My Jaguar dealer was upfront asking if I wanted them to inspect the car "for free".

Your list is made up of things that generally might not of been taken care of. Lots of people understand mileage increments, but not time increments. On a low mileage car, there may be safe assumptions that have not been done.

You got a list of things that are broken, and things that likely should be done. Some of them were things better done yourself if you are inclined, but at least they told you.

 

by this statement then I assume you would be fine if they didn't tell you your alignment was off and you have cords sticking out of your front tires that you didn't notice? just let you go down the road and have a blow out or flat' The first words out of your mouth would be "WTF I was just at the dealer why didn't they tell me?" If I go to the Dr. for a checkup or in for a cold I don't expect him/her to ignore something that needs to be done or checked out because maybe im there for a cold. I get pissed when I see or hear other techs do this. you job is to look the car over and et the owner know if you find anything that needs attention, now or in the future. So this seems to be a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. be happy and move on

 

well it's kind of like your girlfriend saying ' oh – let's just go into that engagement ring shop and take a look. ' You know you're not walking out of there so easily. lol

 

The problem I have with dealers and most service recommendations like this one is they are not honest or complete:

- The dealer says the filter is "black" which leads a person to believe filthy and in need of replacement. I don't see that filter as needing replacement for dirt. Jaguar's recommended replacement interval is 45K miles which supports my assessment. Jaguar expects that he should be able to drive twice as far as he has before the filter needs replacement. If the dealer told him it needs replacement because it is eight years old, which he may or may not know, that could be a fair recommendation as the recommended replacement interval is three years.

- The dealer told him the coolant needs replacement. The recommended service interval is 10 years or 105K miles so it does NOT need changing per Jaguar recommendations. Also the coolant had to have been changed two years ago when the water pump was changed.

-There is no recommended service interval for the fuel injector or throttle body cleaning. The customer was not having problems with this and the mileage is low enough that this should not be an issue.

-Then there are the things for which Jaguar recommends service that were ignored in their recommendations - brake fluid change, pollen filter, and seat filter.

These recommendations are similar to what I have seen at other dealers, not just Jaguar. It is obviously too much to expect fair, honest, and complete recommendations from service advisors. That is another reason I think it is important to know your car inside and out and be able to service it yourself because you cannot rely on the average dealer to do it for you properly.

 

Only a Crook or a Fool would spend more effort in checking that you need an air filter on a car with 20k miles, when you did not ask him, than it takes to actually replace the filter.

 

Chazaroo,
Sometimes people cant see your perspective till you put them in your shoes:
Like those survey phonecalls at dinner time- they cant understand why you dont have 5minutes. I ask for their home number and promise to call them back.

When someone tries to tell me all that I need, without you asking, I ask them if I can tell them all they need. Usually, they are in worse shape than me.

 

So far all I have to do is take the car to the dealer once a year for it's annual inspection and an oil change. When they are done I get a check list of what they looked at and what the state inspection checks and results were. Unless they are busy the whole service usually takes about an hour. If they are busy and they think it will take longer they give me options to either take a service car , drive me to the mall or golf super store. They present and review the check list and if I want anything done they schedule it for me. We review it against the Jaguar recommended maintenance schedule.

 

I don't know what I would do at this point but I'd probably work towards someone at that dealer reimbursing me for the wasted labor / parts. At the very worst the old ones would be mailed to the dealership owner along with a letter of complaint.

 

No wasted labor or parts. I got suspicious with the suggestions and pulled the plug on all but the oil change I originally went in for.

 

Your time and parts bought carry no value?

Basically the dealer ship's service writer is playing you as gullible or a fool. That's the problem I have with the owner. Maybe they don't know, maybe they condone it. Without pursuing it with the owner you too are condoning that behavior.

He lied about what you need which raises red flags about his other 'suggestions'. Hopefully they did change the filter as well as the oil

 

My dealer said the use 0w-20 Mobil 1. I've used Mobil1 for 3 decades, anyway.

 

Check out the many oil threads here. I would not trust ANY dealer who uses oil not specified by Jaguar! And mobil 1 is not,.

 

The dealer was only offering a happy ending for a little extra. I always decline, but its nice that it was offered. Its like being invited to parties you will never attend. Enjoy the success, they saw $$ signs in your eyes, but youre smarter. You either have aninternational appearance of wealth or youre a muscle bound stud who is spending daddys money. What a life!

 

Here's my bottom line, for what it's worth:
I no longer have the garage space to do much on my car, so it was time to "form a relationship" with a shop. After much asking around and reading up, I went with Rusnak Jaguar in Pasadena. Have not been disappointed, but it was a rocky road to get here.
There are two types of jag dealerships: great mechanics, and not-great mechanics. They are ALL going to be pricey.
What they need to do when you first come in is: figure out Who You Are. Are you my stepmom-- in other words, Dealer GOLD? She has money; my dad bought her a sweet BMW in the 500 series, and there are few maintenance items that she'll say no to (...If she's not with me. FYI DON'T GET ME STARTED ABOUT BMW OF SAN DIEGO).
Or are you me? Who will insist on talking to the tech who's actually working on my car and ask him about each item?
As an example, I had that A/C "whistle" that required a spacer and O-ring. Thanks to this forum, I brought in the Jag TSB in with me and asked why this was not a covered repair (FYI: because that little spacer is an "additional" part and not a replacement of an existing part. So there's no "defective part." Grrr.) I still had to pay, but I got a reduced price, and I was satisfied with the explanation I got from the service manager, which would not have happened otherwise.
So now they know Who I Am. And we have a terrific relationship, and they do awesome work.
And I think that's the key. Just like your waiter who's trained to suggest the Russian River chardonnay, part of their job is offering services that are profit points for the dealer, and they use the "peace of mind" factor for folks like my stepmom. A good service department, once they realize you're not that person, won't waste your time with that stuff.

 

Isn't that the classic "Fram Orange?" Not the originals, I'm sure.