Prepaid maintenance confusion!

I just leased my Prius as well and bought the service agreement and here is why. I verified that the dealer used 0W20 oil in which they do, and there is no upcharge in this contract and it's a Toyota contract. I based my decision on the following. I followed all the manufacturer's recomendations for my 2007 Honda Civic and spent close to 800 dollars in the 2 + year period. I plan to leave the Prius for 48 Months and hopefully keep it until then. Given that I want to keep it serviced as well, I paid 1030 upfront for 48 months/60,000 Miles.

I think it has value and more value than a Extended Warranty.

It also included if you look (if youe's is the Toyota version), Wipers and Brakes and Rotors. Plus all the major maintenance and Oil and Filter changes and Tire Rotations etc.

I think I made a good decision, but each person has to weigh that out. I think I am glad I took it. I know I should not have any surprises this way either via Warranty or Service costs...

Good Luck....in your decision as well.

 

Follow the scheduled maintenance that Toyota recommends, nothing else. The dealership may or may not be honestly trying to help, I can't say as I don't have a Prius yet, but you do and should have a maintenance schedule with your other manuals. Follow what that says and you will not void your warranty. Best thing to do is call the service department and ask "Hey, how much does 'service X' cost?" and compare the prices you get to the total for the prepaid cost.

If the Prius is anything like typical Toyotas, and my wife's Honda Accord, it's not going to need anything other than fluid top-offs and oil/filter changes for a long, long time. I am wary of the need for prepaid maintenance. Sounds like a money maker for the dealership to me.

 

I paid $300 for seven oil changes with filter and 50% off tire rotations, among other assorted discount coupons for services, tires and accessories. These were from my original dealer when signing the paperwork (and yes I bought the extended warranty also).

I thought it was a pretty good deal.

Until...

My dealer, Bredemann Toyota in Park Ridge just sent me coupons in the mail. Included was an oil and filter change (up to 5 qts Premium SYNTHETIC Blend Oil, genuine Toyota oil filter and check all fluid levels) for $27.95 plus tax. That, is an even better deal!

I feel a little violated right about now...and ripped off too!

 

Considering it's a leased car should you even be worried about what kind of oil they are going to put in it? If you have the oil changed by a Toyota dealer (who is suppose to know what they are doing) can you be held responsible if they use the wrong oil? If you didn't ask would you even know what kind of oil they put in it?

If they even come close to using the right weight of oil (synthetic or not) the engine will be just fine for the amount of time you have the car and probably a lot longer.

Frankly it's a complete waste to throw away good synthetic oil after only 5K miles anyway. Let them put in whatever they want to put in as long as it's a dealer and as long as they don't ask or tell you.

 

If I read this correctly you will receive a "synthetic blend". That is not pure synthetic product, as the name implies. Different companies blend different percentages of petroleum product vs. synthetic. Just an observation that you may need to investigate further.

 

Great pick up and I thank you for clarifying the difference.

At least I don't feel so bad now prepaying for the maintenance package.

As you can tell, I can barely put washer fluid in my car...and I had no idea there was any difference between synthetic oil and a synthetic blend.

Thanks for explaining that to me. :rockon:

Bredemann Toyotal DID tell me that a typical oil change with filter (using synthetic oil...which they knew about) would be about $75....which prompted me to purchase the maintenance package.

 

I think it has value and more value than a Extended Warranty

There is a lot of difference between the two. The Extended Warranty offers you the advantage of avoiding potentially large repairs. Now that it goes to 125K miles it extends into an area most feel is when typically a car might have problems. However it still is simply insurance, of which you may never collect.

The maintenance Plan however is nothing more than prepaid maintenance. It's a purely economic comparison. Yo do not have to have your car maintained at the Toyota garage. Just keep receipts to keep your warranty valid. However I use my Toyota garage as they offer additional warranties for this service (last car had tires for life, this one has engines for life) and they are not inconvenient so far. They also wash my car and have a nice waiting area.

But the decision for this should just be comparing the cost of the single services vrs the prepaid plan. Most of what I've seen on PC is that it is a "wash" and that you are simply prepaying, which seems to me to not be a good idea. Why give them your money upfront if they don't save you anything? Plus if you sell the car, do you go to the trouble of getting a refund or get any value from the next purchaser? I guess if you live in an area of high costs it may make sence since the plans are pretty much priced at a national level and some areas are higher than others (mine is not).

Dealers charge more for a 5000 mile "service" than just an oil service. Dealers put a lot of extras (like tire rotations) in their plans that are not needed to maintain the vehicle warranty. Personally I like the rotations and don't mind paying for this service. It is a personal decision though.

Point is the EW is a different decision than the Maintenance plan. That one should be an easy decision for you to make after you gater costs for the individual services.

 

Be careful of the dealers oil description. Gen III engines require 0w20 wt oil. See the oil filler cap. I know of no oil company that markets 0w20 that is not full synthetic.
Synthetic blend oils are not available in 0w20 wt. The synthetic blend oils cost about $3.00/QT.
Full synthetic oils cost about $7.00/QT. That seems to be the only way to get a 0w20 wt oil!
Use anything other than 0w20 on a regular basis and you may lose warrentee coverage.
Tom

 

My dealer gives you VIP service if you pre-paid. This means head of the line service without making a reservation. At this busy dealer it does take some hassle out of scheduling and waiting.

3PriusMike

 

Looks like everything concerning oil changes may have changed now (if this is true):

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...7-prius-2010-oil-change-interval-revised.html

Oil changes every 10K miles using 0W20 synthetic. Very good news!

Might need to renegotiate the maintenance agreement?

 

I just bought a new 2010 prius 2 weeks ago, and paid $1795 for my 55,000/4 yr prepaid maintenance package. But later found out from a friend who also has a 2010 that he only paid $850 for his. Is there a way I can cancel my prepaid maintance package and repurchase it at a lower cost?

 

Wow, that doesn't even include the 60,000 mile service which is one of the big ones. Why is there a time limit on this if you're prepaying for the service???

 

For comparison purposes, In my TCH the "major" services cost:
15K $123
30K $231
45K $194
60K $230
and they included tire rotations and alignments
The 5K services were $67 and included tire rotations

My Highlander Hybrid just had the 15K mile service for $110 (no alignment)

Some of these items are not required to maintain your warranty, but I participated in the tires for life by doing these services (got two sets of tires at no additional cost)