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Anyone knows about pre-paid maintenance only gets you the minimum done?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by xbox40, Jul 19, 2016.

  1. xbox40

    xbox40 Junior Member

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    Had my prius in for 60k services today and found out with the pre-paid maintenance plan I bought, all they would do is oil/filter change, 2 filters change and some inspection. The service adviser even showed me the screen that I am getting the "Minimum" service and there are 3 different levels. If you are paying out of pocket right there and then, you would get 2 other more expensive services done, which is something like differential fluid or something like that. Does anyone know this? I certainly did not.
     
  2. szgabor

    szgabor Active Member

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    There are some question here ...

    do you pay the same and get more service ? not cool

    do you pay more for the extra service? nothing wrong with it..

    do you pay for service you actually do not need (only the dealership makes more money)... not cool....

    There are some reason for the manual and the maintenance schedule booklet. You know, those things came with your car ... that details what you need at what mile (at normal use) ... of course you can ask and pay for more things like throttle body cleaning, or the one you mention differential fluid change (no such a piece in prius) or even new belt (the old one is completely worn out) ... (prius also do not have those) or alternator service.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds like you purchased a specific plan, which they should have given you a copy of at the time.
    all they need to add at 60k is tyre rotation. make sure they do a thorough brake inspection, especially rears, and lube the slide pins if necessary.
     
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  4. xbox40

    xbox40 Junior Member

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    Fair enough, I guess I will find the original doc and go from there.
     
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  5. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    This is why pre-paid service plans are generally NOT worth it. If you are useless with a wrench (or don't have time), maybe the little they do is worth the money, but if you are useless with a wrench, odds are every time you bring it in they'll try to "upsell" service you really don't need.
     
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  6. ETP

    ETP 2021 Prime(Limit),Highlander HYB Plat,B52-D,G,F,H

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    Normally a poor value unless you got it real cheap. 50% or more discount. BTW I normally get coupons for earl changes all the time=$20, $10 off any service.

    Also they always inspect the brakes and tires looking for paid work.
     
  7. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    Better than a Brexit vote, eh? :p
     
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  8. Pijoto

    Pijoto Active Member

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    I got the prepaid maintenance package for 6 years and up to 95K miles, figured it would be worth it, since I'll most likely hit the 95K mark before 6 years...but I'm kinda paranoid that the dealer won't recommend doing anything major, even if there's a good chance it's needed, because it's prepaid and they won't make any money on it. Would like to read about other's experience on this, hopefully all I'll really need are oil changes until I'm out of the prepaid period...
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    major work is not prepaid. and you won't need anything major unless something brakes.
    through 100,000 miles, all you need are oil and filter, air and cabin filter, tyre rotation and inspections/lubrication/fluid top up as needed.

    if they do want to upwell you on 'mpg efficiency service' for $200., believe me, it won't be in your prepaid contract.

    it's easy to figure out a la carte costs vs prepaid.
     
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  10. Pijoto

    Pijoto Active Member

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    I'll have to check over what my plan covers, "MPG efficiency service" better be one of them :p
     
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  11. yeldogt

    yeldogt Active Member

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    The Toyota pre-paid maintenance plan only covers items that are required in the maintenance book. With the Prius .. basically nothing. Oil/filters/rotations.

    They may be showing you the dealers "recommended" service .. that may have three levels. The additional items in the Toyota manual are simply "inspect".

    When I priced out the plan, it worked out to be a slight savings over what my local dealer's full price charge would be. If the car was sold or totaled -- you loose the plan. Also ... my dealer has specials .. it's cheaper to pay as you go. It also did not extend past the 100k mark when the spark plugs would be due.

    In my experience the luxury brands that include maintenance for the warranty period include some additional items -- wiper blades and brake pads.
     
  12. Pijoto

    Pijoto Active Member

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    The additional items to "inspect" is what I'm most worried about, if they're inspected and needs to be replaced, it wasn't made clear they would be covered... Still, I'll most likely come out ahead by taking advantage of the full 95K Miles before 6 years, so hopefully all I'll need are Oil/filters/rotations...probably got to start saving for that big 100K maintenance though :eek:
     
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  13. szgabor

    szgabor Active Member

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    Have you actually check your prepaid agreement ? It actually delineate what is covered as part of the package. Probably NOTHING more than the User Manual says about scheduled maintanence. Tire rotation every 5k Oil change every 10k some other filter changes and the "famous" zillion point inspection whereas the breakpads tends to fluctuate Before 95k you may not even hit any other fluid
     
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  14. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    Nothing personal, but I think I'm going to take hostages the next time someone misapplies a homonym in an internet posting.

    :p
     
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  15. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    I just thought people can't spell today. I see this all of the time online. It's okay, Donald Trump is going to fix everything... :eek:
     
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  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm blaming spell check.:oops: