forester "03 XS 15K mile service

I just came back from my dealer service to have an oil change and tire rotation done. The salesman was trying to hard sell me on a 15,000 mile service which included transmission oil change, rear diff change, air filter some break check and adjustment, oil change and tire rotation for $325.00 plus tax. I said that the I don't beleive the owners manual recomending all these item at 15K miles. Does anyone know if the dealer was just trying to rip me off or if this should of been done. What is a typical service for a 2003 forester XS at

15K miles?
Reply to
Mike
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What I would do:

  1. Oil change
  2. Oil and air filter change
  3. Check fluids
  4. Check CV boots
  5. Rotate tires

Shouldn't cost more than $100 for a shop to do it, or about $35 to do it yourself with premium sythetic oil and factory filters.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

Reply to
lmnop

Reply to
Edward Hayes

Reply to
lmnop

Owners manual my friend? Are you kidding? With the intervals suggested in the manual I obtained with my wife's 04 Bean, I come to the following conclusions:

  1. You are 'ADVISED' to get to the dealer, as they want you to think it is necessary, and have very expensive and absolutely unnecessary maintenance done to your vehicle. The result is the support of the Subaru dealerships that Subaru as a company does nothing more than advertise, in return for that dealers purchase of these vehicles.
  2. The maintenance that 'IS' necessary, that they suggest intervals for that are way far and few between, result in your uneducated maintenance decisions that subconsciously result in your disillusioned brand loyalty. Very end result, you by posting the above are employed by Subaru in some way and directly benefit from these sales, or you are a pawn in this silly but very big game called the 'auto industry'. I pay CASH for my cars, I do ALL the maintenance instructed in the owners manual in my own driveway, AND I DO NOT VOID ANY WARRENTY BY DOING SO.
Reply to
lmnop

I think the point was that the maintenance intervals prescribed in the owner's manual are the ones that need to be completed.

Here is what I do:

7.5k Oil & Filter Change 15k Oil & Filter Change, check boots and fluids 22.5k Oil & Filter Change 30k Oil & Filter Change, check boots and fluids, change spark plugs, change fuel filter, and change air filter.

I use Mobil 1 Oil and Subaru parts for everything else. If you shop around for the parts, you can actually get Subaru parts cheaper than after market items. The most intensive (30k) service only took me about

1-2 hours to complete. My OBW has been, BY FAR, the easiest car to work on that I have owned.

-Kurt

lmn> Owners manual my friend?

Reply to
Kurt C. Hack

There's the factory maintenance schedule, required to keep your warranty in force, and then there's the "dealer recommended" maintenance schedule of things the dealer feels you need to have done ;-)....I made up a memo listing *only* the factory required 15K services, and gave it to them...the ticket went down from ~$350 to ~$110...but they still managed to tack on a charge for $3.50, for "windshield washer fluid top-off" (which *I* had topped off the nite before, from an 89 cent gallon jug)...gotta watch em!

Reply to
CompUser

I got a little concerned as I note the maintenance schedule is not in the owner's manual for my '03 but in a separate sheet with the dealer's name on it. Only difference I see from my '98, where I believe the schedule was in the manual, that brake fluid change has gone from 30k mi to 15. My 7,500 mi service only cost about $30 as my dealer issues coupons frequently. If dealer tries to stick you, get service elsewhere and keep records for your warranty. Frank

Reply to
Frank Logullo

Reply to
Edward Hayes

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