REALLY CARSON CITY TOYOTA!?!?

I only go to the dealer when it’s really out of hand and I think they can handle it better. That’s rare though lmao cause dealers are scammers

 

because I am not mechanically inclined. I was barely able to replace all my suspension by myself. No way was I going to try and attempt water pump, oil pump and crankshaft seal. It’s my daily driver now that I sold my Corolla. I needed it done in one day.

 

you sold your Corolla... those 1st gen tacomas and camrys are lifetime vehicles.

My cousin is a service manager at a Hyundai / Subaru dealer and he tells me that it might take a day sometimes just to get oil changed... the techs are salary and small commision and just dont care. Sure you can fire them and replace them with what, more of the same? I told him that when I retire I will come in and be your oil change guy and only your oil change guy and I will work 100% commission. When I started out at a Toyota dealer doing oil changes on commission I was flagging more than the brake and tune up guys were.

 

well they seemed to work on my truck like it was their own. I poked my head under when I picked it up and checked the oil pump and water pump out and they were all nice and shiny and new. So hopefully the leak is fixed. Parts replaced have a one year warranty by the dealer so if they start to leak I can take it back in.

 

Find a competent independent mechanic. With google reviews, Yelp, Facebook, etc. these days it’s not hard to narrow down the best ones in your area. Dealerships typically staff techs good enough to read a scanner and do basic jobs. I’ve had a dealer install a leaf spring bolt the wrong way so it was gouging the shackle and then forget to put a nut on the front leaf spring bolt after I brought it back to have them undo the stoopid the only time my truck went to one for the recall leaf springs. Recently a family friend brought his 99 Mazda / Ford Ranger to a Mazda dealership and they “diagnosed” a broken fuel pump and were going to bill him $1100 to replace it.

He was broke enough to not make a $1100 repair on a $3000 truck so he asked me if I could do it. I replaced the pump stupidly without turning the key and seeing if it primed the fuel lines. If I had I would have heard it turn on for 2 seconds. Long story short, replaced the fuel pump with another one he bought, still wouldn’t start, confirmed both new and old fuel pumps worked and engine was getting fuel pressure and spark plugs getting signal. Reach in the timing cover and the timing belts not even on the cam pulley.

Those morons would have charged my friend $1100 to replace a fuel pump that’s working on a $3000 truck with a broken timing belt AND then charged him whatever they wanted for the timing belt repair ($18 part mind you).

I know there’s a few good techs scattered about dealerships, but you might as well expect someone with the same intelligence as a jiffy lube oil slinger for the most part at dealerships. The couple times I’ve had a vehicle go there it’s been a complete joke.