This cost just seems absurd from my perspective. It's a toyota filter and they are not filling the engine with Cristal.

Let me get this right, they are dropping the tray, draining part of (thanks psionix) the oil, and replacing the filter. That's it right?

BTW, wasn't there a great DIY guide somewhere around here by one of the members?

What is everyone else paying (see the poll)? NOTE: I am not speaking of the first service. Just your basic oil change. This cost just seems absurd from my perspective. It's a toyota filter and they are not filling the engine with Cristal.

Let me get this right, they are dropping the tray, draining PART OF the oil, and replacing the filter. That's it right?

BTW, wasn't there a great DIY guide somewhere around here by one of the members?

What is everyone else paying (see the poll)? i fixed what you said in my quote above. now it looks correct as to what they do. $200! My "first service" was $300. I asked what it included, and they told me "an oil change" I said, that's kind of an expensive oil change, don't cha think? And they said "well they also look around for loose bolts and if anything else went wrong" Great. So they will also look and see if any parts fell off. haha. I didn't get the results of any data dump like I've seen on here. They told me I had to do it for the warranty though, but if I wanted to do my own in the future, I could and would have to document it. None of the problems I came in with were fixed. bubbled up dash- it's like on nationial international, world wide backorder. carpet falling off, yeah it just does that.Missing hardtop bolt and bracket- they'd order it. Leaking trunk? they'd order a seal. Non working AC- they told me it works fine. Hey thanks for that bit of input. headlights appear to be adjust low? Nah, there fine, we checked it, you are only supposed to see 15 front in front you with a sharp line of light getting cut off on the road I guess. yeah, for that level of service I'll do my own in the future. I did get a really sweet Mecury Sable loaner car though. Smelled like @ss and the button fell off to adjust the mirrors as soon as I touched it. Oh, and 2 months later, none of those parts they have "ordered" have came in yet. Mine was under $100, not sure if less than $75 so I voted $75-$100, but the more I think about it I think it was under $75.

I like my service dept. $200! My "first service" was $300. I asked what it included, and they told me "an oil change" I said, that's kind of an expensive oil change, don't cha think?
The first service is a lot more than an oil change. You are paying Lotus Tech rates for them to adjust and inspect a number of points. Is that worth $300? That is open for debate, but watching Don at Newport do his inspections showed me that this is a far cry from taking the Elise to Jiffy Lube. I think DON is one of THE exceptions however. I am not so sure that there are many techs out there like him. Plus from what it sounds like they don't do a whole lot at the dealership he took it to. The service Mgr even said (i think the service mgr) "An oil change"


Ryan 2nd service was $121 for me at Rothrock, don't know what they charge now. I do it myself for under $50 moslt because it's much less time consuming than taking it to the dealer, waiting, and then driving home. <1 hour vs 4 hours. And cheaper and more rewarding. Surfer.. Do you know if there is a DIY guide out there for this? My search terms are not working for me. JAXJohnny did a good one with pictures. Try that. It was a month or two ago... Surfer.. Do you know if there is a DIY guide out there for this? My search terms are not working for me.
Yep, Check out the Library link and look under maint. and lubrication. Stan listed oil filter options. There are also pictures for a step by step oil change. I did it a few weeks ago, worked great.

-AJ- Here,



I saved it in my Elise DIY folder.
AND I DON'T HAVE AN ELISE YET!!!!!

Yep, I have problems! We (or mainly Michael @ Sandsmuseum) are working to populate the FAQ Library of resources.
There is section on lubrication and maintenance with instructions-
I'm kind of glad the dealers are charging so much. It just makes changing it myself that much more gratifying. Thanks everyone! I come in via a new posts link and I forgot that we had a 'Library'

Fantastic! I just ordered my quick release pins from Shinoo, and I called the dealer. $23 for the JDM filter. Anyone have any other sources for these filters? Shinoo, something that you should carry? =)

UPDATE: See this thread to get the JDM filter for 7.99 each.

My oil change at Autostrada was just over $100. If I actually lived near Austin I wouldn't mind paying that since Patrick takes such good care of the car, and Crockett always gets the car cleaner than I ever can. As it is, in the future I will be changing my own oil for fewer than $50. Since I change my own oil for all my vehicles, I'm happy with that. My last oil change was $100 at HRM,well worth it in my opinion. I have mine changed at the Toyota dealer down the street, its $29. I have mine changed at the Toyota dealer down the street, its $29.
Wow. That's less than I can buy the oil for alone. I bet they're not using synthetic oil at that price