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My new car

Discussion in 'Diesels' started by seftonm, May 24, 2010.

  1. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Not that I have heard. I guess you have to toss a coin and hope for the best
     
  2. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Depending on what is involved, I'd just do it myself. When the Prius got its 15k or 20k, there was a lot more checks to do. Things like the exhaust, rubber boots on the axle, struts, etc. There was nothing that called for mandatory changing beyond the oil.

    It's a new car, so I thought of letting a trained tech take a look this time. Called up the dealer to see what they would charge to put it up on the lift and take a look.

    $80

    So, I declined.

    The family of dealers also has a Lexus and BMW lot. Maybe they just use one price service for all.
     
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    $80 seems reasonable and is much less than what MB charges for the smart!
     
  4. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    It was $80 to just look at the car. Maybe give a belt a tug. Check the air filters. No pulling out tools or changing fluids.
    Not that I'd go to one, but a lube shop would do that for half or even a quarter of the price, and change the oil for you.

    What did the MB dealer charge, and what did you get for it?
     
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Cdn$225 after taxes for a Service A (equiv. to our "Oil Change" at 6 mth/5,000 mi). I got an oil change, a cleaned car (inside and out) and a nice thank you card with the signature of the mechanic that did the work. smart's service interval is 1 year or 15,000km (9,400 mile)
     
  6. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    And that's why I do just about everything myself.
     
  7. seftonm

    seftonm Member

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    So I did the oil a couple weeks ago. Went pretty well, the filter location had me a little concerned that things would get messy, but the filter came out without dripping any oil. Called the dealer to get them to take care of the rest of the 15k km service. They said that there's not much else to do, just a bunch of inspections like fluid levels and so on which I could easily do myself. So I did. Total maintenance cost for first 10k miles: $44 for oil and filter.

    Also inspected some of the rest of the car to see how it's doing. Got to the exhaust pipes and was quite impressed. They look pretty much the same as the day I got the car. This car may only be Tier 2 Bin 5, but I don't know many vehicles other than the efficient hybrids that still have spotless pipes after 10k miles.

    [​IMG]

    FE is dropping with the cold weather and so on. Part of that's due to lending out to friends and relatives with short commutes and who don't plug it in. When I drive when using the block heater, I'm usually in the 38-40 mpg range now.
     
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  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Thanks for the update!
     
  9. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Did you end up getting the oil from either St James or Auto Haus, or were you able to source it elsewhere?
     
  10. seftonm

    seftonm Member

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    I picked up the oil at a Pep Boys in Minneapolis last time I was down there. $8/L for the Mobil ESP 0w-30 . I did get my filter from Auto Haus, the price was actually reasonable at $10 or something like that for the filter.
     
  11. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Now there is a good excuse to visit the Twin Cities once in awhile!

    Whenever I cross at Warroad in winter, my studded tires making their pitter-patter on the pavement and getting odd looks from the border guards, I just smile and say "non residents can run studded tires in Minnesota."

    Actually had one guy tell me he couldn't understand why the State couldn't make an exception for Lake of the Woods county residents. I told him a similar exception existed in Ontario for residents north of the Sault

    I do believe he was insanely jealous of my stud

    Tires that is