Unusual occurrence at the Toyota dealer

[cmj8591]

I don't see where the independent mechanics around me are getting less money than the dealership service departments, plus it's hard to find a decent one these days. They are able to save you money because they don't always do all of the repairs to bring the car back to factory specs. Add to that the issue of independents not being able to access the proper software to work on the electronics and using a dealership is starting to be more attractive, even at the high cost. I don't use the dealership for regular oil changes mostly because it's not convenient but they are within a couple of bucks of the oil change places and they are starting to send out coupons also. One of the things I was surprised about was that my dealership sells tires. I needed a set of truck tires. Usually, I have a dire dealer I go to but for some reason I decided this time to do some research. Someone suggested I call the dealer and I kind of laughed at him but just for fun, I checked their price. They were substantially cheaper than the tire shop and they did all of the same mounting work. I think what is happening is that the independents are starting to price themselves up into what the dealerships charge because, well, they can.

 

[cmansguns]

not only the costs, but what's really necessary?

I don't own brand spanking new vehicles. Never could afford that 20% (or more) loss in value the day you drove it off the lot. My pet peeve these days has been the factory recommended oil change vs what is really necessary.

I have 2 family members that are in the auto service industry, both for a long time and I do trust their advice...so my 2018 Ford Taurus (wifes car...less than 23,000 on the clock) and my 2013 Chevy Silverado 1500 with 123,500 on the clock...both use synthetic oil and both get changed at 6000 miles..which is actually in the service manual for the vehicle.

Both of my relatives have said......you are doing it wrong...go back to the tried and true for years....change oil and filter every 3000 miles!

They both tell me that while massive, great leaps have been made in oils, mainly synthetic....NO CHANGES have been made in oil FILTERS...so yea....your oil may last 6000 but your filter is done at 3000.

Since retiring on Jan 1, 2020...neither vehicle has been driven more than 4000 per year, with the wifes car less than 3000 so I'm just changing oil and filter once per year and so far no adverse effects have been noticed.

I use a decent local shop for oil changes (not a dealership) and the 6 qt, synthetic + filter for the truck, runs right around $60.00 after veterans discount, senior citizens discount.

Don't really know if filters have not changed over the years, but costs dictate to me to take advantage of the strides made in oil quality, so I'm not doing the old 3000 changes for now.

Just my two cents

 

[Farmer17]

My oil change place was charging about 26 bucks to change the oil and filter on my Ram pickup and they give you a soda pop or water while you watch sports on the big screen and read car and hunting magazines. A few months ago they upped the price to 45 dollars but I found out that's still cheaper than everyone else so I guess I'll continue to use them. As far as repairs, most shops charge about the same as the dealer and you don't know if the mechanic is ASCE certified to work on your vehicle so I usually go to the dealer but minor things are really expensive now.

 

[sureshotbob]

For my 2017 F150 and 2015 Focus .The Ford dealer has what they call Quick Lane with no appointment needed I got free oil changes and tire rotation with a included safety check for free.
But the dealership sold out to another dealer that doesn't honor The first dealer's contract . So if I want the free stuff I have to make a appointment and take it to the Dodge /Jeep dealer.
I did it once and the young mechanic could not get the tires off to rotate them.

I went back to the new Ford dealer and they had no problems.
So I've been going to the new Ford dealer for my synthetic oil change with 2 additives that extend the warranty to 100,000 miles and safety check and tire rotations. It was costing $100.00 but has gone up to $139.00 now. I'm not sure if I'll continue using that service or change to my friends nephew's garage that charges $60.00 for dino oil.
At the last truck service they told me the rear brakes were about to hit steel at just over 30,000 miles and the could do it for just under $900.00 .I told them no thanks and took it to a good friends nephews garage and he did the job for $425.00.

The car also needed rear brakes at 65.000 I had a friend a former Ford mechanic help me out at just over 30,000 do both the front and rear but he no longer can work on cars. So I took it to the garage that I had do the trucks rear brakes and it only cost me $380.00 .

 

[GypsmJim]

Years ago I would get oil changes during my lunch hour at the Quickie change place down the street. Sometimes went to the FastLube near my house. EVERY time I either had a loose plug or they stripped it. Never again. Going cheap ain't so cheap.

Now, with syn oil, I always do a oil change and tire rotation together.

I have 2 local repair shops near me that do excellent work. Add the cost of the oil and tires and it's pretty expensive. They always want me to drop the car off. Gotta have the wife available to p;ick me up.

My local Chevy Dealer and my local Lincoln dealer both have oil and tire "package" deals that are cheaper than the private service stations. Plus, they have a waiting room with free coffee, doughnuts and popcorn. If more work is involved their courtesy van drops off and picks me up.

It's a no-brainer. The dealer is the only way to go.

 

[skywag]

Walmart is $24.88 for their "Pit-Crew" service............Which is BTW, excellent semi-synthetic

The 67' I bought new!

 

[Nevada Ed]

Most of my trips to Toyota for service have been a good deal but there was
the one time I took it in for a recall service and the guy cross threaded one og the screws
and did not put the cover back correctly.

Either he was in a rush or not tought the correct way to do the job.

By the time I was happy with the repair job, Toyota and the service Manager were very glad to see me leave.

I KNOW that my folder has notes added to it, for sure.

 

[NYlakesider]

Most of my trips to Toyota for service have been a good deal but there was
the one time I took it in for a recall service and the guy cross threaded one og the screws
and did not put the cover back correctly.

Either he was in a rush or not tought the correct way to do the job.

By the time I was happy with the repair job, Toyota and the service Manager were very glad to see me leave.

I KNOW that my folder has notes added to it, for sure.

In my long experience at car places I figured out long ago that the service ADVISOR knows for a fact that he knows much more about the vechicles and the person talking to him is extremely dumb.

Most times once you get to him the service MANAGER is sharp enough to listen and can usually figure out that the person he is taking to knows something about autos.

I have a funny feeling my service folder at a couple places is securely locked away and it needs 3 signatures and a retina scan to get to. I know for a fact I got at least one manager fired.

 

[BC38]

I have a car dealer friend who told me that if he could guarantee that each of his customers who bought a car from him would bring that car back to his shop for all of the required service and maintenance, he could afford to give the cars away for free!

Let's do the math on that statement.
The average new car costs what $40k? Even if you assume that HALF of that is profit (it isn't - not even close), the actual cost of building and distributing the car would still be $20k. That's the dealer's cost.
Let's assume that half of what they charge for service and maintenance is profit (again, it isn't but just pretend for the sake of argument). That would mean that you would have to spend $40k in service on that car for the dealership's profit on the work to get back the $20k that the car cost. And at that point they would just to break even.
Even if you assume the car lasts 20 years, there's no way that anybody will spend $40k on service and maintenance of the car over it's lifetime. That would be $2k per year average on service and maintenance.
Who would buy a car for $40k that was of such poor quality that they'd have to spend another $2k per year on repairs and oil changes? Nobody. That car manufacturer would go out of business.
I'm sure that what your friend meant is that he could sell them at no profit to the dealership - basically sell them at his cost - if he could get all the service and maintenance business.

 

[Farmer17]

Many dealer extended warranties(not factory warranties) are only valid if you do ALL the the recommended service on the vehicle by them. I think that could easily run $10,000-$20,000 by the time you drive the car for 100K miles depending on the make and model. They charge for a lot of stuff that really isn't necessary, and I've had dealers tell me I need new tires when my tires look great and only have about 10K miles on them.

 

[GaryS]

My son got a General Manager fired. Caught him in a flat out lie that would have cost my son a couple of grand. My son talked to the owner and the next time he was at the shop met the new GM.

In my long experience at car places I figured out long ago that the service ADVISOR knows for a fact that he knows much more about the vechicles and the person talking to him is extremely dumb.

Most times once you get to him the service MANAGER is sharp enough to listen and can usually figure out that the person he is taking to knows something about autos.

I have a funny feeling my service folder at a couple places is securely locked away and it needs 3 signatures and a retina scan to get to. I know for a fact I got at least one manager fired.

 

[BC38]

I don't own brand spanking new vehicles. Never could afford that 20% (or more) loss in value the day you drove it off the lot. My pet peeve these days has been the factory recommended oil change vs what is really necessary.

I have 2 family members that are in the auto service industry, both for a long time and I do trust their advice...so my 2018 Ford Taurus (wifes car...less than 23,000 on the clock) and my 2013 Chevy Silverado 1500 with 123,500 on the clock...both use synthetic oil and both get changed at 6000 miles..which is actually in the service manual for the vehicle.

Both of my relatives have said......you are doing it wrong...go back to the tried and true for years....change oil and filter every 3000 miles!

They both tell me that while massive, great leaps have been made in oils, mainly synthetic....NO CHANGES have been made in oil FILTERS...so yea....your oil may last 6000 but your filter is done at 3000.

Since retiring on Jan 1, 2020...neither vehicle has been driven more than 4000 per year, with the wifes car less than 3000 so I'm just changing oil and filter once per year and so far no adverse effects have been noticed.

I use a decent local shop for oil changes (not a dealership) and the 6 qt, synthetic + filter for the truck, runs right around $60.00 after veterans discount, senior citizens discount.

Don't really know if filters have not changed over the years, but costs dictate to me to take advantage of the strides made in oil quality, so I'm not doing the old 3000 changes for now.

Just my two cents

I use synthetic too. I change the filter every 3000 miles, but only do a full oil change every 6000 miles. When I do the 3000 mile filter change, I just top it up to replace the oil that was lost during the filter change - usually around a half a quart.
With a new filter the oil actually gets noticeably lighter in color after a couple of days.

 

[NYlakesider]

My son got a General Manager fired. Caught him in a flat out lie that would have cost my son a couple of grand. My son talked to the owner and the next time he was at the shop met the new GM.

A good friends wife was the sister of the man that owned that dealership and a few more I had met him a few times over the years at events. She got me in to see him and we both went to the dealership and confronted the manager. Manager just about had the big one when the owner and I walked in together.

 

[ladder13]

$100 for an oil change is excessive? Been out to eat lately, talking real restaurants, not that fast food ****?

 

[prairieviper]

I buy my own oil and filter at Walmart and have a local tire shop do the labor. Last oil change on my RAM truck, the oil (full synthetic) and filter cost me $21.81. Labor was $15.80. Tire rotation was free. The tire store always has free bottled water, coffee, pastries and fruit available free for customers as well. Things are good here in cornfields and cows country, at least as far as oil changes go.

 

[Narragansett]

$100 for an oil change is excessive? Been out to eat lately, talking real restaurants, not that fast food ****?

Yes, and I will not pay the prices. 17.00 for a burger with a few mushrooms, and a handful of frozen fries

 

[arjay]

There's no shortage of independent shops around here. My favorite is one I started going to when I moved back to Denver. I remembered them from when I was a kid. Hank opened it in the 50s selling recapped tires and his son,a bit older than me,worked for him.Hank was in his 90s and no longer turned wrenches,but was there every day in his uniform,still sharp and very funny. He died a few years later and his son followed suit a year after that. The guys who have it now are worse than dealerships. The next shop I found was also a father-son operation,but he got a crazy offer last year and sold it quick! I don't blame him lol. It's gonna be another microbrewery [emoji1]
Hank told me a funny story about walking the streets promoting his shop when it first opened and he was a young naïve kid from Kansas.He was knocking on doors in north Denverwhen he came across a group of friendly and very well dressed gents. When he finally asked one of them what business they were in,the guy smiled and told him he imported olive oil [emoji23]
Edit: A client I had about 30 yrs ago from that part of town told me a story from the 40s when he and a friend were hunting deer in the foothills. They walked over a rise and there was a group of men just setting up for lunch who waved them in.They had a spread laid out on a huge table,expensive new cars and were dressed to the hilt in the latest hunting gear. His friend had a ball and chuck was sweating bullets. When they finally left he looked at his friend and asked "You have no idea who those guys are do you?" Lol

 

[Chuck24]

I guess my dealer is the bright spot. Been buying there for 40 years, since I had to furnish my own vehicle for my rural mail route. Never gave me any problems on warranty work even though what I was using the truck for could be considered commercial use. The current truck I have from them and when I purchased it, they offered free oil changes and inspections for life in addition to engine and transmission guaranteed for life, all routine service for 60,000 miles regardless of age. When I collapsed in the service department about 6 months ago and left in the ambulance, the service manager got my wife to the hospital. They completed the service and delivered it to the house while I was still in the hospital. So yes, I like my dealer and will continue to go there.

 

[djohns6]

I have 2 family members that are in the auto service industry, both for a long time and I do trust their advice...

Both of my relatives have said......you are doing it wrong...go back to the tried and true for years....change oil and filter every 3000 miles!

They both tell me that while massive, great leaps have been made in oils, mainly synthetic....NO CHANGES have been made in oil FILTERS...so yea....your oil may last 6000 but your filter is done at 3000.





Don't really know if filters have not changed over the years, but costs dictate to me to take advantage of the strides made in oil quality, so I'm not doing the old 3000 changes for now.

Just my two cents

With all due respect , your relatives are full of it .

 

[Gamecock]

Many of you are still getting ripped off. Tire rotation is an anachronism. You don't need it, unless you have unusual tire wear. After which, you get the problem fixed and shouldn't need tire rotation again.