I was told that what took so much time was the lubricating of the caliper slide rails/pins. And with that said, was that a necessary thing to be done? Again, I don't know jack about cars, so for all I know, there's no such thing as caliper slide rails :D

And humvee, if you suggest not doing the additional maintenance items, what would happen (in the above mentioned case) if my brakes were to seize up... I'd assume warranty wouldn't cover it?!?!?

It varies from dealership to dealership... they probably won't cover it tho if they have a record of you NOT doing regualr maintenance. The only reason I have been doing maintenance with them for the last year and a bit is because I had it thrown in for free when I bought the car. Doesn't last forever tho.. so in a few months I'll be in yer spot.l

I guess it's because I've never been bitten by anything that could have been a maint. vs. warranty issue that I believe in not doing any other maint. other than fluids.

How often to brakes sieze up? Dunno...I don't know much about cars either.

I'd think any shop that offers an inspection of your car during an oil change, regardless of how brief it is...would say..hey, the brake slide things are dry/rusted...we should probably lube them...etc.

I know at the honda shop I got a "report card" of sorts after every oil change that showed anything out of place. (like I said, this is only useful if you trust your shop) I wish my Mazda dealer did this...but I don't trust them a whole lot at this point either.

Hmm ... timely post. My 24k maintenance is coming up in Aug & I was just about to make an appointment.

Judging from this thread, I guess I will check the price first & perhaps just go with a regular oil change.

My dealer (North Hill) is usually quite good with pricing. I went in with a flat tire & they charged me by time as opposed to book rate. (I thought the puncture was on the sidewall & I needed to change the whole tire. Turned out it was a simple fix. Thank god since they are supposed to charge 1/2 hour, i.e. $41, min. & my bill was about $15.)

i got ripped off like you for the 24k maintenance but for th 48k, i went to a shop that i trust with my owners manual and ask them to do what's specified. after 1 hour with oil change, the total was $105can.

I asked them to write on the bill "mazda 48000km inspection" just to have a proof in case of problems with mazda warranty.