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Oil Change in SF Bay Area

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by yuanja, Aug 2, 2006.

  1. yuanja

    yuanja New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2006
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    Location:
    Foster City, CA
    After getting screwed by a prepaid maintenance plan for $1100 at a local dealership, many people on this forum was able to offer great help. I was able to get a refund from them.

    I've been pretty bad for my Prius :( . I am looking at 6,000 miles in my odometer reading and still have not had it serviced yet. Not I am ignoring her, but my job has been crazy and my 5 months old daughter deserves much better attention :rolleyes: .

    Would anyone in the bay area recommend an inexpensive and trust-worthy way to have oil service performed on my car? If you can recommend a tire rotation place as well as rotation interval that you would suggest, that would be great! I am open to speed lube (Jiffy) or going to a dealer. I would love to learn how to change it myself. but I might have to hold on to my daughter while doing so. I live in Foster City and work in San Jose (Hello diamond lane on 101, that's me!). Thanks in advance for your recommendations!

    BTW, if you are thinking about buying the prepaid maintenance plan. Don't bother. From the research in this forum, the plan is just a coupon book that gets you a bunch of oil changes at a high price, at a designated dealer that might be 2 hrs away from you. Further more, it won't cover tire rotation.
     
    #1 yuanja, Aug 2, 2006
  2. hwwjr

    hwwjr New Member

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    Aug 15, 2005
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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(yuanja @ Aug 2 2006, 06:50 PM) [snapback]296600[/snapback]</div>
    Being a person who typically does maintenance on my own cars, I decided to purchase the Prepaid Maintenance Plan through this website. First and foremost, the Prius is "new" technology and some mechanics just aren't in tune with it. Two, I just don't have that kind of time anymore to get it done myself. I purchased the top-of-the-line plan from Troy at $670. It includes the first 11 scheduled maintenance prescribed in the Prius operator's manual. You will see that it includes 2 "major" services. This amounts to roughly $60 per scheduled maintenance. The way I see it, $20-30 for oil change, $30 for inspection and tire rotation. Also, consider that the "major" services included will cost upwards of $200+. It's a slight premium overall but at least you have certified/trained Toyota mechanics working on your car. Also, it is widely known that almost all Toyota service stations take these coupons. At least in the Bay Area, CA I know this to be true. I live in the East Bay but take my car to the other side because I work there. However, I know that the dealership in Alameda accepts the coupon as well. Just call the dealerships around to find out if they take it or not. Most will. I take my car to Putnam Toyota in Burlingame because their service staff is courteous, they'll wash your car, provide you coffee, donuts in the morning and offer a courtesy shuttle within 10 miles. Works great for me because my job is a few miles away.
     
    #2 hwwjr, Sep 19, 2006
  3. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2004
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    Location:
    Kunming Yunnan China
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    I wish that someone in the East Bay would try Art's Automotive in Oakland and report back. This is an independent hybrid service shop, and I did not get the chance to visit them while in the area.
     
    #3 tochatihu, Sep 20, 2006
  4. TiogaJenny

    TiogaJenny New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(yuanja @ Aug 2 2006, 03:50 PM) [snapback]296600[/snapback]</div>
    Try Yarnell's in Mountain View - 650-969-9018. They're an independent shop and they only work on Toyota's and Nissan's, (just added Honda's). They've been around for about 30 years. Very trustworthy and reasonable. I've been taking my Toyota truck and now my Prius there for over 10 years and have been very happy.
     
    #4 TiogaJenny, Sep 29, 2006
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