Help,
I'm in a bit of a dilema, my 90K service is due on my UK MY97, full SSH up to now, only 54K miles.

I know this is a biggie with all fluids plus cambelt etc. expect bill £5-700.

However, last year I spent a lot on the car with mods I fitted myself (turbo, headers, dawes, brembos etc.) and as a result have changed brake, coolant fluids, oil, also the car has only done 20K on a new short engine (warranty piston slap) so should not be due for a cambelt change.

After reading the horror stories of big end failures after service (possibly poor technique) I'm getting to the opinion I could do a better job myself using better materials (e.g. decent synth oil instead of the GTX magnatec they usually use at the local dealer).

I plan to keep the car a few more years at least - If I keep all receipts and do the work myself (as on the service schedule) will I lose much of its value?.

Is it worth paying well over the odds just for a FSSH (given the age of the car and its non-standard spec)?

Cheers

Rich

 

NO

only wierdos actually use main dealers for servicing or if the car is still under warranty. I wouldn't let a half trained monkey put petrol in my car never mind service or repair it. Dont you watch the watchdog programs showing dealers from hell

 

It will sell better if its got a full service history, why not get your subaru guarage to use oil you supply ?

Andy

 

Just read the 'should i run and hide thread',

looks like 'service it yourself' has more votes


To be honest, I'm not convinced of the competence of the dealer - it took them 3hrs (and charged me for it) to discover the MAF on my old legacy turbo was clogged up, they only cleaned it and charged a couple of hundred for the priviledge

Rich

 

jaysus a couple of hundred to clean a maf sensor!!!!

I hope they at least pulled your trousers up for you afterwards?!!!!

were they wearing balaclavas and brandishing machettes?(sp)

im dumbfounded at that!

 

i wouldnt go to cvc unless i had to, thats far enough to travel for me without going to keith price, tileys etc, once my 3 years are up i will either do it myself or go to drj in carmarthen, only 20-25 miles from me, no too sure about affecting the value though, if i still had your car richard it would have cost me for the short engine seeing as the warranty had run out whilst i owned it and there was no option back then of taking out another one !
so for that reason main dealer servicing was useless
mark

 

with the thread about subaru dealers loosing franchises you would be better doing it yourself wont be any left soon!

 

I had one service done at the dealers when I bought my scoob.

When I saw the bill I decided sod it. The car is not much different from any other mass-manufactured car to service and I was quite perplexed at why they charged so much.

FSH it is, but not FSSH

 

60k service due soon and i'll be lucky to see any change out of 500 notes (main dealer)

im told this takes about a full day including the cam belt change - so maybe that price isnt so bad, although I doubt it'll get the dealer treatment thereafter.

 

I use a local performance specialist. It helps that he is a relative of mine! They should follow the schedule, though, whoever it is.

 

no car i have ever owned has gone to the dealer for anything - i couldn't give a stuff about FSH, receipts are all you need

 

my car as full history but only 60k of that i.e warranty period was with main dealer the rest was either specialist or myself.

Darren

 

I wish I went to your dealer, had my 90K done and it was just short of £800 with a 10% discount.
Its done now so servicing won't be to bad for a few years to come, thats the only way I could look at it.

 

Fivepint - they said it took them a couple of hours to find the problem, hence the cost. They should have put a post on scoobynet, would have had a response saying its the MAF in 5 minutes

I'm older and wiser now - now in my sixth year of scooby ownership and starting to get an appreciation of what's what on a scooby (mainly from SN and having a go at jobs myself).

I,m going to order the motul & syntrax today and do it myself, probably go back to the dealer or specialist when the 45K is up on the cambelt.

 

Find yourself a good local mechanic. I can recommend a chap in West Yorkshire who was formerly employed by a turbo specialist. He has now set up on his own in the general mechanic mould (he works on the same site as the turbo specialist company). He did sterling work on my MY99 for its recent 60k service and again when I managed to get both calipers to leak brake fluid during an apparently routine disk & pad change operation. Next time I think i'll leave the DIY work to a professional.

 

Richard,

I'm in exaclty the same situation, 90K servide due on an MY97, I'm getting a local guy to fit the cam belt (don't fancy trying that job) and I'm doing the rest myself. Total cost should cost about £200.

Leigh