Car is due a 2nd service - last year it was £135 but this franchised garage wanted £285 for 2nd service.
Phoned 2/3 outlets including a new franchise - quotes varied £210, £198 and the best £175.
That was 3/4 weeks ago - "the best price" called yesterday - had I had it done?
No but my imagination made me say locally £140+VAT = £161 and it is just down the road!
We can do it for £144 inc VAT!!
It is 14 miles away but worth the trip!
So what is the price of a service or do they just make it up?
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Your experience is, I suspect, a combination of three figure hourly labour rate (in many parts of the country) with a chunk of margin to play with, and the evidence that people are abandoning main dealer servicing in favour of indies and DIY. I'm not surprised dealers are prepared to haggle, given that service departments are often their main source of profit.
I'd just be wary of "hidden extras" and work they discover needs doing. I was in a VW dealership recently where service pricing was on a board behind the desk. A lady collecting a Golf from a service (I forget which) that I saw priced at £230+VAT was paying a bill of well over £800. The usual pads and discs, bulbs, tyres and a list of other non warranty "consumables" that bumped the bill way up.
Cheers
DP
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chap i sit next to at work was ringing around for an oil service on his 02 plate bmw 2litre oil burner.
he tried 4 main dealers. all part of the same chain, all within 40 miles of his home..
he had prices ranging from £117 to £172....
Paul.
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If you look at the service requirements over time with the vehicle they are different accordinbg to mileage/age. Starts at a simple quick dust down with a rag, a more detailed at intermediate and a yet more detailed at a higher mileage/age.
This obvioslty reflects on cost and it is where a 'bacl street' can charge gold for a mere oil/filer change and tyre pump and still come under that for a prpoer scheduled service?
dvd
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Watch out COWBOYS about!
Car serviced and they matched the price HOWEVER they used semi synthetic 10-40 and not the recommended 5-30 fully synthetic!
This is not a back street dealer but a franchise of the manufacturer - poor show NISSAN Franchise!
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Give 'em a rocket, FB. Not servicing a car according to manufacturers' specifications, i.e type of oil. Shameful.
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Captain can't agree with you more FB wants to get down and threaten them with trading standards. I would even go as far as say go to small claims court. The question needs to be asked does it invalidate the warranty (incorrect oil replaced) does he need a new engine ?
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...Car serviced and they matched the price HOWEVER they used semi synthetic 10-40 and not the recommended 5-30 fully synthetic!...
Displaying his usual lack of engineering knowledge, ifithelps commented: ''Can the difference between the two oils really make that much difference?
"This a road going engine, not a highly tuned racing one."
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ifithelps,
yes, I agree, though I'll own up to a similar lack of engineering knowledge. "threaten" & "small claims court" seem well OTT.
JH
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10/40 semi is the recommended oil though
so you are shooting the indians and havent even got 3 wheels on your waggon
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bairn
Are you sure 5-30 fully synthetic is the correct oil?
Even my Audi Quattro 1.8t only had semi.
I wouldn't what 5-30 anyway. Always considered that a cold climate oil.
Give me 10-40 every time.
I am assuming you have had a M service.
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5-30 fully syn is recommended by Nissan
10-40 can be used when 5-30 is unavailable according to a handbook.
5-30 was available in Stirling this week!
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Will have no noticeable effect on the car whatsoever.
If the oil is to the correct API SL spec, and the manufacturer says it can be used then it's fine.
If you are amazingly anal you might discern a 0.5% reduction in fuel economy ;-)
With respect to engine life, noone wil be able to say if using 5W-30 or 10W-40 is the 'better' oil - if you do a lot of low speed, low gear towing then 10W-40 is probably better. If you whisk along the M-ways at 75 all day then I'd go for the lighter oil.
My Forester Turbo is specced 5W-30 in the UK, but 10W-40 in most other countries for exactly the same engine and state of tune. The lighter oil is a way manufacturers shave an extra carbon dioxide off their Euro emissions test - cars on sale have to be the same spec as the cars on the forecourt.
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I used my local Ford website-even dealers in the same group offer different prices.
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...10-40 can be used when 5-30 is unavailable according to a handbook...
Drawing on my in-depth knowledge (again), I wonder what difference there can be once the oil has been bashed around inside the engine for a thousand miles which, at an average speed of 30-odd mph, equates to more than 30 hours running.
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Just checked the manual for the 2009 xtrail 171 bhp M9R diesel engine
oil spec
Genuine nissan engine oil
ACEA C3 LOW ASH HTHS 3.5, SAE viscosity 5W-30
No option of 10-40
Is the spec above Fully synthetic?
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I took too long with the edit.
there is a option , 10/30,10/40,10/50 can be used down to -20 centigrade
15/40,15/50, can be used down to -15 centigrade
20/40, 20/50, can be used down to -10 centigrade
So although 5W-30 covers down to -30 centigrade, i don't think using 10/30 is a problem.
Edited by xtrailman on 30/04/2009 at 16:42
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if you do a lot of low speed, low gear towing then 10W-40 is probably better. If you whisk along the M-ways at 75 all day then I'd go for the lighter oil. >>
Lygonos:
Can you expand on the science/engineering behind that statement, please.
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Engine temperature fluctuations will be more extreme when you are using a fair amount of revs but not actually moving very fast = more heat and less air to dissipate it.
At low-load high speed running (eg M-way cruise) the air flow through the radiator is so great that the engine temp will rarely spike.
Not a big issue is thermostat and cooling system are in good order.
If the engine internals are running at a higher temp then a 'heavier oil' will be more resistant to breaking down (assuming the same additive pack).
At the end of the day any good quality multigrade will protect you engine if it is changed regularly enough - the actual viscosity is probably of little importance other than reducing internal friction.
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The viscosity is important for cold starting, especially in sub zero temperatures.
As i understand it, engine wear is greatest with a cold engine.
Back in the day, i would use around 10/30 in winter, and around 20/50 in summer, that was mineral oil changed ever 3000 miles.
Still hoping some one will respond to my post above, is that spec full synthetic, or semi?
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