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Owner's Clinic

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by GoSkins, Aug 19, 2009.

  1. GoSkins

    GoSkins Member

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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
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    IV
    Attended the New Car Owner's Clinic last night at DARCARS Toyota in Frederick, Md. About 20 people showed up. I think there were only 2 other Prius owners beside myself. The General Manager hosted the meeing. He basically went over the operation of the service department, basic warrenties and introduced the service department staff. He made a push for buying the $1800+ maintenance plan and talked about never having to pay for oil changes (what did the $1800 pay for). At this time he reminded everyone that if you wanted to use synthetic oil that would cost extra. I asked the question, about it stating in the Prius Owner's Guide (page 552) that the "recommended" oil was a synthetic oil "OW?" Did the people that bought the maintenance plan know this? He of course said he never heard of this and referred to his service guys who shook their heads (in a fashion that I was crazy) that they "didn't think so." I asked if they would check on it and get back to me. I followed up with an email today. Is the use of OW synthetic oil just a nice touch recommendation (sales) or is it necessary for warrenty? Should be interesting what I get back.:confused:
     
    #1 GoSkins, Aug 19, 2009
  2. nineinchnail1024

    nineinchnail1024 New Member

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    My advice is that the dealership is only good for getting the car. After that, visit them as infrequently as possible. Only if you need maintenance that requires dealer expertise should you go back...
     
    #2 nineinchnail1024, Aug 19, 2009
  3. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    You should have received a copy of Toyota's (note, not the dealer's) Scheduled Maintenance Guide with the new car. It lists everything that needs to be done and when. Any other maintenance item at the dealer's suggestion is a boat payment for the dealer. (Of course if something is broken and needs a repair, that's another matter.) Use this document to keep the service writer honest and many dealers will do things at a reasonable price.

    It's not unusual for the service dept to not know what oil should be used in a new model. You can avoid that problem by buying your own oil in quart bottles and handing it to whoever does the oil change.
     
    #3 richard schumacher, Aug 19, 2009
  4. jay_man2

    jay_man2 jay_man_also

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    I got a letter from Toyota when they decided that 0w20 was going to be the recommended oil going forward for certain engines and models when I owned either the '07 Camry Hybrid or '08 Highlander Hybrid. When I went to the dealer and requested an oil change with 0w20 as per that letter, they looked at me like I had three heads. I'm amazed sometimes at how clueless some of these dealer service writers are, and it's their job!
     
    #4 jay_man2, Aug 19, 2009
  5. plevan74

    plevan74 New Member

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    When I asked the same question to my local dealers, the answer I got was that they could satisfy the 0W20 requirement without using synthetic oil. My googling came up with some hits for "special" Honda or Toyota oil satisfying that grade without being fully synthetic. Whatever its origin, I would be forceful on asking for 0W20, though I wouldn't stress the synthetic part.

    If the dealers I contacted recant and want to charge me extra because they have to go with synthetic, I may be tempted to vote with my feet. But if they can meet the 0W20 requirement at no extra cost (and I take it as a requirement rather than a recommendation), then I don't have any problem with it.
     
    #5 plevan74, Aug 19, 2009
  6. GoSkins

    GoSkins Member

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    I guess the issue is recommended vs required. In my email to the manager this morning, I asked what kind of oil is in my Prius now? What did they ship from the factory with, synthetic or regular oil? I thought OW was a synthetic identifier. Does it mean something else, like Optimum Weight or something?
     
    #6 GoSkins, Aug 19, 2009
  7. donkitchen

    donkitchen Junior Member

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    Mt Airy, MD
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    2010 Prius
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    V
    This is the dealership I'm currently waiting on my car to come into. I placed a deposit almost 2 weeks ago.

    Let me know how your experience turns out. Also, if you don't mind me asking, who was your sales rep?

    I was first working with a guy and when I called back to see if the order had been placed had the receptionist tell me that he no longer worked there. After speaking with a new sales rep I was assured that all was fine and that my order should have been placed.
     
    #7 donkitchen, Aug 19, 2009
  8. GoSkins

    GoSkins Member

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    IV
    I made the deal with the Internet Sales Manager (Shawn). When it got down to paperwork he turned me over to a salesman named Edat. It was some kind of "Team" effort that left a bad taste in my mouth as far as the sales and delivery experience went. The process seemed to leave a number of holes in it that allowed for things to get lost in the cracks. It took over 3 hours to take delivery of the car because Edat could not be found, paperwork not done, on and on. I am looking forward to a better service department experience, at least I hope so. Maybe Edat is the one that is not there anymore. I sent him an email last week to verify my seat in the New Owners Clinic and he never got back to me.
     
    #8 GoSkins, Aug 19, 2009
  9. donkitchen

    donkitchen Junior Member

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    2010 Prius
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    V
    The original sales guy I was working with was Joe Bushong Taylor. After talking with him they switched me over to John Kutchak. It's so funny because every time I call him he says "you read my mind, I was JUST about to call you."

    I REALLY hope it doesn't take them 3 hours when I'm ready to get this deal done. Good lord, it should be just a matter of signing a few papers and getting me the keys. These special order deals where we pay MSRP are just easy money for them. You'd think they want to get me in and out of there to get on to the next guy.
     
    #9 donkitchen, Aug 19, 2009
  10. GoSkins

    GoSkins Member

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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
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    IV
    You should be alright. I actually think they try to do good. It was my wife's and my impression they didn't have enough people. We caught them during the cash for clunkers rush and they were on over-load. We were told we could come in and pick up our car at 1pm. We told them we had a very important meeting at 3pm. They said oh, it will only take about 30 minutes. We were there at 1pm, nobody could find Edat until almost 2pm then, the finance guy was with another customer until 3pm. It took another hour to do our paperwork. We do love our new Prius though.:rockon:
     
    #10 GoSkins, Aug 19, 2009
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