Cost of 30K mile maintenace of Outback

Just got back from the dealer from a 30K mile maintenance work on a 2002 Outback Legacy, which had basically no problems. The cost came out to over $900 with taxes. It seems very expensive. I'd be interested to hear what others have paid for this service.

Adam

Reply to
Adam Helberg
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I paid a little over $500 in St. Louis. I was not happy with the work. What did they do for $900?

Blair

Reply to
Blair Baucom

What all did it include? It's not uncommon for dealers to tack on goodies that aren't in the factory service schedule... $900 does sound pretty stiff for a 30k service.

$510.55 is what a 30k service (service level C) goes for in suburban Chicago. Includes: Oil, filter, plugs, air/fuel filters, cooling system service top off fluids, lube susp and seering clean throttle body, service brakes, replace brake fluid adjust parking brake, automatic transaxle service, rotate tires, check tire pressure, inspect clutch lines, hoses, adjust clutch pedal free play, lube throttle linkage, inspect power steering hoses, adj drive belts, inspect cuirse control, front/rear bearings, manual tranny service, rear diff service.

For $860 you get service level D, called for at 60k miles, which adds replacement of timing belt and cam belt tensioner.

So for $900, if you got a new timing belt and timing belt tensioner, you got a decent reasonable price. But, those services were done unnecessarily early.

Bes tRegards,

-- Todd H.

2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA
Reply to
Todd H.

Besides washing my car and giving me a rental:

wheel alignment service and clean throttle body auto trans flush and change fuel filter spark plugs cooling system flush rotate tires and rebalance change air filter

This was done in Orange County CA Adam

Reply to
Adam Helberg

Where can I get the list for service level D? I'm almost due for the 60K, and don't want the dealer to do more than the mfr recommends.

I thought the timing belt wasn't changed until 105K.

Reply to
John Rethorst

Service level D is everything I listed caringly for service level C plus replace timing belt inspect cam belt tensioner adjust engine idle speed (which is a joke, the ECU does this) adjust ignition timing (another worthless service) inspect spark plug wires (whoopee)

Yeah, the timing belt is spec'd at 105k but in Chicago at least, they start looking pretty ratty around 60k anyway and are generally accepted to be changed at that interval. My prior vehicles all had

60k intervalson the timing belt, and the 2.5 H4 is an interference engine...

-- Todd H.

2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4 Chicago, Illinois USA
Reply to
Todd H.

Was the air filter platinum?

I've had most of those done as separate jobs over the last year, I had no history of what had been done in the previous 100K miles on my '00 OB.

$70 Wheel alignment. $130 Auto trans flush/service $230 Fuel/air filters, cooling sys flush, plugs ____ $430

I can't see LA being much different from Seattle on prices.

Reply to
nobody >

When I left California 12 years ago shop rates were already approaching $65/hour!!!!

Reply to
Ed

Reply to
Tcassette

Seattle runs from ~$55 to ~$105/hr. Price doesn't necessarily imply performance.

Reply to
nobody >

Anyone with any experience? I asked my local dealer about the 105K time frame (for an Imprezza WRX) and they said they haven't had any problems waiting that long.

Most timing belts have a 60K replacement interval, even though on my older Toyotas there is NO recommended service interval.

Also, time can be a big factor in timing belt life. My mother in law had a low mileage Corolla, 17 years before it hit 60K. I inspected the belt at about 15 years, looked fine. When it hit 60K two years later, the belt was all checked and cracked on the back side.

As far as dealer charges, almost all dealers do far more than needed. And charge accordingly. Check your manual for what is recommended. Most folks will follow the 'severe' schedule. Check for things you can do yourself. No sense paying someone $100 an hour to open a few clips and replace the air filter. Besides, you might find that the replacement interval is longer than 30K on many of the parts.

Probably the same with spark plugs (haven't changed them yet on the WRX, but they can't be any worse than a Porsche).

Reply to
Kurt

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