Alright, so you all have probably seen by now that I bash my dealer I got the car from (Elmore Toyota, Westminster CA) any chance I get, I have boycotted them, etc. Not too long ago I needed a new copy of my purchasing sale to prove I owed nothing on the car in relation to a home loan I just got. After a bunch of time and parental lectures from the guy in finance, he apparently got frustrated and hung up on me. With closing around the corner I was furious. I called 1-800-GOTOYOTA, and although this was the wrong number, the connected me to the right department. I explained the current situation as well as all the lies when I bought the car (How Toyota rose the price $3000 so supply and demand would match, and if I wanted one I had no choice, but the $3000 came back to me at tax time with the way Toyota made an agreement with the Fed Govt and CA Govt.) This was complete BS, every aspect and I mentioned that too. I got a call the next day from Lisa Ryan, Customer Relations Manager and direct corporate contact person at Elmore Toyota. She apologized PROFUSELY, told me she WOULD investigate it (it really hit her when I said I WOULD have paid the extra $3000 for the Prius if I had just been told "Want one faster? Gonna cost you more" but the fact they LIED is the only part that pissed me off) and she also mailed me a $100 gift certificate for ANYTHING at their dealership. Parts, service, body work, new car (yeah right, but I COULD) ANYTHING. Here's the thing though. I have tint, chrome, new tires, mats are all fine, package 9 so I don't need a cd changer or auto dimming mirror, I have the cargo net, custom license plate frames, wheel locks, a bottle of touch up paint... None of the accessories I see on www.prius.com are necessary or I already have them. I could go for the mudflaps but that's a Canada and Florida only thing or whatever. Service-wise I just went to Jiffy Lube at 9400 miles and I'm barely over 10000 now. Although I AM due for service, oil change just happened and they can top off once for free anytime before my next oil change is due (Jiffy Lube does) and I can go to the place that did my tires any time and get a free rotation. So I figure all that in mind I'm pretty much good until 15k which will happen not too long after my move to WA. That leaves us with PARTS. Again, most of the accessories I don't need, but I'm thinking I ought to just load up on windshield wiper fluid, oil (if Toyota sells a synthetic 5w-30, I've always used Mobil 1 Synthetic) and just anything and everything I can possibly see needing for the car in the near-ish future. So, this said... What would *YOU* Do? Prices may vary depending on region, but fluids seem like something I can stock up on with $100. Any ideas I haven't thought of? The quicker the responses come the better since I'm moving soon and won't be driving 1200 miles anytime soon to use this. lol
Buy a bunch of replacement air filters (both cabin and regular) Those you can replace, easily, yourself and will save the cost of the service dept charging you for the 'labor'. Maybe a bottle of touch-up paint. Key Chain....It would go a long way toward one of the repair manuals if you want a hard copy of that.
Air filters are a good idea. What are they, about $10 a piece? 15? Have the keychain (thank you eBay...dealer never gave me one...got it for $5 plus $.75 shipping) I have touchup paint. Kinda braindead when it comes to repair stuff so if I ever DID need to see something, the electronic versions on here are just fine
I would get 20 quarts of Mobil 1 from them. When you get the car serviced at the stealer or Jiffy Lube tell them to put it in.
Can't you wait and use your certificate for your next service even if it ios a few months away or does it expire fast??
no expiration date but I move in one week and it's for THIS dealership, not just Toyota in general Rick- crush washers?
it goes between the engine and the oil filter, it is a type of gasket or if I'm mistaken, then it goes between the engine and the drain plug
engine and drain plug...useful only if you change your own oil, and $100 worth of those would be a LOT of oil changes!!
Coolant for the first flush and refill of the radiator? OK so everyone had the good stuff. :roll: :mrgreen:
Yeah, I agree with Evan. And it's not just because he's a doctor. Or does MD stand for Manic Depressant? Either way, it's easy to think about what you want or need right now - as you listed in your post. But think of the future and stock up on things that will cost you later. You definitely should use that $100 and take from the dealer what you can. HOWEVER, if you decide to not take that route, I'd me more than happy to sell you some points. Say, a buck a piece?
Actually the stuff I listed was stuff I already had, and was having a hard time thinking of anything else I COULD possibly need. I even thought about the route of selling it for $90-95 and taking a bit of a loss to get cash for it, but being that it's a gift certificate, it has my name on it and I'm sure there's a fair chance that they'd want to see ID So far between here and PriusOnline I've seen: 20 qts of Synthetic Oil, air filters, replacement bulbs (good idea but I want something I can get and if there's any additional money owed it needs to be very VERY little. We just spent over $25000 for closing and necessary costs on the condo), crush washers (I usually don't change my own oil for fear of screwing something up and/or just getting really dirty) What fluids and carieties do I need for my Prius from Toyota? I know that oil is going to be a 5w-30 Synthetic, but is there a special variety of transmission fluid, brake fluid, etc? Or have you guys seen any little doo-dads I can stock up on that the parts shops carry? Maybe something new that JUST came out for the Prius?
There is no transmission fluid to replace and unless you are in a wreck, you won't be replacing the headlights. They last over 3000 hours.
Oil filters are light. If you will have extra space in the moving van/trailer/etc they would be the easiest thing to transport. And presumably they don't go bad. Fluids would be much heavier and harder to take with you. I doubt the dealership would sell Mobile 1, and if you've decided that's what you want to use, you probably don't want to switch oil just to take advantage of the coupon. If you know someone who needs something from that dealership now, you could use the coupon yourself and sell the item to them. Take a $25 loss and be done with it.
I wouldn't stock up on fluids. Both heavy AND bulky and why would you want to drive them up to WA? You can get the same thing for less $$ outside a dealer. I'm with Evan, buy the OEM oil and air filters, maybe a spare set or 3 of wiper blades. Toyota (and probably all other mfgs) claim their OEM parts a better than aftermarket so make use of the free money to get them now. These things don't weigh much so you can toss them anywhere in the truck where you have room.
OK here is my take on wiper blades. I have gotten new ones everywhere but now I buy they at the dealer because a) they work B) they don't make noise. The latter is the most improtant.