Hehehehheheeee We used to charge $600 for 30/60/90k service. The techs would FIGHT over who got to do them. As a CP (customer pay) we flagged 4.5 hours for a job that could be slammed out in under an hour. Our lead technician used to come in at 8, leave by lunchtime, and flag 16-18 hours for the day.

Generally, the technician who supplied the service writer with his hi-test weed got most of the service RO's.

Besides being a huge profit center for the stealership, it is also a great opportunity for a fishing expedition to look for upsell potential.

Look buddy.... Wal-Mart has the best prices on oil and filters, period. The engine air filter and CAF can be purchased online for $10-$15 a piece. Brake inspection is visual, do you have enough pad left? Pulling the wheels is a great time to clean out the underside of the car and I also like to turn them over and clean out the inside as well, it prevent gunk from fouling your wheel appearance.

You have to be careful of tightening and loosening the drain plug and oil filter, and you will probably dribble some down your arm the first few times until you develop a technique. You will need a 14mm box wrench and a torque wrench with a 19mm socket for the lugs. Since you don't make your living this way, the $30 torque wrench from Harbor Freight will serve you just as well as the $400 model from Snap-On. You can get a decent floor jack and stands from Harbor too.

It's a win-win situation. You save a ton of money and have the self-satisfaction of a job done right. The men in the neighborhood will respect your efforts and the women will be asking for your advice on car service. For my job, I teach diesel technicians how to repair hydraulic equipment on commercial vehicles. I love that work because it comes naturally to me. If you ever want or need advice on doing this work yourself, please feel free to contact me any time.

/Tom

 

There is a big difference between Toyota dealers about what constitutes 30K service. My selling dealer quoted $150 for basic 30K service (changing oil, oil filter, air filter, cabin air filter, and checking all other fluids and maintainence prone items such as brakes. On the other hand the dealer closest to me wanted to give me special $600 plus service. He wanted to replace my tranny fluid and differential fluid, drain and flush my radiator, change my oxygen sensor and other nonsense not called for or recommended by Toyota at 30,000 miles.

 

I'm inclined to agree. In fact I try to keep my car away from everybody as much as possible. Sure there are some maintenance items that need to be done every once in a while ,but mostly I just change my oil every 10k (Mobile 1) and life is golden. No problems in 50k miles. If it ain't broke don't fix it!

 

I do the basics myself, but things can crop up that necessitate a visit to the dealer. We've currently got an ailing intermittent wiper, and a strange noise in the steering rack (or somewhere) that they are looking into. Also, anything involving hooking up to the Data Link Connector and engine diagnostics is beyond the reach of the average do-it-yourselfer.