The following was posted in yahoo's Prius 2-G group. Has anyone had experience with the Service Plan? My "Pri" was delivered yesterday and I have been weighing the options of the Premium Service Plan (sold here for only $670!). My local dealer said the oil change and tire rotation is $40 and the 15k mi is $205 (sorry I didn't check the 30k mi price). Thus I figured that the Service Plan would be worth the price, but if I will still need to pay out of pocket for the difference, I do not know . . . Thanks, Stacy '05 White #4 (AM) South Carolina > NOTE: I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND PURCHASING THE TOYOTA PREMIUM SERVICE > PLAN. Toyota states to their service dept that the rebates for > services are $30.00 per oil change (x6) + $55.00 per 15K (15 & 45) > and $130.00 for the 30K. This works out to be worth about $420 + > whatever "Roadside assistance" is worth for a new car over the > course of 45K miles (in my case that would be a year and a half). I > expressed my surprise that the plan only covered what Toyota > considered "basic maintenance" and did not cover any of > the "recommended maintenance" the dealer wanted to add. I asked, > and received most of my money back ($845.62 out of $995.00). But, I > digress. > > > Regards, > Mike > '04 SuperWhite #9 (BC) > SoCal (San Diego)
I would wonder what they would consider doing extra at the 15K mark. Manual doesn't have anything extra, just more thorough inspection. 30K requires cabin and engine air cleaners changed above your $40 oil/rotation. I doubt maintenance plan is worth it.
I think it depends on where you live, what your local service department charges for service, and what price you purchased the pre-paid service plan for. There are two Priuschat threads that discuss this in some detail: $1,385 for 7,100 Platinum and 4 yrs/55,000 maintenence I purchased my pre-paid maintenance plan through PriusChat. For me, it makes sense -- I believe in taking my cars in for regular servicing, and local service rates are reasonably high.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DanMan32\";p=\"63830)</div> Oops, sorry Dan -- forgot to mention that. As you said, the 15K checkups basically only have inspections added (the 5K only inspect brake pads/linings.) Drive shaft, engine coolant, etc. Tag (bless 'im) uploaded the 2004 Prius Maintenance Guide (PDF version) -- the blue maintenance guide that comes with the car, and has the various checkups and what goes into them. I got all my info from there.
I wouldn't pay even $100 for the extra 'inspections' at 15K. Many non-express lube places would do those inspections as part of an oil change/tire rotation.
I just got my 15K service, and they didn't charge me anything above the usual oil change/tire rotation amount. However, I didn't specifically ask if they performed all the extra inspections. In my experience, car dealers routinely do all they can to find even the most minor things wrong with the car, in case you want to pay them to fix it. Because of that I'm not very worried about them possibly missing something; hopefully that's not a mistake.
I kept my Honda Civic alive for 17 years and in pretty good shape. At the same time, I took the car in for all the Honda-suggested maintenance appointments. Don't know how much that had to with the good condition of the car; but probably something. I am not a very car-saavy person, and I had (I think) a good service department working on the car. I may be naive, but I plan to do the exact same thing with my Prius. Given that, the pre-paid maintenance plan makes sense for me. To each their own.
