wiggled and that you would lose your steering and crash. (Sears was sued for this so that scam is gone for now).
The most common revenue generator that I see now is 'fluid changes'. Shops want to change your brake fluid, your power steering fluid, your differential fluid - "yours is turning brown", "or black" - whatever the distasteful color of the week is - guess what, the new fluid is also brown. These fluids are all low temperature items (not hot like motor oil and autotrans fluid) so they don't deteriorate with mileage - 18-wheelers with 500,000 miles have the original rear end fluid in them. As do the cars that I have driven 200,000 miles.
But I am careful about regular oil changes, autotrans fluid changes, timing belt replacement, plus the 'wear' items - brakes, batteries, tires.

[Deleted]

Mar 28, 2011 11:07:39 GMT -5 phil5185 said:

I avoid the recommended service things, they try to do several unnecessary things - most are simply to keep the service dept busy.

I don't know about the warranty either and you should check your own- they may even require that a dealer do it. If not, get yourself an honest mechanic and be nice to him (probably a him). That way, when they tell you something needs to be fixed, you trust them. I had a wonderful shop in NJ who had pictures of all the 200K mile+ cars they kept running posted on their walls. When they told me the timing belt on my Toyota needed to be changed, I didn't even know the car HAD a timing belt and told them to go ahead. A friend told me she didn't know about them, either - till hers broke and caused some very expensive damage to the engine.

It took us some false starts but we now have a good mechanic here in KS. DH takes care of bringing it in for maintenance since I'm still working, and they take good care of us.

[whoisjohngalt]

Not to sound snarky, but I wish people would stop telling me to "find an honest mechanic". In the last 20 yrs of owning 4 different cars in 3 different states, I've yet to figure out how to do that. Unless I actually learn car mechanics, how am I suppose to know that they are honest AND good mechanics at the same time???

Lena

[schildi]

Never. Do what the manufacturers maintenance schedule says, nothing more.

[chiver78]

Mar 28, 2011 11:07:39 GMT -5 phil5185 said:

I am careful about regular oil changes, autotrans fluid changes, timing belt replacement, plus the 'wear' items - brakes, batteries, tires.

yup, that's pretty much what I do, too. I will take my car, purchased new, back to the dealership where I purchased it for the major milestone (30K) services. they are under strict instruction to call me before doing anything off-menu, and I pull things off the standard to-do list if they are things I do myself. I go to Valvoline for oil changes (I don't mind getting dirty, but that's a little too dirty for my taste!) and I change out my own brake pads.

I know I'm paying a little more, but I know whatever parts are necessary will be on-hand (or easily obtained) and it can be fixed quickly.

[souldoubt]

Current car I have I bought brand new and the first 30K miles or 4 years were covered as far as most regular maintenance. Only thing I had to pay for was the occasional oil change. Other than that I do the same as Phil and stick to regular oil, air filter, trans fluid changes, brakes, tires, etc. I've got a mechanic that I trust who I take my car to and when it comes to the 60K service I had done they refer directly to the manufacturers manual. He gives me a heads up that the next time I bring the car in I may need more than just an oil change so there's hopefully no real surprises.

[Deleted]

Mar 28, 2011 11:26:41 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Unless I actually learn car mechanics, how am I supposed to know that they are honest AND good mechanics at the same time???

Here you go.

www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/

And I HIGHLY recommend the Car Talk radio show/podcast. People call in with the car questions and Tom and Ray are smart, funny and educate you without your even knowing it. I still can't do anything more complicated than refill the washer fluid or replace the windshield wipers, but I feel a lot better-informed.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

how am I suppose to know that they are honest AND good mechanics at the same time???

Ask around and you'll find that frequently the same name will pop up. That's how I found mine and verified it on Car Talk's web site.

Right now, I'm pretty leary of the dealer after my last tire rotation, the didn't tighten the lug nuts and I lost several before I discovered the problem.

[whoisjohngalt]

Athena,
thank you.

Mich,

I can't "ask around". We just moved and the only people I know in this area are my DH, my 2.5 yr old and my 1yr old. Even though my 2.5 yr old thinks he knows everything, I doubt I would get any names out of him besides Elmo and Curious George

Lena

[tskeeter]

My first question would be "recommended by who?"

Recommended by the manufacturer in the owner's manual? Perform the service.

Recommended by the dealer? Don't bother. Many dealers make up "recommended service" schedules that call for very short service intervals or procedures that are the equivalent of "replace air in tires with fresh air" in order to boost their service department revenues.

Recommended by the mechanic who routinely services my car? Probably. I'd check the recommended service list against the owner's manual recommendations and ask the mechanic why any items not recommended by the manufacturer are included on the list. They might recommend something because it is a common problem in your area or because of the way you use the vehicle, such as frequent air filter changes if you live in a desert and have a mile long dirt driveway.

A well maintained car doesn't leave you stranded by the side of the road or cause thousands of dollars of unexpected repairs. If you don't mind either of these situations, fill it with gas, change the oil when it strikes your fancy, and drive it.

[HappyLady]

I have all the recommended services done to my car--usually I have it looked over every 6 months or so in entirety. I happen to have a good friend who is a car mechanic though, so I just pop over to his house on a free afternoon, and give him a case of beer as payment afterward

I drive my cars for years, and never have any problems, so it must be working...

[so1970]

i dont know about on cars but on my harley the first tune up &oil change had to be done at a factory authorized dealer so as not to void the warranty.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Mich,

I can't "ask around". We just moved and the only people I know in this area are my DH, my 2.5 yr old and my 1yr old.

Then this is a place to start. When I moved last time, the first thing I had to do was to get a new clutch and I asked around at work.

Otherwise, try this site and read the reviews. I've found it fairly accurate for my area of the US.

www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/

[raeoflyte]

The way I found a good mechanic was to shop around (and got screwed a lot) until I eventually found the right one.


DH and I joke that we won't move because we don't want to go through the hassle of finding another mechanic or doctor.

[thyme4change]

I can't "ask around". We just moved

LOL - I've lived around these parts for nearly my whole life and I don't have any better luck asking around that you will have. We use to all go to one guy because his daughter was in our school and he was touted as honest - but his business went under. Later there was an expose on him by the local news. He had been selling used parts as new and pocketing the difference and there were a whole bunch of law suits against him. So much for honesty.

I do ask people and I have yet to run into anyone that really feels confident recomending anyone. Could be because my crowd generally is a clean-hands, no callouses type of group - so basically we are all too uneducated in mechanical issues to know if we are being bent-over or not.

So - yes - I'm with you on this one. I will just go through life never knowing if I found a trustworthy mechanic or not.

[whoisjohngalt]

I guess I am just super paranoid and bitter about the all of the "car fixers" out there. When I had old cars that I bought used I got burned by mechanics who were recommended by friends and coworkers and turned out to be either not very good or not very honest. I also got burned on mechanics who seemed really good the first few times you went to them and than just kept finding all kinds of things to fix. I am too paranoid to go to small places bc you never know how long they will stay in business or if they screw up, what recourse will I really have - got burned on that too.

Does anyone know if I really need to have a fuel injector cleaning done? I've never even heard of that one....

Lena

[Deleted]

We live next to a classic car aficionado. When we were invited to his 50th BD party we were having problems with our car and asked the people there whom they recommended. That's how we found ours!

I know what you mean about how you determine "honest" when you know zip about cars, though. For me, it's mostly been after the fact. I avoid franchises. I avoid any place that advertises a cheap oil change or anything else as a come-on- they ALWAYS find something else that needs fixed and the cost, even if it's legit, is overpriced. They get brownie points if I bring something in and the problem is minimal and cheap- on my first car I once had a loose spark plug wire. They fixed it and refused payment. I also look for curiosity- not the drones who say, "duh, we hooked it up to the computer and it can't find any problems so it must be OK". The good ones keep asking questions (the guys on Car Talk do). Do you still hear the noise when you stop the car? Does it change when you change speeds? Does it happen only when the engine is cold? In hindsight, I'd also say give them only one "get-out-of-jail-free" card when they say, "well, we'll replace X and that should fix it". If they replace X and that doesn't fix it, get yourself another mechanic.

[thyme4change]

I also got burned on mechanics who seemed really good the first few times you went to them and than just kept finding all kinds of things to fix.

We had one guy who we loved. He was always trying to fix it for the least possible amount, and then one day he realized we had money - and the prices went up exponentially. What a bummer.

[telephus44]

I go in for the major maintanence (60K, 90K, 120K) but I also check the owner's manual - if it says to change the timing belt at 130K, I might ask them to do it at the same time as the 120K Always ask what is included - if it includes a tire rotation or oil change, know that so you don't end up rotating your tires again soon after. I also wait until they mail me a coupon for 10% off (though I am pissed that I just did the 90K service last week and yesterday I got a coupon for 20% off).

Also, don't let them guilt you into doing everything that want to do. I knew I was getting close to needing a new battery, and they wanted $98 plus a $22 shop fee. That's ridiculous. I can do that myself. Don't be afraid to tell them you'll think about it, and then go home and get a second opinion from your hsband, your wife, your anonymous internet message board, whatever.

I've never bought a new car, but I would hope that it would be well built enough not to require maintanence every 7500 miles. Most of the things that they do are just "checking" - and that's a lot of money to pay to have someone look at it and tell you everything is fine. Hell, it's brand new, it better be fine at 7500 miles!

[midjd]

Re: fuel injector cleaner, if you notice your MPG dramatically decreasing, that's a sign you need to have the system cleaned. Otherwise, I'd say you've got at least 25,000 miles before you have to do anything like that.

[whoisjohngalt]

Thank you!!!!

[RoadToRiches]

60k miles service for my car at the dealer was $750. All they do is check stuff. I did it all myself. I replaced sparkplugs, changed oil, changed differential fluid, changed manual transmission fluid, changed brake fluid.

I keep up with the maintenance but if something is still functioning good, then why change it? For example, my service manual says I should replace oxygen sensors at 100k. I have over 140k on my car and both o2 sensors are still working just fine.

All these scheduled services are checks. They kick the tires around and check stuff.

Get this, I was quoted $750 for FRONT brake job at the dealer. This is only fronts! I got OEM parts online for 280 shipped for rear and front. Did it myself in about 2 hours and I was all set. It's almost criminal how much dealers charge.

One time I did get my oil changed at the dealer because it was winter and I didn't feel like crawling under my car in cold garage. Since going to one of those Lube Stop places is out of question for me, since they don't even have sockets to remove oil filter in my car, I went to the dealer. They changed my oil and then right away the manager tells me I need wheel alignment, this and that and this and that. I told him "No thank you". I am lucky enough to have very well known independent mechanic that specializes only on my type of car, so if anything, I just drop it off there. Got new tires, dropped it off to my indy, got an alignement for about 1/2 price what dealer would charge.

[buster]

As someone who used to work on cars during college, there are definitely a few musts.

For starters, change your oil every 5k miles. 3k used to be the norm, however the synthetic oils today are of much better quality. I personally only use synthetic in my car, up to you if you feel it's worth the extra expense versus regular motor oil. Make sure you top off your fluids, brake, washer fluid, radiator fluid, and rotate your tires per the tire manufacturer recommendation. As someone else stated, transmission fluid should be replaced at the manufacturers recommendation as well. This fluid gets about as hot as motor oil.

Also, always replace the timing belt or chain based off the manufacturers suggestion. If a belt or chain breaks, you're looking at thousands of dollars in damage as it will likely bend a lot of valves in the head or worse. While they're in there, it doesn't hurt to replace the water pump as they are prone to leak. The labor cost isn't much extra doing them at the same time.

I also recommend replacing any gaskets or hoses that are leaking. There isn't much of a need to be proactive here unless you see some rotted hoses or something.

I however don't recommend replacing shocks/struts, engine mounts, or bushings unless you feel your car is not driving normal. These parts can be expensive and are easy for the dealer to try and upsell the work order.