Yesterday Santa Monica Audi performed a 15,000 mile service on our long-term Audi R8. Ken Maryan our service advisor could not have been more pleasant to deal with, and the work was done in a single day as promised.
They changed the oil and filter, checked the car over and installed a new dust and pollen filter to our climate control system. That's it. Total for parts: $185.06, which includes 9 quarts of synthetic motor oil.
What killed us was the labor. Two and a half hours at an incredible $160.00 an hour (Labor for our 1984 Ferrari 308 was only $120.00 an hour.) That's $400.00 in labor costs. Total for the job: $600.33.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 15,472 miles
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Ri-freaking-diculous.
Porsche oil change at dealership - $250.00 including 10 quarts of $10 a quart synthetic oil (marked up Mobil One).
Dust and Pollen filter at 15,000 miles? If that's the recommended interval, then I'm guessing it takes 30 minutes to replace at the most (mine takes 30 seconds max, but that's the joy of a gloriously designed maintenance item).
Why doesn't edmunds get a quote for these things and then do it themselves sometimes to save money, write to us about being a DIYer on these machines, and then pocket the money for...I don't know....gratuitous Big Brake Kits on M3s?
Joe
Wow! That must me the most ghettoest service area for a supposedly 'premium' brand like Audi!
LOL...I must be spoiled, because even the lube n' tune down the street is nicer than that....and their service is 24.95.
A Kia dealer in Texas has a nicer service bay...you guys must let the dealers continually rip you off just so that you can show is what a rip off it is.....right? ......Anyone? >>
The R8 isn't the only one in Audi's line up with stupid high maintenance costs. We were pricing/comparing the "lowly" A4 with others in its class and that was one of the questions we asked. When was maintenance required (during the lease) and how much would it cost. I was blown away....that was a year and a half ago and I was still telling somebody about it just the other day. It was one of the big issues for us that ended up as a no go on the car.
Wobbly_ears has a point. Its good to see the dealer is not pouring money back into the Building. I love the Cinderblock/Quanset Hut look. 600 bucks.... wow.
"80s Hits" would have been more appropriate in the Ferrari, methinks.
VW/Audi service has always been expensive -- at least for the last handful of years. But $160/hr for labor is ridiculous. I'm used to $80-$120/hr.
We have a Chevy dealer in Ann Arbor that opened in the late 60's and it looks like this joint. I also just noticed the plastic banner hanging on the side of the service drive. Looks like someplace I'd drop my high-end peformance car at...
That's amazing the dealership doesn't have a real permanent Audi sign.
They're ready to jump ship and switch to another business at any moment?
BMW free maintenance for 4 yrs/50k miles, anyone? :-D
I'd be pretty pleasant to deal with too if I were getting $600 to do an oil change.
Bimmerjay - that's one of the reasons that there's a 3 in our driveway and not the A4.
2.5 hours for an oil change and a new air filter? At $160 an hour? Holy crap.
Guess I've just been spoiled by BMW's free maintenance, and even after thats up it only takes 30 minutes to do an oil and air filter change on my 325i.
You do realize that you pay for that "free" BMW service upfront, right?
And by the way, BMW's maintenance schedule became much more lax after they instituted that "free" service. Of course, it won't matter much if you lease.
We have two Bimmers, so I like the brand, but don't be fooled by any supposed cost savings.
Back on topic - Edmunds, dealers must see you coming from a mile away.
this is what luxury dealerships do: gouge customers who can afford to pay. There is no value when it comes to luxury cars with regards to sticker price or maintenance.
Reminds me of the comeback from an old Florida cracker I overheard when he was quoted the price for a new Mercedes back in the early 70's: "must be a car for them people with more money than brains!"
How is a car dealership's rate higher than the billing rate of the aerospace company I work at?
"How is a car dealership's rate higher than the billing rate of the aerospace company I work at?"
I don't know which aerospace company you work at but at the one that I work at... I am not surprised...
$160 an hour? They're getting close to attorney hourly rates! Not bad for someone who doesn't even need a high school diploma to perform the job, and has very low safety risk.
Is that Audi's standard rate for dealership service for all their models, or do they charge a higher hourly labor rate for the R8?
Helios - of course the cost is built in somewhere (no free lunch) but when it's offered, and the you can get the car for the same (or less in our case) than it's competitors ..... it's a good deal.
$160/hr??!!
Did they at least pull your pants back up after wrote the check?
btw, I like how they charge you $600 for a lube job (literally) and do it in a hillbilly shack...
"Is that Audi's standard rate for dealership service for all their models, or do they charge a higher hourly labor rate for the R8?"
That is the standard rate for all service. I asked.
Also, to those of you commenting about the state of the building, I suggest coming down to Santa Monica sometime. Most building, with the exception of a few high-dollar office parks, have that look. Older construction and fading paint. The insides, however, are a completely different story. It's odd.
-mike
my local lexus dealer has a valet and starbucks inside... I was half-joking about the hillbilly shack but for $160 an hr? c'mon
For $160/hr do you get your feet rubbed and a full body massage? It's not a Porshe or a Lamborghini for crying out loud.
Until the 2006 model year, Audi did offer free maintenance for the first 4 years. Now they have what's called audicare, where you pay up front. I've heard numbers like $500 dollars but have not really researched it that closely.
You are right, the $500 oil change is ridiculous. But the reality is people must be paying it, or Audi, MB, Mercedes, Lexus, and Acura would not be in business. And I'd be driving an Accord and not my SLK.
I just leased an A4 and was offered the Audi Care maintenance plan. It covers the 15,000 miles, 25,000 miles, 35,000 miles, and 45,000 miles services, or a service every year, whichever occurs first (this is after the "free" 5,000 miles/1 year service).
The price I was quoted was $650.
The plan can be purchased within 12 months of the original in-service date or before 12,000 miles (you can roll it into your monthly payments if you opt for it when you buy/lease the car).
Seems like a good deal if you plan on keeping the car for 5 years (or beyond the 3-year lease) or if you put a lot of miles on it and want to follow the recommended maintenance schedule.
I totally agree what you said. Today, I did the 15000 miles service in Audi dealer in Santa Monica.I told the guy the problem that my car has.It totally costs 360 dollars.It's unbelievable. How expensive it is. Finally, they gave me a discount, so I only paid about 260 dollars, but it is still expensive. I don't think that's a good service because they didn't fix the problem that my car has. Also, I paid 180 dollars for labor fee, and 80 dollars for engine oil, washer, filterelem..gosh~~~~I promise I won't do service in Audi dealer in Santa Monica..