New L/P operator with questions about minimizing costs

Getting dealers to do the work also provides you with a better paper trail for proving you have been properly maintaining a truck, if it has a warranty. Trust me, if a company like TruNorth has a chance to screw you over because you can't produce a receipt for an oil change, leading to a oil change gap that is too long, they will happily leave you hanging.

 

Truck stops uses Baldwin or fleet guard. Freightliner dealers use the same thing. But Volvo dealers use Volvo filters (dont no who makes them)
Dealers also used to charge about $100 more than truck stops. But truck stops have increased price to catch up with dealer price. I prefer dealer but not because it's cheaper. As far as maintaining a record, that's another reason I prefer the dealer. The e-mail me a copy of work done and invoice. I just forward it to the maintaince file. Cone tax time I just open file and the numbers are all right there.

 

The dealer I get my work done charges me $360 to do a pm and look over the truck. The TA across the street charges $475 and I have paid as high as $625 for a pm service. That is what I'm talking about.

 

WOW!!! To me that is simply unheard of. What at kind of truck and engine do you have, that they dare even try to charge $475-625 for a simple PM?
I quess the dealer is cheaper, T/a, loves, speedco charge me right around $300 and the dealer is about $350

 

Knowing what engine is being serviced is pretty important before you start comparing prices too vigorously. Every shop I have ever been to has a list of different PM prices for different engines.

 

2016 Pete 579 paccar mx13

 

I get my oil changed every 12k miles at speedco. It's never been near $300.

 

Well like farmer Bob said, knowing what engine being serviced is pretty important.
What does it cost you? When you say no where near $300, I assume you mean it's less? That makes me think it's an older model truck.
My freightliner century used to cost appx $200. But my current truck has 3 oil filters, a fuel filters, a fuel water separator filter, a water filter, air filter, and the air dryer has a filter.
Crazy trucker said it cost him $475