Pre-Paid maintenance economics

[leeki4321]

I'm trying to figure out if it makes sense to purchase the pre-paid maintenance plan for my new '06 Prius. It seems most of the scheduled maintenance is oil and filter change which cost $30 at the dealer or $15 at the local service station. For $670, does it make sense to purchase ahead of time or pay as I go?

[cgraham]

A little feedback, please

Originally posted by leeki4321@Jan 27 2006, 11:58 AM
I'm trying to figure out if it makes sense to purchase the pre-paid maintenance plan for my new '06 Prius.  It seems most of the scheduled maintenance is oil and filter change which cost $30 at the dealer or $15 at the local service station.  For $670, does it make sense to purchase ahead of time or pay as I go?

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Hey guys, this inquiry went unanswered: I'd like some insight too, using Troy's PrisChat deal. There should be some experience available on the matter now.

In some previous threads there has been confusion with extended warranties, which is not the subject here, so I have not seen a good answer.

I think the assumption should be that a person would not plan on personaly doing any maintenance covered by the plan.

I'm sure it's not worth it if you can do some of the maintenance yourself or you trust Kwickee-Lube. I think I'm beyong crawling under cars, personally. And I'm not sure a Kwickee-Lube in a small town has the knowledge to spot problems a dealership should.

If you buy the plan, your are more likely to keep maintenance on schedule and warranty valid, I should think.

C

[daronspicher]

I guess I'm still crawlin under cars, so for me, it's no good to have the prepaid thing.

1. A filter is about $3, $10 for oil... Takes a lot of oil changes to cover that. I'm not sure what other things are going to happen at the service. It's not too much for window fluid, etc...

2. You go to the dealer (whether it's prepaid or not), it's likely you'll need something that you don't need. I call these 'dealer wants'. The dealer wants to make some money so you need new wiper blades, brake pads, etc.. It's like going to the dentist.. you always have a place where you need a filling or something.. I wonder if you really do. Not every time..

3. I completely hate the whole screwing around with the dealer thing. Gotta get an appointment... you show up at 10 for a 10am, and they get you in at 10:40, and we are sorry mr. brown. It's supposed to take 30 minutes, but by the time you are done answering whether or not you want the exhaust gaskets greased, it's 90 minutes. I want to crawl under the car and be done with the whole oil change before I would have even gotten the appointment made over the phone for the dealer.

New air filters and all that stuff are quick, easy and cheap if you leave the dealer out of the equation.

110,000 miles on my current F250. I do my oil changes, still running the original serpentine belt, antifreeze, tranny fluid, etc.. Have 63,000 miles on these tires and probably 20k left. I changed the brake pads and shocks at 85k just because I thought it had enough miles, they seemed fine after I had them off.

I wouldn't get all jacked up about doing everything that's scheduled. Definately keep the oil changed.

If I wasn't doing it myself, I'd probably try the dealer. The quickie lube scares me.

[San_Carlos_Jeff]

Originally posted by cgraham@Feb 7 2006, 05:15 PM
A little feedback, please 
Hey guys, this inquiry went unanswered:      I'd like some insight too, using Troy's PrisChat deal. There should be some experience available on the matter now.

In some previous threads there has been confusion with extended warranties, which is not the subject here, so I have not seen a good answer.

I think the assumption should be that a person would not plan on personaly doing any maintenance covered by the plan.

I'm sure it's not worth it if you can do some of the maintenance yourself or you trust Kwickee-Lube. I think I'm beyong crawling under cars, personally. And I'm not sure a Kwickee-Lube in a small town has the knowledge to spot problems a dealership should.

If you buy the plan, your are more likely to keep maintenance on schedule and warranty valid, I should think.

C

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I think you answered your own questions. If you don't do any maintenance yourself and don't want to use the Kwik-Lube places then it might be worth it. If you do some of these things then maybe it's not. To me it's purely a ROI analysis, and the variables differ for every person and every location.

In my case it wasn't worth it since I would rather do my own oil/filter changes and other maintenance items. If I was answering the original poster's question I'd say no it's not worth it because the dealer cost's twice as much. However, some people like the peace of mind in having the dealer do everything and that may be worth the money.

This was my long winded way of saying, "it depends"

[tumbleweed]

For me it's strictly pay as you go. I don't like being tied to the dealer for service, I haven't found any of them I like that well. When you buy a service contract you will be using the dealer's oil from a drum, mystery oil as jayman calls it. He (Jayman) had some analyzed (unused) and it wasn't very good oil, the thread is here somewhere. No mater where you go you should take your own oil or at least use the stuff in the bottles.

Also remember when you get your oil changed at the dealer the kid who works on your car could just as easily be working at Wal-Mart or Jiffy Lube. The Prius Tech isn't going to change your oil.

I have only changed mine twice, first time I did it myself, second time I took it to the dealer and provided my own oil, Mobil 1. I used Toyota filters both times. The dealer here charged me $19.95 when I provided the oil, that price included the filter.

[Three60guy]

I personally went with pre-paid because it documents the maintenance. Also, if any recalls are available it will be done automagically. Toyota parts would also be used.

But the most important part for me is this:

The Prius is a highly technological machine. There is so much that can be done to this car which could put it at risk. Even over filling oil during a oil change can reduce your miles per gallon. I simply feel better having someone who has been taught by Toyota do the servicing. It is just that simple.

Thats my story and I'm sticking to it. :P

[jamarimutt]

Originally posted by Three60guy@Feb 7 2006, 06:02 PM
I personally went with pre-paid because it documents the maintenance.  Also, if any recalls are available it will be done automagically.  Toyota parts would also be used. 

But the most important part for me is this:

The Prius is a highly technological machine.  There is so much that can be done to this car which could put it at risk.  Even over filling oil during a oil change can reduce your miles per gallon.  I simply feel better having someone who has been taught by Toyota do the servicing.  It is just that simple.

Thats my story and I'm sticking to it.  :P

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From what I've read in this forum, authorized Toyota dealers are experts at overfilling oil. The Prius is not that fragile.

[jef]

I'm leaning toward getting the pre-paid maintenance package - the 4 yr/55,000 mile Premium plan at $670 because I think for me it makes economic sense.

I won't be doing my own oil changes. You make a good point about bringing my own oil. Of course the oil costs the same no matter who is doing my oil change, so that isn't really an economic factor in the plan.

Where I live, quick lube places charge $27 for an oil change, $20 if you have a coupon. The $20 oil change doesn't include a tire rotation which is recommended for the Prius at every 5,000 mile interval. Maybe the tires don't have to be rotated that often, I doubt they do. But if I needed to place a claim against the tire warranty they might just use my "lack of maintenance" as an excuse not to pay.

I'd rather have the tire rotations done at the dealer because automatic air pressure warning systems are still relatively new technology. But let's assume the quick lube guy can handle my tires, and they charge me $8 extra for that, throw in some tax and we are talking $30.

So I've got in my package 8 regular oil changes plus tire rotations plus visual inspections at roughly $30 each and that's $240.

It also has 2 intermediate services. That I have to get done at the dealer, the local shops don't have the Prius training and experience yet. I saw a coupon for a nearby dealer offering those for $160. So that's $320 and our subtotal is $560.

It has one major service. The coupon for that was $260. So now our subtotal is $820.

The coverage provides 4 years of roadside assistance. If your car has navigation and roadside assistance, you really don't need a AAA membership. I plan on cancelling my membership. At $45 per year, that's another $180.

So I expect that I will get a total value of $1000 from the plan, which makes me think prepaying it at $670 is a good deal. At the MSRP of $995, it does make much less sense.

jef

[cwerdna]

Regarding tire rotations, there's an unwritten rule that if you take your car to the retailer of your tire manufacturer (in this case Goodyear), they will rotate your tires for free. I've taken my old Maxima to have this done a few times.

[Stevep]

Originally posted by jamarimutt@Feb 7 2006, 07:35 PM
From what I've read in this forum, authorized Toyota dealers are experts at overfilling oil. The Prius is not that fragile.

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I agree. I just had them change my oil, and when I checked it, it is 1/2 inch over the full mark.