I was just curious to see who actually takes there truck in to the dealer at the recommended service maintenance intervals. The owners manual recommends different things to be done depending on the mileage, but I have never been one to do this and feel that most of it is a waste of money. If I can do it myself I will, at the recommended intervals. I had a 96 Ranger and did most of the maintenance myself, especially the fluids, and had no problems.

Is this a bad practice to be in for an almost $40K truck? How does this affect warranties?

What do you guys think?

 

If you are competant mechanically, there is no reason to not do it yourself. Most maintenance isn't exactly brain surgery. Aside from changing transmission fluid, I do it all myself. No one cares more about your truck than you do, so your own work may be the best you'll get.

 

I plan on doing all of my own maintenance work. Some things can get a little tricky, like differential and trans fluid changes, but with a shop manual (that I don't think is out yet), I don't think it will be too hard. I like working on my own vehicles, gives me a sense of pride.

If you are worried about warranty effects, just keep a good log of what was done when, and the stealership can't penalize you for it.

- Justin

 

I work for a dealership. When I had my '03 Focus, I was going to keep taking it to the Ford store so I could get nice, official, accurate service records in case something cropped up where they questioned whether I took care of the car or not. All that stopped when the past three invoices I got from the Ford dealer showed them putting 5W30 in the car (it took 5W20) When I questioned the service manager, he swore up and down they put 5W20 in the cars, which they probably did. But how'd that look if I ever lost an engine in the car with a fi****l of service records that said I used the wrong oil?

With my F150, I'll just get my people to write up an RO on it and do it myself.

 

I’m still on the free ride with my truck. My Ford dealership offers free lifetime oil changes and tire rotation. The catch is you have to have all your scheduled maintenance done at their dealership. I only have about nine thousand miles on my truck. Therefore, for the time being, I take it to them for oil and tire rotation.

 

Quintin...I know where you're coming from, but just for the record, in the unlikely event of any litigation involving engine failure and the use of 5W20 vis-a-vis 5W30 oil as the causal agent
YOU WOULD WIN HANDS DOWN.

Everybody including Ford and the courts know that the issue here is CAFE, not adequate lubrication.

 

I've got the "free ride" deal also, however I don't use it. First it's a pain to go all the way to the dealership, secondly like the other's have said I feel pride in doing my own maintenance and looking first hand at the underside at the intervals. I once had my oil changed by a dealership, because I didn't have the time on my Mustang. When I went to change the oil the next time, the drain plug had been cross threaded from when they changed the oil. With a tap using grease and a new plug I was able to save it without replacing the oil pan. With the transmission, I'll have the dealership do the fluid/flush/filter changes.

Keeping records may be the thing to do here on the maintenance that one does on their truck.

 

Yeah, I get a sense of pride from doing my own work also. Some things are harder to do then others but this is how I get to know my trucks. I like to know how things work. I think all guys and some girls do to.

The easiest and most important thing to do is that oil change. If anything else I make sure this gets done and done right, by me.

If I get to something thats to difficult for me to do, I will first call on friends or the forum and then as a last result take it to the dealer. However, new technology is making it harder and harder for the diy'er.

Thanks for the input guys. I'll continue what I'm doing....loving this truck!

11500 miles and still going strong with no problems.

 

jaguar63
Anything is possible. My dealership has been reliable. I check it out while they are changing the oil and bulls**t with the guys doing it. They have a separate building and tech’s that do nothing but oil and filter changes. As far as convenience, there’s no appointment. Just bring it in anytime and you’re out in about 30 min.

 

As far as the "sense of pride" thing goes, I got it to. I’ve been changing my own oil since I got my drivers license and first car in 1967, but free is free and I’m going to take advantage of it.

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Grimalkin sez...

I know...I'm just a firm believer of Murphy and the underhanded ways of some dealerships that I unfortunately have witnessed.