Has Pre-paid Maintence been good for you?

[tracysbeans]

Hi! I'm wondering for anyone who has bought a Pre-Paid Maintence package if it has been worth the cost? And if the current maintence plan I have is good enough. (I'm thinking about seeing if I can upgrade it)

I know there is talk about this from Troy's page but it's now 28 pages. I also wanted to say what I have right now to see if it's enough or if I should try to upgrade.


Ok right now I have a Prepaid Maintence Plan of 3 years 7,500 miles

I have 1,200 miles on my Prius I bought 2 months ago.

According to how I see my plan it basically just offers me free oil changes every 7,500 miles and roadside assistance.

So does the people with this plan only do oil changes every 7,500 miles? If so is that enough?

If I have enough that would be great. If not I want to see if I can upgrade.

I'm also concerned on how well Toyota will take care of my car maintence when it's pre-paid and not their normal price at the time of service?? (Hopefully the same but who know since they aren't getting as much from someone who had a pre-paid plan)

I appreciate any help anyone can offer me. Thanks, Tracy

[tracysbeans]

Can anyone help with this? I would appreciate it! Tracy

[jayway]

For my 05 I bought the 55 K prepaid from this list I think it Greenvill Toyota. Basiclu oilchanges every 5 k with air filter and cabin air filter at 30k ithing. My experience is that it was such a pian to get an oil change at the dealer ( most of a day ) I won't buy it again for my 06.

[tracysbeans]

Originally posted by jayway@Mar 19 2006, 10:32 AM
For my 05 I bought the 55 K prepaid from  this list I think it Greenvill Toyota. Basiclu oilchanges every 5 k with air filter and cabin air filter at 30k ithing. My experience is that it was such a pian to get an oil change at the dealer ( most of a day ) I won't buy it again for my 06.

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Why was it a pain to get an oil change at the dealers? Hard to get in? If so my schedule is very flexible. Just not sure what you mean by it was a pain to get an oil change from the dealer??

[ghostofjk]

Did your dealer actually sell you a maintenance plan specifying 7,500 mi. oil change intervals? The scheduled maintenance is for 5,000 (/6 mo.)

Is your mileage for your first two months typical of the driving you'll be doing? If so, 1,200 x 6 = 7,200 mi./yr. That means you'll be getting oil changes at 6-mo. intervals, not 5,000 mi., twice a year.

So in 3 years you'd be getting 6 oil changes. You could be getting those at a franchised oil change place for $20-30 ea, or a total of $120-180. (Doing it myself, I pay $8.)

How much did you pay for the plan? How much would an "upgrade" cost, and what, exactly, would the upgrade be?

[tracysbeans]

Originally posted by ghostofjk@Mar 19 2006, 04:33 PM
Did your dealer actually sell you a maintenance plan specifying 7,500 mi. oil change intervals?  The scheduled maintenance is for 5,000 (/6 mo.)

Is your mileage for your first two months typical of the driving you'll be doing?  If so, 1,200 x 6 = 7,200 mi./yr.  That means you'll be getting oil changes at 6-mo. intervals, not 5,000 mi., twice a year.

So in 3 years you'd be getting 6 oil changes.  You could be getting those at a franchised oil change place for $20-30 ea, or a total of $120-180.  (Doing it myself, I pay $8.)

How much did you pay for the plan?  How much would an "upgrade" cost, and what, exactly, would the upgrade be?

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Ok I was given the plan I currently have because of an issue with the dealer. I looked up the plan I got from Toyota financial and it would have cost $320. The plan Troy has is $670. It's the best plan that is for 4 years/55,000 miles. However it also includes tire rotations and 3 major repairs. So the difference from the plan I have and the best plan that Troy offers is $350. I was thinking I could try to see if I could upgrade to that. I do want think I want to stick to Toyota taking care of all my car mantience. I will need to get my tires rotated etc.

I'm not sure my mileage will be as much as it has been for the last 2 months. I took 2 business trips that were about 230 miles each. I just found out I will no longer be needing to take those trips anymore. So my mileage for now will go down.

I just want to make sure I properly take care of all my new toys. That's why I'm wondering if I should just try to upgrade and have the best mantience plan so my Prius is all taken care. (or as needed according to their mantience agreement.) I have just never had a brand new car before and want t make sure I'm not buying something that I would be wasting my money on. I'm not sure if the dealer will even upgrade my plan. I'm thinking he will though. In the past I have let things go and not taken care of things properly. After spending $30,000 for this toy I want to make sure I take good care of it.

I hope this gives you enough info! Thanks for your help! Tracy

[jamarimutt]

An extended warranty is basically an insurance. You're betting that repairs during its duration will be more expensive than if you had to pay for them, and Toyota is betting the opposite. Since extended warranties are such a good business for all car makers, it seems that they win most of the time. My Prius has almost 36,000 miles and I am not buying extended warranty for it.

Prepaid maintenance is a hassle because the dealer usually has a long line of cars for service and a simple oil change may take several hours, instead of 15 minutes at a lube shop. You can change the air filter yourself.

[rposton]

At 7600 miles, I have had only one oil change experience with my dealer, and found it a positive one. They do appointments. Oil change and tire rotation was $18 and some change. Took like 30 minutes, and I was back in my car on my way to work.

I do not have a pre-paid maintenance plan.

I did buy all the extended warranty that I could.

To make the appointment, I simply e-mailed my salesman week ahead, and he e-mailed me back with a time and date and a shop contact if I needed to change the appointment.