[rodconstel]

At your relatively low mileage, I would have thought they could have resurfaced the rotors instead of having to replace them. If it they couldn't, it doesn't seem like you got much life out of those rotors unless your driving conditions require frequent braking, ie stop and go driving.

 

[rodconstel]

After reviewing my service record of my Forester from my private mechanic, I see I had both front and rear brakes replaced with OEM pads at 40,000 miles and the rotors were all refinished, too. That was back in 2018 and the cost was $325.00. So, looking at that and the current cost at a dealership today with new rotors, $580.00 doesn't seem out of line.

 

[rodconstel]

"$580 was just the labor. The parts were another ... almost $800 in parts..."
Yikes! I thought the $580.00 was for the whole brake job!

 

[rodconstel]

"

I'd question about the 15-buck oil additive and the 10-buck "supercharge II" item..."

Any idea of what those might be? I thought dealers and auto makers generally disapproved of oil additives.

 

[rodconstel]

Looking at the BG website, it looks like the oil additive is a "viscosity improver." I'm not sure I'd want a thicker oil running in an engine in a cold climate and Subaru specifies 0-20 oil in the owner's manual without any mention of the need for viscosity improver. My impression of the product description is that it's similar to an oil stop leak formula since it states that it conditions seals. One can check the recent video on youtube from project farm on oil stop leak additives that describes how well those work...

 

[rodconstel]

I guess I'm fortunate enough to have a dedicated mechanic in the area who can still do it. I think there's a couple of shops in my region who will do it. In talking with my mechanic, he notes he attends periodic classes to keep up to date with the changes that occur in new vehicles but the complexities of doing so are becoming increasingly difficult. He laments the fact that the technology is making more difficult to diagnose and correct a problem. For example, he stated that some of the newer water pumps on some vehicles are electronically controlled internally and if they malfunction, it becomes a problem of determining whether pump is bad or the electrical system or the computer controlling it. And the equipment necessary to diagnose is quite expensive, too.
I occasionally follow some of the videos on youtube presented by a toyota master mechanic and he has reservations about the engineering and technology in new cars making it increasingly difficult to fix some issues. I recall him talking about having to drop the entire engine and transmission in order to get to serviceable part in a particular vehicle.

 

[rodconstel]

It seems to me that some of you might want to find a private mechanic and inquire about maintenance items such as those noted in this thread. In my case, when the 60,000 mile service interval occurred, I bought OEM plugs and other items on line and had my mechanic install them at a fraction of the cost that's being reported here.

 

[rodconstel]

In addition to the 60,000 mile service noted in post #76, my private mechanic recommended a differential oil change at 30,000 and at 60,000 miles. I bought the oem oil online and he put it in and it wasn't a big deal or a big expense. As far as the CVT fluid change, my mechanic was equivocal on it so I called several dealers and they were all over the map on their answers. One said 30,000 while another said 60,000 with a third stating 90,000. Subaru had issued an extended warranty for the cvt for owners of the 2014 Forester for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Subaru of America told me the same thing they told "Mr Subaru" on youtube: if you change the fluid during the warranty period it voids the warranty. I've got 75,000 trouble-free miles on the Forester now and I'm not messing with the cvt.