Service rip off!!

[ron74]

I own a 2003 LR zetec, great car couldnt be happier, then i started to ring around for a quote on servicing the car. Its due the 45k service, which takes (according to the manual) 1 hour, it includes new filters and oil and the rest is visual checks, two Ford dealers on the gold coast quoted me $260!
These cant be right, anyone got any suggestions or good reliable mechanics i can use. Cheers.

[FRA]

Do it for self man and save money and start to learn about your Focus.
I got sick of being rip off by Ford so i know how you feel dude.
Hey I'm not mechanic but, new oil and fuel filter is easy to do man.
And your stock air filter is a piece of pi$$ man.

[ron74]

Ive got warranty to worry about or i would do it myself

[FRA]

So what will you do?
Take it else where?

[FRA]

We have warranty as well man but, the warranty means F$%^ all when it comes to any problem that are under warranty man.
Take it from a few of us in this ford forum who had problems with our Focus.
Sorry just how we feel about this issue and that me and my g/f.

[b2tf]

Originally Posted by FRA

the warranty means F$%^ all when it comes to any problem that are under warranty

not quite sure what you mean by this?

[melbzetec]

I've never had an issue with problems under warranty. And a service is more than changing oil and filter

[Bucknaked]

I'm about to book in for my 30,000

[Laminge]

Try one of the site sponsors, your profile doesnt have your location so beats me which one

[zetec]

I to haven't had any issues with warranty, they've avtually helped me on occasions I wouldn't have expected them to (I had an exhaust and lowering springs) and expected them to blame the mods.

As for cost, you can only shop around. I''ve paid $220 in Melbourne, but I agree it's more than a filter and oil change, it includes the safety checks etc. They also check for fault codes using the Ford computer. I haven't got the full list of htings here, but check your manual, it gives you an idea of exactly what gets done. Think it's bad? You're lucky you didn't buy a "cheap, reliable" Corolla. Intervals every 10,000km and 6 months... means more frequent services. So it'd be even costlier!! Focus has the longest intervals and some of the most cost effective ownership compared to most other models (like the premium Pugs, VW's) and it's about equal with Astra fro memory. Been a while since I was in sales, but 2 years ago the Focus was the cheapest car to service in the class after our own research, I doubt that has changed much.

[tufLTD]

15,000 km service intervals is ridiculous. The only reason they stretch intervals is to appeal to fleet & govt buyers to lower the maintenance costs.
No-one in their right mind would run oil for 15,000 kms. Ask anyone on this forum. Later Falcons, Lasers, etc all have 15,000km intervals but all smart owners change the oil & filter every 10,000 km max.
As for $220 for a 45,00 km service, it's a rip-off. Most reputable workshops will do it for around $120 including oil & filter, & they won't be putting a 2nd year apprentice on it!

[Marshy79]

You can go other places than Ford themselves.

Try Ultratune? They give a very detailed report on everything about your car after you are finished as well.

Using places like Ultratune will also keep your warranty intact.

[ron74]

Thanks for everybodys feedback. The thing is i spoke to the service manager at two Ford dealers and they confirmed the only things to be changed were the filters and oil. No computer checks, no other mechanical work just visual checks all of which any responsible owner should be well on top of! and this is in line with the service manual. So im taking my business somewhere else but a Ford dealer!

So long as the service is done by a mechanic who is or has someone fully qualified supervising work, and the service log is stamped, then you will have warranty. Unless the non-genuine parts directly cause a problem (eg non-ford oil filter splitting and draining the car of oil - no warranty on the engine only)

[More revs]

You could fax the dealers a 'request for quotation' making it clear the request will go out to several dealers.

This is normal business practice.

[theBlake]

Originally Posted by ron74

two Ford dealers on the gold coast quoted me $260!
These cant be right, anyone got any suggestions or good reliable mechanics i can use. Cheers.

Ross Automotive. They are in Labrador-ish. bit far away for me so i havent used them (yet), they are a member of my church, i know heaps of people have used them, never heard a complaint.

They advertise heavily on 107.3 Fm the fact they do under warranty servicing.

[AS_Telstar_Man]

sheesh - 15000km service intervals! That's totally wrong, I don't care how well the engine is designed its gotta be criminal to leave oil in there for that long (if it hasn't already been all burnt away). Are the sumps massive or something? 15000 city ks is a lot of wear and tear on everything (brakes especially) and by 45000kms they'll be checking things like disc rotor thickness and warping, pad thickness etc. Its probably due for its first coolant change as well and if the planets have aligned badly and you're up for brake fluid then 260 is reasonable for the CBF to do it myself factor.

Hell everytime I service my telstar I do the things I can do myself first and then take the 'too hard' bits (suspension and gearbox work) to a mechanic mate who charges jack-all for labour but a pair of fitted shocks is worth $330, a clutch overhaul is worth about the same.

I think toyota has it right with the shorter intervals (7500km for a city camry) - they had to shorten them to stop people abusing the crap out of their camrys and corollas - you can alledgedly drive these things for its first 100k without opening the bonnet at which point the car is f**ked. Their reputation came back to bite them in a way.

Next time u go to a mechanic I can put money on the fact you'll see a 2.2litre camry with its engine out of the bay getting the sludge sandblasted out of its internals.

[More revs]

Even the Form mechanic advised me with a knowing wink it's a good idea to have intermediate oil changes between services.

So I do that, just to make sure..