2000 Viper GTS Maintenance Cost

[bwagman]

Okay, so I took delivery on my 2000 GTS and I want to get it serviced (checked out). I've decided to go to Wayne Dodge, NJ (which has a certified Viper technician) to do an oil change and possibly a 30K miles scheduled service. I know this service includes replacing the plugs, wires, rear diff fluid, coolant, and all other fluids, and some other stuff. The guy estimated about $1200. I have no idea if this is a normal price (since I've never owned a Viper)or much too high. But I do not want to be ripped off. Plus I don't know if the plugs and wires were changed by the previous owner (the wires look new?)the car runs very strong as a car with only 23K miles should run. I'd rather avoid changing something that was already changed. I'm not sure what kind of labor is involved in changing plugs and wires, but I figured these parts are not outragiously expensive and a job like this should be around $700 and not $1200.

Can anyone please advise me on this.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[AMong]

3/8 drive ratchet with extension and plug socket ... theres 10 of them ...

 

[PDCjonny]

If your in North Jersey you are close enough to Tator's Dodge to make an appointment with Chuck the Wiz and have him give it the once over. Maybe even be able to wait for it depending on Chuck's schedule. Maybe cost less, maybe not but for sure you would have no doubt it was done right and you were not ripped off.

Tator's Dodge 20 Spring Street South in South Salem, NY 10590

Phone 914-763-3136
Fax 914-763-9507
Email: [email protected]

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

I had a wire go bad on my 2000 GTS, at 35k miles. Not a bad idea to change them now. With everything your doing, your probably good for another 23k at least, except for gas and oil. I tell everybody, one of the greatest things about these Vipers is how well there built. Only issue I ever had with mine were the after market parts.

Enjoy, and if you don’t, I tell you before everyone else does

 

[big-n-italian]

... and dont forget, righty-tighty, lefty-loosey.

i am not trying to be a smart **** here, but do you not realize that all the things you mentioned are very easy to do yourself? all those things do sound VERY HIGH to me, but then again, i do as much work as possible myself, especially the easy things you mentioned.

i dont know about others on this board, but tinkering and cleaning is the best kind of therapy and relaxation for me.

my suggestion to you is this: spend the $1200 this way -buy a very nice tool set for $975, spend $200 on parts, spend $25 on beer, and get your hands dirty!

 

[AMong]

agreed , get with a reputable dealer, some dealers have been known to charge rediculous viper tax on service to try and get there numbers up for the month.

Also, if you cant go to any other dealer for one reason or another, ask the service writer what thier hourly rate is and then to show you the " book hours" for each thing that they are going to do. ( everything service that a dealer does has a standard time that it takes . its all in a book that you have a right to see , take those numbers times thier hourly rate , and you will be sirprised how much they try to screw you.)

 

[bwagman]

I'm well aware of tinkering and getting your hands dirty, but right now I simply do not have the time or the patience (and just in case I F... something up, then I'll be really screwed). I'd rather stick to what I know. I'm sure you as well as everyone else have at one point or another tinkered and then regretted it. At this point I want the professionals to do it. But thanks for the advice.

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

I'm well aware of tinkering and getting your hands dirty, but right now I simply do not have the time or the patience (and just in case I F... something up, then I'll be really screwed). I'd rather stick to what I know. I'm sure you as well as everyone else have at one point or another tinkered and then regretted it. At this point I want the professionals to do it. But thanks for the advice.
___________________________________________________
I agree, been there, done that. I’d rather pay someone who’s done it before, than teach myself.





If your in North Jersey you are close enough to Tator's Dodge to
make an appointment with Chuck the Wiz and have him give it the once over. Maybe even be able to wait for it depending on Chuck's schedule. Maybe cost less, maybe not but for sure you would have no doubt it was done right and you were not ripped off.
Tator's Dodge 20 Spring Street South in South Salem, NY 10590
_________________________________________________


I’d also bypass a dealer you don’t know, and go to one that everybody raves about.

I drive two and a half hour to Larry Mecedo in Orlando. Or 12 hours to Tom Session in NC just to have my car worked on.

 

[Steve-Indy]

If it's any comfort...one dealer I know would charge $1200.00 or MORE for full fluid change ALONE...while another dealer that I know would charge $600.00. The major differences are cost of the shop time (hourly rate), some buy(and therefore charge for) Mobil 1 oil at greatly different rates, and finally, some are what I would call "flush happy"...meaning that EVERY system drained requires that an outside product (B&G or Wynn's, etc) be used as a flush before refill EVERY SERVICE regardless of the mileage of severity of useage. I understand the stated reasons, but I'm not sure that some of our "overly maintained" Vipers (ours in particular...especially since we use the standard synthetic fluids) need quite this level of attention. I maintain our 6 without frequent "exotic flushes" and we seem to be doing well mechanically....just my humble opinion...I'm SURE that others have different (and possibly better founded) insights on this "flush" issue.

 

[bwagman]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the insight, it does help. I have no real starting point to what this type of service would cost. Plus I can see a dealership inflating the cost/labor on a Viper (you know Viper owner = clueless "rich" guy) So I just want an idea of this expense. Normally I would discourage the idea of going to a dealership for work, but since I'm not too familiar with the local shops in the area (the one I used for my Roush Mustang and Corvette changed owners and now the service *****!) and at least usually there's more recourse with Dodge or other corporation(then lets say Joe's mechanic) just in case. Plus it looks good for my aftermarket warranty (that being serviced by Dodge) again, just in case. Thanks for making me aware of the "flush" issue.

You must be registered for see images

 

[plumcrazy]

depending where in NNJ, i got a good mechanic who does my routine stuff if ya need it.

im in the pompton plains/wayne area

 

[plumcrazy]

and im driving up to tators on saturday AM if ya wanna follow...

 

[thebigsnake]

The parts aren't outragiously expensive nor it is a hard car to work on, so if you want to avoid the outragious Viper tax, do it yourself.

 

[hemibeep]

Sorry, $1200 sounds really out of line.

I understand you don't have time and are concerned about warranty. But, these cars are really simple.

follow these others advice as mentioned above.

a couple of quarts of brake fluid, four qts of auto tranny fluid, couple qts of diff. and radiator flush/ antifreeze.

Anyone around Tampa FL want a fluid change and I'll make you a great deal.....

 

[Steve-Indy]

I should say more clearly...that I am not against "flushing" various systems when deemed necessary by the Tech...I only question the "one procedure fits all" situation. In our own house, I change tranny/diff fluids WAY too often by some standards, noting that the fluid looks GREAT with low mileage, street usage ("driven by a little old man and a little old lady"). I should also say, that I do flush these areas with a modest amount of new fluid, re-drain, then fill them to specs.

Hopefully a REAL Viper Tech can chime in with some "flushing" guidelines and educate us all.

By the way, bwagman, I can do all the fluids for only a couple of hundred bucks max per Viper ("the year DOES matter", however). I use Mopar fluids that I get from "Viper friendly" dealers (with a substantial discount..."THANKS, Dealers!!!) and I normally buy the oil from Wal-Mart in the 5qt. jugs...noting that the cost per quart on my last purchase was about $3.85 per quart, though the cost IS rising of late. Whatever the rise, it beats paying $9.00 per quart, which did happen to me(ONCE) at a dealer (who was paying $7.00 per qt. himself !!!!).

When you get the time and inclination, I'm willing to bet that you will do your own changes.

 

[Midwest Muscle]

I've never understood why people pay good money to replace parts that are in good working order - Much less pay someone else a huge fee to do it.

My GTS has 2,400 miles on it. Those plug wires will outlive me

 

[whitebluevipe]

i should have been a mechanic.

 

[Purdue_Boiler_Viper]

All of this can be done by you, if you have a reasonable set of tools, a race jack, and some jack stands. I did all that you are looking at (fluids, plugs, wires, etc.) for about $300, doing the work myself. If you want a dealer to do it, Chuck Tator is a very good choice.

If you go the DIY route, get the owner's manual for the car. BIG help.

 

[bwagman]

Thanks everyone for your input. For the most part I've been a do it yourself guy on all the cars I've owned. But as of late I simply have not the time. And considering I just purchased the car I want the initial tune up done by a certified tech. I'm not at the point where I want to chance something going wrong and paying a heck of a lot more then the intended cost (again, I'm sure you can relate to those days of "crap, I think I screwed something up".)

The good thing is my close friend's brother works at dodge dealer in my area and knows the service crew. They have a certified viper tech who comes highly recommended. In fact from what I've been told he's pretty well known in this area for working on Vipers. I'll keep my fingers crossed as I have an appointment tomorrow.

Again, thanks for the help,
Ben