How many service appts neccesary?

[elantrashopper]

I'm looking at an Elantra, and was shocked with the frequency and price of all the maintenance visits. Are all of these manditory to keep your warrenty? I decided to get my first new car because I was tired of having to go to the shop for repairs and figured I was paying the same as car payments. But going in so often when nothing is wrong, I did the math and it's about what I was paying to keep my old junker running, not including the car payments. It just seems exsessive.

Question is what can I get away with? I understand changing the oil every 3,000 miles, but does an AC filter need changed every 7,500 miles? Can I say no, and will this bite me in the but if anything fails and I need service?

[rckozma]

Welcome to the site, there is all kinds of info here for your to absorb.

You can get away with only doing the major milestones at the dealership like the 10,000 mile service. Just make sure you keep your receipts of your oil changes. I usually write the date and mileage of when I did the oil change on the receipt, then I keep that in a manilla envelope in the house.

[elantrashopper]

What are the milestones? They seem many. 7,500, 15,000, 22,500, 30,000, etc...You add in the oil changes every 3,000 miles, then that is exactly what is the recommended.

[jh0n]

I can echo what rckozma has said, I buy the filter of my dealer and change my oil, the money I save doing this goes a long way to paying for the major services where coolant and brake fluid and what have you gets changed that, while I have the abilty to change, I certainly don`t have the inclination.

[Gregster]

The A/C filter doesnt need to be changed at 7.5k. Most filters are changed depending on many different factors. Some sooner and others later, largely depends on the area, if there is a lot of dust or airborne particles.

[mtlelantra]

If you look at any car, they all have a regular maintenance schedule. Hyundai is no different than any other manufacturer.
If you want to make sure your warranty stays intact, there's a minimum service stipulated by the manufacturer that you have to do. It might sound unfair and maybe justifiably so, but if that's what it says, then you sorta have to do it.
Don't forget you don't have to have the dealer do anything. You can have another garage do it or you can do it yourself, so long as you 1) document everything (i.e. oil/filter receipts), 2) do what's required for each service interval and 3) if so required, prove that you have some competancy in doing such service. Meaning, for example, someone having no formal training changes the timing belt at the stipulated mileage, and then something in the engine dies which can theoretically be linked to the timing belt, and for which it would be under warranty. A car manufacturer can easily deny any warranty claim, and it would be up to you to prove to the courts that your workmanship didn't cause the problem.
In other words, to answer your question, you can't get away with much. You have to do the required minimum as stipulated by the manufacturer.

[Peter912]

There are also other things to consider. I used to have an old clunker also, when I took the car in for repairs after it was repaired and I paid hundreds of dollars I was always informed of a number of other problems the car had.So no matter how much money I spent on it the car was NEVER "fixed". Also how do you think it felt to pay out those huge repair bills and get in an old car that was rusty and falling apart ?
Now with my new Elantra at least it looks good and I know that everything works properly. In the 7 months that I have owned the car I have only done 2 oil changes and I plan on getting the 1 year service maintenace which will cost $169. There may not be much savings after paying car payments on a new car instead of repair bills on an old one but look at the difference, driving a NEW car or an OLD car that the mechanics kept saying shouldn't be on the road anymore ( in my case ).