$1,600 Estimate on E450 Maintenance Schedule!

[dpf]

Judy, If I’m not mistaken Napa Valley is probably an area with a higher cost of living and therefore the labor cost are going to be more expensive. Since you full-time maybe you should schedule your maintenance inspections at Ford dealerships in areas with lower cost of living which is also going to be reflected in their charges. The lower cost is not going to be an indication of a lesser quality of services. . Maybe I’m wrong but I would trust a mechanic in South Dakota or some other basically rural state who works on farmer’s Ford 350 trucks every day of the week to recognize present or possibly future problems on my truck before I would someone in a predominately urban or suburban area. JMHO

[JudyJB]

You are probably right, but the place I got the price from was not in Napa. I am going to postpone that checkup since I have time for it. Found a small place I am taking motorhome to tomorrow to get furnace looked at and have tires checked. Those are much more immediate.

I'll check fluids today myself and then have my oil change done later when it is really due.

[JudyJB]

I took my motorhome in this morning to a small shop that repairs them. I paid $298.72 to have an oil change with the 30,000 mile recommended inspections, air checked in tires, repair and part for rear furnace, change of water filter which I had not been able to get off myself and was badly needed, and putting on the new hubcap I had ordered. And this place was in Napa.

Much better than $1,600!!

[Yakn1]

Yay!

[Acadianmom]

Most of the charge was probably to repair your furnace. Glad you found a place to take care of everything.

Martha

[BirdbyBird]

It is good to know when to walk away....and good to know good service when you find it!

[JanetA]

Much better!!!!

[Liz]

Just had my E450 serviced at 32000 miles at local Ford dealership ....oil &filter change with multi-point inspection. Paid $103.35. Of that, labor was $63.

[Deeann]

Something stinks and I think it's your repair shop!

When I had my class A Winnebago the blower motor in the dashboard died. This is the one that blows when the dashboard air conditioning is running. The Chevy dealer looked up the part and it was going to cost $800. I called FOUL on that. My service man at the dealership said: "Hang on a minute....I used to work in the parts department. Let me check something for you." Well, he came back and said: "That's the same motor that's in a corvette. It's listed for $125." So I had him install the corvette blower in my Winnebago.

Possible #1. He was jacking up the price on the blower to start with. If you can afford an rv you can afford to get screwed over. WRONG! When I called his bluff on the high price, he then gave me the correct price.

Possible #2. Chevrolet was jacking up the price of the blower to start with simply because it was for an rv. Manufacturers love to do this. They sell the same part for different vehicles under different part numbers. That makes it easy for them to jack up the price for parts that go into more expensive vehicles.

Possible #3: I got lucky and got a service man who knew his parts and was able to hook me up with the correct part at the correct price.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Watch for the scam on repairs. If the price of something seems ridiculous, they may be trying to set you up. Check with other places for price quotes. Be careful out there. Some places are honest, others are not.

ANOTHER TIP: If an rv dealer tells you that a part for your oven, heater, etc is obsolete and that he can't order it, he may be telling you the truth but that doesn't mean that another dealer doesn't have the part sitting on HIS shelf. Ask for the p/n and get on the internet and look for it yourself. If you locate the part, give the info to your dealer and have him order it in for you so that he can make sure it is the correct part.

[dayspring39]

I know just how you feel after my having to pay $180 for a switch that was off… they sure do charge high money…
Kathleen Kathy