El Imán (2001 GT Coupe) is coming up on her 60,000 mile service mark.
Is there any *good* reason I should take her to the Ford dealership instead of my normal mechanic for this? I took her in for her 30K service, but I'm not sure there was any advantage for me doing so.
- Max - ======= Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, suppport any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of freedom.
On 13 Feb 2004 17:12:28 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com.mil.gov (Max C. Webster III) wrote something wonderfully witty:
I usually only have work done at the dealer while under warranty. Otherwise I go to a buddies shop. He worked at the local F-150 plant for 20 years prior to opening his own shop. Never had a problem yet. I have been told I am not allowed to use a broadsword to disprove ?The Pen is Mightier than the sword?.
** El Imán (2001 GT Coupe) is coming up on her 60,000 mile service mark.
**** Is there any *good* reason I should take her to the Ford dealership instead of
** my normal mechanic for this? I took her in for her 30K service, but I'm not
** sure there was any advantage for me doing so.
I'd put my trust in a good, independant, local mechanic over a dealership any day. Expect a larger bill this time around, as the O2 sensors are due for a change, and they're not cheap.
I called my Ford Dealer, and they told me that I could bring my car in anytime for their Quick Lane service. The price for the 60K service would be $419.95 and would include:
Tranny flush
Coolant flush
Power steering flush
Brake cleaning and adjust
Change fuel filter
Change air filter
Lube undercarriage
Rotate tires
Oil and filter change.
I don't mind paying the $420 (about the same as a car payment) if I think I'm getting some value for that, but all that sounds like pretty standard stuff. The "Scheduled Maintenacne Guide" isn't calling for anything special, like chaning the oxygen sensor. I think I'm going to take my car to my regular mechanic, whom I've dealt with for fourteen years, to have this service done.
- Max - ======= Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, suppport any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of freedom.
wow, that's a lot of money. I marked the things you can do yourself easily.
Always a good thing. easy to drain, little harder to fill if you don't have some sort of pump to fill it. (for a manual that is, automatic might be easier to fill) (20 to 30 bucks in fluid)
highly recommended. Very easy to do yourself. (10 bucks in fluids)
little harder since you need to remove some hoses. not impossible and doesn't really require special tools. (10 bucks in fluids)
hmm, this sounds fishy. I wonder what they 'adjust' ? (nothing?)
recommended as well. easy to do yourself. All is needed is a fuel-line disconnect tool (couple bucks) and some safety glasses. (10 to 15 bucks with the tool)
very easy. (15 bucks )
say what ? I don't know what needs to be lubed on a stock mustang.
easy (needs two jacks or jackstands)
easy as well. (depending on type of oil, 15 bucks for dino-oil, 45 bucks for synthetic oil. both with filter)
about 110 bucks with synth. oil in parts. I doubt they will give you synthetic oil for that 420 bucks. Huge savings if you can do minor wrenching. Looks like most of that price is for labor.
freedom is relative. Remove NO-SPAM from email address when replying
[quote] So... whenever you walk into any mechanic shop,
I'd have to disagree. My regular mechanics are at a local Precision Tune & they have yet to screw me over... either in their prices or their work. We actually have a sort of agreement... they help me out when I need them to (ie: let me use some of their equipment or they'll read codes for me or even debug something for me) and I maintain their computers ;D. They charge $50/hr for diagnosis.. which I think is pretty reasonable. They're extremely good at what they do too. So I don't really think the remark about "how do we get as much $$$ out of this person as fast as possible." applies necessarily to *EVERY* mechanic shop. I've been screwed over at Wilcox before so I know it DOES apply.. and several places.. just not everywhere.
Yeah as Rein said.. you shouldn't have any trouble doing it yourself even if you have a basic toolset & know-how (or manuals...). Save yourself quite a few bucks doing it yourself. And as already corrected... I get Mobil 1 10W30 as well for $20 at walmart.. 5 quarts.. and the oil filter (motorcraft) is roughly $3 ;). I'd do it myself if I were you... but then again if you don't have any confidence in yourself or you're lazy... take it to a mechanic you trust, not the dealership (in THIS case.. not in every case).
I had the service performed on Thursday by my regular mechanic, not the dealership. Total cost was $215.87, a little more than $200 cheaper than the dealership. The mechanic did *not* do a power steering *flush*; he just drained and replaced the fluid, which is what I expect a *flush* at the dealership actually is.
The next day, I had a minor road-trip down to Evergreen, AL. El Imán is running nice and smooth as always. 60,000 miles, and still a fun car to drive.
Now, if I can finally get rid of the rattle in the dashboard . . .
- Max - ======= I saw the best posts of my alt.music newsgroup destroyed by madness starving hysterical naked dragging themselves through the Spielberg streets with Dawn
I don't think that is really needed anyways. I think the suggested maintenance on my 95GT never even mentioned changing this fluid.
If you can find a reliable skilled mechanic, they're usually cheaper than the dealer. The only thing the dealer is trying to compete on is with oil-changes. I keep getting coupons form them for cheap oil changes. It's just a way for them to get your car in so they can find other things that need work.
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