Taking car to the dealer tomorrow

It's time for an oil change and tire rotation, so I scheduled an appointment with the Toyota dealer tomorrow. I received an email from them today, with the following attached:



I specificallly asked if that coupon applies to my car, because it uses synthetic oil, and yes, it does. I will be charged $99.95 for the services listed, plus tax.

I also told him the battery I now have is a 3 year battery and it's almost that old, so I want to get a new one before it goes out. [I had to it buy this one at a local garage 2½ years ago and they charged me $262.61 - which included tax.]

The dealership will charge $222.00 tomorrow for a 7 year battery, installed.

Good luck! Hope all goes well with your maintenance and battery! I have a Toyota also. Love the car!

MACKTEXAS said:

It's time for an oil change and tire rotation, so I scheduled an appointment with the Toyota dealer tomorrow. I received an email from them today, with the following attached:

View attachment 502268

I specificallly asked if that coupon applies to my car, because it uses synthetic oil, and yes, it does. I will be charged $99.95 for the services listed, plus tax.

I also told him the battery I now have is a 3 year battery and it's almost that old, so I want to get a new one before it goes out. [I had to it buy this one at a local garage 2½ years ago and they charged me $262.61 - which included tax.]

The dealership will charge $222.00 tomorrow for a 7 year battery, installed.

Click to expand...

The original factory installed battery in our 2012 Chevrolet Sonic lasted NINE years. It was replaced in 2021. We live in Toronto, so our winters are cold, and the car has never been in a garage, only parked on an open air parking pad in front of our house. It is now 14 years old. It now has 80,000 kilometers ( 48,000 miles ) on it. We swap tires twice a year, fall and spring. The original factory tires are from Good Year, and the winter tires are from Blizack.

Each set of 4 tires are mounted on rims, so the tire swap only takes about 30 minutes, and we store the tires not being used in our garden shed. A week after the tire swap, I tighten the lug nuts with my own torque wrench, to be certain that they are properly secured.

We do the tire swap in the fall when the temperature is regularly below 7 Celsius . Snow tires have a much softer tire compound than summer tires, so they have a much better stopping distance in ice and snow conditions, and their tread design sheds snow as they rotate. IN Northern Ontario, many people have studded winter tires on their vehicles, which improves their stopping ability and steering control. JIMB>

JIMB>

@MACKTEXAS
Great planning all the way. Preventive maintenance beats breakdowns that cost more in the long run.

Sounds good.

I miss the old time dealerships and repair shops that used to look things over and give you a bit of a rundown on things that might need repair and replacement in the coming months.

I think that many people believed it was just a way to rip folks off but I always appreciated the heads up.

Let us know how you make out!

MACKTEXAS said:

It's time for an oil change and tire rotation, so I scheduled an appointment with the Toyota dealer tomorrow. I received an email from them today, with the following attached:

View attachment 502268

I specificallly asked if that coupon applies to my car, because it uses synthetic oil, and yes, it does. I will be charged $99.95 for the services listed, plus tax.

I also told him the battery I now have is a 3 year battery and it's almost that old, so I want to get a new one before it goes out. [I had to it buy this one at a local garage 2½ years ago and they charged me $262.61 - which included tax.]

The dealership will charge $222.00 tomorrow for a 7 year battery, installed.

Click to expand...

I had my battery replaced this year when I had to have a tune up in the fall. It was six years old and I wanted to be ready for winter.

Good thing. Winter was a bear this year with most days' cold temps depleting the battery pretty good.

The battery I replaced was one I bought and kept in the trunk years ago because I sensed my battery, at that time, was going bad.

So one day back then, I came out of the supermarket to a dead battery and was lucky to have the spare in the trunk.

MACKTEXAS said:

The dealership will charge $222.00 tomorrow for a 7 year battery, installed.

Click to expand...

FYI AI says: Warranty vs. Lifespan: Many retailers offer 7-year warranties (often pro-rated after the first 2–3 years), but this is a financial guarantee rather than a promise of durability. A battery can outlast its warranty, or fail significantly earlier.

I would skip the new battery, chances are very good you'll get another 2-3 years out of it.

Aunt Bea said:

Sounds good.

I miss the old time dealerships and repair shops that used to look things over and give you a bit of a rundown on things that might need repair and replacement in the coming months.

I think that many people believed it was just a way to rip folks off but I always appreciated the heads up.

Let us know how you make out!

Click to expand...

Aunt Bea. We have been using the same G.M. dealership for over 25 years now. Three cars in total, one new, 2 used ones. Our service advisor Marco has been employed there for 29 years. They still do the inspection routine, and the report shows what needs to be done NOW, and what can be left alone until the next service time. The report uses 3 colors to indicate the severity of the problem, red, amber and green, and they measure the brake discs and shoes and record it on the report form. JIMB>

I buy my tires at BJ’s. They include tire rotations every 6000 miles. I am very consistent having it done. I had 1 vehicle that I avoided having it done and later, maybe about 25,000 miles on the tires, they cupped. I couldn’t tolerate the noise they made, so I bought new tires and kept up with the 6000 miles rotation. The dealer charged $80.

I hope you can get out of the stealership without getting the following line. This car is not safe to drive home. You need $3000 in repairs before we can safely release it to you.

jlhog said:

I hope you can get out of the stealership without getting the following line. This car is not safe to drive home. You need $3000 in repairs before we can safely release it to you.

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Call a tow truck. Have the car towed off the lot, then pay the tow driver to tow the car to a State authorized inspection station. Have the car inspected by the State authorized mechanics. Get a written report about the mechanical condition of your car. Sue the dealership. JIMB>

Sounds like a good deal. When Mrs.L got her current car, she got a 3 year maintenance deal on it. The deal was with the dealership chain, so it could be taken to any of the garages for maintenance. We don't rotate tyres in the UK, but northern countries fit different tyres for summer and winter seasons.

jlhog said:

I hope you can get out of the stealership without getting the following line. This car is not safe to drive home. You need $3000 in repairs before we can safely release it to you.

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I hope so too. I've been going to the same dealership for the past 8 years, and have been treated fairly the entire time, with no surprises. However, a long time ago, I had an experience kind of like that at the independently owned local garage.