Service costs on expiry of the service plan
Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 1:48 pm
I am a very happy owner of a 2012, 3,2 automatic Pajero Sport.
The vehicle is serviced as per the manufacturer’s recommendations of every 10,000 kms or every 12 months.
The vehicle has always been serviced by McCarthy Motors in Witbank as overall I have been quite pleased with the service received from McCarthy Motors. I have been a client of this dealership since 1987 having owned several Mercedes cars (my wife still drives an E Class), a Chrysler Voyager and a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The price of parts and servicing on both the Chrysler and the Jeep were horrifically expensive plus I endured endless problems with both vehicles. It was the workshop manager at McCarthy’s who recommended that when changing the Jeep that I should consider Mitsubishi as the repair costs were apparently a lot lower and more importantly the Pajero’s reputation for their excellent reliability. I can certainly confirm as to the reliability of the vehicle as in 5 years it has never let me down and excluding a new set of tyres at 78,000kms all that I have had to spend is the normal running costs.
However last week I sent the Pajero in for its 90,000km service and as the vehicle had just reached 5 years old I was now responsible for the cost of the service owing to the expiry of the service plan.
This time I found the following items to be rather excessive and I am wondering have any other owners experienced the same on expiry of their service plan.
At the 80,000km service in December 2016 a charge of R44,07 per unit for engine oil was charged to the service plan.
A total cost excluding VAT of R361.37 which I thought was a very reasonable cost.
This time I was charged R160.00 per unit for the same engine oil (Mobil Diesel Oil) that represents an increase of almost 275% in 7 months!
As the engine requires 8,2 units that equates to a total cost of R1,312.00 excluding VAT for engine oil only!
Other costs which I found to be very high were R160,00 for the dreaded consumables and a charge of R165.00 to wash the outside of the vehicle.
Further charges for this service were R258.78 for the oil filter. R359,27 for the fuel filter. R461,20 for the air filter and R9,89 for the sump plug washer, all costs exclude VAT. The labour charge was R1,376.00 bringing the total including VAT to R4,690,90.
Other moans that I have regarding the service plan are that items such as brake pads and /or discs are excluded as are light bulbs and wiper blades as those items are considered to be “wear items”. On all other service / maintenance plans that I have had these items have always been included.
Despite my dismay at the cost of this service it has not put me off Mitsubishi products and later this year I intend to trade this vehicle in for the 2017 Pajero Sport. I am also considering purchasing the Mitsubishi ASX for our son but I do have concerns regarding the CVT transmission system.
Does anyone have any knowledge of these systems as any advice would be greatly appreciated?
The vehicle is serviced as per the manufacturer’s recommendations of every 10,000 kms or every 12 months.
The vehicle has always been serviced by McCarthy Motors in Witbank as overall I have been quite pleased with the service received from McCarthy Motors. I have been a client of this dealership since 1987 having owned several Mercedes cars (my wife still drives an E Class), a Chrysler Voyager and a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The price of parts and servicing on both the Chrysler and the Jeep were horrifically expensive plus I endured endless problems with both vehicles. It was the workshop manager at McCarthy’s who recommended that when changing the Jeep that I should consider Mitsubishi as the repair costs were apparently a lot lower and more importantly the Pajero’s reputation for their excellent reliability. I can certainly confirm as to the reliability of the vehicle as in 5 years it has never let me down and excluding a new set of tyres at 78,000kms all that I have had to spend is the normal running costs.
However last week I sent the Pajero in for its 90,000km service and as the vehicle had just reached 5 years old I was now responsible for the cost of the service owing to the expiry of the service plan.
This time I found the following items to be rather excessive and I am wondering have any other owners experienced the same on expiry of their service plan.
At the 80,000km service in December 2016 a charge of R44,07 per unit for engine oil was charged to the service plan.
A total cost excluding VAT of R361.37 which I thought was a very reasonable cost.
This time I was charged R160.00 per unit for the same engine oil (Mobil Diesel Oil) that represents an increase of almost 275% in 7 months!
As the engine requires 8,2 units that equates to a total cost of R1,312.00 excluding VAT for engine oil only!
Other costs which I found to be very high were R160,00 for the dreaded consumables and a charge of R165.00 to wash the outside of the vehicle.
Further charges for this service were R258.78 for the oil filter. R359,27 for the fuel filter. R461,20 for the air filter and R9,89 for the sump plug washer, all costs exclude VAT. The labour charge was R1,376.00 bringing the total including VAT to R4,690,90.
Other moans that I have regarding the service plan are that items such as brake pads and /or discs are excluded as are light bulbs and wiper blades as those items are considered to be “wear items”. On all other service / maintenance plans that I have had these items have always been included.
Despite my dismay at the cost of this service it has not put me off Mitsubishi products and later this year I intend to trade this vehicle in for the 2017 Pajero Sport. I am also considering purchasing the Mitsubishi ASX for our son but I do have concerns regarding the CVT transmission system.
Does anyone have any knowledge of these systems as any advice would be greatly appreciated?