Vins

I have an '11 GS. I just made an appointment with my local Chevrolet dealer to have the antifreeze flush on the car. The car only has 9000 miles. But the car is also six years old. They quoted me 159 for the service. Does that sound reasonable. Also they quoted me 199 for a brake flush service. Any opinions-comments

NY09C6

You car is certainly due for both. You’d likely save quite a bit if you found a local shop you trust.

Bigredwing

Price is probably competitive. 2 gallons of coolant is about $30, then add distilled water, shop consumables and min $100+ for labor. Brake fluid seems comparable too. I just did the coolant myself and it took me longer than it would have in a shop but I don't really have anything else to do. Brakes are another issue due to ABS flushing and no Tech-II. My biggest concern on the brakes with whoever does the job is spilling of fluid onto the car. When I had a C4 I had a local shop with a good reputation do a complete brake job including fluid. I did not notice at the time but a few months later noticed all the paint below the brake booster was gone. They had spilled fluid and not cleaned it up. No more business for that shop. Now that I have a C6 I will be much more selective and question the tech on his procedures. Good luck!

C6ToGo

Yes....find a reputable non-dealer shop to do your service work and build a relationship with them.

449er

That is reasonable, I had my 2010 w/ 4,000 miles done last year & the dealer charged me $129.00

Vins

Thanks. I have a local guy who maintains the family cars. He changes the oil on the Vette in the spring. I figured most of my Corvette buddies use this particular dealership for their services.

Turbo6TA

Vins ....

You know, changing the coolant in these cars is really a simple process doing it yourself.

I just did mine (2011 GS with 17,000 miles)

HOXXOH

If you trust the local guy to work on your wife's/kid's cars, you should trust him to change fluids on your Vette. Then tell your Vette buddies how well you were treated and how much you saved.

Zero_6

Replace the thermostat too?

Mad*Max

I've done mine twice and it is easier than doing an oil change - not a single tool required!

AORoads

I agree that price is competitive. I also think this is a good time (if you have the time) to start digging around for a good, indie shop that both knows Corvettes and does good work. However, based on BigRed's post, it doesn't hurt to go over their methods so that there are no messes that you notice in the future.

Bigredwing

I just thought of one more thing. Make sure you have (or your shop has) jacking pucks and knows where to jack up your Vette. Don't assume that they know what they are doing or you'll end up with cracked floor pans or worse.

mikeCsix

OP, both are reasonable compared to what can happen if neglected. The dealer will use the correct coolant, designed to run in our aluminum systems and minimize electrolysis. As for the brakes, it's an easy job for the diy inclined, but as mentioned, make sure you thoroughly wash the calipers and wheels, and closely inspect around the master cylinder area in the engine compartment. I can guarantee any shop won't pay the same attention to detail you will. If any doubt about under the hood spills or splashes, you could carefully rinse the area with water that will neutralize any spills or splashes.

Vins

Thanks for all the opinions and recommendations. I've used this particular dealerships service department for the headlight recall a while back. I'll let them to The A/F service. It's good to have some dealership records on service when you go to sell.

Turbo6TA

If you change the coolant yourself, just buy to correct kind. You need "Dex-Cool".

And since the system holds 12 Qt total of fluid, you will need 1 1/2 gallons of Dex-Cool in order to give the car a 50% Dex-Cool to 50% water mix.

Here is the brand of Dex-Cool I used:



I spent a little more time by flushing the system more than once ...

After I initially drained the system, I then filled it back up with water and ran the engine until the water got hot ... Then drain again.

Do this a couple more times until the fluid comes out very clear (no Dex-Cool is left in the system at all).

Then pour in your 1 1/2 gal of Dex-Cool and add water until full.

Start engine a run till hot. The stystem will 'burp' out air and you need to add more water ... keep adding water until the coolant level stabilizes at the full mark on the plastic surge tank.

Your are now done, and have a very clean 50-50 mixture of Dex-Cool and water.

Vins

Is there a petcock on the radiator like older cars?

Turbo6TA

1 Gal. Prestone Dex-Cool at Walmart ($14.47)

For a 50% Dex-Cool to 50% water mix, you will need a total of 1 1/2 gallons of Dex-Cool

Link: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Prestone-...-1gal/16889200

Turbo6TA

Yup ... A plastic petcock on the passenger side of the radiator.

I just raised the Rt / Front of the car (using a hockey puck pad) at the Rt / Front jacking point. All I needed to raise it was about 9" so I could lay down and have access to petcock.

The black plastic petcock is mounted sideways (horizontal) ... not vertical.

It's accessed from in front of the right / front tire. You reach your arm in there, and really don't even have to get your body under the car at all.

.

Mad*Max

I used to have a really good picture showing the location which I got from here but with the Photobucket mess up it is gone (as well as in the thread).

c6miller

Tell your service advisor to ask the mechanic to use fender covers and to "please" be careful not spill brake fluid on anything.