How much did you pay for the maintenance service of your DD?
Both the intermediate (Oil, Oil filter and tyres swap) that you have at months 6, 18, 30, etc. and the main one, that you have a months 12, 24, 36, and so on.
I am interested in the nominal price, when there are no 'extras', but if you have 'extras' to report identify them as such, they can make for an interesting statistics...

 

I change my own oil. 7.5 quarts of full synthetic. Whatever is on sale between pennzoil, Mobil, or valvoline. Filter is like $5.

Tire rotations are free at discount tire.

 

Try your best to use YouTube and do most of the services yourself. Just hit the 60k- 64k service mark and the dealership charges the following:

Replace PCV - $85 (part is like $14 on Amazon)
Throttle Body and Fuel System cleaning - $265
Diff. Service for AWD system - $365
Power Steering Fluid Change - $140

Lube, Oil, Filter - $40
Spark Plugs - $6.50 per plug (x16) and $285 labor = $389

4 Wheel Alignment - $90
Tire Rotation - $ $20

I did not have all of these services performed, but they document prices on the service sheet when they 'recommend' additional services.

 

The point of the question is not to know how to best minimise your maintenance expenses, or how to do things, but to collect information on typical maintenance costs.
Moreover, properly registered maintenance, performed by a certified professional (not necessarily a dealership) pays back when the time to resell your vehicle comes (this is at least the case in Germany).
For instance I bought my DD used and the first thing I got from the previous owner was the maintenance register, with all the invoices and the details of the performed operations. Then he gave me the receipts of the performed recalls (one out of four pending). The Carfax I got it myself.
Without the maintenance register there would have been a lengthy inspection and possibly an evaluation by a third party expert, whose cost I would have discounted from the asked price.

My case is maybe an out-lier, as in Germany whenever a car goes in for a scheduled service they run a so called "inspection", looking at the state of all fluids and some important mechanical parts, even if not explicitly due for maintenance. So for my 42 months service, I paid in total 312€ so divided

80€ for 6 liters of 5W30 motor oil
20€ for the oil filter MOPAR CH10955
30€ for swapping tires
115€ for the inspection service (I guess 3 man hours of work)

Plus VAT (19%) and other small parts it makes 312€, which is more or less about 330$ at today exchange rate.

If you remove the "inspection" part and the VAT and add a couple of hours of work, I expect that in the US that service would cost something on the line of 200$ plus local taxes.
Is this cost in line with your experience?

 

I see what you're saying, but your experience in Germany is going to be different than in the U.S. We're not nearly as **** at record keeping over here. lol. Even dealers will often forget to input what was done at the scheduled maintenance, which means it won't show up on the carfax either.

And that oil change and tire rotation charge seems really high.

As for resale value with and without these records, you're probably right, but I've never once had a sale halted because I couldn't produce records nor did I refuse to buy because the buyer didn't have them. More often than not, the buyer either doesn't care or, if he does, will take it to an independent mechanic anyway and have it checked out. That's what I've always done before buying a used car. And I would certainly let someone do so if he wanted to buy mine as well. But I wouldn't discount that inspection from my asking price. The inspection is like insurance for the buyer's benefit and piece of mind of buying a car without a warranty. If you want a warranty or someone else to pay for that "insurance", go to a dealer. If you're doing a private sale and you want to inspect, that's on your dime. Cost of buying a car. It's the way I always have done it when I was buying used cars and I wouldn't expect anything else.

As for recalls, I would provide any notices and paperwork regarding what was and wasn't performed even though I'm not required by law to do so (only dealers are). But maintenance records? Nope. I do my oil changes myself as do many others. The only record I'll give you in that regard is a note in the maintenance schedule of the owner's manual with the mileage it was performed at. Any additional resale value I could recoup from having extensive records of dealership maintenance would be offset by the ridiculous price of said maintenance services. Not worth it.

 

If this is the case, then of course we cannot make any comparison across the pond
On the oil cost, of course it depends on the brand and quality and if the price includes the disposal of the old oil. But yes, 80€ (85$) for 6 liters seems pricey anyway. Tire swap maybe too, it should be 20 minutes of work, but it involves some equipments so I would not complain too much there.

 

Agree with mcfarl58. I am meticulous about maintenance upkeep and records. I've owned many vehicles and sold just as many. I can't think of one time where someone asked me for the maintenance history. Lol

 

Dealer tried to hit me up for a "fuel system service" ($120) and a "transmission service" ($235) while it was in the shop today for something unrelated. Those two services are apparently supposed to be done every 30k and 60k miles, respectively.

I'm assuming the fuel service is just a new fuel filter, and the transmission service is just a drain/refill of tranny fluid?

 

Check the owner's manual for maintenance schedules (page 626), not the dealership. And check the maintenance section where it explains what fluids to use and what needs to be done. Most new cars now do not require that frequent of maintenance. Especially for coolant and transmission fluids. Dealers make a ton of money performing unnecessary maintenance. Go by what the manufacturer states, not the dealer service department.

Transmissions are now typically a closed system (and the ZFs are) so there's no need to replace the fluid or filter absent a leak or contamination of some kind. Opening it up when not needed could actually cause more problems than it solves as it exposes that clean, stable environment to outside contamination. Of note, the 2014 Dodge Durango owner's manual doesn't even contain a transmission service under the maintenance schedule. If you really want to be safe, you can change it out at the same time they do the coolant flush (or at 100,000 if you are really nervous about it), but it's purely a discretionary decision. Again, Dodge does not require tranny maintenance.


With the coolant, if it starts to turn darker, there's contamination and it needs to be flushed. But with normal driving conditions in normal climates, coolant should be good for a long time. Dodge's coolant actually states it's good for 10 years/150,000 miles per the owner's manual.

More on the transmission: Here's what the manual says:

CAUTION!
Do not use chemical flushes in your transmission as
the chemicals can damage your transmission components.
Such damage is not covered by the New
Vehicle Limited Warranty.

Fluid Level Check
The fluid level is preset at the factory and does not
require adjustment under normal operating conditions.
Routine fluid level checks are not required, therefore the
transmission has no dipstick. Your authorized dealer can
check your transmission fluid level using special service
tools.
If you notice fluid leakage or transmission malfunction,
visit your authorized dealer immediately to have the
transmission fluid level checked. Operating the vehicle
with an improper fluid level can cause severe transmission
damage.

Fluid And Filter Changes
Under normal operating conditions, the fluid installed at
the factory will provide satisfactory lubrication for the
life of the vehicle.
Routine fluid and filter changes are not required. However,
change the fluid and filter if the fluid becomes
contaminated (with water, etc.), or if the transmission is
disassembled for any reason.


The maintenance schedule also does not list any fuel system maintenance requirements either. Again, check the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual before going to the dealer. Dodge built the cars. Go by what they say.

 

Few things:

Diff service for AWD system - I'm assuming you mean transfer case fluid. Per the owner's manual, doesn't need to be changed until 120,000 miles or 12 years. The only service that needs to be done at 60,000 related to the transfer case is an inspection of the fluid. $365 to look at it is highway robbery. What "service" was done?

Spark plugs - Should be changed at 100,000 miles per the owner's manual. Sooner isn't going to hurt anything and may actually improve mileage, but it's not necessary at 60,000.