Just had 30,000 mile service: cost me almost $400 bucks!!

What work did they do?

I don't have my maintenance schedule in front of me, but I'm confident the 30K maintenance that Toyota recommends should cost less. If you asked generically for the "30K maintenance," it's quite possible you got the dealer package that includes things Toyota doesn't recommend. Then, some of the things they probably charged you for (perhaps exorbitantly) are easy DIY jobs. Engine and cabin air filters, in particular, can be done in about two minutes each with no tools.

Reports of dealers charging for maintenance packages that include unnecessary work, or sometimes that can't even be performed on the Prius, are commonplace around here. Next time, I suggest taking your maintenance schedule with you, point out what the maintenance interval calls for, and tell them to do that and no more.

 

yeah i would say the going rate in california for 2 air filters and a rotation and an oil change is probably at least $300

 

Yes, it's a shame some of the dealers try and rip us off with un-asked for work. I just paid 37 bucks for a cabin filter change and all they was supposed to do was change the oil. They said it was very dirty and even showed it to me but I will do it myself from now on. They give free cokes in the waiting room and have large comfy chairs and big screen TV, but so do I.... in my living room AFTER I spent 10 minutes saving myself 37 bucks by changing my own cabin filter..... Ticked off at Arkansas dealers.... jf

 

consider yourself lucky, in california the cabin air filter is $80

 

you misunderstood. what the dealer meant was, you dont have to worry about the $400

 

+1

... Brad

 

Just had my 30K maintenance a few weeks ago. Saved me some money by reading this thread ahead of time:

http://priuschat.com/forums/care-ma...70-what-services-you-need-what-you-don-t.html

 

Boy did you get ripped off!!! Mine cost $52.88 at my Toyota dealer.

 

Wow. I hope your walking straight. By the sound of it, you got ripped off so bad its seems like they ripped you a new donkey.

 

amen to that bro ... and even if you CAN't change your own oil / rotate tires, you shouldn't have had to pay anything more than $50 if they'd have read the thread.

Thanks again very much, to galaxie's other half

 

It would appear that the OP either got services/products that were not needed, or he got what was needed and was overcharged about 6X.

We won't know which until we find out what was actually done during the service.

... Brad

 

at 30K i took my Toyota dealer coupon with me. It said 30K service - $279 (some models higher).

of course, the Prius is one of those HIGHER models.

so i agreed to $399 (what the hell do i know?).

additionally, due to my stupidity, they "upsold" me on an injection service. (he said..."yea, we've had alot of injector problems with the Prius. I can't guarantee my work unless you do the injection service").

i am so stupid!!!

so i got out of there w/ my tail between my legs for $525.

never again...

 

Well look, all the car needs until 100K is oil and filter, air filter, cabin filter, tire rotation. I do my own oil/filter and tire rotation every 5K; I replace the air and cabin filters every 15K. When I am doing the above things I just generally check out the car for stuff that looks wrong, e.g. uneven tire wear, damage, loose stuff, etc. My car will turn 90K next week and that is all that has ever been done to it aside from two technical service bulletin issues (2005 year model). At 95K it will go to Toyota for a front to rear service as my warranty goes to 100K and I want to make sure it gets looked at before that (extended) warranty expires.
If you are not able to do that stuff yourself, then I would sleep better knowing someone looked at the car to make sure all was well. $400 seems a little high, but I guess it depends upon your local.

 

Jikes! Did they buy you flowers? Get told that they love you? Promise to call you in the morning? Usually if you get scr*wed that bad, you'll get one of those three. reggers:

 

Ya know, it's threads like this that convince me that any cussing I do while maintaining my own cars is well and goodly justified. (I know that some folk can't do their own, and that thought just makes me madder when I reas stuff like this.)

I always knew that maintenance was a primary profit center for a dealership service center, but it seems that Toyota dealers have stooped to new lows in terms of praying on people's fear that their Prius is going to die an ugly and premature death if you don't do exactly what the service writer suggests. Never mind that Toyota publishes a maintenance schedule that's pretty clear about what needs to be done....

I really do wonder that Toyota corporate hasn't found a way of coming down on this. You know, sort of like "Until you can stop embarrassing us, you can have your allocation, but you can't use the name Toyota on the front of the building, your shirts, or any any advertisements."

Yes, I know, wishful thinking.

 

Unfortunately the dealer's idea of a 30k service often times includes things that Toyota doesn't require. This may be what happened here.

I have an example from my '08 Grand Cherokee SRT8. Yea, different vehicle, but really, all dealerships are the same. I went in for a 15,000 mile service. I typically do all my own work but I brought it in to have my paint sealer reapplied (I paid $199 to have it done every 6 months for 3 years) and figured what the heck... It's like 110 degrees out, I'll let someone else turn wrenches for a change. Anyway, after I left I gave him a call since I second guessed my telling him to "do whatever is due for the 15k service" and figured I should probably find out what he's planning on doing. To my surprise, he was going to do a front/rear diff fluid change and a tranny flush among other things. I pointed out that even in the extreme maintenance schedule in the book that nothing major was due to be done until I believed (from memory) 60k miles due to this vehicle having full synthetic everywhere (including the engine oil). He checked and sure enough he verified that that was the case on my particular vehicle. Well, if I didn't know better and was the typical customer I would have gotten shafted for the $600.

 

I had my Prius into the dealership for a basic oil change last week, and also had an EBH installed. I had a small credit with the parts guy over some ordered but undelivered parts for my truck, and he agreed to give me an installed EBH in the Prius in exchange. But when I dropped the car off the service manager came out and strongly advised me against putting in an EBH, saying they didn't help and that the Prius kept the coolant warm for several days during winter. I thanked him for his advise and instructed him to install the EBH, he meekly agreed, and it was done.

I love this site, you learn all sorts of great stuff here. And I also find that many dealers and service people really don't know much about the Prius.....which is kind of scary when you think about it.

 

My 30K didn't cost that much, but they wanted to add things like Injection Service and new tires. I told them no.

 

This is so simple: read the Scheduled Maintenance Guide that came with the car. It states what needs doing. Take it with you when you get service. Show the appropriate months/miles page to the service writer. Tell them to perform those items, and nothing else (unless of course inspection reveals something that needs to be repaired).

Dealers sell "service packages" that include everything that can possibly be done on any car, including things that are impossible on a Prius. Just Say No. Anyone who won't read the Guide and instead orders those packages deserves what they get. In 51 months/31,000 miles I've spent a total of $240 on scheduled maintenance by following the Scheduled Maintenance Guide.