I just purchased a new '05 Prius and am trying to decide whether to purchase the Toyota Service Plan offered by the dealer. Pre-paid maintenance for the first 50,000 miles or so.
I am wondering if anyone would be willing to provide a ball park figure for costs of doing the routine maintenance at the suggested intervals at a dealer's service dept?
Probably varies depending on location, but my dealer quoted me $995. Seems like oil changes and tire rotations shouldn't add up to that much. Are the recommended inspections pricey?
I have the normal 5000 mile interval maintenance done at my dealer for $45. It includes the service listed in the maintenance manual, including tire rotation. I did not purchase the "extended warranty" as it didn't seem worth it. If you're a Consumer Reports fan, you know that CR is also against extended warranties.
Toyota will tell you it's worth the money. Most Prius owners will tell you cost of maintenance is way lower than that. Depends on your individual experience and also what dealer you go to, but you can easily get away with much less in maintenance costs...
Normally I wouldn't get an extended warranty, but for this car, despite Toyota's reputation on reliability, there's just too much that can go wrong that is only covered under the 3/36 warranty.
As for prepaid maintenance, there isn't alot to do within even 90K. Oil, oil filter, tire rotations every 5K, and air/cabin filter at 15-30K. 30K is required, but they do get dirty fast.
Sounds like your dealer is offering you prepaid maintenance. Avoid it like the plague. That is a true waste of money. Do your maintenance every 5000 like Toyota says, and if you want to save a little money at the dealer, only pay them for the labor associated with an oil change, bring the oil of your choice (something like Mobil 1 5W30 and a quality filter, like Purolator PureOne). Keep in mind that your dealer will probably be filling you up with regular oil and a regular filter. Best to only pay them for the labr.
You can negotiate a better price on the Prepaid Maintenance plan, and don't have to pay MSRP. Argue that you'll be paying twice for Toyota Roadside Assistance (since the US Prius already comes with the TRS for 3 years/36,000 miles).
Only way to tell if it'll be worth it to you is to ask your dealer's service department the costs of the scheduled services. Depending on the labor rates in your area, the prepaid maintenance plan may or may not be worth it to you.
The Prepaid Maintenance plan - be sure to check that it is good at dealerships other than where you buy the plan. Some may honor it, some may not, perhaps you're buying a plan with just that dealership and it's not the plan from Toyota Financial. http://www.toyotafinancial.com/pyv/prep ... index.html
Personally, I'd look at the Premium plan over the Classic, as then you'll get the required tire rotations and the major services included.
I will note that last I checked, Troy D. at Toyota of Greenfield, MA, was offering that plan for $670. You can find his info in the dealer listings of my Extended Warranty document: http://www.vfaq.net/docs/ExtendedWarranty.html
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