Overpriced 30k Service

[jayman]

Originally Posted by qbee42

I asked him what they did at 30k for that price, and he handed me a generic sheet for 30k.

I think I've seen those generic 30K sheets:

1: Lube driveshafts
2. Change front and rear axle fluid
3. Lube chassis
etc

Amazing how fast the bill goes down when you bring up the inconsistencies

[jayman]

Originally Posted by icarus

torqued steering and suspension components (really?)

No, not really

Originally Posted by icarus

fuel cap gasket (really?)

Yeah I bet.

Originally Posted by icarus

cleaned (really?) and inspect brakes linings/pads.

To have fun, you could have put "witness marks" on the parts in question before you took it in. I can almost guarantee the witness marks would still be there

Originally Posted by icarus

w/w solve (whats this?) 2.50

Windshield Washer solvent. Fancy-schmancy name for windshield washer fluid. I can buy a whole gallon of good -45 rated stuff for what they dinged you to top it off

Originally Posted by icarus

oil (synthetic) 6.25 25.00

That's in Canadian dollars, right??

Originally Posted by icarus

MISC SHOP SUPPLIES 12.00

Maybe they were taking a collection for an office retirement party. Beats me

Originally Posted by icarus

So the way I figure it, they worked on the car for about 1 hour,, plus taking the tire to the tire shop.

Temporally, it's highly improbable they could have done all the work they claimed to have done.

Originally Posted by icarus

is un ethical if not criminal.

Not criminal. But unethical

Originally Posted by icarus

I can take my car to Jiffy lube and have a LOF for ~$30

I would use caution with Iffy Boob. There are real horror stories out there

[Mike Dimmick]

Originally Posted by boppo

I think most/all dealers try to clean out your wallet when you take it in for any thing. I have a 88 camry with 235k on it and it's been to the dealer only 6 times and all of those times they tried to take advantage of me saying you need this and you need that, case in point they said I needed a new water pump cuz it was leaking a little and 5 years later I changed it.

On my previous car, a 2001 Ford Focus, they told me for something like four years in a row that the power steering pump was leaking. "How much is it leaking?" "Erm, well, not very much."

I never saw the power steering fluid reservoir level change, and I don't recall seeing a charge for it to be topped up.

They did get me for a rear brake cylinder at something like £300. I'm a bit more wise to it now, though.

[SureValla]

Originally Posted by icarus

You're getting ripped off quicker than I. Why don't you take the car elsewhere?

Icarus

PS Too many people have been BS'ed into thinking that the dealer has to do the routine service to keep the warrantee valid,,, not so!

T

Believe me after paying a 450 once I do go somewhere else every 15k and I've always done my own oil change(~35$) at non-15k intervals so the 450 was a bit easier to take.

[icarus]

I don't take the Prius to Jiffy lube,, or any other car for that matter. The best purchase I made in the last few years was a hand operated vacuum pump. I was very skeptical until I spoke to my European car guru. He said that is all they use in their high end shop.

Stick the hose in the dipstick hole,, pump the handle a few times and in about 5 minutes ALL the oil has been sucked out. Spin off the filter, spin on a new one,,, pour in the new oil and you are done. You never even have to get your hands dirty.

As a test,,, the first time, I pulled the drain plug to see how much oil was left. Not one drop came out after I pulled the plug! I'm sold. Never worry about stripping a drain plug thread or being caught without a new gasket.

Icarus

PS Jay,,, that was US $$!.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by icarus

w/w solve (whats this?) 2.50

Windshield wiper fluid (or solvent) - the blue liquid located in the translucent plastic container near the RF fender. Considering that price I hope it is the methanol solution that doesn't freeze.

Originally Posted by icarus

...Stick the hose in the dipstick hole, pump the handle a few times and in about 5 minutes ALL the oil has been sucked out... the first time, I pulled the drain plug to see how much oil was left. Not one drop came out after I pulled the plug!

Hi Icarus,

Very interesting. How many feet of hose do you need to insert into the dipstick hole? Why bother to use Jiffy Lube or the dealer since you are equipped to DIY so easily?

[jayman]

Originally Posted by icarus

The best purchase I made in the last few years was a hand operated vacuum pump.

I have a 2 gallon Mityvac model that I use for servicing older automatic transmissions without a drainplug on the pan. Remove dipstick, stick tube down hole, give a few pumps, no cascade of hot ATF when I remove the pan

However, I find the Prius oil change easy enough that I just go ahead and do it on level ground. For a drain pan I use a large but shallow Tupperware container.

Originally Posted by icarus

PS Jay,,, that was US $$!.

Holy .... s***

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Patrick Wong

Windshield wiper fluid (or solvent) - the blue liquid located in the translucent plastic container near the RF fender. Considering that price I hope it is the methanol solution that doesn't freeze.

Hi Icarus,

Very interesting. How many feet of hose do you need to insert into the dipstick hole? Why bother to use Jiffy Lube or the dealer since you are equipped to DIY so easily?

Patrick,,

I don't use jiffy lube,,, I don't trust them except for detroit iron. I do it myself,, except when I am travelling. The hose that comes with the vacuum pump,, (brand name escapes me now,, but you can find them at most marine dealers) is ~1/4 diameter,,, and goes in as far as it can go,,, into the bottom of the pan. You can feel when it bottoms out. After it has sucked the bulk of the oil out,, you can move it around to find and vacuum any residue. Really does work great.


The washer fluid thing is complete BS! I keep mine full,, if it was down more than 1/2 cup it would have been a lot. As I suggest,, It is not going to darken the door of the dealer again.
Tony

[hill]

Originally Posted by icarus

Does anybody think that $279 for 30K service is too expensive,,,besides me? All that is involved is lube oil and filter, check fluids, cabin air filter and tire rotation.

This is the only time the car has seen the dealer except for the first "free" oil change. When mentioned that I ran synthetic oil,,, they said,, oh,,,that is $89 more! I said $89 more or $89? She "corrected herself and said,, oh just $89. $89 for an oil change!

I had them do the service since I was there,, except the cabin air which I had already done. (Cabin air filter service was $50! The filter cost me ~$15 from the same dealer,,, and it takes what,, 30 seconds to do?)

They did find a nail in a tire that they fixed, for $20,, not to bad considering the cost of everything else!

The bottom line is,, this is the last time this car will see the dealer unless it needs warrantee service. I will continue to do LOF every 5k and will take it to my trusted independent so that they can begin to learn on them. I understand that dealers need to make a profit,, but when you drive into a covered heated reception area, with 6 "service advisors" sitting around trying to lever more money out of people you realize that it aint coming out of my pocket again!

Icarus

Soooo, I take it you haven't read Galaxee's stickey (directly above this thread) before going in? or all the posts under it?

[ceric]

Why do the 30K?
Just
- ask for oil change (+27 points inspection for $29.50 around here)
- buy air filter and cabin air filter and install them in 1 minute yourself
- rotate tires yourself
The total cost will be less than $80.
If you don't like rotating tires, that is another $20 for them to do it. Still under $100.