Resale Value: D.I.Y. Maintained vs Dealer Maintained

Well, there's a lot of D.I.Y. individuals on this site, with a plethora of information on how to perform service on your Tacoma.

I'm curious to know if there is any difference in the resale values of Tacomas that are D.I.Y. maintained in a professional manner, having saved receipts, the mileage and date it was performed on vs. A dealer maintained Tacoma.

I did a Google search, and came up with a little information, but nothing to fully satisfy the differences in resale value.

From what I recall, when your Tacoma goes to a dealer for service, it gets updated through CARFAX vs. nothing when you D.I.Y., which may be unsettling for some buyers.

Please let me know your experiences you have in this matter. Hopefully it can be of help to other individuals on the site who are wondering the same. Thanks!

 

I just sold a 2014 toyota corolla with all DIY service. Never had any problem with the buyer. I paid minimum payments for the time I owned the car and made 3k off of the sale. It depends on who is buying it as well.

 

If I were buying a used truck, I would place more weight on the owner than the truck. From talking to them, you can usually tell how well it was cared for, by how well the owner knows the truck, recollection of maintenance items (and preventative), etc. I couldn't care less if it were dealer serviced or DIY (although having receipts would be a big bonus. Especially if they are original OEM Toyota components that was used).

 

I have a DIY service record that I made up. Handing a folder full of those to a prospective buyer makes a very good impression.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/oil-change-checklist-service-record.462476/

 

I personally dont care. People that do their own maintenance are probably more likely to do more services to their vehicle and take better care of it. The average person i talk to that takes their car to the dealer just does oil and brakes, "all that recommended service is just recommended, not necessary and its expensive."

I also have paperwork from a previous car i bought, it took the dealer 3 tries to do the timing belt and crank/cam seals, it kept puking oil when the owner took it home. I also had a dealer mess up a previous truck of mine during a repair. So i hold little weight to a dealer service department.

 

I doubt it would have any impact on the value.

 

but the flip side of this, if you take it into a dealer for all the maint. the dealer can jack up the price and certify it easier and sell it as certified Toyota when you trade it in since all the maint. is in the system. when you trade in a vehicle you do all the maint. on, the dealer will give you a lower price since they will take a bigger hit when they certify it since there is no history in the system.

certified Toyota has a better used warranty that a non one.

 

I thought you could add in DIY maintenance in the owners portal on toyota.com

 

I always fill out the little maintenance book in the glovebox when I do the required services, then whenever I go to the Dealer they put it in the system.

 

you can but that stays in the portal under your profile, its not added into the system as an official entry, if I remember correctly.

 

Interesting. @NoDak is correct. Straight from toyota.com:

OWNER-REPORTED INFORMATION
Dealer-reported service history records are linked to a vehicle's Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). All owner-reported service history records will be made available to the person who input the information on the site but will not be shared with future owners of the vehicle.

I wonder how DIY service entered into the system by the dealer is listed, and if it's linked to the VIN like dealer service.

 

It really depends on your buyers preference. Having any records of maintenance, official or unofficial, will be beneficial though.

 

only problem I see with the dealer adding in your DIY is there is no workorder generated that is tied to that DIY work. so no record of materials/labor tied to that entry. so its still wont be an official system entry.

when you go to the owners portal do it show dealer entered DIY entries as records?

under my 4runner it shows all the dealer work.

 

To me, the condition of the car plays a HUGE role in self-supported maintenance.

If the vehicle is in great condition, I am confident the maintenance was done up to spec. as it likely correlates to someone taking care of the car inside and out.

If the car is a mess, beat up, etc. I have doubts about the owner taking any better care of the mechanicals as the car itself.

And just because a dealer does it doesnt mean it was done right.

 

Even if the service isn't listed as done by Toyota, I still see value in having all the records in a central location that a future buyer can access.

That is the real question. Not just, "are they listed?", but more important, "are they accessible to others?"

I haven't had any dealer performed or recorded service, so I can't say. I still have ~8k miles to go before any scheduled maintenance. Maybe @ shakerhood can check it out and report back.

 

I don't have any DIY entries so I cant say myself. but it does show all my dealer performed service including the Toyota care work and my paid work.

I gave up on DIY after I moved into my 2nd home, got to old to do that stuff anymore

 

DIY versus dealer would have little, if any impact. Actually if it had ANY impact, it would be the DIY would come out the loser.
Guys, less than 5% (!) of people now even change their own oil! Seriously! Most owners have absolutely no clue, nor do they care, about anything other than looks, features and utility. Yes, even Tacoma owners. All you have to do is read the posts for a few days for proof of that.

Sure, here on TacomaWorld a lot of people are DIY. They are the enthusiasts and in the real world they are few and far between. Chances are the person who buys your truck won't give a rat's ass who changed the oil. Many won't even know that there is any difference.

Remember this: To most people today, the "maintenance" light comes on, they take it to the dealer, they wait 40 minutes, the vehicle comes back with the light off and they drive away. They have no idea what was done (they don't pay attention when the service advisor goes over the invoice) nor the importance of it. They just know something was done and the light is off and it cost them $100. That's it. TacomaWorld is not the real world lol. It's just a place for truck guys to talk about trucks.

 

Exactly, many times it's just a highscool kid changing the oil and i doubt they ever grab a grease gun to hit the zerks on the driveshaft.

 

I think it's more how much of that DIY you will recoup as a seller of the car.

Potential buyers will hopefully do their homework and determine whether the vehicle is good regardless of the aftermarket upgrades.

 

I can tell by a quick "walk-around" and a peek inside and under the hood, if the owner has maintained it well.....

Do a visual on the battery terminals, check oil on dipstick, was it rustproofed, are the door hinges all lubed well.... All this will tell you a lot..!