Experience with non-Toyota service shops?

stevenalice · 04-19-2005, 06:07 PM

I've reached 5K miles and need help choosing a service/repair shop. I've read a lot of threads and have a good sense of what I want done, but I don't know how to choose a place. I tried searching but the search is all wonky and I don't even know what search terms to use.

Anyway, with my last Toyota, after using dealers for awhile, I didn't like the dealers near me or near my work- inconvenient hours, long lines just to drop off the car, whole-day wait times just for routine service, not to mention much more pricey than non-dealers. So I used a no-name place near my house that was cheaper and was honest, decent, and fast (like, 1 hour wait times for most routine service). It was with luck that I chose that place.

Now, I work in a different city and have to find a new place and I'm bewildered at how to proceed. The 5K service is simply change oil & filter, rotate tires, and inspect brakes. Should I consider Jiffy Lube? Do they even do the rotate tires & inspect brakes? It's a block from my work so it's tempting.

If not Toyota and not Jiffy Lube, how do I choose a service/repair shop?

And what questions do I ask? Should I care whether they've worked on a Prius before? Are there questions I can ask to judge whether they do a good job there?

Finally, I just have some random questions since I am pretty clueless about taking my car in for service:

If I want synthetic oil, do I ask whether they carry it or do all places have that as a choice? How do I know what's a reasonable upcharge for synth oil vs dino oil?

Do I ask them to fill the oil until just under the fill line, or is there a exact number of ounces I should tell them to use? Will they roll their eyes at me and just do whatever they want & end up overfilling it?

Will they know the proper configuration to rotate the tires? (I don't know how to describe it, like front to back then switch the 2 front ones, or something??)

DanMan32 · 04-20-2005, 05:10 PM

Alternate repair shops should be fine for routine maintenance and strictly mechanical stuff, but there is a lot of specialization in the car that needs the Toyota Hand Held Tool. Even purging the brake lines you are supposed to use it to operate the pump and electric valves. Cooling system is specialized too. But to change oil/filter, change brakes (rare with regen), etc, any shop should do.

04-19-2005, 06:07 PM	#1
stevenalice Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Si Valley, CA Posts: 10 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Experience with non-Toyota service shops? I've reached 5K miles and need help choosing a service/repair shop. I've read a lot of threads and have a good sense of what I want done, but I don't know how to choose a place. I tried searching but the search is all wonky and I don't even know what search terms to use. Anyway, with my last Toyota, after using dealers for awhile, I didn't like the dealers near me or near my work- inconvenient hours, long lines just to drop off the car, whole-day wait times just for routine service, not to mention much more pricey than non-dealers. So I used a no-name place near my house that was cheaper and was honest, decent, and fast (like, 1 hour wait times for most routine service). It was with luck that I chose that place. Now, I work in a different city and have to find a new place and I'm bewildered at how to proceed. The 5K service is simply change oil & filter, rotate tires, and inspect brakes. Should I consider Jiffy Lube? Do they even do the rotate tires & inspect brakes? It's a block from my work so it's tempting. If not Toyota and not Jiffy Lube, how do I choose a service/repair shop? And what questions do I ask? Should I care whether they've worked on a Prius before? Are there questions I can ask to judge whether they do a good job there? Finally, I just have some random questions since I am pretty clueless about taking my car in for service: If I want synthetic oil, do I ask whether they carry it or do all places have that as a choice? How do I know what's a reasonable upcharge for synth oil vs dino oil? Do I ask them to fill the oil until just under the fill line, or is there a exact number of ounces I should tell them to use? Will they roll their eyes at me and just do whatever they want & end up overfilling it? Will they know the proper configuration to rotate the tires? (I don't know how to describe it, like front to back then switch the 2 front ones, or something??)

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04-20-2005, 05:10 PM	#2
DanMan32 Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tampa Bay, FL Posts: 3,775 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Alternate repair shops should be fine for routine maintenance and strictly mechanical stuff, but there is a lot of specialization in the car that needs the Toyota Hand Held Tool. Even purging the brake lines you are supposed to use it to operate the pump and electric valves. Cooling system is specialized too. But to change oil/filter, change brakes (rare with regen), etc, any shop should do.