My Gen III needed 30k maintenance. I called Toyota of Manhattan and was told it would cost $99.00. When I delivered my car and signed in, I said, as an afterthought, "I just want to make sure this is only going to cost $99.00." The service rep then told me, "Oh, no this is a big interval. It's $599.95." He then gave me a printed sheet listing the services performed at various intervals. The 30,000 mile interval included servicing parts a prius doesn't even have! When I confronted him with it, he mumbled, "Oh, well, you could just have the 5,000 mile service," which I opted to do. However, he called me 2 hours later to say the engine was dirty and needed to be cleaned and "disinfected" and that the battery area should have a thorough cleaning as well, which would add a total of $300.00 to the bill. I declined and reviewed the recommended warranty schedules from Toyota against the Toyota of Manhattan sheet--nothing was required other than oil and filter change, tire rotation and a general checkup. And most of the other intervals proposed bogus services well outside of the Toyota manuals. I reported this bait-and-switch and misrepresentation to Toyota's Customer Experience Center. They promised that someone from Toyota of Manhattan would call within three business days but seemed indifferent when I reported no contact. I have since posted on Yelp and complained to the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General of the State of New York. Fellow Toyota owners: avoid Toyota of Manhattan!
Dealer service departments will try to get away with whatever they can. An informed consumer is NOT their best customer.
I do not see how this was bait and switch at all, especially if the $599 estimate was on the work order you signed. You cannot rely on information given over the phone unless it matches up with the information on the work order you sign.
Usually a price isn't on a repair order, unless the writer put it on there. It'll pop up on the invoice when the work is done. The price was probably on a card that shows what and all would be done for the amount. Disinfecting the engine is a good one. Do they hang one of those pine trees under the hood when they're done?
This is unfortunately very common --- some dealers really push the "add on" services and then charge way too much for them. My local Nissan dealer is particularly bad.
All of the estimates I sign have a dollar estimate on them, unless it was warranty or a complimentary service. I would never sign a customer-pay work order without a $ amount written on it, that's just asking for trouble.
Dealer "service packages" are scams. You don't need 'em, neither does your Prius. Before you even call for any routine maintenance, you should check the schedule in the Owner's Manual. Unless you have some problem, trouble light, or obvious mechanical difficulty, all you neeed done to maintain your warranty is an oil and filter change and tire rotation. Maybe $60-70, no big deal. Don't ask for a XXK mile service. Tell the service writer exactly what you want; oil and filter change, tire rotation, nothing more. Ask to have the intake and cabin air filters checked. Tell them you want to see the filters so you can decide if they need replacement. It's your car, it's your money. You can do this.
The bait is the over-the-phone figure. I would NOT have discovered the "switch" if I had not asked, after initialing a work order without a price, to confirm the $99.00 price. I would, instead, have been charged $599.95 for a bogus package. That's the switch.
This is why Prius Chat is here! There are several important threads about what you do and do not need for a 30 k service. My 30K service cost only 39.00. I did most of the work, and let them change the oil, with a Synthetic that I provided. Do some reading, not just you, but all you new owners, no matter what variant of Prius you have. Get to know your car. It could save you a bunch O Bucks!!!
I'm not set up to do it myself, so I have to rely on someone else. My dealer used to pull this kind of BS years ago. I learned to go in and tell them exactly what I wanted. If they argued, I pulled out the owner's manual and refused to pay for anything that wasn't in it, including packaged "big intervals" that, as you found, included servicing parts that my 2005 Prius didn't even possess. Several years ago they suddenly stopped doing that, and instead started following the Toyota recommended services, and occasionally even looked for ways to save me money. I'm not sure what caused the change, but it's been a much more pleasant experience. And now with my new 2012 it's free for a couple of years anyway. That being said, I still go in armed with what should really be included. Now it's more to be sure they do all of it.
Exactly. The dealership is in business to make money but you don't have to go along with it. Just have them do specifically what's called for in the owners manual and both you and your car will be happy.
It sure sounds like it to me. One price to get you in the door and another price after you get there? Is there another name for it?
Did you read the OP's post? He didn't sign for that, and he didn't pay for it either. It was a cautionary tale. Tom
