Almost a $3K oil change... (not really)

I typically bring my truck to the local Toyota dealer for oil changes as it is a mile from my office and extremely convenient. Scheduled an appointment for yesterday, showed at up at the service desk and was told my appointment was moved to their Quick-Lube facility next door, they supposedly handle all ‘routine maintenance’ there now. It is their building and is branded as their service facility and appears to have mostly Toyotas and the other manufacturer they sell. However, not what I expected and or planned…


I then received a text later in the day about how I need brakes and other scheduled routine maintenance. I replied to just stick to the oil change. In all fairness I absolutely need brakes as I checked them when I rotated tires last week, they are being done on 4/6. When I picked it up I was given a list of the suggested ‘repairs’, I thought some of you may enjoy reviewing this… Some of this stuff is already on my list of things to do for Spring and a scheduled road trip but I can’t help but wonder how many people actually OK lists like this on a daily basis… And, I understand it’s the service advisors’ job to notify and or upsell and probably are grading as such, but man…


The other funny thing to me is the last time I got an oil change on the ‘Toyota’ side the service advisor who drove it in the building came to tell me how clean and well maintained my truck looks for a 2018…

 

Other than the induction service it’s all pretty legit. Though I wouldn’t do BG flushes, still to regular fluids.

 

Talking with one of the service advisors last time I was getting some work done, dealerships are trying a new strategy. Because vehicle sales are slumping, dealerships are upselling on the maintenance side. This is to such an extreme that they're shifting sales people to the service side.

 

That's what I call a "wallet flush." Just remember, most of those those "due at/recommended at" services are according to who? Not Toyota, but a commissioned employee...

 

I don't disagree that they are very legit maintenance items. I was more surprised by the pricing etc. I had/have no clue about BG flushes or what they are...

Also, the transmission flush is a good idea at this point?

How about the '4x4 service', what do you think that entails? Greasing shafts etc.?

 

One quick way to check if the service team is BS.
Check both Cabin and Air filter. See if the report matches.

 

Probably also includes changing the transfer case fluid, maybe check/adjust linkage.

 

Sickening. $70 for a cabin filter

 

yeah my local dealership tried similar , but not as extreme as your experience .. the last oil change at 30k they didn't even remotely try to follow Toyota recommended maint. schedule... when providing list of "recommended" service items.. .

plus their maint. person didnt even realize i had a 4runner and kept referring to my Rav4...lol...and started arguing with me when i pointed out that my 4runner had grease fittings on the drive line and they needed to make sure they lubed them (last couple times they didnt even when i asked them to) needless to say she got a bad review when the dealership sent an email survey on service experience.
also ,
they went so far as to tell me i needed new cabin filter and new air filter even after i clearly and repeatedly told them i had recently replaced both (air filter is K&N now)...

my other vehicles i do my own maint.. and for things like out of cycle maint or brakes etc i will do on this one myself.. .rest i leave to dealership in case my drivetrain warranty would be affected if i dont take to dealership , but optional items i do myself if valid ...

 

Other than for warranty service why would anyone go to a dealer for anything they couldn't get or source somewhere else?

Money to burn?

As far as oil changes go I trust the local shop I use to do those kinds of simple maintenance jobs. And that includes a full walk around, fluid top up, filter checks, tire check and maintenance look-ahead, for $30.

Even OEM parts can be found cheaper online than physically at a dealer. All of the dealer parts I've required over that last 5 years of 4Runner ownership have been available online. Even my local Toyota pusher sells parts cheaper online than in person.

Of course there is a benefit to using a dealer. At a Toyota dealer you get to have your oil changed by an unknown high school dropout who's had a dozen bong hits before he came to work... And that's gotta be worth somethin'...

 

$1200 for brakes? Wow, you can do them for less than $300 with pads and rotors. I wonder if your rears actually need to be changed as they tend to last for a long time.

 

100 dollar oil change? I just bought 10 gallons of oil (50 bucks) from Walmart, and oil filter from dealership, 8 bucks. I was feeling that it wasn't worth doing it myself, but seeing 100 bucks, i feel way better.

Also, I was recently informed its now recommended to also get an alignment every oil change. I think dealerships have a list of things they throw out and see what sticks.

edit:10 quarts, dam 10 gallons would be a lot

 

And what is BG referencing?

 

This reminds me of why I'll never take my 4Runner to a dealership for anything except warranty service. Ouch!!! $$$$$$$$

 

It important to visit dealership or recognized service periodically to have a decent Carfax service records. I would never buy a used car without any service records. No matter how clean or smoothly it runs. Also guides against odometer rollbacks.

Just my 2c

 

Is rolling back the odometer even a thing anymore?

 

This is just plain retarded. Most people can maintain their vehicles better than a dealership can.

I've seen cars with detailed carfax records that looked and ran like shit.

I only use carfax to see if it any accidents.

 

I ended up a used Murano with odometer rollback years back from the auction- Lesson learned.

The first three years has free maintenance and powertrain for 60K

How can one justify buying a used 2006 4Runner with under 30k miles without service records?

 

That's your own personal experience .. am only sharing my own personal experiences.
Take the chill pill.

 

Why does every say chill out just because someone disagrees? No one is mad or anything.

Apologize if I hurt feelings on a forum.

 

My question exactly... Appears to be a whole product line/system that is sold to and used by dealers/shops... I had no clue.

https://www.bgprod.com/catalog/

 

Which is exactly why I said I was good with my brakes. I have the appt a local garage/mechanic/small business I actually trust. It has always been easier/more convenient to go to Toyota for the oil changes, that has ended now.

Looks like I may be adding some things to the garage and start doing my own 'routine stuff'... I thought I left the working on cars days behind long ago but maybe not.

 

I wouldnt buy anything without any maintanance records, but personally I feel carfax “records” are the poorest quality records one can have. They tell you nothing about the quality of the work, if the work was necessary, and I’m not sure how much those records could be doctored up or otherwise be incorrect. No thanks, to me I consider carfax info as unverifiable, low quality info.

Last used car I sold was my 2006 Sienna. Had it since new. The guy that bought it saw the grease-stained owners manual where I had recorded the mileage and date of every single thing I did over the 15 years I had it. I had zero receipts. He was happy as a clam seeing my notes.

That’s honestly the best form documentation, when you have the records and the guy that recorded it. It’s easy to spot the guys that looked after their vehicles. That’s why I think the best buys with used cars are not at dealers. That’s where commodity cars go, even CPO is a joke in my opinion…I put so little trust that anything like the 42,542 point inspection was done.

It doesnt have to be fancy records. They just need to show what had been done, I have to be able to believe them.

The vocabulary/tone used can imply you got worked up, even if that wasnt how you were feeling. For example, saying “that’s retarded” can set a tone on a text response that is totally different than if you said that in person. In person It’s easier to tell how somebody feels because you can also see emotions.

 

So I guess this means you dont get the toyota OE liquid gold transfer case oil? Just a no-name BG oil? Yikes, I would imagine it’s the same same for the transmission fluid? That would worry me more.

If one were to ask that dealer if they use toyota WS for the transmission, what would they say?

And would their response be believable if it’s not an aftermarket fluid?

 

I wouldn't get worked up about non Toyota ws fluid. There are a lot of options, I run 100% valvoline max life in my Tacoma.

 

Maybe…. But I think it’s something to consider for people that take cars specifically to dealerships for service. They may go there because of an expectation that OE would be used.

That would be a reasonable assumption to have. I’m sure the dealer may also like to continue to give the impression that OE is used, because otherwise they would not have an advantage over any other competent independent mechanic.

 

I’ve grown very appreciative that my father made me work on his motorcycle as a kid. I used to resent him looking on “lazily”.

I had to take my 4Runner into the dealer for the DCM recall recently and was anxious the entire time. I don’t trust anyone else with my baby. I used to work at a dealership, and I just don’t trust someone who doesn’t love it like I do to work on it (I had one particularly accident-prone co-worker once ).

I keep “ridiculously copious” records (wife’s words, but I have 44 entries in 19 months, so…), but not for any future owner, I could care less about them. For me, the maintenance and work is all apart of the hobby but I understand it’s not that way for everyone.

 

Thats far from aggressive. Stop being soft is all I gotta say.

 

What is fuel induction service. Im about to change my transfer case, front and rear diff fluid. Im at $180 for Redline 75w85 fluid.

 

Are you saying I’m soft, directed at me? Was there scorn intended in that statement? Or just joking around? Or was it more like “kidding but not kidding”? Seriously, I have no idea. Lol.

See? Tone is hard to judge when you only have written word.

I was just responding to your question. Judging from the apology, your question seemed sincere. But maybe I didn’t interpret the tone correctly lol.