30K service cost...?

[JLB]

Hello - I'm still recovering from shock at the cost of the 30K service done at a local dealership. I'm wondering what others have paid. I could find nothing to compare with the dealership's quoted cost when I tried Googling for it.

To make it useful for others in the future, please reply with the dealership city, dealership name if you want to post, it, your car configuration (year, 4cyl/V6, LX/EX, etc) and how much you paid. Also offer any 'strongly suggested extras' if there were such. I'd like to keep this to real Kia dealerships, as I felt I 'should go to a Kia dealer' in order to preserve the warranty protections. I'm not sure if that's truly legally necessary, but they sure lead you to believe it.

I'll go first -- San Jose, CA, dealership name redacted for now, 2006.5 EX V6, $893.

Yeah, and no dinner and kiss in the morning, either...!

In all fairness to the dealer, the car runs great, and it appears they did a thorough and careful job of it. I was just expecting somewhere around half that cost...

Jim

[TEXKIATECH]

it should have been about 400-500. but you do live in california were everything is more expensive

[joebunda]

YES, they do want you to believe that...they get to make money off you not just once by selling the car, but many times over the life of your ownership. Just imagine if GE sold you a dishwasher and then said "You can only use OUR detergent, and it is a bargain at $18 a box!"

No, you are NOT required to go to a deal to maintain the warranty. Just keep all your records each time you have anything done to the car so you can prove that you adhered to the recommended service intervals (you can even use receipts from the autoparts store if you do your own routine maintenance).

[TEXKIATECH]

yeah but if you use nonkia transfluid sometime it will cause a malfunction in the transmission and if thats the case then you can bet you wont get it covered. ive seen it happen before

[JLB]

Well, I was actually figuring it would be $400-$500. The breakdown is $526 for labor and $323 for parts, plus tax and fluids. Here are some highlights:

#26300 35503 oil filter $8
#21513 21000 oil drain plug washer $1.05 (next time I'm going to shoot a hole in a quarter...)
#67104B "premium fuel system cleaner" $13
#64328B "supreme plus" $11 (I sure hope those pipes are clean...)
#62903 "wynns brk clnr" $7.00
#10135 "fuel kit (2 part)" $65.00 (not sure just what this is...)
#28113 2G000 element, air filter $16 (genuine Kia, this is actually lower than I thought it would be)
#10210 "trans flush kit" $41 (maybe a special washer?)
#A5107 "synth ATF (3gal)" $94.00 (this one surprises me a bit...)
#10077 "coolant flush kit" $39.95 (wonder if this is different from Prestone's for $6.95?)
#12378560 "coolant" $25.07 (I can get 5-year Prestone for ~$15/gal at Pep Boys)
#M506 "w washer solvent" $2.00 (I guess they -really- topped it off)

I know the 10-digit part numbers are genuine Kia parts - anyone recognize those other part numbers...?

From what I can tell the labor is 3.5 "TU" for the 'Major Service 30,000' and another 1 "TU" for the timing belts inspection (which reports 'belt and idlers are OK') so it appears the labor rate is $130 per hour. Right about now I'm wondering why I spent 6 years in college... if the mechanics get even a quarter of that they're making more per hour than I am.

I'm not complaining about the quality of the work - the car runs well, and it appears they did the work to spec, but I feel like the dealer used this opportunity to charge super-list prices for common parts -- e.g. about $24 on fuel/oil cleaners -- which I can buy retail for 1/2 or 1/3 the cost. Quite simply if I have any alternative this dealer won't be getting repeat business from me. That's the bottom line, and it is a shame the dealership feels they can get away with this. If Kia is serious about growing their car sales, they need to get dealers like this in line, or they're pushing car sales up a steep hill of 'no repeat buyers'. If I'm going to pay a premium dealership's prices on the regular scheduled maintenance I might as well be driving another Honda (three new autos bought) or a Toyota, or even a Lexus or BMW...

Jim

[TEXKIATECH]

im with you they deffinitely charged alot and thier labor rate is very high. my shop only charges $85 an hour. and by the way most techs get paid an average of 15-20 an hour. and your right it should have only need 3-400 not almost 900.
#67104B "premium fuel system cleaner" $13 is a efi service not part of the 30k
#10135 "fuel kit (2 part)" $65.00 (not sure just what this is...)this is an induction servicealso not part of the 30k
#10210 "trans flush kit" $41 (maybe a special washer?)depending on the company they get it from yes it has a flush solvent and fluid thet helps it lubricate
#10077 "coolant flush kit" $39.95 (wonder if this is different from Prestone's for $6.95?)this is the same concept as the transflush kit a cleaner and a anitcorosion kit

if you did not give concent to do the fuel system cleaning then you can go back and ask why they did it. and maybe they will give money back. my only suggestion is dont go back to that dealership for your services

[joebunda]

This all points to 2 things:

1) Have everyone (especially the dealer) quote you the work ahead of time and tell them to call you before they perform any work other than what they quoted.
2) If you find a competent mechanic that you can truly trust, you are a very lucky person.

[Foots]

That's why I do my own work.

[dot]

What is the deal on the 30K? Is it difficult access?
My labor bill was 495.00. The interesting part was when I got home and opened the hood. Something was missing.....finger prints on all the dust. Sitting on top of the compartment to change the airfilter was dry leaves also.

The missing finger prints and over 500.00 with a 15% off coupon applied upset me.

I doubt any belts were checked . There were at least smudges aroung the oil cap and the oil looked fresh.
2004 amanti

What plastics should have finger prints to really have done the 30K?

[dot]

So what plastics must be removed to get to a 30K inspection in a 2004 amanti?
When you open it hood it is all a plastic enclosed world.