Yes, yes, the battery- however you KNOW when you have an issue, never mind technical ability etc....the thing starts to have issues starting.
It didn't, it doesn't.
Given the 12 month service intervals it was prudent of them to load test the battery. If it's low on capacity, as they have stated, the first cold snap next winter will likely kill it given how little use the vehicle gets.
The oil change is expected after a year, the vehicle is averaging 49kms per week. That low the engine is cold running and the oil would be affected by condensation.
Plus the cold start enrichment diluting the oil with petrol.
W..what? People pay $250 for someone to change the oil and filter in their car? It is a 20 minute job if you are slow... People think lawyers are expensive. I'd like to make $1,000/hour changing oil.
A service is NOT only an oil change.
The point of a service is to check the car over to identify wear and tear.
Add to that the cost of decent oil, filters and fluids and it starts to be quite reasonable.
The first service on my wifes 2017 volkswagon was almost $600 and the service sheet was almost a page long and was there for a few hours
Let me guess big Remuera diesel tractor? Looks like almost $600 is the minimum for those. Cared for like that you'd think they would last forever. I must say I am deeply suspicious of modern servicing. Apart from fluids everything else is usually capable of lasting out the warranty period and probably gets left until then. I see with VW the brake fluid change is a recommended extra on top of normal service cost.
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What was the total and what was done exactly on the invoice.
You start asking questions when you see an invoice with a large figure on it and no breakdown at all. Well, Thats whats being made out to us. Typical of someone to complain, Augment the issue by leaving out information.
W..what? People pay $250 for someone to change the oil and filter in their car? It is a 20 minute job if you are slow... People think lawyers are expensive. I'd like to make $1,000/hour changing oil.
A service is NOT only an oil change.
The point of a service is to check the car over to identify wear and tear.
Add to that the cost of decent oil, filters and fluids and it starts to be quite reasonable.
I suppose I am out of the loop, I have a family member who is a mechanic and able to get me parts for wholesale. I have no clue what people actually pay for oil and filters when paying retail. $150 for oil is a complete joke though, you are being ripped off by a retailer and should shop around. $30 for a filter is also at least 100% more than you should be paying too.
Bung: I must say I am deeply suspicious of modern servicing. Apart from fluids everything else is usually capable of lasting out the warranty period and probably gets left until then.
I believe kiwi education is the key here.
If you rock into a dealership they can show you a service plan for the model of vehicle, probably right out to 200,000kms. You can sometimes find them on the net to download. There is nothing suspicious about it as it will all be laid out in black and white. It may seem a bit mysterious though, and you may need some mechanical advice to fully appreciate the nuances of every single detail.
Independent service agents, such as MTA members will have a association provided standard service schedule, which will be a bit more generic and less specific to the model of car. When the OP complained about the service to the MTA, they would have confirmed with the mechanic that he stuck to the associates std schedule and didn't deviate off script or bill for anything suspicious outside of the schedule. They would have confirmed that the bill was consistent with what other MTA mechanics would charge. They would also check that the mechanics history of complaints/compliments to see if it is a one off gripe or a pattern to be concerned about. Admittedly the mechanic isn't doing himself any favours by not itemising the bill or listing the service checks on the back on the invoice. I would like to see the MTA website disclose their service lists to customers, but I guess they want workshops to join the association to access the lists.
The factory/dealer service schedule essentially aims to maintain the performance and safety of the vehicle or years, rather than only keep it going until out of warrantee. (The manufacturer would love it if you threw your car away at the end of the warrantee but knows no one does this). Models don't get a good reputation by only lasting till wty expiry - quite the contrary.
I am more familiar with Toyota's where for a typical Toyota, there will be things on the service schedule such as readjusting the cam shaft to valve clearances at 100,000 kms. Valve clearances go out of limits as engines wear and resetting valve clearance will restore lost horse power, fuel economy and reduce engine noise - the improvement is quite noticeable to a drivers driver, and to your dear old mum, the car simply continues to perform like it was new. To a cheap-skate kiwi this is a total waste of money because 1) "the car is going fine", 2) an imminent catastrophic failure is not being averted (like a cam belt), 3) they don't factor in the savings at the fuel pump, 4) they don't have pride in a well maintained vehicles, 5) 2nd hand replacement cars are very cheap, 6) the law and cheap-skates don't give a crap about avoidable environmental emissions etc etc.
pctek: So he's a great guy and no-one got ripped off.
Discuss? My mum is 85. She just trusted them.
Refer my first post above about the type of customer and 2nd post re MTA. My speculation is two fold:
1) If the vehicle has a long relationship with the workshop they will be doing the same thing that your old man always asked for. If your old man was mechanically minded (and your mum is not) and the workshop is aware your mum is on her own, they might have stepped up their game and be doing a bit more to keep the car reliable.
2) The car isn't getting younger is it? It might be that as the car ages, it simply needs more work to keep it ship-shape.
pctek: I do slightly more kms than her, not by much though and have never had a battery since I bought the car. About 5 years ago.
2 points to ponder here:
1) It is a about start cycles and journey length rather than km's. Example: Five 2km journeys is much harder on a battery than 1x 10km journey because the battery does 90% of its work on engine start. This example would in fact be far more than 5x harder because a short journey doesn't give sufficient engine run time to fully recharge the battery, so the battery gets progressive worse - hence the need for the mechanic to actually test the battery (and recharge it if it is found to be low) rather than make an estimation based on Km's since the last service.
2) What is the quality of your mums battery vs yours? Is your battery an import (ie came from japan in the car?) and is your mums a domestic? Japanese batteries are great quality and commonly last 5 - 7 years where a domestic will be 2 years for a budget model and 3 - 5 on a high grade model. What is the warranty period of your mums batteries vs yours? This reflects the quality of battery. Those god-awful 6 month warranty batteries that you can sometimes pickup from Repco are terrible and false economy - made for people who are "budget conscious" but in reality can't budget and consider only the ticket price and not the total cost of ownership.
pctek: What else on the invoice? Nothing..............
Yeah, mechanic should itemise better and/or have a list of service items on the back of the invoice. The old guys are not so good with computers and customer communications.
I suppose I am out of the loop, I have a family member who is a mechanic and able to get me parts for wholesale. I have no clue what people actually pay for oil and filters when paying retail. $150 for oil is a complete joke though, you are being ripped off by a retailer and should shop around. $30 for a filter is also at least 100% more than you should be paying too.
That does depend heavily on the vehicle. Oil capacities have been gradually increasing (6L is not uncommon now, when 20 years ago a 4L oil pack would have some left over) and the demands on the oil right along with them (increased service intervals, higher power output etc). Filter capacities had to follow so they have much more filtering surface area than they used to. Sure, if it was an '94 Corolla you'd probably be getting swindled paying $150+$30.
Yeah, mechanic should itemise better and/or have a list of service items on the back of the invoice. The old guys are not so good with computers and customer communications.
The mechanic my wife takes her car to is probably one of those 'old guys', and still writes his invoices by hand! They're kinda works of art in today's age, and are totally detailed as to both what he's done and the parts used.
Bung: I must say I am deeply suspicious of modern servicing. Apart from fluids everything else is usually capable of lasting out the warranty period and probably gets left until then.
I believe kiwi education is the key here.
I am more familiar with Toyota's where for a typical Toyota, there will be things on the service schedule such as readjusting the cam shaft to valve clearances at 100,000 kms. Valve clearances go out of limits as engines wear and resetting valve clearance will restore lost horse power, fuel economy and reduce engine noise - the improvement is quite noticeable to a drivers driver, and to your dear old mum, the car simply continues to perform like it was new. To a cheap-skate kiwi this is a total waste of money because 1) "the car is going fine", 2) an imminent catastrophic failure is not being averted (like a cam belt), 3) they don't factor in the savings at the fuel pump, 4) they don't have pride in a well maintained vehicles, 5) 2nd hand replacement cars are very cheap, 6) the law and cheap-skates don't give a crap about avoidable environmental emissions etc etc.
Interestingly you've picked a service item that probably would fall outside most people's warranty period assuming 15 -20k per year. My experience with this (not on a Toyota) was 1st valve clearance check specified at 45k originally then changed by manufacturer to 60k probably because early cars weren't needing adjustment. I got invoiced at 60k for this and said it wasn't done. "How would you know?" "Because none of the camshaft covers have been disturbed." This job was done at 90k and still didn't need any shims changed. The intervention has left the top end of the engine not factory oil tight. Nothing serious but probably typical.
This engine went from hydraulic to shim then Toyota style solid buckets. Maybe you know how often these get replaced?
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