Hey guys,

I'm right at about 29k on my 08 xB2 and I was wondering the story on the 30k scheduled maintenance. How many of you have done it, did it seem to be worth it? I have checked on the price yet but I would assume its a few hundred bucks. Any insight on it would be a big help...

Thanks so much!!

 

Honestly, I didn't see a real big change or anything after my dealership did it. It did cost me a pretty penny though, $287. In my opinion it's up to you if you want to get it done.

 

Honestly, it seemed a bit wasteful. They have a huge list of all the things that they "replace" or fix on your car. I found out that for some of the things they do not really replace them. Granted it was only windshield wipers, but they built it in to the price, only to find out a few weeks later they didnt actually change them. It's up to you I guess...hopefully you go to a dealership that follows through on what they claim

 

yeah thats kinda what i'm worried about, spending three hundo just to find out all they did was top off some fluids and not really follow through on how thorough they should be.

 

Go to an independant. Go to AAA or NAPA and find out who has a top shop in your area. Call and talk to them. Find out what they will do for you and how much it will cost. We can open a real can of worms that has already been opened, but like it or not, FLUIDS are the only protection you have. Keep them clean, and your systems will stay healthy. Let the get old and dirty and don't pitch a fit whey you have to replace something that has a fluid protecting it.

Will you "feel" the difference when you have a 30k service done? No. But it is good for the longevity of the vehicle overall. Your choice. Do you feel a change when you change your engine oil? No. So whay do it? Because it protects the engine from damage. Same with all your fluids, filters, belts and so on.

 

oh i'm not questioning the importance of fluids, i'm no fool...i'm just concerned that I wouldn't be getting my money's worth for all of the things they are "inspecting"

 

Then DIY and you won't have to worry about it. The only time my ride goes to the dealer is for warranty work. All fluids and filters I buy from a local parts store or online.

They don't call them Stealerships for nothing! lol

 

I can only say this about inspections. If you are not inspecting your vehicle, then the wear items and things you need to know about will go un-noticed untill they are a problem. Most dealerships work on a reaction basis...when it breaks, they fix it. Inspections are needed to check the vehicle over and try to stay proactive with maintenence and repairs before they cause you more trouble. For instance, catch break pads before they eat up a rotor. Cheaper to replace pads and machine rotors then to replace pads & rotors....unless you use the cheapest crap available, but that's not where I like to save money. Worn belt replaced before it snaps and causes other damage. Worn ball joints before it eats up tires. Worn tires before you can't stop in the rain. Get the point. The problem is that at most dealerships, the service guy is so overwhelmed with car count, that he doesn't have time to read the tech's reports. He never sells anything, so the tech stops building reports. Visious cycle. Customer looses. Again, I say find an independant that is good at what he does. Ask the parts stores who has a really good shop. They know, because they are selling them parts for all the work he does.

In our shop we inspect vehicles every time the oil is changed. That way our customers know exactly what is going on with their vehicles. If there is a problem, they know it will be fixed correctly. If there is a wear item starting to get to that point, then they know they have to budget for those items on the next round. that's a heck of a lot better then just driving along and bam! you gotta spend $500 to $1000 bucks because the dork at the jiffy lube or the punk at the wal mart didn't tell you about that thing that was about to come apart on you.

Remember when you take your car to wal mart or jiffy lube or any of these places, your vehicle is being serviced by someone with no training. the good part is that he was most likely making pizzas last week and will be flipping burgers next week. Do you really want that guy working on your car? NOT ME!

 

I had mine done today. $227.97, $159.73 of it being labor. I don't mind using the dealer. Everything is documented and if I have any problems or warranty issues, there should be no problems getting them resolved. I need this car to run with no issues for many years to come. I'm a college student and can't afford to have transportation issues and there's no way I can afford another car anytime soon given the debt I am racking up for school. So by following the scheduled maintenence and using Toyota certified dealers gives me the peace of mind I need and the confidence that my toaster will run w/o problems well after I'm done making payments on it.

 

This!!!!

 

Don't depend on dealerships to check your car thoroughly either with it being a newer car. They will just check everything good on the inspection sheet without actually checking it. And I have never seen them check to make sure all suspension bolts are tight.

 

Most of the dealerships I have worked in the lube guys don't have alot of training either. As RCPilot said you are best to find a good independent shop and don't be afraid to request a tech who does a proper job on your vehicle each time it comes in the shop.

 

All you have to do to maintain the warranty is look at the maintenance schedule for the vehicle -- and do only those items required.

If you compare the maintenance schedule with everthing the dealership does, it's usually not the same. Different dealships will do different things too -- they kinda put their own packages together and charge whatever price they think they can get away with.

The dealership will list a bunch more little stuff on top of what is necessary (most of it "inspect this, and inspect that"). The list looks long and impressive, and is made to scare fear-based people into thinking they need all that stuff checked -- but most of it is extremely basic. Generally they do little more than just replace some filters, the oil, top off fluids (generally not necessary), etc.

It ends up being a glorified and over priced oil change, is all. I don't believe for one second that they actually inspect all the stuff they say they do and check the torque settings on all the items they typically list. No way. It's not necessary anyway. When is the last time a bolt came loose on any part of the suspension or under the hood, on any new car you've owned? Like never, right??? And why would you need your brakes inspected -- the warning bar will screech when the pads need replacing. I just don't see the value-added by taking the dealerships standard 30K maintenance package, unless you're the real nervous type, know almost nothing about cars, or a little old lady.

So, my advice: Just look at the maintenance schedule and have them only do the things listed. Or do some of it yourself and have them do the rest.