Does this sound too high?

[Jerry713]

For starters I have a 2016 Ram 2500 6.4 Hemi 4x4. I took my tow vehicle in to the dealer for a transmission service and differential service at 74k miles. To clarify they do remove the transmission pan and replace the filter and of course the gasket in the pan and for the differentials they remove the cover and drain all the fluid and install new gaskets.

My total was $726. Does this sound expensive? It was certainly more than I expected. I tried to get a comparison quote from another dealer but they never called back after I spoke with someone and made the quote request. The fluids anlone were around $300.

[craigav]

The last time I had a vehicle in a dealership's shop, the hourly rate was $150.00 So with that in mind, add in taxes and "environmental fees" then to break it down, $300 for fluids, $50 for taxes and fees, leaves $376 for the labor. Labor at $150 an hour means that they are charging you for about 2.5 hours of labor.

Also to note, most shops don't charge actual hours, instead they look it up in a hourly service time schedule so one mechanic could do the work quicker, and another slower, but the dealership still charges the hours listed in their books for the service provided. ~CA

One other thought to share, the hourly rate is different all across the US. I wouldn't be surprised if in some areas the rate is a lot higher, perhaps $200 an hour or more.

[Russc25]

As craig points out, it's certainly within the realm of reason for a dealership. Dealerships are renowned to be the most expensive place to have a vehicle serviced.

I was going to say something about the parts cost but I started doing the math and for dealer parts with their logo on the box... yea that's about par too. 5 qt trans fluid $25/qt, 4 for the diff at $20/qt, 25 for each gasket, 50 for the filter.

Cost is one of the reasons I work on everything myself. Course the trade off is I paid up front for an BS in Automotive Tech, several years experience in shops, and a whole pile of tools before getting a desk job (oh, and a house outside of town with a big garage, big yard, and no HOA) so it's probably a wash in the long run.

[craigav]

BTW, if they are not including changing the transfer case fluid, I would highly consider having that done as well while they are changing the other fluids. ~CA

[Jerry713]

Originally Posted by Russc25

As craig points out, it's certainly within the realm of reason for a dealership. Dealerships are renowned to be the most expensive place to have a vehicle serviced..

Actually I find that it’s the opposite. The Ram dealer I go to is around $160/hour on service work. There are 3 mechanic shops in my town (as in ASE certified mechanics). All 3 have an hourly rate of at least $200/ hour regardless of what they are working on. One charges $220/hr.

Many dealerships do have different hourly rates based depending on what they are working on but I don’t believe they are more than $220/hr for anything.

They used to be really high on parts but even that’s not always the case anymore. Aftermarket parts are ridiculously high.

[muckinfuss]

Makes sense to me, my wife just took her Benz in for a dash alarm regarding a turn signal error: they wanted $300 to replace an led component in the side mirror. Can't wait for her to find out what the A and B service charges will be every 10K miles.

[Russc25]

Originally Posted by Jerry713

Actually I find that it’s the opposite. The Ram dealer I go to is around $160/hour on service work. There are 3 mechanic shops in my town (as in ASE certified mechanics). All 3 have an hourly rate of at least $200/ hour regardless of what they are working on. One charges $220/hr.

Many dealerships do have different hourly rates based depending on what they are working on but I don’t believe they are more than $220/hr for anything.

They used to be really high on parts but even that’s not always the case anymore. Aftermarket parts are ridiculously high.

Apparently I live in the wrong place then (or the right?) LOL. Are they doing fluid changes though? They're probably doing more diagnostics and deeper repairs which is like comparing geek squad fixing your grandmas computer virus for the third time to corporate server upkeep contracts.

[Jerry713]

Originally Posted by Russc25

Apparently I live in the wrong place then (or the right?) LOL. Are they doing fluid changes though? They're probably doing more diagnostics and deeper repairs which is like comparing geek squad fixing your grandmas computer virus for the third time to corporate server upkeep contracts.

The shops I mentioned have the same hourly rate regardless of what they are doing. I called all 3 of them once and got pricing for an oil change in my truck. When I found out they used an oil I didn’t like I asked if I could bring my own oil (Penzoil Ultra Premium) and that’s when they gave me their hourly rate.

I believe the dealer I use will charge rates around $210/hr for more extensive work that requires higher level techs. Fortunately they have the flexibility to use a beginner level tech and charge a lesser hourly rate. In fact they only charge me $145 for an oil change and it costs me $105 to buy the oil and filter. And they will rotate my tires for 15 bucks.

[CAG]

My Jeep is due for 30,000 mile fluids. That is Diff, Transmission, and transfer plus a few other smaller items. My Jeep shop that I trust above all others (they are all Jeepers) quoted around $600.



4 wheel drive vehicles, and diesels will be more and having owned two Duramax I can tell you that is very true. Jobs are quoted by the book listing for that job. Most shops and dealers have a set charge (listed) for a set job and likely what they charge in Phoenix is going to be different than what the charge in some smaller community. It just ain't cheap anywhere though.

[Jerry713]

Originally Posted by CAG

My Jeep is due for 30,000 mile fluids. That is Diff, Transmission, and transfer plus a few other smaller items. My Jeep shop that I trust above all others (they are all Jeepers) quoted around $600.



4 wheel drive vehicles, and diesels will be more and having owned two Duramax I can tell you that is very true. Jobs are quoted by the book listing for that job. Most shops and dealers have a set charge (listed) for a set job and likely what they charge in Phoenix is going to be different than what the charge in some smaller community. It just ain't cheap anywhere though.

Dang all that due at 30k man that’s not many miles. I had a 2014 Tundra that had the same interval requirement for differentials and it was $330 10 years ago (I just remembered that)

$600 for your service is in line with what I had done which is basically the same thing but different vehicle.

I was mainly wanting to make sure I hadn’t been taking advantage of. I like the dealer I use and don’t want to find another one I trust. I think there’s value in using a dealer for maintenance especially when it comes to repair time for those who have extended warranty’s like I do. I’ve found dealers are more likely to go to bat for you if you have a history doing business with them.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by Jerry713

Dang all that due at 30k man that’s not many miles. I had a 2014 Tundra that had the same interval requirement for differentials and it was $330 10 years ago (I just remembered that)

$600 for your service is in line with what I had done which is basically the same thing but different vehicle.

I was mainly wanting to make sure I hadn’t been taking advantage of. I like the dealer I use and don’t want to find another one I trust. I think there’s value in using a dealer for maintenance especially when it comes to repair time for those who have extended warranty’s like I do. I’ve found dealers are more likely to go to bat for you if you have a history doing business with them.

If you knew what I put that poor Jeep through getting to mushroom hunting places, back country fly fishing and just testing trails you would not complain LOL. A couple of times, my wife driving, and rock crawling, we were on three wheels coming down an incline. I love my Jeep. She has not left me stranded in any of the wild places we take her.

[GarlicDude]

I went to an independent shop that is ASE certified and had service the transmission on our 2012 Tacoma. They dropped the pan, new filter and gasket, reassemble and fill and It was very close to $500 a couple of years ago.

I live in California where everything is at least half again as darn near anywhere else.


I service the trans and differential my self last year for an extended tour of the Southwest.

[jetlag]

Our dealer charges me $600+ dollars to do an oil change. This includes two fuel filter changes as well. This last time I took it to an independent shop that does most of the work for the trucks and cars in my wife's business. They charged just over $400 and done much quicker, so it pays to shop around.

[Russc25]

Originally Posted by Jerry713

The shops I mentioned have the same hourly rate regardless of what they are doing. I called all 3 of them once and got pricing for an oil change in my truck. When I found out they used an oil I didn’t like I asked if I could bring my own oil (Penzoil Ultra Premium) and that’s when they gave me their hourly rate.

I believe the dealer I use will charge rates around $210/hr for more extensive work that requires higher level techs. Fortunately they have the flexibility to use a beginner level tech and charge a lesser hourly rate. In fact they only charge me $145 for an oil change and it costs me $105 to buy the oil and filter. And they will rotate my tires for 15 bucks.

Yes, there are shops that charge more than the dealer, I wouldn't take a vehicle there for a fluid change though, that's not their core work. That's like going to a heart surgeon for a sore throat.

The dealer has a range of techs in-house. The top-tier shop just has top-tier techs doing top-tier work. piddly fluid changes are wasting their knowledge so go to a beginner tier tech not at the dealer for better pricing than both is what I'm getting at.