South Jersey dealer service prices

[E. J.]

Hey Y'all,

I just made an appointment for a 15,000 mile check, and I found a big difference in prices. Liberty Toyota in Delran charges $229 while Cherry Hill Toyota charges $89. Liberty does include a car wash, but I don't see much else different for the service.

FWIW, I bought the car at Liberty and they provide free tires for the life of the car if you get all servicing done there, but at these prices, I don't see any value in that offer.

E. J.

[firepa63]

What the heck are they doing for those prices? Your 15K mileage service should be about $50.

[bandorr2000]

Go to http://www.libertytoyota.com/ou/burl...s_service_menu

How much is applicable to the PRIUS?

[Spectra]

Interesting to know!

I think Liberty has to pay off their huge space-station of a dealership ...

Bought mine at Turnersville Toyota.
With 8200 mi., I've only been in for 1 oil change, which was a freebie.

Or, you might also want to check on Toyota of Runnemede.

[bandorr2000]

Yeah, I pre-paid for all service, and have only had the 5000 mile service done. Bought mine in May of 2008 at Liberty, right off the carrier.

[kenoarto]

$50 for an oil change, tire rotation and standard check is still way too much.

[JimN]

NEVER ask for an x mile service. All you need is an oil change. You can change the air filters yourself easily & quickly. Buy a bunch online & save a pile of money.

BTW, Liberty Toyota would be in Edgewater Park.

bandorr2000, are you the white one across the street?

EJ, now you know how they can afford to give away tires.

[E. J.]

Just got back from Cherry Hill Toyota. 15k check $59.90. Still pricey for an oil change and tire rotation basically, but much better than 229.00.

Thanks for the info guys,

E. J.

[bandorr2000]

JimN - No, mine is black.

[Ct. Ken V]

Hey, kenoarto,

Around here (Connecticut) most places (dealerships or independant shops) charge between $25 & $29 for an oil change (including up to either 5 or 6 quarts of oil---but they won't deduct anything for the extra oil that you can't use because it won't fit into your crankcase). I wonder if they will give me the extra quart(s) that won't fit (but I'm paying for anyway) to take home with me for my other car.

And most places also charge around $25 for a tire rotation, although if you're a customer of some of the bigger tire shops you can usually get it done for free. I have not dared to go that route yet as I've seen how sloppy & careless some of the young tire-change monkeys are with some of the cars they work on. They have lied to the manager about what they did (or didn't do) to my car (not knowing the manager & I had been watching the entire process).

Another time I was watching my car being worked on when I saw one of the workers break my outside passenger rear-view mirror completely off the car [a $250+ repair that the tire shop did pay for because the kid did own up to it (having seen ME witness it)]. This is why the manager & I were watching (as just mentioned in the previous paragraph).

And I also had to have my local mechanic press out & replace a stripped lug bolt in my rotor that the tire shop kids cross-threaded by having the lug nut in the spinning pneumatic wrench as they jammed the gun onto the end of the lug bolt (instead of starting it onto the threads by hand first for one or 2 turns & then applying the air tool). The first time it happened I didn't witness it [I only found out it was cross threaded when I tried to remove the wheel (with the other lug nuts re-snugged & the car on a jack but with a light touch to the ground to keep the wheel from spinning)]. It took me almost one hour to get that ONE lug nut off with the car's lug wrench (so I could change my flat tire for the spare at home). And the removed lug nut was so hot it took almost 10 minutes before I could touch it. Needless to say I didn't put that nut back on until my mechanic replaced both the bolt/stud & the nut.

The next time I was at that tire shop, beforehand I spoke to the manager about his guy cross-threading that lug bolt & nut, but since I didn't witness it happening he wouldn't reimburse me. This time I was watching how the kid was applying the spinning lug nuts (in the wrench) to the stud/bolt. The tire shop parking lot was crowded & busy, so I waited until I got home to check the lug nut tightness on all the wheels with my car's lug wrench (to be sure I would be able to remove a wheel with said wrench if I had a flat on the roadside somewhwere). Low & behold I had one (on the wheel that had shortly before had the bolt pressed out of the same rotor) that I couldn't budge. On closer inspection I found that it was cross-threaded & stripped. I drove back down & showed it to the manager, but again he didn't want to hear about it because I didn't show it to him before I left (even though I told him I saw how his guy was improperly applying the spinning lug nuts). I explained how I wouldn't have been comfortable doing any checking in his busy lot & that I had only thought about checking for over-tightening after I got home, but it didn't matter to him. He just said they don't do any mechanical work there---just tires & simple alignments. Needless to say I was pissed, but knowing I would probably get rid of the car before I had to do a brake job or change another flat tire or have another rotation done, I let it go. That's why I pay for my Prius tire rotations at the dealer when I get my oil/oil filter change done there (because I won't let Jiffy Lube near my Prius either).

At other times I have witnessed a huge dent being put into another customer's car by the kid letting go of a pneumatic gun/wrench attached to an overhead air hose (from over that customer's car) that he had stretched 2 bays over to use on somebody else's car. It picked up a lot of momentum swinging back to its "home" bay & put a big dent in the car (it almost went high enough to take out the window above where it put the dent too).

I know I've strayed way away from the primary subject of this thread (extreme spread of price range for the same service at different dealers), but I'm too old to be crawling around under cars any more (& without proper tools & workspace too) to do it myself, so I let the dealer do it for me. I've already explained why I don't let a non-dealer place touch my Prius & my trusted local mechanic is very hesitant to touch any hybrid (although I would think as more of them are put on the road, he's passing up a golden oportunity to widen his customer base). I just don't let the dealer take me for a ride on any of the service visits. I just ask that they do ONLY what is required in the "Passport" scheduled maintenance booklet & nothing more (unless I request something extra).

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)