Greetings - I've noticed some posters are in the Sacramento area and would like some advice regarding dealers for service. As a rule, I've usually avoided them, but with this car it seems there is little choice insofar as service beyond very basic maintenance. Thanks
I have poor experiences with one Sac area service dept. - they lied about fixing an alignment issue because they thought that I wouldn't know (I had it rechecked at another alignment shop to confirm my suspicions) I haven't tried any of the other dealers, but I won't take my car back to the one that starts with "M" for service anymore. I can accept them not knowing how to fix something, but I can't accept them lying to my face about it.
I haven't dealt with any of the Sacramento dealers, but I'd recommend driving a few extra miles and going to Auburn Toyota. I live in Reno and bought my 2007 Prius from them. I dealt with John T (not sure if he's still there, you know how salesmen are), got a really good deal on my new Prius and got an amazing trade-in on my 2002 Prius. Their extended warranty was a little overpriced but low enough to justify rolling it into my loan. They even drove it across the state line so I could take delivery of it in Nevada and avoid paying California taxes. (Obviously I had to pay Nevada tax when I registered it, so they're not cheating the system or anything. Apparently they get so much business from Nevada people that it's standard practice for them.) Edit: Oops, just noticed you were looking for service recommendations. I never got service from Auburn, but overall the sales process was very nice.
Thanks for the feedback folks. I did pick up my car from an Auburn dealership that started with an M. They worked with me and got a good deal, and it was a pleasant experience. However, this may not necessarily transition to the service department. This is my first experience in purchasing from a dealer, despite this being about my 22nd vehicle. As mentioned, I've avoided taking vehicles to the dealer for service. But there's too many unique aspects about the workings of the Prius that it seems better to have it repaired and serviced by trained mechanics, especially while under warranty, and there have been enough horror stories posted here that tend to support this. Oil, filters, and the like, I'll take care of myself.
If you look at the Scheduled Maintenance booklet that comes with the car, there really isn't anything except for oil changes, filter changes and tire rotations out until 100k when you are supposed to replace the coolant, and then 120k when you are supposed to change the spark plugs. Everything else is an inspection. I recommend drain and refill of the transaxle fluid at no more than 60k - if you can change your own oil, you can do the transaxle fluid. There are a couple of threads on this.
I'll add that someone here on PC once told me that Roseville Toyota had a good repair facility, but I don't have any direct experience with them. I will probably try them if I need warranty work done.
This thread is over a year old, but I thought I'd ask where you ended up taking your Prius for service in Sacto? Bought my 2010 Prius used with 32,000 miles on it, and now at 35,925 miles I'm looking for basic oil change service. I can't do the work myself, so I wonder if you found an indy garage with a good Prius reputation? cheers, Chris
I took my Prius to Roseville Toyota for the Inverter Pump recall. No problems and they have Saturday and Sunday service hours which is convenient. I did see an advertisement for a independent hybrid service shop in Sac, but I don't remember the name and I haven't had any service done other than the recall work.. I do my own oil and filter changes.
