Should I take a Prius in to dealer to have oil changed?

[Squisher]

First Toyota I've ever owned and it's getting close to its first 5000 mile service check.

I just got off the phone and they quoted me $90 for their service check which is:

1. oil change
2. rotate tires
3. inspect brakes

Just how persnickety is Toyota about having service done themselves when it comes to warranty issues considering I could do it myself for less than $15?

 

[Mxylplyx]

Christ. Thats theft.

 

[vi edit]

Sheesh. Does it take 10 quarts of synthetic?

Even factoring in a $20 tire rotation, that's a $70 oil change. And brake inspection at 5000 miles? I'd find a new dealer.

 

[CptCrunch]

damn, $90? should be $30 for the oil change, the tire rotation, another 15, and they can inspect the brakes in 3 seconds after they take off each wheel, we'll throw in a dollar per wheel. So thats 49 dollars for the entire thing, even that is a bit high. $90 is highway robbery. Ridiculous

 

[M2008S]

maybe if you flooring the brakes and gas all the time, put random objects in your oil and burnout everywhere (impossible?) thats pointless.

change oil yourself or have a place do it... forget the 5k inspection unless its mandatory to go on to the x mile inspection? dunno, never had a new car in the fam. LOL!

 

[thecritic]

I think you guys are forgetting how much it costs to run a legitimate auto business.

Techs get paid .4 to do an oil/filter change and .7 to do a minor service at a dealer that my buddy works at. This is 0.4 and 0.7 flat rate hours, that is normally billed at $100/hr.

$70 for labor plus another $15 or so for parts is reasonable for a service. If they are charging you less, they are losing money on the service and are using it in hopes that they can find something else to fix to compensate for their losses.

 

[vi edit]

Then the Toyota and GM dealers that I visit must be illegitimate because they only charge me $25-$30 for an oil change and another $17 for a rotation.

 

[thecritic]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Then the Toyota and GM dealers that I visit must be illegitimate because they only charge me $25-$30 for an oil change and another $17 for a rotation.

I said in the previous post that if they are charging you less than what I said, they are doing the service at a loss.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: thecritic
I think you guys are forgetting how much it costs to run a legitimate auto business.

Techs get paid .4 to do an oil/filter change and .7 to do a minor service at a dealer that my buddy works at. This is 0.4 and 0.7 flat rate hours, that is normally billed at $100/hr.

$70 for labor plus another $15 or so for parts is reasonable for a service. If they are charging you less, they are losing money on the service and are using it in hopes that they can find something else to fix to compensate for their losses.

You are on crack. We get 0.2 hours for a oil change, minor service might net us .4 or .5 at $12-20 an hour for a general technician(the typethat does most of the work in a dealership). A 4 wheel brake job might get me just over an hour(1.2) if you count turning the rotors.

How much did the dealership charge? $90 an hour for labor, 1/2 hour minimum. Do you really think ALL of that labor charge comes back to the little guy? At the end of the day, we're lucky to be getting paid 15% of the profits on the work we do for them.

If it was $100 an hour, I'd never have gone to college.

As for your oil change, any dealership will service any car, call around to other Toyota dealerships or even say Nissan or Ford dealerships(they deal with and sell Toyota lisenced hybrid synergy drive vehicles too). It should not be over $40 for a oil change, tire rotation and inspection. When I worked at Ford, we did the rotation, oil change and routine every oil change inspection for $34.95. Hybrids aren't really any different to service. Cleaner oil, different filter and regen braking, that's about it.

Also, unless your buddy is ASE certified, specialized in at least 2 fields, no way he's pulling in $70/hr.

 

[thecritic]

Originally posted by: mwmorphYou are on crack. We get 0.2 hours for a oil change, minor service might net us .4 or .5 at $12-20 an hour for a general technician. A 4 wheel brake job might get me just over an hour(1.2) if you count turning the rotors.

How much did the dealership charge? $90 an hour for labor, 1/2 hour minimum. Do you really think ALL of that labor charge comes back to the little guy? At the end of the day, we're lucky to be getting paid 15% of the profits on the work we do for them.

I guess it depends on the dealer. The Ford dealer that my friend works at, he said they get paid .4 for oil service and .7 for minor service.

Of course very little of that $$ goes back to your tech. The overhead at dealerships is huge, which is why the prices tend to be higher.

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Sheesh. Does it take 10 quarts of synthetic?

Even factoring in a $20 tire rotation, that's a $70 oil change. And brake inspection at 5000 miles? I'd find a new dealer.

I would have thought they were all the same, but I called a half dozen and the lowest price was $55. Who woulda thunk?

 

[thecritic]

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Sheesh. Does it take 10 quarts of synthetic?

Even factoring in a $20 tire rotation, that's a $70 oil change. And brake inspection at 5000 miles? I'd find a new dealer.

I would have thought they were all the same, but I called a half dozen and the lowest price was $55. Who woulda thunk?

$55 sounds reasonable. Even quick lubes where I live charge $40 for an oil change.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: thecritic

Originally posted by: mwmorphYou are on crack. We get 0.2 hours for a oil change, minor service might net us .4 or .5 at $12-20 an hour for a general technician. A 4 wheel brake job might get me just over an hour(1.2) if you count turning the rotors.

How much did the dealership charge? $90 an hour for labor, 1/2 hour minimum. Do you really think ALL of that labor charge comes back to the little guy? At the end of the day, we're lucky to be getting paid 15% of the profits on the work we do for them.

I guess it depends on the dealer. The Ford dealer that my friend works at, he said they get paid .4 for oil service and .7 for minor service.

Of course very little of that $$ goes back to your tech. The overhead at dealerships is huge, which is why the prices tend to be higher.

0.3 is rare, 0.4 is almost unheard of at Ford, by our official Ford books, I believe we wouldn't get .4 unless we wee doing a diesel F650 or something ridiculous, 0.3 would require us to be at least working on a medium duty truck, the Hybrid Escape netted us 0.2. It was simple, 4qt oil, drop in a diesel type filter, done.

Dealerships are big money makers, they dont have that much of an overhead, but the profit margins are ridiculous.

 

[thecritic]

Originally posted by: mwmorph0.3 is rare, 0.4 is almost unheard of at Ford, by our official Ford books, I believe we wouldn't get .4 unless we wee doing a diesel F650 or something ridiculous, 0.3 would require us to be at least working on a medium duty truck, the Hybrid Escape netted us 0.2. It was simple, 4qt oil, drop in a diesel type filter, done.

I could've been wrong. Let me go ask him tonight and report back.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: thecritic

Originally posted by: mwmorph0.3 is rare, 0.4 is almost unheard of at Ford, by our official Ford books, I believe we wouldn't get .4 unless we wee doing a diesel F650 or something ridiculous, 0.3 would require us to be at least working on a medium duty truck, the Hybrid Escape netted us 0.2. It was simple, 4qt oil, drop in a diesel type filter, done.

I could've been wrong. Let me go ask him tonight and report back.

I'm sort of curious now too, I haven't gone back to that dealership since I quit(more than a year ago), it was a miserable place. Bad management, bad pay, good techs, met some nice guys working blue collar as receptionists, service writers and tech, but it was just so piss poor managed, it's one of the things that turned me off of really enjoying working on cars anymore, especially as a mechanic.

Being an auto tech was a miserable job, get up early, arrive at work early, work unpaid overtime, get slapped around my multiple bosses that each want something different done and wanted it done 10 minutes ago... It just left such a sour taste in my mouth. I rarely touch my tools now unless I have to work on my or my SO's car now.

Hopefully your friend has better working conditions and wages.

 

[Tarrant64]

I take mine to a dealership every once in awhile(I have a Honda). I can't remember getting charged anymore than $49.99 unless I needed other things done. Plus, they clean the outside and inside of my car out each time as well, well at least one of the Honda Dealerships does.

The new one I go to now doesn't do this. Good service still though.

I'd say $70-$90, take the damn car somewhere else. The only reason I don't do some car maintenence mysef is so that I'm not liable if I mess something up. I am very capable of messing up an oil change. I'm just one of those guys.

 

[thecritic]

Heck, anything less than $99 is reasonable in my book.

We have dealers here that charge $140 for a minor service.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: thecritic
Heck, anything less than $99 is reasonable in my book.

We have dealers here that charge $140 for a minor service.

Where do you live? HI? Dubai? WTF?

30 bucks for my oil changes, brake inspection, fluid top offs and chassis lube included. I could only imagine a tire rotation not costing too much more.

 

[thecritic]

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: thecritic
Heck, anything less than $99 is reasonable in my book.

We have dealers here that charge $140 for a minor service.

Where do you live? HI? Dubai? WTF?

30 bucks for my oil changes, brake inspection, fluid top offs and chassis lube included. I could only imagine a tire rotation not costing too much more.

San Francisco Bay Area. Prices range from $120-$140. Lexus, Honda, etc charge $140.

 

[Ramma2]

If it means protecting your warranty coverage for now, it might be worth paying a bit more for the services now rather than getting boned if something breaks and they shaft you on the warranty.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: thecritic
San Francisco Bay Area. Prices range from $120-$140. Lexus, Honda, etc charge $140.

I called Maui Toyota. And they charge 150, about 10 more bucks. Expensive, but I expect that with Hawaain islands.
I also called Toyota of Orange (Orange County, CA), they charge 75. I don't see how 90 is a 'bargain'.

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: thecritic

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: thecritic
Heck, anything less than $99 is reasonable in my book.

We have dealers here that charge $140 for a minor service.

Where do you live? HI? Dubai? WTF?

30 bucks for my oil changes, brake inspection, fluid top offs and chassis lube included. I could only imagine a tire rotation not costing too much more.

San Francisco Bay Area. Prices range from $120-$140. Lexus, Honda, etc charge $140.

Oil changes, Tire rotation, Brake inspection was $50 for my G35. Awesome service too.

 

[fstime]

Trusted local mechanic > Dealer.


Of course doing it your self is always the best. Changing oil is the simplest thing out there.

No need to ever visit a dealer unless its for warranty purposes.

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: BouZouki
Trusted local mechanic > Dealer.


Of course doing it your self is always the best. Changing oil is the simplest thing out there.

No need to ever visit a dealer unless its for warranty purposes.

True. But remember to keep all the oil/filter receipts. I remember that my old boss's car seized up due to oil sludge but the car company (Ford) refused to replace the engine (under warranty). They wanted proof that the car was maintained properly but my boss didn't have any since never kept any store receipts of the oil he bought.

 

[fstime]

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: BouZouki
Trusted local mechanic > Dealer.


Of course doing it your self is always the best. Changing oil is the simplest thing out there.

No need to ever visit a dealer unless its for warranty purposes.

True. But remember to keep all the oil/filter receipts. I remember that my old boss's car seized up due to oil sludge but the car company (Ford) refused to replace the engine (under warranty). They wanted proof that the car was maintained properly but my boss didn't have any since never kept any store receipts of the oil he bought.

Good point.

It's also a BIG plus if you plan to resell the car in the future.

I know I give brownie points if i'm looking at a used car and all the records are kept of its servicing.