Midpack
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Why is it almost every trip to an auto dealer service department leads to all sorts of other recommended services beyond what you think you need? Almost every time I've compared what the dealer recommends to what's in the manufacturers maintenance manual, the dealer is WAY over padding "service." And they keep coming up with new services that have to be researched, at least for those of us who want what's truly needed/value added, and what's unnecessary. It seems dealer service departments will charge 2X-3X if you let them. Today I paid $79 for a synthetic oil change & tire rotation, they recommended a service that would have cost $328+tax (basic) or $608+tax ("show the love") - and more than half the services were "inspections" which suggests to me even more $ if they find something!!!
Today they recommended replacing brake fluid. Should that be done periodically, probably. But while at the dealership I did a little research online and manufacturers recommend from 20K to 150K miles! I think it was CR who I read says if your brake fluid is still clean and without water, it doesn't need to be replaced.
I'm tired of researching online during/after almost every visit. Anyone know of a resource that can recommend what's value added service and not? [For normal use like most of us, I realize there are exceptions for heavy use, offroad, extreme weather, towing, etc.]
Today they recommended replacing brake fluid. Should that be done periodically, probably. But while at the dealership I did a little research online and manufacturers recommend from 20K to 150K miles! I think it was CR who I read says if your brake fluid is still clean and without water, it doesn't need to be replaced.
I'm tired of researching online during/after almost every visit. Anyone know of a resource that can recommend what's value added service and not? [For normal use like most of us, I realize there are exceptions for heavy use, offroad, extreme weather, towing, etc.]
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