Well, I just got a mailer from the local Mini dealer, noting that I hadn't been in for service in 13 months (my car has almost 70k miles on it, so there's no reason to give them my $). And guess what! They are willing to give me a "special offer" of a synthetic oil oil change for only $129.95! For five quarts of oil, a filter and lubing whatever needs lubing...

Let's see... I get Red-Line for $8 a quart, and filters for another $8, that's $48 bucks! So only $80 for the labor! What a deal....

Matt

 

Sounds like most dealers!!

 

I have heard of some $300.00 oil changes for the Lotus Elise at Lotus dealers.

 

did u get lubed yourself......

i usually get kissed before i get lubed...LMAO

 

Hey that's a bargain compared to the $191 four tire rotation my dealer offered me Of course I am a girl & we all know that us gals like to pay premium rates for our car servicing

 

i go to a service station by my house, they charge like $50 /hour for labor, oil change costs supplies + $15

 

I used to have a 92 Ford Exporer Sport (the 2 door). It was a great little SUV... I bought it when I lived in Rochester NY. Anyway, at the 30k or 60k service, I figured I'd treat the little beast nice and have it done at a Ford dealer.....

So I go to pick it up, and the service is about $600. OK, so I look at the 4 page print out of what they had done...

Oil and filter...
Topped up fluids...
Fuel System Cleaning....
Changed a belt....

Total parts cost <$80.
Hazardous Fees of ~$10
Total Labor ~2 hrs!

So I asked for a manager. I asked him what he was smoking! His answer was that service was "packaged priced" (there was a sign stating their service charge was $120/hr on the wall). When I pointed out that the service on the Explorer was more than it took me to keep a 75 FIAT running for a year, and the rest of the customers in the service area were starting to pay attention, he gave me a brake on the service. Sure, I should have known better, but every now and then I backslide and figure that the dealership, with the familiarty with the brand really is worth a shot..... And I always get reminded why I never go to a dealer except for warranty work!

I guess in hind sight, the $130 for the oil change IS cheap!

Matt

ps, I had my Acura MDX in for something. And they did the "free" brake inspection. They said it needed brakes, and quoted $600! I asked what for.... $200 for the fronts (they just needed pads), and $400 for the rears, because the rotors needed turning! I ended up buying pads from them (about 5% more than I could find on the web), and had the rotors turned at a local shop for $15 a rotor..... Total cost was a bit over $200. And the Honda/Acura calipers come off with two bolts! The disks come of with 5 lug nuts and a phillips screw per wheel.

 

I have a local dealer willing to give you the cabin air filter for $145; but I'll just go to for MyMini $38 same exact part.

 

So those of us who do go the the dealer for an oil change, what can we expect to pay - really $130???

 

Many years ago (20?) I had a Benz I took in for an oil change ONCE to the dealer and got nailed $150. They told me I needed new wiper blades, so I said "Sure, put 'em on." In the end the oil change was $95 and the blades were $20 PLUS the labor to total $150. Today I'm sure that would be double that.

But what REALLY kills is the fee on the invoices that say "shop supplies" or "disposal of shop supplies" that are anywhere from $3.00 to $12.00. My suggestion is DON'T EVEN show me that, burry in the invoice somewhere as I don't want to feel like they squeezed just a bit more out of my pocket for something I didn't expect. I think they call that "Nickel and Dimed to death."

 

Wow!!! What dealer was that? I just paid $70 for that same service at East Bay Mini

 

$60 bucks including the oil at a local, independent BMW/Mercedes shop

Just be thankful your not driving a Porsche, you probably dont want to know how much an oil change is.

 

~$22 for a 5 quart jug of Mobil 1 from Wal-Mart
~$6 for oil filter (OEM MINI filters from a tame dealer mail-ordered in bulk)

$0 for labor...I work cheap when it's for myself!

Rawhyde

 

thats what you get for all the free drinks at the bar

 

but a smart gal would go to Goodyear & get her tires rotated for $15 then go to the bar & still get all the free drinks

 

$3.00 to $12.00. My suggestion is DON'T EVEN show me that, burry in the invoice somewhere as I don't want to feel like they squeezed just a bit more out of my pocket for something I didn't expect. I think they call that "Nickel and Dimed to death."

In California, we have to account for every drop of every chemical used and drained-with unbelievable manifests of paper to prove it and unbelieveable costs to dispose of. In addition, if we elect to charge for the disposal, as law says we may and should (should, to complete the circle ofpaperworks, of course) It must be listed as the hazordous waste fee. we add a hazwstfee to every invoice-and at the end of every day/week/month/year, however you compute it, the amount we are allowed to charge never reaches what we pay for disposal.

 

Well, if the cost for the oil and filter is ~$50 and if you did the oil and filter change yourself, then based on the quoted charge of $130, would have $80 left over. What is the saying - a penny saved is a penny earned???? (Except in this case it is more like 8,000 pennies.)

 

Pretty extreme! I've had my dealer do a few "in between" oil changes. They charged $60. I had them install an oil drain valve last time so it will be easier for me to do it myself.

 

Been thinking about installing one of those, is it good?? Does it leak at all???
I've always been scared that if you go over something, it may knock open the valve and leak oil.....

 

If you go over something that is traumatic enough to knock open the valve, you are going to suffer engine damage, but it won't be from the valve being knocked open - it will come from the oil pan being shattered. If you are concerned about road debris, you should consider a skid plate.

 

lol wow!! What a great deal! 130$ for an oil change... (joke)

 

So Whats an oil change on a Ferrari go for anyways? I mean if service costs the same and you can finace the rest why not??

 

Do they match competitors coupons? When I have to buy an oilchange I will bring my dealer a local coupon and see if he will match it. $19.99. Otherwise I'll be off to a local BMW service place.

 

but my local allignment shop charges $1200 for corner balancing an F430. Turns out every adjustment requires the whole strut assembly to be removed.....

Matt

 

I have the same opinion of the dealer (any dealer) Dr. O. My interval services ran about $300 and they didn't DO anything, just 'inspect'. It burned me to pay $30 for a brake inspection, and then to find less than 1200 miles later to be down to metal-on-metal. That's when I quit the dealer. Figured I'd put the $30 toward the pads. They wanted $550 for a timing belt and water pump job. I got the parts plus every other tune-up part and filter I could think of for $360 (at dealer rates). Took about 4 hours to install, but I'll work for $50/hr. The thing that gripes me the most is they hit you for $100/hr book rate, pay their mechanic $20/hr, and expect him to go at least 2x book. Pay the man what he's worth.