Maintenance costs

[moparsigfan]

Hello All,

So I just got a pretty big shock. Having been quoted $124 for an oil change, tire rotation and balance and an alignment check I e just received a call to say my truck is ready and my bill will be $449.93.
Explanation given was the labor rate for replacing the fuel filters and the cost of the filters themselves.

Is this typical or am I getting hosed here??

I was honestly expecting a total of nearer to $200. Wishful thinking I guess!!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mohemipar]

It is not uncommon for dealers to charge big bucks for Cummins filter changes, no.

 

[Ratket]

Once u get the bill - Break down the pricing for us- the total labor and parts prices if you could please.

 

[Jimmy07]

I was honestly expecting a total of nearer to $200. Wishful thinking I guess!!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You would be at around $220ish (dealer prices) just for the three filters and the oil alone.

 

[SouthTexan]

$124 for just the oil change? Was that without Vaseline?

My dealer charges $85 for the oil change and always has a coupon online (like most dealers do) for a $65 oil change that I print and take in. I always do the fuel filters myself because they only take about 15 minutes to do and the dealer will mark up the filters to some ungodly amount. You can get both online together for about $100 which includes shipping. I get my fuel filters cheaper at work so I only spend about $145 every 15k miles for oil and fuel filter changes.


Bluebonnet Ram Service Special

 

[moparsigfan]

Thanks for the responses guys. I will break down the pricing once I get home. I realize I probably should have purchased the filters and oil online and taken them in but they made it sound like the fuel filter change was the expensive part labor wise. I haven’t owned a Cummins before so wasn’t so confident in doing that part myself.
I tend to prefer taking my vehicles in to the dealers while they are under warranty so I will hunt around for coupons the next time it is due!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Docpaulo]

Just like 100$ cabin air filters... just because the glove box has to be removed... labor is crazy...

My dealer is good though.. fair prices so far...they have a diesel maintenance plan.. 220$ for 3 oil changes in 12 mos... they figure most will get 2 changes out of it... but still a good deal...

I do my own oil but if i had a diesel i let them do it...

Now porsche is going to give me a vaseline job next week... its under warranty so i have no choice

 

[moparsigfan]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Docpaulo]

Looks reasonable for a dealer... you got the full package not just an oil change... 224$ was labor... the rest was parts.. the price actually isn't bad. They didnt gouge you on parts

 

[SouthTexan]

The amount they charged you to replace the fuel filter is outrageous.

Get you a 28mm or 1-1/8 socket for the engine fuel filter and a crescent & filter wrench for the chassis filter. It will take you 15 minutes to do and is much easier than changing the oil.

Cummins Fuel Filter Change

 

[mtofell]

My last truck was a diesel and the extra cost of the fuel filter was enough to push me to just do the oil and fuel filters myself. With my current Hemi I just bought a pack of oil changes at the dealer and it's barely more than I can buy the supplies for. I've never understood why dealers screw people so hard on fuel filter changes. My diesel was a Chevy and it was the same thing as the Ram/Cummins.

I bought from fleetfilter which were Napa Gold filters. If I remember right the fuel filter was about $22. It was about a 15 minute job to change it once I got good at it.

I do know that Ram dealers will sell packages for super cheap - not sure about the fuel filters though. For my 6.4 Hemi a change is about $130 but I bought a 6-pack for $380. So, about $65 per change. I think the synthetic oil and filter run over $50.

 

[Docpaulo]

The amount they charged you to replace the fuel filter is outrageous.

Get you a 28mm or 1-1/8 socket for the engine fuel filter and a crescent & filter wrench for the chassis filter. It will take you 15 minutes to do and is much easier than changing the oil.

Cummins Fuel Filter Change

But your hands get dirty... thus the high labor charge...

Agree the labor rate is crazy if you can diy.... but not everybody can diy... i can make a hundred bucks injecting somebody's knee...takes 5 minutes tops... its knowing what to inject and where that I'm being paid for...

Same with dealers... if you can diy why go to the dealer... otherwise youre paying for the service at the rate they determine

For perspective i get paid about 35 to 40$ for every hundred the insurance pays... the rest is overhead and staff salary... same with dealers... that service advisor is paid from the fee as well as the mechanic

Bottom line if you can diy do so... if not be ready to pay whatever the charge is...

Out of the 225 labor fee the mechanic probably made 60 to 80$... the rest goes to overhead

 

[Casper]

Whew! thanks for talking me out of a diesel in my next Ram.

 

[moparsigfan]

The amount they charged you to replace the fuel filter is outrageous.

Get you a 28mm or 1-1/8 socket for the engine fuel filter and a crescent & filter wrench for the chassis filter. It will take you 15 minutes to do and is much easier than changing the oil.

Cummins Fuel Filter Change

Thanks for the links! I’ll be doing those myself next time around!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SouthTexan]

But your hands get dirty... thus the high labor charge...

Agree the labor rate is crazy if you can diy.... but not everybody can diy... i can make a hundred bucks injecting somebody's knee...takes 5 minutes tops... its knowing what to inject and where that I'm being paid for...

Same with dealers... if you can diy why go to the dealer... otherwise youre paying for the service at the rate they determine

For perspective i get paid about 35 to 40$ for every hundred the insurance pays... the rest is overhead and staff salary... same with dealers... that service advisor is paid from the fee as well as the mechanic

Bottom line if you can diy do so... if not be ready to pay whatever the charge is...

Out of the 225 labor fee the mechanic probably made 60 to 80$... the rest goes to overhead

I know how dealership service departments work. I currently work for the largest heavy and medium dealership group in the US, and have worked for various other dealership groups and manufacturers(Cummins) over the years over various departments with service being one of them.

I also know my Ram dealer charges less then half of that labor since they have a $85 per hour labor rate and they only bill .75 hours (45 minutes) to change both fuel filters which comes out to around $65. This is fair since it only takes me 15 minutes to do the same task and most dealerships have their lowest grade techs that make $10-15 an hour performing maintenance while the more experienced techs that make $25+ an hour are doing jobs that require more skill and knowledge. Bottom line, they are ****** him on that $170 fuel filter change labor rate as I said before.

 

[Docpaulo]

I know how dealership service departments work. I currently work for the largest heavy and medium dealership group in the US, and have worked for various other dealership groups and manufacturers(Cummins) over the years over various departments with service being one of them.

I also know my Ram dealer charges less then half of that labor since they have a $85 per hour labor rate and they only bill .75 hours (45 minutes) to change both fuel filters which comes out to around $65. This is fair since it only takes me 15 minutes to do the same task and most dealerships have their lowest grade techs that make $10-15 an hour performing maintenance while the more experienced techs that make $25+ an hour are doing jobs that require more skill and knowledge. Bottom line, they are ****** him on that $170 fuel filter change labor rate as I said before.

Sorry if you misunderstood... i wasnt disagreeing with you... just that we all know dealers charge what they do... if you take it to a dealer expect to pay their rates whatever it may be...

There was some sarcasm in my post earlier

 

[DodgeDude99]

A co-worker took his ‘16 Cummins in for oil & fuel filter change, a tad over $600!

I buy all 4 Fleetguard filters from the local semi truck shop. Buying Valvoline Premium Blue oil from menards, I am out the door on oil, fuel, & air filter change for just about $130.

There is also Geno’s for parts.

 

[tdeperte]

Anyone who comes on here and says this guy got screwed never owned a business. Dealers have to make a profit. So many people just don't get it. You have a multi million dollar facility with a hundred or so employees and their wages, workmans comp, benefits, then you have insurance, utilities, equipment, supplies, real estate taxes, advertising, facility upkeep, the list goes on. Where do you think the money comes from to pay all those bills?

If you are able and willing to do the work yourself, great. Some folks are not. In this case the customer in my opinion was treated fairly, even though I thought the shop supplies fee was a little high. Many dealers do charge exorbitant prices. That said, if I did not need a diesel for towing there is no way I would own one. The maintenance costs are just too high today versus a gas engine.

 

[SouthTexan]

Anyone who comes on here and says this guy got screwed never owned a business. Dealers have to make a profit. So many people just don't get it. You have a multi million dollar facility with a hundred or so employees and their wages, workmans comp, benefits, then you have insurance, utilities, equipment, supplies, real estate taxes, advertising, facility upkeep, the list goes on. Where do you think the money comes from to pay all those bills?

If you are able and willing to do the work yourself, great. Some folks are not. In this case the customer in my opinion was treated fairly, even though I thought the shop supplies fee was a little high. Many dealers do charge exorbitant prices. That said, if I did not need a diesel for towing there is no way I would own one. The maintenance costs are just too high today versus a gas engine.[/QUOTE]


I understand full well that dealers have to make a profit, but charging $170 for a 15-30 minute job I a little ridiculous. My company's nationwide (180+dealers) average labor rate for a heavy duty diesel repair is $120 so in my estimates they essentially charged him 1.4 hours to do a job that they should not have even charged him an hour to do. My company doesn't even charge that much to change the fuel filters on class 7 and 8 trucks. When I managed our mobile service department, my PM techs got paid .5-.75 hours(depending on the truck) for fuel filters.

Let me tell you a little story about some of these light duty truck dealers. As I said before, I work for the largest medium and heavy duty dealership group in the US. A few years ago, one of my techs was on site at a customers facility(about an hour and a half from our dealership) repairing one of their Peterbilts. He was almost done when the customer asked him to change a water pump on their Ram 5500 with a 6.7L.

We looked up the water pump per engine serial number and it was $59 our cost for genuine Cummins pump and we were going to sell it to him to him for $70, but we did not have one and would have to get one from the local Cummins warehouse and drive it out to him so I figured we could just get it from the local Ram dealer in the town he was in. We gave them the Cummins part number and they quoted us $280 for the same pump that I get from Cummins for $59 with a Mopar sticker slapped over the Cummins symbol on the box.

We told them they were crazy so I called the Ram dealer in the next town over and they wanted $300 for the very same water pump. For shnits and giggles we asked what they charged to install it and their service department quoted us almost twice as much as I would charge for my Cummins certified technician to install it. But hey, if you think these light duty dealers are charging a fair price then by all means.

 

[Docpaulo]

Again its a free market.. if you dont like the fee go somewhere else... mercedes charges 1200 for a brake job... it takes just as long as any other brakes... i did it myself but many dont... its their money they choose to spend...

Is it wrong? No... they have to make a profit..

Same with a ram dealer... i always call around and sometimes get a price match other times i pay a few bucks more to support the local dealer...

Really no reason to go to a dealer if you dont want to. Warranty cant be voided because an indy did the work or you diy

And dont compare a high volume shop with a dealer... just not the same overhead