Reason #868 why to avoid the stealership

$500 in beer.

 

Any chance someone(other than the dealer) stole the gas cap? Very easy to do.

 

Only one way to find out, go get something done on your truck and observe. Don't forget to expense it!

 

I suggest getting a drill powered pump to pump in your new gear oil

 

I use trip A everytime, and i discovered mine mjssing 1k miles after oil change, was still sitting on the battery luckily

 

Must be trip A then. I wasn't sure exactly. I knew it was one of the trips.

 

QUOTE="digitaLbraVo, post: 16530120, member: 86398"]$500 in beer.[/QUOTE]
Should last about a week.

 

Chicago has a union for mechanics?

 

Im gonna point out that the oil filter in the picture is white, where as the toyota filters are black. Thus I am slightly doubting the op went to a toyota dealership.

 

I got free oil changes for a year when I bought my Tacoma. I never took it in. I don't like anyone else working on my vehicles but on the rare occasions that I have, I always give them a good once over when I get them back.
I'd rather spend $500 on a new tool. I even have a vacuum pump and a set of gauges for A/C work, even though I've only ever replaced one condenser and compressor.
I have a real nice hydraulic press in my garage that I've used TWICE if you don't count smashing beer cans for entertainment.
Yep, I'd rather spend the money on a new tool and do the job myself.

 

I really dislike dealerships and service techs.
My brother got free oil changes on his first new car, so he took his old car in and let them change it. They crossthreaded the drain plug the first time and it dripped until he got rid of the car.


His next car was a Mitsubishi Evo. He had to take it in for something and luckily walked around the car videoing it while the tech was getting in and videoed the guy driving off to their service area.

When he got the car back and one wheel was horribly curbed. He called them on it and they said it was that way when he brought it in. He then kept escalating up the chain of command trying to get them to own up to it and finally ended up with one of the managers of the dealership. The lady still kept denying it saying it was that way when the car was brought in.

With 3 of the dealership folks in the room he pulled his phone out and showed them the walkaround and the tech driving the car off. The head lady said she would get back with him (WTF!!), however when he got home he had a voicemail from her saying a new wheel had been ordered.

I don't go to a dealer unless it's absolutely needed and I feel sorry for those who do go for everything!

 

So many problems with dealership maintenance on my wife’s last car. The accumulation of their mistakes lead to a new engine at 65,000 on her Mini Cooper S. Just barely under warranty thankfully.

 

Your exactly right.... they think they are the only ones that can fix a Toyota.

 

All of the horror stories you hear about botched oil changes are not surprising.

Think about it...an oil change takes anywhere from 15-30 minutes. Shops advertise oil change specials all the time for anywhere from $19.99 and up. Most shop labor rates are around $100 and up. So what do they do? They let some $10/hour kid do the work so they don't have to pay him the going rate of a 'certified' mechanic. That same kid may have been working at McDonald's last week...

'Free' oil changes are meaningless to me, I've never used one.

 

Bad news always travels faster and deeper than good news. And these horror stories, are no doubt, as real as the sunrise. But the reality is, for every issue due to negligence or just an honest mistake (we all make them) there are thousands of Toyota Care OCs done that are performed as they should be.

Before Toyota Care, dealerships did oil changes at a rate that's a drop in the bucket compared to the volume they do now. So it's a numbers game. The more volume you do, the more likely there is to be an issue here and there.

Toyota Care has become so prolific that my local dealership converted it's main service area into nothing but TC bays. It's actual repair shop as been moved to a large warehouse on the same property that has been converted to a shop.

By no means am I defending dealerships. But the reality is, Toyota Care serves most people just fine.

That said...I've never taken advantage of it with the 3 vehicles we've owned in the last few years. I’m one of those weirdos that actually enjoys wrenching....even oil changes. And, of course, I know it's done right...though that's more of a byproduct than the driving force

 

Sensible thoughts...Couldn't agree more.

 

I like to believe i run a better shop then most at the dealership i work at but accidents do happen.
We pay our lube techs 17 a hour, on Toyota Care services Toyota pays .50 of labor so a tech is making 8.50 before tax to service a truck under the free services.

 

A lube tech that makes 17 an hour? What the hell do you pay a good tech? And I assume the lube tech is flag

 

Lube techs are flag here, actual techs make 27-35

 

Got any openings for an ase tech?