Did I Overpay?
 

I just had my 2011 XF in for service at my Madison, NJ dealership. I needed a battery replacement and an oil change. To my shock, when I picked up the car I had an invoice for $802.84. Oil change (314.33), Oil disposal (24.87), and Battery (411.99). This seems excessive. Thoughts?

yyyyyyyyyyyyyeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh u got ripped off.

my mechanic charged be $180 for the battery and about $200 for oil change (which includes disposal)

they dont call it a *********** for nothing

I'm sure you could have had the work done elsewhere for less money. Dealerships are always higher.

Paying the higher price isn't the same as being 'ripped off', in my opinion. To me, 'ripped off' is when somebody cheats you; is being dishonest. But, I guess that's a matter of semantics.

I'm a little surprised the dealer didn't inform you of the costs before starting work. Not a smart practice. And a little surprised you wouldn't ask. Not very wise, to be honest.

If it makes you feel any better (it probably won't) I have an SLR Mercedes at a dealer right now for two new batteries, oil change, brake flush, coolant flush. The bill will be over $4000 :)

Cheers
DD

NJ Dealers
 

Hi,

If my memory is correct I recently paid something like $135 for an oil change to my 2015 XF 3.0 SC AWD at Ray Catena in Edison.

Also, they recently replaced my larger (my car has two batteries) main battery under warranty. They put in an Interstate 900 CCA AGM battery.

I bought my car new from Madison (I think they are called Bergen County Jag now and are part of the Open Road Group)and I used them for a warranty job. The job was done well and solved my problem in just a couple of hours.

There is someone on this forum who swears by Madison Jaguar and he even names the service advisor and mechanic to ask for. His posting had to do with a radio problem and it may be in the F-Type boards. I was going to use Madison for possible future work but Ray Catena is much closer to home and your posting has me now thinking twice about using Madison.

You are correct, I should have used better language when posting. I stand corrected. Should have been something like "Did I Over Pay?".

FIFY :icon_beerchug:
Please post an intro in the new members section when you have time.

Was this a scheduled service plus a new battery or did you specifically go for ONLY an oil change and the battery?

Changing the battery on an XF involves more than undoing a couple of leads. When a new battery is fitted to the vehicle, the BMS module requires re-calibrating using the Jaguar diagnostic system.

Graham

Pray tell ...what is so complicated about an oil change on an XF? I've always done my own oil and filter changes on my xk8 and other vehicles even changed a few oil pan gaskets, cant imagine paying hundreds for this service, As far as Madison Jag good parts dept. but they don't service the older cars so I wouldn't be able to comment.
As for battery can system be kept hot while battery is changed? Advanced Auto did this with my XK8, plugged in power thru the obdII port and pulled battery no settings lost on ECM radio or windows. Cost About $200 for battery.

I have changed the oil & filter in our 2005 XJ8 (43,000 mi.)
before, easy operation. I would imagine for the battery you could always hook up a battery booster to the cables before you disconnect the bad battery. That way the charge would not be disrupted before you insert the new battery. BTW, we don't drive the Jag too much so I keep the battery plugged into a battery tender ($6.00 at Harbor Freight on sale) when left for more than a couple of days. Still the original battery.

How much for an Oil change???????
 

Sort of stunned by what some are willing to pay for an oil change. I do most of the work on my Jag myself (97 XJ6 72K miles) It holds 8.5 qts. of oil - $50 A FRAM Filter high performance $9.00 I don't even have to jack the car up to get to the oil pan drain just slip a low profile oil catch-pan under and reach in from the drivers side w a 30mm socket and drain the oil. The filter comes out easily from the top. Whole job - 20 -30 min. I enjoy working on my car and getting my hands dirty and I know that not everyone does but you have to have some sense of value.
If you paid $300 for an oil change you have no sense of the value of a dollar. should your mechanic earn more than your attorney or physician on an hourly basis? Based on the job, an hourly rate of $100 / hr is sufficient. If you are rebuilding my tranny or repainting my car to concours standards then we can talk higher rates, but routine maintenance?

I'm always reminded why the wealthy become wealthy and stay wealthy - they know the value of money even in the small things.