is it worth spending extra money to have oil and filter changed at toyota dealers?

Question

or is it better just to go to a local body shop..i wanna know if the dealers use better quality oil

Answer 1

This is a good question and everybody has an opinion about it and it is something you will have to make up your own mind about. However having worked in many motor repair shops i am going to put in my tuppence worth. Franchised dealers, yes they want your custom but they make money selling cars not servicing them, to them the servicing side is a pain, but to retain the franchise they must have a repair shop, their servicing plan if followed will maintain your vehicle in tip top condition and should give you many years of trouble free motoring, but herein lies the problem, because the repair shop does not make the dealership much money it is not prepared to spend much money on it buying equipment or paying staff, so if you pay your staff peanuts you get monkeys. Now before i stand on somebody's toes the car manufactuers have realized what is happening and have taken steps to rectify this situation, look around your own city and take note of which dealerships are improving their service departments image, yes, times are a changing. Now back to what i was saying before, if you have monkey's in the workshop and lets face they are the people who will service your car, do you think they will care if the service is done correctly, but all is not lost, in your owners manual you will find a service schedule where it states when the service is to be done and what is to be done, make it your responsibility to see that all the items on the list are done or go somewhere else. Now should you take it to the local shop for that service, you might feel he is a nice guy and you feel comfortable that he is looking after you vehicle, great, but is he up with the play, he may well be a top notch guy and will look after your vehicle better than any dealership [youv'e hit the jackpot] and he is always approachable. Ask around there is bound to be such a shop in your neighbourhood. Now finally oils, always use the best available oil recommended for your car look it up in the manual don't rely on the service man to know ,he more than likely puts the same oil in every car he does. he can;t be bothered to look it up, make sure the serviceman YOU entrust to look after your car can be bothered. A car is your second most expensive purchase look after it and it will look after you.

Answer 2

If you want your car to last as long as possible, then use Toyota brand oil filters and fully synthetic motor oil.

However, even if you use regular motor oil and cheap FRAM filters or whatever odds are your Toyota will still last more than 100,000 miles.

The problem with Jiffy Lube and many of the quick lube places is that several of them have been busted by hidden camera shows for not even CHANGING the oil, or draining about half and then refilling it to get the job done quickly. They use the cheapest possible oil and the cheapest filters and they will almost always try and charge you for extra services they you don't need (and that they may not even perform!)

Your Toyota dealer may be slightly more expensive, but it's almost guaranteed that they are held to higher standards than your local quick lube place and they will use the better Toyota oil filters. Personally i think it is worth the extra $10 if you are spending $20k+ on a new car you expect to last you for a while. The best thing to do is change your own oil, but in lieu of that I say take it to the Toyota dealer or to a TRUSTED mechanic. I do not trust the quick lube places at all.

Answer 3

Why go to a body shop to have the oil changed---they repair exteriors and ---------- the best place to go and save money and time is the "fast lube store"" ____ order the brand of oil that you prefer and see that they use that brand ------- the dealer uses a low priced oil and counts on your return for more of the same at a high price---the lube store will do the best job and they will check over your car and tell you if they find any other problems____

Answer 4

It is not worth the extra for an incredibly simple thing like that. You could teach yourself to do it. Alternatively, pick a high quality oil and give it to the local guy to use in the oil change

Answer 5

Although it is cheaper to change the oil and filter youself. I found that the extra 10 bucks or so is worth it if you dont want to be bothered with doing it. If you are still under warrenty it is best I think to have the dealer do it.

Answer 6

No, they don't use a better quality oil. However, keep all your receipts. Recently, a friend of mine had sludge buildup in his engine. The dealership said it was his fault for not changing the oil and using the wrong kind. Did he have proof of oil changes?

The dealership offers nothing more than keeping your information. Some local shops will do this too.

Answer 7

it all depends on whether car is still under warranty , and if it is , and toyota has a policy that oil changes must be made at dealer thats one thing. other than that it dosent matter where u have it done , toyota does not have any engine oil that couldnt be found anywhere hope this helps ps. one place i wouldnt have my oil changed is at a body shop lol

Answer 8

There is absolutely no advantage to using the dealer. Only the dealership benefits when you use them.

But the same could go for the quick lube places too. All the oil they both sell meets or beats your car's minimum requirements. So either get your oil changed as cheaply as possible, or learn to do it yourself.

Answer 9

Are you nuts! Dealers are ripoffs, anyway you slice it! If you go to the oil change place, you might get just that, they wipe your filter clean and tell you they replaced it with the same one, and you never know what kind of oil they use, ask them and they will tell you that its the best oil for your car.The old saying stays true: If you want to do it right - DO IT YOUSELF!!!

Answer 10

regrettably, a automobile with 254,000 miles on it won't earnings from man made. it relatively is why. man made oils tend to apply detergents that sparkling and dissolve deposits that different oils go away at the back of. (wait that looks like a physically powerful ingredient suitable?) nicely, specific it particularly is yet sometimes deposits on oil seals do particularly on older engines, make the seal seal extra useful (i became attempting to confirm a thank you to observe that) in short you would be cleansing the seals too nicely and locate out that your little engine has huge leaks in all places. In different words. At this element, do no longer substitute oils to man made. In all circumstances that I even have considered it has uncovered leaks.