I was wondering what others pay for an oil change on their XK's? I called our local dealer---yes, Asheville actually has one. I was curious because of a $20 off coupon for an oil change I got from Jaguar. I have always done oil changes on all our cars including the Jag which is a little more time consuming than my wife's Honda Pilot and Mazda CX-7. So back to the story at the dealership----I spoke with the service dept. and was quoted $185 for the oil change which didn't include Mobil1 which is what I use on the Jag. Really??? I normally buy Mobil1 5w-30 at Costco when its on sale for $4.34/qt and the WIX filter ran $6.85 at RockAuto which totals out to $41.57 not including a attaboy refreshment at the end of the day which I would've had regardless of the oil change---only on Friday's and Saturdays and maybe Thursdays depending on the work schedule. Yes, I understand that the dealer has fixed/variable costs but $185? The gal on the phone mentioned something about the filter being $45---really! I almost fell out of my chair laughing at the point since I've bought oil filters from Jaguar dealers on line for around $15@. Wow I guess you have to pay to play when owning cars like this.

 

The dealer would charge 50 bucks to PUT a wiper blade on the car.

 

You forgot the $120+ per hour labor rate.

Yeah, I know, my oil change technician (me) works cheap but the guys down at the Jaguar store don't.

 

Same story over here, at the Southern most end of Lake Michigan. I change my own oil too, with no charge for topping up the washer fluid, and checking the other levels.

I just got off the phone with our local Jaguar dealer 20 miles away, and found out the transmission fluid for my XK8 and filter change would be charged to me at the bargain price of $64.05 a litre for 11 or 12 litres, and the filter and gasket was another $70.28. I retired from Porsche Audi VW, and our most expensive fluid was a third of that. Since 5 litres of ZF approved Pentosin is 59.00 on Ebay, and the filter kit, that I saw the dealer using is $28, both with free shipping, I should be getting the job done for the cost of 4 litres, including my remote spin on filter, that I'm installing, to further save the trans from particulates.

I am not going to rebuild a trans, simply because Jaguar says it is filled for life. Everyone else changes their trans fluids, that use this Pentosin. Is Jaguar that desperate to sell parts?......Sorry for the rant.......Be cool....Mike

 

We've all said for years that the only way to sensibly own these cars is to DIY everything you can. And that starts with the oil & filter changes....

 

What he said

 

I owned a small business for 31 years, so my perspective is somewhat different I guess. I change my own oil, and won't go to the dealer for things like that either, but I do understand what it costs to run a business these days, and it would amaze you.

 

I was up to my earlobes with a oil/filter change and a rear pads/rotor change last weekend. Loved it! Can't even venture to guess what the dealer would have charged me!

Nick

 

I find that one pays more attention to details when they perform servicing themselves. I do as much as I can myself. It does save oodles of cash yes, but it also gives you satisfaction of a job well done or learned upon completion.


I personally find that by having taken this route my ability to fix other mechanical items has significantly improved.


Forums like this one are a huge help indeed.

 

I can only suspect that Jaguar just doesn't want us to keep these cars running. They just want us to buy new cars. That attitude would explain the price of having work done there and the price of their parts (ZF tranny fluid included). And of course, all the newer cars are under warrantee. I don't think I've seen a Jaguar commercial that said: "... and 3 out of 10 jaguars built in the last 15 years are still on the road." .... or anything like that. Would that kind of message rob the snobs of their exclusivity?

And in reference to the "we care more when we do it ourselves" comment: I've gone back into something that PO had the dealer take care of, only to find that the "Jaguar Certified Mechanics" had not done the job right. So two thumbs up to us doing whatever things we can.

 

I've been in the car repair business my whole life. That last shop I managed (medium size, about 30 bays, 27 employees) was nothing swank, believe me. No marble floors, mahogany desks, or glittering chandeliers. It cost $6500 just to open the front door *each morning*....before paying the mechanics. And that was a number of years ago. I'm sure things haven't become less expensive.

I can only imagine what the overhead would be at a posh Jag dealer.

Cheers
DD

 

I made myself feel better by servicing my car at a dealership where Jag was their low priced entry level brand. The same mechanics would finish with my car @ $120/hr and start working on a Roller or Bentley @ $150/hr. Same guy, same tools, same grease on his hands.

I went out and spent the $30/hr I saved and bought overpriced French Champagne to celebrate.

 

The largest of the three nearest Jaguar dealers is known to valet customer
vehicles and leaves behind a loaner for the duration.

And it should be noted, the guy who actually does the work makes nowhere
near the rack rate.

 

I'm staying in Palm Springs for 3 months and arrived from the Northwest just in time for an oil change. I didn't have to check with the local Jag dealer because I knew an oil and filter change would be over $160. My friend here has a 26 year old Rolls and you can imagine what that dealer wants for service. Now, I understand what it costs to run a business and the purpose of the business is to make a profit or it will no longer be there. I'm a freelance video producer and I have to make a profit or I'm no longer producing anything. I've got that. I did not want to change the oil myself as I have no proper place to do it. I checked with Frank, my Rolls friend, and he sent me to a well known tire shop that does oil changes. You make an appointment, pick the type of oil you want and go next door for coffee while they spend about 15 min. doing the work and checking tire pressure and then you pay about $50 and drive away. Also I believe we all understand that the guy at Jag who changes your oil doesn't get very much of that $160 for his 15 min. Oh, the next day I got an email from Tacoma Jaguar who wanted their customers to know they had an important special they were sure we'd all want to know about. And wow, how could you pass this up? New windshield wipers, installed while you wait in their comfortable service lounge with free coffee just $40. Oh, and that is $40 for each. I don't understand the business model, but apparently it works. The dealer feels no need to market their service to anyone other than those who apparently have so much money they don't have to be concerned what anything costs. Even then, if you have the $160 for an oil change, why spend that when you don't have to? Where I went the make of the car did not matter. Oil was removed, oil was replaced, filter was removed, filter replaced, tires checked and out. I paid for oil, filter, labor, various taxes on the products as well as what the owner pays in various payroll taxes, lease for the facility, business taxes and last but not least, profit. Somehow he can do all this for $48.96.

 

I think one answer is that some people believe that a dealer uses superior quality oil, filters, wipers etc. that only they have access to, and that a dealer is the only one who can do the job properly.

Others just feel better by spending more on a boutique brand of product even though it's identical in spec to more plebeian brands.

 

They are marketing to those who can afford for example, a new F-type.

They are not looking at the people who inhabit the sections of JF covering
the older models. That's the Jiffy Lube market.

Different audience. Just like some people have no interest in certain
video genres.

 

The funny thing is often the oil at the dealer isn't as good as what we might buy at Wal-Mart or AutoZone. I'm using Wix filters and Mobil 1 on my xkr and xjr. Oem filters and Mobil 1 on my a8.

The dealer wants 160 to do my a8 oil change with comparable parts, so 100 in labor. That car you put the air suspension in Jack mode, put a big pan underneath, remove the bolt, drain, pull the air box, remove the oil filter housing top, put in New filter and o ring, install parts removed. It takes me a half hour total for the job. The best part is not jacking up the car or getting under it at all.

 

Being a Porsche Audi VW tech since I was 18, I do have to say that the lowly technician doesn't get a large chunk of the dealer's hourly rate, unless of course he has proved himself worth more. I ended my career getting 40% of our flat rate time. In proving himself worth the extra pay, he does certain things during an oil change that makes him worth it.

As the oil is draining, the tires filled, and the filter has been replaced, he really does an in depth inspection of the car on his hoist, that includes more than just wiper blades, and the air filter. He also looks into the cars service file, and sees if certain jobs, that have proven a weakness to the model have been done, including recalls. I can't tell you how many times, on days where there wasn't much in the appointment book, that this type of technique has given me my 12 hours a day, while the other techs sat on their work benches or went home. Just saying, that if you see that a tech drives a Rolls, sports, classic car or vintage motorcycle, you probably want that tech(man or woman) to do your oil change.

Even if you don't have the money or time to have these things done right then, 90% of the time a dealer's customer will come back to have you do the work. I was almost always tipped, even though I did not always appreciate some women giving me a colonoscopy, hernia exam, or biting my ear while doing it(some I did). I enjoyed being requested by customers to do their work, even if it may be a week or more before I had an opening in my schedule.

It is what good techs do, during that 15 minute overpriced oil change, while the other mechanics usually end up working at tire places, or JiffyLube.

I was in the upper 3% of VW Technicians in the world(a ring wearer), a master Audi tech, Porsche registered tech and respected by the district service managers, and some engineers at the various facilities. That is how my wife and I got perks, like my custom built 928S, and a 2 week vacation in Europe driving it around and staying at a couple of summer homes of engineers and even visiting with the Porsche factory head, before we picked up my car.

I can't tell you how pissed my wife was before we picked up my car, and spent 2 weeks driving around Western Europe, because I mortgaged our little house to purchase the 928S. She ended our vacation with a smile, and even went to the port with me to retrieve our car....My little story.....Be cool...Mike

 

This is the opposite scenario of what I outlined above. What makes you believe that such products are superior?

 

Mike---great job explaining marketing. In this scenario that Mike describes is what I call pull-in business. The first rule in sales and marketing is get the customer through your door. Without the customer you got no business or one that will fail pretty quick. So why not attract the customer with a give away service (inexpensive oil change) to get them in the door to do a multi-point inspection on the car. These inexpensive oil changes gives you and your team a chance to impress the customer with the abilities of your business and turn them into a valued part of your business---a double win. In turn when the customer develops trust in you as a provider of service and/or product guess where that customer turns for other service. By the way I've been involved in technical sales and marketing for over 35 years in the power electrical industry. I always wanted to develop partners not customers in my business. Mike as a side note, I learned to work on cars as a VW mechanic (that's what we called ourselves in the 1970's) and trust me that term was a stretch in my case. I was actually doing this in the summers and on holidays while going to engineering school.