Oil change and tire rotation.

59,625 miles.

Took the Escape in this morning for my first service appointment, and my first experience with the local Ford dealer. All in all it was a fine experience, and I will probably return to them every 10K miles for the same oil & filter change and tire rotation.

Of course they tried to sell me on their 60K mile service package which includes changing all the fluids: oil, transmission, power steering, engine and motor coolant, and all air filters replaced as well. It was $600, when I was expecting a $50 oil change. So that didn't go over well. I checked the owner's manual and the coolant isn't scheduled to be replaced until 100K miles. There was no mention of when to change the transmission fluid, but the section about the transmission said it was "filled for life".

The other thing that annoyed me a little was he told me that they'd washed the vehicle, and set the tire pressure to 35 PSI. I could see clearly when I walked out to the parking lot that the car was not washed, and when I got home I checked the tire pressure and it was still around 40 PSI where I had it. So neither of those were actually done. In the case of the tire pressure it was actually ok, because I didn't want them to mess with it anyway. Then I checked the spare tire pressure and it was very low, around 20 PSI. I had already charged up my air compressor so I put that up to 45 PSI.

My tires are going to need to be replaced soon; they are the "eco" Continentals. The dealership quoted $630 to replace all four, but after a $150 rebate it would be closer to $500. Probably not a bad price, but I prefer Discount Tire or America's Tire (same company). Also I should be able to get another 10K on these tires, so I'll plan to replace them this fall.

He quoted me $75 to change the rear air filter for the battery cooling/AC system. I bought the filter on Amazon for $16, and it takes less than one minute to change it with no hand tools needed. But they changed the oil and rotated the tires like they were supposed to so I guess I'll go back for that.

Total out the door charge was $46.81.

Here's the link for the FP-51 rear cabin air filter: http://www.amazon.com/Motorcraft-FP51-Cabin-Air-Filter/dp/B000C5FL16/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304529674&sr=8-1