270.00 here. Takes an hour or two. I have 7,500 miles and decided to do it early since I was going up to have the hood replaced. If you add up the three oil changes you'd get on a regular car for 10k mikes, the filters, the inspection, rotated tires... that's all pretty close to 270.00. And I don't work on my own cars anymore. No desire, no time, no patience. I'm at the age I deserve some service thank you.
since the warranty is only 20K miles on the smart - i felt it was worth the $87 on the 10K checkup to have the dealer go over the vehicle and check a number of things i wrote down based upon problems other have reported. had them check the battery connections and battery voltage, had them check the sunshade for operation and lubricate it, had them check the rear glass microswitch/latch, had them check the gear shift for proper lubrication, etc.
while you can save a few dollars by doing an oil change yourself you don't necessarily get the benefit of inspection and warranty repairs doing it yourself. since i only get two of these before the vehicle is out of warranty - i personally think that doing your own oil change at 10K and 20K is penny-wise and pound-foolish.
and FWIW - it was more than an oil change - the spent a good deal of time on the vehicle with it up on the lift, they took it on a road-test, they washed it, etc. it was not a typical Juffy Lube 15min affair. prob took about 90 min or so start to finish.
sc Virginia Beach's full 10k check is a flat $212, including tax. It is likely to also include any "disposal fees," a common repair shop charge when dealing with used lubricants, batteries and tires.
I will be doing my own oil changes at 5k or 6mo. (and saving $21 in labor and any disposal fees), and asked if I could substitute a one-time transmission oil change in lieu of the engine oil. Well, no per-se. But I can waive the $70 engine oil change portion of the "prix fixe" maintenance and have the transmission done on a time-plus-materials basis (changing the transmission oil is not a smart maintenance action, thus not pre-priced).
i am always curious as to the reasoning behind performing services to vehicles which are not suggested or required in the factory maintenance manual... like more frequent oil changes than prescribed or fluid changes that are not prescribed.
wouldn't a logical person conclude that if a service was necessary, it would be indicated in the service manual?
some people seem to have had three or even 4 oil changes before they get to 10Kmiles. when the factory specs 1 oil change in that interval.
i've owned many high-mileage vehicles over the years and have never been led stray by following the factory recommendations with regards to routine maintenance. 3 extra oil changes on my own made-up intervals seems to me to be a greater waste of oil, $ and time than simply getting the 10K checkup and being done with it.
maybe some people can only go so long before they have to spend $ on their vehicle? like they have an anthropomorphous relationship with their vehicle and it will be upset if it doesn't get the attention regularly... or perhaps people are brainwashed from the ages-old 3K mile oil change interval of yesteryear?
I'm one of those that change my oil every 5K. Not because of what anybody on the forum has said, but because of my personal experience with my smart. I too was all for the 10K service interval, but as a precaution, I did my first oil change at 4K. Oil looked really good, and I decided to do a second one at 10K when I did the full service to get back on schedule. 2K miles makes a lot of difference. The oil was noticably darker than at the 4K change, and I decided at that time I wasn't going to risk my new motor. I look at it this way, $30 every 5K for an oil change is a lot cheaper that 8K for a new motor. Not trying to sway anybodies opinion, just telling you what I do.
As far as the 60K service, hopefully by then smart will have issued a service manual, and I can do that myself as well.
I am coming up for my 10k service check. It is my understanding that this is a very basic service and inspection. Mostly just an oil and filter change and air filter change, as most have described here. The dealer is Smart Center San Antonio.
I tried calling today to set up an appointment to have this service done. The service person they ended up connecting me with after two or three other people, Kelly, told me I can't make an appointment. Then I asked if I could have someone else drop off my car in a few days in the morning and wait to pick it up, since he claims it is only first come first serve. I was told this service is very lengthy and could take 4.5-5 hours! My BS meter was going way off the charts at this point. Then the charge for it was $270. I don't know if I'm missing something or what, but this whole explanation seems pretty ridiculous.
I'd like to get the 10k service performed so nothing goes against the rest of my warranty but they really seem to be trying hard not to get my money. They already lost some business at 5k miles when I called to try to get an oil change done, but got "we can only do the 10k service which is pretty much just an oil change." Now it's not an oil change it is a 5 hour service!
I was allowed to make an appointment here in Atlanta and was quoted an hour to 1 1/2 hours with the wash being the part that could cause the longer wait since they have to handwash it. The service is not that hard to do yourself if you get the parts. I paid for it to get the inspection and I had other things I wanted to spend the day doing anyway.
sc Virginia Beach's full 10k check is a flat $212, including tax. It is likely to also include any "disposal fees," a common repair shop charge when dealing with used lubricants, batteries and tires.
I will be doing my own oil changes at 5k or 6mo. (and saving $21 in labor and any disposal fees), and asked if I could substitute a one-time transmission oil change in lieu of the engine oil. Well, no per-se. But I can waive the $70 engine oil change portion of the "prix fixe" maintenance and have the transmission done on a time-plus-materials basis (changing the transmission oil is not a smart maintenance action, thus not pre-priced).
scVAB called this morning to say that, yes they would subsititute a transmission oil change for my (un-needed) engine oil change at the same flat rate. I may do it myself.
Why a one-time oil change on a new-ish transmission? Because the transmission is a sealed container full of moving metal-to-metal parts with no filtration. Anything floating around in there from initial wear-in after its manufacture will stay there forever unless a change is done. Just one change should be adequate. BTW, the proper oil is 75W-90 transmission oil.
scVAB called this morning to say that, yes they would subsititute a transmission oil change for my (un-needed) engine oil change at the same flat rate. I may do it myself.
Why a one-time oil change on a new-ish transmission? Because the transmission is a sealed container full of moving metal-to-metal parts with no filtration. Anything floating around in there from initial wear-in after its manufacture will stay there forever unless a change is done. Just one change should be adequate. BTW, the proper oil is 75W-90 transmission oil.
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