60K Service by Dealer or Independent Mechanic?

[Keith Tinari]

I work for a chain service station called STS (big on the eastcoast) and we use Mitchell on demand. Just out of curiosity I checked what the services are and our cars get nothing but oil changes and rotations until 100k when plugs are then due as well as a coolant flush.

Brakes are not mentioned probably because with the rotations the tech should be checking your stopping status. It seems everything on this car is on an as needed basis. Coming from a subaru these cars are pretty simple and have a whole lot of nothing going on. So unless something is worn out, already broken, or you just want to replace it. you should probably just stick to regular maint. As far as warranty goes, as long as you have a receipt for work done at a shop. You are protected by the magnuson-moss act and the dealer cannot deny warranty work, unless work done is directly linked to a failure. I hope that helps any. Being a tech already, I would never take my car to a dealer when work can be done just as well at a cheaper price now. I feel for the dealerships but if they need to over charge to keep their overhead then they dont need to be in business anyways.

[MUSKOKA800]

For the price of one dealer visit you can buy all the tools necessary to do-it-yourself maintain your Yaris.
I've not had much recent experience with Toyota shops but after bad and expensive experiences at Chrysler and Ford stealerships I learned my lesson. I don't have the spare time or money to deal with them. Having to return to get it done right (the second time) by so-called professional mechanics is inexcusible. Perhaps it's due to the fact that we must interface with "service advisers" who seem to know nothing more that keyboard skills, or perhaps are just trained to play dumb. Too frustrating!
Rant over.

Note: all the TRD and aftermarket upgrades listed below were install in my driveway with handtools and have worked flawlessly since (~35,000 kl).

[highwaypass]

i'd prefer go to the dealer,they know exactly what to do(despite the service advisor)

[supmet]

DIY is the only answer. There are threads all over the forum about people who have gone in for routine maintenance, and the dealership told them their car required hundreds and hundreds of dollars in maintenance. The economy sucks right now, and people will go to great lengths to make whatever money they can.

Change your air filter, change your oil, rotate your tires, check all your fluids, check the entire car for rust, cracks - if you want to go crazy torque your suspension and brake bolts. I'm at 72k and didn't even pop the hood at 60...

[tomato]

Originally Posted by supmet

DIY is the only answer. There are threads all over the forum about people who have gone in for routine maintenance, and the dealership told them their car required hundreds and hundreds of dollars in maintenance. The economy sucks right now, and people will go to great lengths to make whatever money they can.

Change your air filter, change your oil, rotate your tires, check all your fluids, check the entire car for rust, cracks - if you want to go crazy torque your suspension and brake bolts. I'm at 72k and didn't even pop the hood at 60...

I year ya. I'm not a gear head, though and it'll be a while before I'm confident enough to pop my own hood and play with all the stuff under there

It's hard to believe but I still haven't decided where to take the car yet. Maybe I should toss a coin up in the air.

[bronsin]

You dont have to be a gear head. Its so easy a caveman could do it.

[tomato]

Yeah, but I'm nothing like a caveman.

Just so you know, I ended up taking the Yaris at the dealership closest to where I live. They could take the car right away - while I wait - and that ended up being the deciding factor, believe it or not.

They did the 60 K service, and it looked like the actually checked under the hood because they reported to me that the Yaris looked like it just had service (that's true, it did, not long ago, when I bought the car). They found a "dirty air filter" which they changed at no additional charge. They said they liked my tires, and my brakes are still pretty good. They actually looked everywhere they were supposed to and gave me a written evaluation of the car, so I was impressed with that.

Still, it took some negotiating in the beginning becaused they "forgot" the price they quoted me last week and tried to stick me with the $500 service anyway. But once I got over hurdle with the service guys at the counter, then it was smooth sailing. The Yaris showed up ready about an hour later, with a clean bill of health

Anyway, I was in a hurry to get that service done to stay within manufacturer's guidelines but now that it's done, and I have more time ahead of me, I've decided to listen to the poster who suggested I start looking for a mechanic NOW before the Yaris needs any real work, just to build a rapport. I think that's really smart advice, so thanks for that. That's just what I'm going to do, with the indie guy around the corner.

I know, it would be even smarter for me to start learning how to do simple maintenance on my car but I'm not yet there. Maybe some day :)

Thanks for all your feedback.

[Zaphod]

Then how about it's simple enough that a mechanically inept programmer can do it? You just have to get over the fear factor.

This looks like a good walk through, but there are many others:
http://autorepair.about.com/od/regul...oil_change.htm

Just remember, not to over tighten anything. Incredible Hulk didn't change your oil last time, so just respect the amount of torque your ratchet provides when putting the oil plug back in. If you have trouble loosening the oil filter by hand, they make oil filter wrench's to help there, just only tighten it by hand when you're putting the new filter on.

The first time always takes longer, don't worry about it. After a few iterations you'll it'll be as easy as swapping a motherboard. The air filter is even easier, usually a clip on each side of the air box, that releases the cover, then you just drop in your replacement if it needs it (compare old to new if you have to they're cheap enough).

From what I understand there are no zerk fittings on these cars so you don't have to worry about a grease gun. Then just check your fluids, radiator, brake and windshield wiper fluids, auto tranmission fluid if you have an auto. If you have a manual, you would just replace the gear oil it at the specified interval, it's all in the manual. Then just look around for any gunk accumulating on any hoses.

You'll know when to change your windshield wipers, and most parts stores will install the new ones for free as I've noticed them do for people. The manual gives you all kinds of information regarding intervals for spark plugs, radiator flushes, etc ...

Then you just keep your receipts and you don't have to worry about arguing with a stealership over a $500 maintenance fee (holy smokes).

[bronsin]

Really about 90% of the "maintenance" consists of rotating the tires (putting the fronts on the rear and the rears on the fronts) and an oil change. After 30k miles you can change the air filter. After 60k the coolant.

[rningonfumes]

Good luck with everything.

I hope someday you do venture out enough to try some diy jobs.

[tomato]

Originally Posted by Zaphod

Then how about it's simple enough that a mechanically inept programmer can do it? You just have to get over the fear factor.
This looks like a good walk through, but there are many others:
http://autorepair.about.com/od/regul...oil_change.htm

...

You're right, that's EXACTLY what it is. I remember when I was afraid of looking inside my computer case as well! Then, I got over it and added memory, then ... yeah, I see what you're saying.

Thanks for the link and for the encouragement, everybody. I will definitely look into it.

[watersoilair]

5) Oh, and just for the sport of it, I went to another independent mechanic, about 10 miles from where I live, pretty highly recommended on Yelp:

Their price (they were thorough and gave me a computer print-out of what Toyota requires them to do for a Yaris that age, at that mileage (which is the same as what I typed above) $200.

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I would definitely go with these guys. While like the guy before said that it's unlikely they'll find something wrong (which is probably true), what happens if he does?? How much is he going to charge you to fix that newfound problem?

Also, these people were upfront and honest...doing it by the book. (obviously they're charging more than the poorly rated Toyota dealer - but you'd be giving the small guy some money)

[eric81]

Ok. I am not just saying this because I work for Toyota, because I don't see a penny if you get your vehicle serviced, but if you do your maintenance at the dealer, several very important things happen.

First- Your car gets serviced and checked by a CERTIFIED Toyota mechanic, who knows the most about your car. Anyone can check to see if there is fluid in the tranny, but a dealership checks the consistancy of the fluid to make sure it is still good, and nothing is grinding or anything like that.

Second- The dealer HAS to report all services to CARFAX, helping ensure your cars higher resale value. If you do trade it in and have had it serviced by Toyota on a regular basis, if it is still good on miles and years, you can get extra trade in value for having a certified used toyota.

Third- Toyota is part of the better business bearue. Is the guy down the block part of the BBB? Do yourself a favor and check the place and it's records with the BBB, you might be suprised.

[Kazimodo]

I guess it's the same everywhere .......
here on south shore Montreal the dealer told me not
to worry about the alternator light when it came on ,
it was just "flickering" ,not big bright light in dashboard,
so they told me the first 2007 Yaris had a bad regulator
in the alternator , that sends a wrong message to the
computer, and the computer interprets this as a bad
alternator and turns on the alternator light in your
dashboard , turn out to be true , 40,000 kms later I
still get that flickering alternator light sometimes , but the
bad part is that the moment the warranty ran out the
guy at the counter changed his story , same guy , all
of a sudden this was very bad , I had to change the part
for 250.00 plus labor , BASTARD, I asked around , and found
a guy who works for a B.B.Q. chicken store and they have
over 20 Yaris cars on the delivery at that restaurant and
some of their Yaris have gone for over 150,000 kms with
that flickering alternator light , so the hell with that dealer
he is not getting one cent of my money , EVER, if I really want
to get a genuine Toyota part i go the extra mile and go to another
dealer .
Writing about this to Toyota Canada did not help at all ,
they gave me the bogus excuse that ;I made my own oil changes ,
so that way ,the dealer could not do a follow up on the
alternator light "event".... bull s?%#t , the dealer would have said
same as before .
So I do everything myself , get a piece of
""carton "", slide under the car and just look around , a busted
"BOOT" will grease up the parts around it , the leaks you can
notice , the green spot on the battery is obvious, the brake fluid
goes to the galipers ,and rear brake cilinders , when you know
your brakes are almost finished, overfilling your master cilinder
will not give you more brake pads , it is all easy stuff , we paid
the big price for a car that is proven reliable , why waste more
for nothing , the more you do yourself , the more you will like
your car , for the fact that it is not putting in the poor house.
why pay 200.00 for some guy tojust look at parts of your car
when you have eyes,

[SilverGlow]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Really about 90% of the "maintenance" consists of rotating the tires (putting the fronts on the rear and the rears on the fronts) and an oil change. After 30k miles you can change the air filter. After 60k the coolant.

No, the coolant does not need to be changed until 100,000 miles (or was it 110,00?)....

Also, independent mechanics are no less crooked then stealerships....if a guy works on a car for a living, chances are very great he is crooked.

[SilverGlow]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Really about 90% of the "maintenance" consists of rotating the tires (putting the fronts on the rear and the rears on the fronts) and an oil change. After 30k miles you can change the air filter. After 60k the coolant.

Originally Posted by eric81

Ok. I am not just saying this because I work for Toyota, because I don't see a penny if you get your vehicle serviced, but if you do your maintenance at the dealer, several very important things happen.

First- Your car gets serviced and checked by a CERTIFIED Toyota mechanic, who knows the most about your car. Anyone can check to see if there is fluid in the tranny, but a dealership checks the consistancy of the fluid to make sure it is still good, and nothing is grinding or anything like that.

Second- The dealer HAS to report all services to CARFAX, helping ensure your cars higher resale value. If you do trade it in and have had it serviced by Toyota on a regular basis, if it is still good on miles and years, you can get extra trade in value for having a certified used toyota.

Third- Toyota is part of the better business bearue. Is the guy down the block part of the BBB? Do yourself a favor and check the place and it's records with the BBB, you might be suprised.

You have provide very lame reasons to use a Dealership.

Very lame.

One does not have to be a "certified" Toyota machanic to change the oil and rotate the tires...because for the first 100,000 miles that is mostly all our cars need.

Why would I want to use them and for the purposes you wrote, and OVER PAY 25% to 300% for the service?

No, dealerships are mostly Stealerships and they are big liars to the public.

The ONLY reason to use a Stealership is for getting warranty work done, and only idiots use Stealerships for everything else.