Won't get fooled again

[thetaxman]

Hey they only charged me $88 for the parts, I'm not complaining at all. It's the labor. It's 3 times what I make an hour. I understand overhead-own a business. But the top guy was not on the job (better not have been!). At least with our companies, if we send out a grunt to do a quickie paint job, the price is according to the guy on the job. Thanks for letting me blow off some steam. Glad Messicks chimmed in. Figured you would back the dealer. I know where I stand now...better brush up on my mechanic skills again. Now where is that tool box with the left handed fizzle dapper?

i cant get over this ! that is $273.00 in labor ! as one guy put it " a monkey could do it in <1 hour." im glad one of my clients has an auto/diesel repair shop , he does my work for parts plus his hourly rate of $65.00 and we barter that out on his bill. i usually never beat a dead horse like this but these prices are just unfair, i will never pay that .

 

[dave1949]

I think you hit the nail on the head.The $30 auto dealer oil change is really a good deal,the dealer is making next to nothing on that.The idea is they may find worn tires,a bad battery,etc that they can make some profit on.

IMHO the tractor industry will not have the volume of work to be able to offer the same type of service.

Actually, it's only $20 if they don't check and top off the rest of the fluids. That's an expensive top off I know, but someone has to keep the local Ford dealer's doors open

Something a bit more comparable is the full 30K mile service, which I paid $332 for. They check end to end and replace some filters, alignment, tire rotation, etc. They replaced two emission control parts under warranty. It's hard to compare autos to tractors, but somehow that seems more reasonable to me than $350 for a 50 hour service.

It could be all about perception. I feel perfectly capable of doing the tractor work myself, I have no interest and not much knowledge when it comes to the auto care.
Dave.

 

[Bird]

Good points, Dave. I quit doing my own oil changes when I moved back to town 7 years ago. I was using one Ford dealer that did good work, but tries hard to sell things you do not need, so I didn't feel I could really trust them. Now I use another Ford dealer that I do trust. The oil & filter change, top off any other fluids and check it over costs me $32.70 total (including sales tax, of course). And the last 30k mile service cost me a total of $402.35, but it included a couple of things, such as flushing the brake system, that they did NOT try to sell, but that I decided on anyway.

 

[Bird]

i cant get over this ! that is $273.00 in labor ! as one guy put it " a monkey could do it in <1 hour."

You make it sound as if the charge is $273 for one hour, and that simply is not the case. Yeah, it's possible, but not likely, that it can be done in one hour, but you need a good sized container to catch that much hydraulic fluid, you have to wait on hydraulic fluid, as well as motor oil, to drain. Do you count the time waiting on that or not? They have to move the tractor in and out of the shop. The technician has to go to the parts department or storage and get the right filters and the right type and amount of fluids. And any business has to spend some time writing up the order, then the bill; time you don't count if you do it yourself. Then they have to dispose of the used oils & filters and clean up the area maybe; more time you may or may not count if you do it yourself.

 

[TripleR]

Good points, Dave. I quit doing my own oil changes when I moved back to town 7 years ago. I was using one Ford dealer that did good work, but tries hard to sell things you do not need, so I didn't feel I could really trust them. Now I use another Ford dealer that I do trust. The oil & filter change, top off any other fluids and check it over costs me $32.70 total (including sales tax, of course). And the last 30k mile service cost me a total of $402.35, but it included a couple of things, such as flushing the brake system, that they did NOT try to sell, but that I decided on anyway.

I started doing the same thing several years ago when I bought my first 4WD pickup. I also now have my wife's car and our conversion van done by the dealer. What little extra money it costs is more than offset by the saving in time and aggravation of stocking supplies and disposing of old oil.

You really can't compare car/truck dealerships with tractor shops; at least not in my area.

 

[bp fick]

You really can't compare car/truck dealerships with tractor shops; at least not in my area.

In our area as well. Huge, huge difference in scale of volume. Local Ford garage signs in 10 to 20 times the vehicles per day as compared to the Kubota dealer.

 

[smc107]

I'm new here and shopping for a compact or sub-compact. When you go to buy a tractor, can you negotiate the 50 hour service or the materials to do it (Oil, filters, etc.), as part of the deal?

When I bought my M-F back in September, my dealer told me that when it was time to perform the 50 hour service he would eat the labor if I purchased all the fluids and filters.

 

[thetaxman]

You make it sound as if the charge is $273 for one hour, and that simply is not the case. Yeah, it's possible, but not likely, that it can be done in one hour, but you need a good sized container to catch that much hydraulic fluid, you have to wait on hydraulic fluid, as well as motor oil, to drain. Do you count the time waiting on that or not? They have to move the tractor in and out of the shop. The technician has to go to the parts department or storage and get the right filters and the right type and amount of fluids. And any business has to spend some time writing up the order, then the bill; time you don't count if you do it yourself. Then they have to dispose of the used oils & filters and clean up the area maybe; more time you may or may not count if you do it yourself.

ok i agree with you on all those points , so lets say 2 hours thats still 136.50 per hour and if they are standing around watching oil drain, walking to parts counter and driving tractor into shop , that time is worth 136.50 ? i dont think you need to be a certified mechanic to do those chores, as far as writing up order almost all dealers are computerized so that should take all of 5 minutes.

i just am not buying it. but like i said at the beginning this is just one mans humble opinion

 

[Bird]

like i said at the beginning this is just one mans humble opinion

Well, I reckon you're humble opinion is as good as anyone else's, or at the very least, as good as mine. We'll just have to agree to disagree. I don't think the price was out of line, but I do think customers should be told before hand what the price will be.

 

[Pops15]

ok i agree with you on all those points , so lets say 2 hours thats still 136.50 per hour and if they are standing around watching oil drain, walking to parts counter and driving tractor into shop , that time is worth 136.50 ? i dont think you need to be a certified mechanic to do those chores, as far as writing up order almost all dealers are computerized so that should take all of 5 minutes.

i just am not buying it. but like i said at the beginning this is just one mans humble opinion

Maybe you don't need a certified tech to do some of those tasks. So what is the dealer to do, hire another person to do those tasks for the tech?
Yes, most dealers are computerized. I wouldn't be surprised if the programs they use cost several thousand dollars.
What does it cost to heat a tractor dealership? What do they spend on electricity? Real estate taxes? Lets not forget what they pay the service manager. Gotta have someone to answer the phones, someone to keep the books, someone to sell parts. Then there's insurance on the building, inventory, and equipment. Don't forget workers comp and the employers social security and pension contributions. Someone has to plow snow in the winter and mow the grass in the summer. Then you've got advertising, phones, disposal fees. Don't forget the expense of carrying inventory. I could go on and on but you get the idea. A tractor dealership is a high overhead business. When its all said and done the dealer needs to make a decent return on investment to stay in business.
Car dealers in my area are charging in the $115/hr range for service. I would expect a tractor dealer to need to charge more.
Is having service done by a dealer expensive? Heck yeah, but I don't see the price the OP mentioned as being way out of line.