I'm Service Challenged

your dealer is supposed to know why you are there and so is your service writer. You might decide to get another servicing dealer if thats an option for you.

bad service is all over and should not be tolerated.

 

i was a service writer for a while, they work on commision, enough said

 

I think I'm still getting mail from the dealer telling me it's time for service on the Camry that I traded in over a year ago.

For the Prius they send me letters telling me it's time for service, but the letters are based on their approximation of when work needs to be done. They don't know how many miles I drive the car so they don't know if I'm going to bring it in every 6 months or if it will be more often than that.

Bottom line is that you should read their mail to see if they're sending you any coupons that you can use, otherwise keep track of things yourself to figure out when it's time to have work done. And you do have to tell them what work you want done when you make the appointment and repeat it when you bring the car in.

Also you should read over the invoice when you pay them and ask about anything that you don't understand or that looks wrong. That way you won't pay for service that's supposed to be free.

 

[Ah, I see you've already figured this out, but to recap...]

Remember: "dealer" does not equal "Toyota". The card was sent by the dealer to get you to spend more money. The card was sent without regard to the Scheduled Maintenance Guide, which was written by Toyota.

The stuff written in the Scheduled Maintenance Guide, no more and no less, is what the car needs. When you get to X miles/Y months, take the Guide to the service writer, show them the X miles/Y months page, and tell them to perform exactly those items, no more and no less.

Example: a few weeks ago I paid $61 for the 30,000 miles Scheduled Maintenance Guide service items at a dealer. In contrast that same dealer charges $199 for *their* "30K service package". See the difference?

 

wow. Thanks Richard. Im coming up soon for a 5K and will be sure to read the owner manual for 5K service items and only have that done!

wow.

 

Interesting -- In the 80's I had a Renault LeCar (no laughing) purchased new for about 4K, that lasted me 10 years & 90,000 mi.

First time I brought it to the combination Caddilac-Renault dealer (!), I asked for the standard 5,000 mi. servicing, they looked at me as if I'd just come in from ... France ...

I had to spell out just what was needed, as described in the manual. I suppose I saved money that way -- and now we know why they couldn't make a go of it in the US!