Saratoga Springs Toyota Dealer -- Please provide feedback

I've just moved to Saratoga Springs, NY. I was planning on getting my Prius serviced at New Country Toyota on route 50 in Saratoga Springs, NY. I've had my car serviced for two years at Westboro, MA Toyota. They did a great job. I want to find another dealer that I can trust to do a good job at a fair price. Does anyone on PC have experience with New Country? If so, please let me know how they are.

Apparently New Country's regular Prius oil change service costs $80, versus about $30 at most other places. I asked why it was so expensive. They said they check out the hybrid system and other things. That sent up a red flag. The owners manual doesn't call for the hybrid system to be checked every 5,000 miles. I've got 53,000 miles on my Prius. As far as I know, Westboro only checked the hybrid system when they did a major 30,000 mile service. And my car runs perfectly.

The sad thing is that I know the hybrid system doesn't need to be checked every 5,000 miles. But I suspect many other drivers don't. They would trust the dealer when the dealers sells them services they don't need.

If New Country is trying to sell Prius owners services they don't need (and I sincerely hope they are not), it's a very bad business strategy. They might make money off people once or twice. But many wouldn't go back. The smarter approach is to just charge a fair price for work actually needed. This way they keep the customer for years and wind up making a lot more money.

I hope I'm misunderstanding something about New Country's regular oil service policy. They're conveniently located. And I would like to go there, as long as I can trust they'll treat me fairly.

 

Why did you bother to respond if you're going be an idiot.

Maybe someone living elsewhere once lived near Saratoga Springs and is familiar with this dealer.
Maybe someone on PC has a relative or friend near SS that knows this dealer.
Maybe someone knows a way of getting feedback about dealers that I'm not aware of.
Maybe I wanted to maximize my chances of getting feedback on this question.

 

Thanks sl7vk!!

 

[QUOTE

From reading this forum and looking in the manual this is BS because Toyota cars can already take ethonol fuel.

When 10,000 mi came around I did my own oil change which is what I suggest you do too

Good luck[/QUOTE]

Thanks SureValla! And sl7vk!

Sounds like New Country likes to overcharge. I think that's a dumb business strategy. If they treat people well, they'll eventually do the repairs, just not as soon. By overcharging, they'll lose most of the repairs since many will go to a more honest dealer.

I'll give them a shot on the oil change and see what kind of vibe I get. I also need new front brakes. I'll probably do that there too. Their prices aren't too much more than Monroe muffler. With the VSC, ABS and traction control, I'd rather have OEM parts.

Thanks again!
Frank

 

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the info on the ceramic brake pads! That sounds like the best option -- better performance, less rotor wear, less dust. I called Monroe and Midas for brake prices. They both offer ceramic pads. I'll ask the dealer if they have them too.

Saratoga Springs is a great town. I can actually get around in my Prius, which of course was not the case when I lived in Manhattan. Then I had to rely on the motorcycle, which was exciting!

Cheers, Frank

 

Thanks Tom! I'll check these out...