Dealer recommended services....

Sounds like a standard form sent out for every car sold. Many oil change places have the "up to five quarts" in the advertised price and then charge for any additional. Just as they asterisk the "lubricate suspension" because most cars today don't need it.

Preventative maintenance is important, but they are going to charge you a bundle to perform all of these services. Do you need it all? Certainly not and most you can do yourself in about 5 minutes. At 7500 miles the simple check of the charging system and battery is overkill. Kind of soon to rotate tires and I want to see how they adjust your brakes.

You know you can do better.

I'd be on board with the tire rotation. 7500 miles is the norm for recommendations.

Here's what you're getting:

-- oil change with extra charge for one quart

-- lubrication (impossible or not necessary on your car)

-- fluid check (included in most oil changes)

-- 27 point inspection (a well-managed shop does this on nearly every car-- it allows them to find more stuff to repair)

-- tire rotation

I hate to admit it, but I paid my local dealer $75 for that worthless service. :o( I asked the question about adjusting the brakes and was told they adjust the parking brake system. I thought it was self adjusting. It wasn't until I got home that I checked and realized NONE of the services performed were listed either in the book or on the website except oil change, which I was supposed to get free. They made an allowance but then charged for 'shop supplies', rags, and who knows what else to get the price back up to $75. I won't be back until I REALLY need them. Hyundai of Athens, Georgia, by the way.

I change my own oil and keep the end tabs of the filter boxes and receipts for the oil.

Tom

The shop supply charge is standard operating practice at nearly every shop, dealer or not. You probably can't get away from it.

Disc brakes don't need adjustment. Drum brakes are self-adjusting, but the star-wheel type adjustment mechanism is infamous for not working well.

I have a different question concerning Dealership service and brakes.

My 2004 Sonata only has 27,000 miles on it and the brakes are original. (I bought it new)

I've noticed a vibration when slowing down from high speeds. I took it in for an oil change and asked them to look at the brakes. They came back and told me all 4 rotors are below the minimum size and can't be resurfaced. How is that possible with a brand new car? I know metallic pads have a tendency to wear down rotors faster, but shouldn't you still be able to get at least one resurface out of them?

And, BTW? I have a mechanic I've been using for almost 20 years. I took the car to him and he beat the price of the brake repairs. And I don't mean by just a little, the dealer wanted over $1200.00 And my mechanic quoted me a price of $625.00. He's using premium ceramic pads and he's getting the rotors from the dealer. Why is the dealer charging so much? They tried to tell me those rotors are really hard to remove, so they were charging for 6 labor hours. Does this sound right? Thanks for the help. You're always giving the best advice for the money. : )

Brian

Seems like none of t hem can be turned any more. They are made very thin and warp easily and thee is nothing left to turn.

Because people pay it and don't question it. Most dealers do in fact, do a good job or repairs, but will go overboard with your money replacing parts. They'd rather you'd not be back with the same complaint and you quickly forget about the charges.

You've already found the value of a good independent shop. There are plenty of scoundrels out there , both dealers and independents, so if you find a good one, stick with him.

They tried to tell me those rotors are really

You're right, hyundaitech, the shop supplies shows up everywhere now. It's just one more way that they have found to spread out the 'loss' of markup on their cars in the showroom. It's all still there but hidden in various places. I hate the $595 'documentation fees' that they hit you with when you are doing the final paperwork. I negotiate that one before I go in to that room. :o). I just bought a Chevy Colorado and the dealer's fee was $149 including the tag fees and registration/title transfer. That's much more reasonable.

The only thing they could have adjusted on my brakes was the parking brake, which I hope they didn't touch because I'll end up with worn out shoes.

Tom

Probably what happened was that the dealer was fooled by the spec in the shop manual. The shop manual lists 24.4mm as the minimum, but it should actually be 22.4mm. I got caught by this once. Luckily, it was our own used car, so I didn't remove a large sum of money from a customer's pocket because of my own ignorance.

There's a technical service bulletin that makes this correction. It's TSB

Six hours for replacing four rotors is a bit excessive. I'd figure about half that for standard pricing and would be able to beat that time quite easily.

Your mechanic can charge you so much less for a number of reasons:

1. He gets a discount on the parts he buys from the dealer. His parts markup is up to him (or the shop for which he works).
2. His labor rate is probably lower than the dealer.
3. He is probably not gouging you by charging you more labor hours than necessary.

The sad part is that the dealer could have probably come close to your mechanics price and kept your business and a reasonable profit.

Yes, six hours was too much. My mechanic had the car in and out in a little over 3 hours, total. And he doesn't mark up the prices as much for me because I'm a good customer. For instance, he got the rotors from a Hyundai dealer and they were only $5.00 more than Hyundai was going to charge. Same with the pads.

As for labor, he charged me a flat rate of $100. But I still question why a car with only 27,000 miles has rotors that are beyond resurfacing. Do you have a link I can go to for that bulletin? There was also a bulletin for the torque setting on the wheels. Do you have that number, too? And BTW? Your help is greatly appreciated.

Brian

My local Buick dealer charges 2% of the cost. It is built into his billing software. He pissed me off when he charged "shop supplies and disposal fees" when all they did was some diagnostics. I questioned what supplies were used and what was disposed of. They gave me a credit and a coupon for a free oil change In the end, it is one of the factors that costs the dealer and GM a sale.

Wow, that's cocky as hell to just say give me an extra 2% to do the paperwork! Does a $40,000 car require more paperwork than a $5000 used car? I would never buy from those crooks. I've had the same experience with shop supplies to just look at a problem. Once an Olds dealer charged me $200 to diagnose that my catalytic converter was plugged and then replaced it under warrantee. Put a vacuum gauge on the intake manifold and you instantly know it's plugged! Duh. They wouldn't give me the keys until I paid with the local cops there!!! Never bought another Olds from them!

You can view the technical service bulletins at

The bulletin for wheel nut torque is 03-50-003.

Ahhh....got it. The one for the rotor size is for the front rotors only, it appears.

Brian