22.5k oil change

[jono6406]

I took my Kizashi for the 25 mile ride to the nearest Suzuki dealer in St. Petersburg, Florida today and just 3 days ago I changed my cabin air filter but guess what they recommeneded that I change my engine and cabin air filter. What a joke seeing Suzuki only recommends an oil chage and tire rotation and like I said the cabin air filter was changed 3 days ago. They must didn't check it just wanted those services done to boost their profits.My total was $61.22 for their services.

[Ronzuki]

Upsell....upsell.....upsell (or lose your job). That's the message to the service managers and advisors at the Monday morning dealer pep-rally meetings. This has happened at my favorite GMC dealer I've been going to for nearly 20 years for work on our cars that I don't need a specific brand dealer service for and that I can't/don't do myself. Oh well, their loss of a 20 year customer. I'm just going to go to the shop where the service manager I've known forever, and now the mechanic, work at. Dealers, like everyone else, don't seem to realize that their commercials and hype are not the reason I go to them but the people whom I interact w/ and that work on my cars.

[KuroNekko]

Why do you even go to a dealership for basic maintenance? Unless they are close by and offer discounts, I see no incentive. Many independent shops have good mechanics who are less interested in ripping you off.

I personally do all my own maintenance because I enjoy it and it's also quality assurance to me. I constantly find mistakes or laziness on the part of pros after I take my cars in. Mismatched bolts, missing washers, misaligned gaskets, etc. are things I don't tolerate so I avoid others touching my car as much as possible.
It's part of why I join car forums and why I use and contribute to the DIY sections.

[Ronzuki]

We have a lot of cars/drivers in the family. I don't have enough time to diagnose, work on and repair everything that comes down the pike on 5 vehicles and that doesn't include my Samurai (trail vehicle). Oil chnges, brakes, filters, rotations and the little day-to-day stuff, sure I'm like you, prefer to do it myself. We have annual state inspection and emission testing requirements in PA, so avoiding taking a car to someone else to poke around and inject problems is impossible. That's why I'm disappointed and had to move on. Winter tire swaps for one car (I don't own tire machine), alignments (I don't own a rack) trans service equipment (yes I'm a firm believer in the BG flush system) and general things that I may not have time for all require a trusted shop and people to do the work. Not easily found these days. We bought our suburban at that particular local GMC dealer 20 years ago. They proved their worth during the warranty period of the truck so I continued to have it worked on by them (inspections and such) for things I wasn't willing or able to do myself. Over the years I had developed a working relationship w/ the service people and brought our other vehicles there for service. Also used them over the years to put used vehicles I was considering buying up on their lifts and go over the cars with my mechanic before purchase at $20 or so a pop. I was free to look over the car myself. It was like having an independant garage and mechanic to work with. 2 years ago, they 'merged w/ another out of area dealership and things started changing. The original people that had been there forever started 'leaving' (being forced out). As of last week the last two guys I've dealt with for a long time left.....and so have I.

I have the ex-Zuk dealer, now service center, I use. They are good, 45 minutes away, and at least twice a year I throw the zuk inspections/emissions testing work their way, along with parts and filters, which I get a huge discount on, just to keep a bit of relationship going with them should I need them for something important. Like the rear shock replacement they did for me on the Kiz last minute (I was in the neighborhood and stopped in) and quite quickly. I had a much better relationship w/ the local GMC dealer's service people. The mechanic there dialed the alignment in on the Kiz perfectly, whereas the zuk dealer's alignment was in-spec but not perfect and I was getting a little funny tire wear starting to show on my new tires.

As with anything else, the wrong time to go looking for a good shop/advisor/mechanic is when you really need them. Tomorrow I'll take the daughter's car over to the new shop to have the snows mounted and balanced. Good opportunity to see the new shop's capabilities and meet some new people along with the two guys I've known for many years from the GMC dealer. If you really think about it, owning a car and finding people to take care of it when you can't, for whatever reason, is similar to developing a relationship with your doctor whom you trust your own personnal care to if you really think about it.

[KuroNekko]

Ron,

My reply was more intended for jono who drove quite a bit for just basic maintenance and the dealer did not even bother checking to see if the "recommended" services were necessary.

[Ronzuki]

No sweat Kuro...just throwing some extra info out there. Sorry if I come off as hostile or whatever....just my nature I suppose. The more educated consumers are, the more power they have, and hopefully, the added info helps someone out. Dealers, especially, don't care for their customers to be knowledgeable.

[krell]

Gonna be driving down to Jeff D'Ambrosio's Suzuki from brooklyn NY next week to get my 15 k service .. i spoke to the service place here in the jersey ny area not one did mention nothing anything on changing the rear diff oil Jeff D'Ambrosio's Suzuki recommend it so did Suzuki service place in State Collage pa.. they both say Suzuki recommend to change diff oil at 15k. the place here in NY and jersey gonna do the simple stuff .. check all fluid level.. which i can do tire rotation and a few other stuff for $300

[WESHOOT2]

Change the rear diff fluid at least every 30K.
Do it first at 7,500 miles.

[Ronzuki]

Krell, wow...that's a drive man! Make sure you go to the ex-Suzuki dealer now service center in Frazer, which is also a used car lot. Don't end up at Jef D'Ambrosio's huge multi-brand new car store in Downingtown which is also on Route 30. Look for the Suzuki Motorcycles. Service is down around the back. It's not much to look at and you could easily drive right on by. Tony and Ray, the service advisors, are good guys. There's a good place to eat across the street in the shopping center to have some grub after the long ride while they're doing the work.

[jono6406]

Ron,

My reply was more intended for jono who drove quite a bit for just basic maintenance and the dealer did not even bother checking to see if the "recommended" services were necessary.

BTW my car is still under warranty and thats where I want to bring my car for the best service. Even when my warranty expires I will still bring my car to Suzuki for service. I can afford it so why not. No aftermarket or jacklegs for me plus lately I have been sick so this is my no fuss way of having my car repaired right the first time and if they don't do it right for me there is another Suzuki dealer about 2 miles further which doesn't bother me.