I'm taking my 2011 Outlander RVR into the dealership for the first oil change/service check (it's been ~6 months since I bought it and almost 8000km). After talking with the dealership's service desk on the phone I had a couple of questions :
- synthetic oil or normal motor oil ?
I did some reading and it looks like my car was filled with synthetic from the manufacturer - I guess it's slippery-er, lasts longer, designed for tighter engine tolerances, etc... It looks like newer cars come this way. I had an older 2003 Lancer that I took in every 3 months or 4,000 km (I think) and I don't really mind shorter oil change intervals. Should I continue using synthetic while following the recommended oil change intervals ?

- the guy seemed pretty vague, but mentioned it would cost ~100$ in labour. I think that's pretty high for an oil change. He also mentioned they would do some other checks but I'll have to see what they're doing in writing before I jump to any conclusions.

- after everything is considered, does ~100$ cdn seem reasonable for the first oil change/service check ?

I live in Atlantic Canada.

 

wow...that is ridiculously way too high. that would warrant a laugh to the face.

what is important is the grade. you are probably spec'd for 5w20. I use synthetic as I know I can go 7500 miles between oil changes due to some oil analysis. If I use regular oil, I'd be spending just a little bit less and changing it more often.

If you were not doing it yourself, I'd call around to local mechanic's shops and see what they charge for a synthetic change. Stay away from quick lube shops...

I changed every 5k miles until my warranty was up...then I tested my oil twice and landed at 7500 miles as my sweet spot. If you do more highway miles, you can go further on an oil change....if you are city driving all the time, then that is harder on the oil.

 

Wait a second here ccernst. My experiences with the Canadian service centres is on par with rt_hat's quotes for conventional oil. I see it as the cost of owning the vehicle and wanted to make sure my Outlander broke in and everything was fine for the first few oil changes.

They charge a very low rate for a standard oil change "package A" - something like $35 + tax & env fees. It looks like rt-hat was quoted "package B" where they nickle and dime you. $10 for a tire rotation, $40 for an inspection, etc. Package B is ~ every 10,000km when you rotate your tires. Since you've got a 8,000km oil change interval (OCI) they probably rounded up and skipped package A.

Just wait until you get down into the Packages C and D which I don't remember pricing but they do transmission fluid change, re-grease brake calipers, etc.

Don't forget the dealer will check for any TSB's, software upgrades, etc. that local shops cannot. I'm not putting down local mechanics - I'd prefer to use a good local guy - but for your first oil change drop by the dealer and see how the service department treats you. Meet the parts guy and see if you can strike up a conversation - talk about the car and the shop.

Double check with the shop what your oil grade is.
The new 2011's may have changed the suggested oil grade with a TSB to 0W-20 which is a synthetic oil. If you're going to do the oil change yourself use a quality oil filter that can handle high initial pressures - WIX, Napa Gold, etc.

I'll be doing my oil change in the drive way soon. Will post some pictures/howto after that as I haven't seen one on here yet - I assume it's pretty similar to other vehicles. In the winter I go to the dealership so they can do an inspection and I don't freeze doing the job in the driveway.

 

Answering my own questions for future reference.

I don't have the service record, but it was about 60-70$ in consumables :
- ~55$ for 5L of synthetic (can't remember if it was 0w20 or 5w20, but it matched what the car manual said)
- 5-7$ for the plug and new filter
- 55$ for the labour (~45 min), I don't remember specifically, things like tire rotation, checking door seals, topping off fluids (washer fluid I'm guessing), etc ...
- and taxes

Coming out to close to 150$.

Besides the labour, I think it was pretty reasonable. I checked prices on the Internet for 1 Litre of the same oil grade and prices were pretty close. I forget what brand but it was "bulk" oil, so I'm guessing they had a drum of the stuff and I'm sure it was cheaper/Litre to buy a drum than individual 1L containers though.

I could have insisted they skip some of the checks because I'm pretty sure it'd be cheaper for me to check my door seals and top off my fluids. I don't think the tires needed rotation because I changed them from the winter tires about a month ago.

Anyway, I'm pretty okay with the dealership changing my oil. Like nesser said, they did catch some things on my old Lancer that Canadian Tire (still not the best place to take a car for an oil change though) missed when they changed my engine oil.