I finally got my Prius last Friday...I absolutely love it...but you know how one thing can make you think you were completely cheated? Well, it appears that I paid $199 for a 3-year roadside assistance plan by the dealership which frankly they never discussed with me. In my hurry to take ownership I overlooked this on the paperwork. This would be okay, except that on the website the Prius is supposed to come with complimentary 3-year roadside assistance. Now I feel cheated by the whole deal. I am about to call the dealership to point all this out, but before I do, am I missing something or misinformed? Kevin H. Atlanta Dealership: Atlanta Toyota
A question: If you've got an AAA membership, and you need roadside assistance for your Prius, is there any strong reason to use the Toyota roadside assistance instead of your AAA? I'm thinking of situations similar to needing to have the car towed to the Toyota dealership service dept. For anyone who's had to call Toyota roadside assistance for your Prius: have the people they've sent out been Prius-knowledgable?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that whoever you call, you're going to end up getting the same tow truck I would be willing to bet that the Toyota program is subcontracted through AAA. Dianne could probably offer more information on that.
The dealership has no legal obligation to give the money back. A refund is very difficult for them to do, so insist on getting a service voucher instead. They are more likly to give it to you. Tell them if they dont....you will fail their CSI. All you have to do is mark one bad on each part of the survey and Toyota will fail it. A failed CSI will really scare them. Dealerships have bribed us before to get a perfect CSI.
The 2004 Prius comes with a one year free roadside assistance plan so you should not have paid anything. Hope I never have to use it.
Bookrats asked about AAA vs Toyota. AAA will only tow something like 3 miles for free (more if you upgraded your membership) while the Toyota service will tow you to the nearest Toyota dealer. I'd call Toyota. Fred
Yup, you definately want your Prius towed to a dealer in the (hopefully rare) event something goes wrong that could cripple the car. Don't want someone that's not qualified mucking around with the guts of the car. It would be like a doctor from the 1800s trying to do modern brain surgery Dave
We had to use Toyota Roadside assistance for a flat tire on our '02. I am willing to bet that it was probably the same tow truck that AAA would have sent--he wasn't special. He didn't know how to check the mileage for his report. All he did was put the temporary tire on and comment on the tire's ugly color. They were very nice on the phone and came right away.
I believe the difference is that Toyota's Roadside Assistance is for mechanical breakdown and it will not cover towing for accidents, that is what AAA (or your auto insurance coverage) will cover.
