Pollen filter

I recently had my 2000MY Range Rover serviced (36000 mles) at the local LR
dealer. I see the two pollen filters were changed each costing £13.58+VAT.
Is this necessary? Also antifreeze cost £25.88+VAT seems a lot for 4 litres.
One set of front brake pads cost £69.90 +VAT. £18+VAT for 5 litres semi
synthetic oil.

Are these charges exhorbitant or is it just me getting old?

David Haggas wrote:

> I recently had my 2000MY Range Rover serviced (36000 mles) at the local LR
> dealer. I see the two pollen filters were changed each costing £13.58+VAT.
> Is this necessary? Also antifreeze cost £25.88+VAT seems a lot for 4
> litres. One set of front brake pads cost £69.90 +VAT. £18+VAT for 5 litres
> semi synthetic oil.
>

Those pads seem a bit high, but assuming that labour is included that's
actually quite reasonable - LR dealers seem to be running at around £70-85
an hour for labour just now.

The price for oil is a little high, but not extortionately so - my local
Halfrauds sells Shell Helix for a little less than that.

As for the Anti Freeze, I'd assume that at least part of that cost pays for
safe disposal of the old stuff, but yes - just for the solution that's way,
way high.

P.

--
If Mind over Matter is a Matter of Course
Does it Matter if Nobody Minds?

"David Haggas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I recently had my 2000MY Range Rover serviced (36000 mles) at the local LR
> dealer. I see the two pollen filters were changed each costing £13.58+VAT.
> Is this necessary? Also antifreeze cost £25.88+VAT seems a lot for 4
> litres.
> One set of front brake pads cost £69.90 +VAT. £18+VAT for 5 litres semi
> synthetic oil.
>
> Are these charges exhorbitant or is it just me getting old?
>
>

You are getting old. While all of those items could be sourced somewhat
cheaper, you would still be left with fitting them.
From a factor, and in 25litre packs, I would expect the highest standard of
oil to cost no more than £3 per litre, antifreeze at around £2 unless it was
readymix and brake pads around £45, all plus vat. The amount for antifreeze
is certainly a lot for four litres but the system holds much more than four
litres, which could account for the total cost of it. 5 litres of engine oil
is not a lot of oil for big engine which requires servicing only every 12000
miles IIRC.

Do you expect to run a Range Rover on a Ford Focus budget? Maybe not but I
would not expect a huge amount of difference in those costs for a Focus,
which might surprise you.

Huw

"David Haggas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I recently had my 2000MY Range Rover serviced (36000 mles) at the local LR
> dealer. I see the two pollen filters were changed each costing £13.58+VAT.
> Is this necessary? Also antifreeze cost £25.88+VAT seems a lot for 4
litres.
> One set of front brake pads cost £69.90 +VAT. £18+VAT for 5 litres semi
> synthetic oil.
>
> Are these charges exhorbitant or is it just me getting old?
>

Having just replaced mine [pollen filters] on a 99 RR 4.0 they are
necessary. I have one thing to say about the old filters... ewwww.

I read an article on the net concerning the pollen filters. It was suggested
that with regular maintenance you will save costly repairs to the servo
motors that power the duct system in the cab area. 14.00 ea. doesn't sound
too bad.

To inspect, these filters are located behind two covers under the bonnet by
the wiper assembly left and right respectively. Using a phillips style
driver remove the 2 screws securing the covers. If you look inside you will
see the fan's blower motors.

http://www.rangerovers.net as an interesting article explaining these
further.

"Huw" <hedydd[nospam]@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> You are getting old. While all of those items could be sourced somewhat
> cheaper, you would still be left with fitting them.
> From a factor, and in 25litre packs, I would expect the highest standard
of
> oil to cost no more than £3 per litre, antifreeze at around £2 unless it
was
> readymix and brake pads around £45, all plus vat. The amount for
antifreeze
> is certainly a lot for four litres but the system holds much more than
four
> litres, which could account for the total cost of it. 5 litres of engine
oil
> is not a lot of oil for big engine which requires servicing only every
12000
> miles IIRC.
>
> Do you expect to run a Range Rover on a Ford Focus budget? Maybe not but I
> would not expect a huge amount of difference in those costs for a Focus,
> which might surprise you.

Thanks for the replies. I just think that £438 (inc vat) for a 36k is steep
especially as the only additional job was to fit front brake pads and wiper
blades. Most of the work is simply checking and topping up levels. They even
overlooked the fact that the rear washer was not working. Compared with my
15 year old BMW which I still get serviced within the main dealer network it
is extortionate. I have found BMW servicing costs have come down in recent
years.

Importing the Range Rover from Holland saved me 30% on the rip-off UK price
(and it wasn't all about favourable exchange rates) so with this in mind I
am not prepared to write out blank cheques for servicing just because it is
a big car. The dealers only charge what people are prepared to pay.

David

In <[email protected]> David Haggas wrote:
> Thanks for the replies. I just think that £438 (inc vat) for a 36k is
> steep especially as the only additional job was to fit front brake
> pads and wiper blades. Most of the work is simply checking and topping
> up levels. They even overlooked the fact that the rear washer was not
> working. Compared with my 15 year old BMW which I still get serviced
> within the main dealer network it is extortionate. I have found BMW
> servicing costs have come down in recent years.
>
> Importing the Range Rover from Holland saved me 30% on the rip-off UK
> price (and it wasn't all about favourable exchange rates) so with this
> in mind I am not prepared to write out blank cheques for servicing
> just because it is a big car. The dealers only charge what people are
> prepared to pay.

Given you are obviously keen to get the best value for money I'm amazed
you are using a main dealer at all. There are a number of very good
independants around that do as good a job, often a better job, than a
main dealer will for half the hourly rate. I'm sure if you tell us where
you are there will be a number of personal recommendations for your area.
If you have a warranty on the vehicle just make sure they know when you
take it in as they will need to use genuine parts to maintain the
warranty.

On the subject of pollen filters, it is a good idea to check they have
actually changed them... I saw a main dealer serviced Range Rover
recently that still had it's original filters in place at 80,000 miles.
Either that or the main dealer had taken all the leaves out from around
the filter, replaced the filter and then put all the leaves back again.
A look back at the service bills showed that he had been billed twice
for pollen filters.

cheers

Dave W.
http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net/

No, the story about the blocked pollen filters is that some people suggest
that this will cause an increase in current through the fusebox relays F7 and
F6 thus causing the fusebox to burn out (see my article on repairing the fuse
box at http://rangerovers.net/repairdetails/electrical/fusebox.html.)

My view is different. According to my readings, having a blocked filter
causes a reduction in current draw so the blocked filtger is not the cause of
the burned out fusebox.

For info on replacing the pollen filters see
http://rangerovers.net/maintenance/pollenfilter.html - you'll see a pix I took
of a badly blocked filter.

Ron Beckett
Emu Plains, Australia
1995 P38A Range Rover HSE 4.6 Litre V8


"Jack Kerouac" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:_moCd.21961$152.3553@trndny01...
> "David Haggas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I recently had my 2000MY Range Rover serviced (36000 mles) at the local LR
> > dealer. I see the two pollen filters were changed each costing £13.58+VAT.
> > Is this necessary? Also antifreeze cost £25.88+VAT seems a lot for 4
> litres.
> > One set of front brake pads cost £69.90 +VAT. £18+VAT for 5 litres semi
> > synthetic oil.
> >
> > Are these charges exhorbitant or is it just me getting old?
> >
>
> Having just replaced mine [pollen filters] on a 99 RR 4.0 they are
> necessary. I have one thing to say about the old filters... ewwww.
>
> I read an article on the net concerning the pollen filters. It was suggested
> that with regular maintenance you will save costly repairs to the servo
> motors that power the duct system in the cab area. 14.00 ea. doesn't sound
> too bad.
>
> To inspect, these filters are located behind two covers under the bonnet by
> the wiper assembly left and right respectively. Using a phillips style
> driver remove the 2 screws securing the covers. If you look inside you will
> see the fan's blower motors.
>
> http://www.rangerovers.net as an interesting article explaining these
> further.
>
>

"Dave White" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Given you are obviously keen to get the best value for money I'm amazed
> you are using a main dealer at all. There are a number of very good
> independants around that do as good a job, often a better job, than a
> main dealer will for half the hourly rate. I'm sure if you tell us where
> you are there will be a number of personal recommendations for your area.
> If you have a warranty on the vehicle just make sure they know when you
> take it in as they will need to use genuine parts to maintain the
> warranty.
>

Thanks for that interesting post Dave. I think it boils down to trust. The
LR stamp in the book, the fact that they always use genuine parts etc etc.
The bills these days however are a joke and I always question them. To be
fair they usually reduce them when pressed, but value for money in the first
place should be their aim. I have contacted you via your web site.

David