| rev:text
| - This review is specific to Service department.
I've been a loyal Toyota service customer since I bought my Prius new in 2005 (here in charlotte since 2007). With the vehicle under warranty and with some recall issues now and then, it always made sense to bring it to the dealership for service or issues. I've been happily keeping it in top shape for 11 years this way, collecting the official stamps in my service log like a nerd. Max resale value!
I've begun to question this decision though. Toyota service and labor is simply not competitive with the market. I had two tires that were borderline and could be replaced. I had called ahead to price them, and this center's Yokohama tires are $99 each, and around $317 total to install a pair (including the $198 of tire cost). This is insane - first of all, I can't even find another place selling any Yokohama tires in my size for over $78. Instead I went to a tire place to get two new tires put on for $132 (including $90 for two new, 60k mile warranty tires), less than half the Toyota price. They were fast, efficient, helpful, solid guys.
I was fine giving Toyota a break on that - maybe tires demand a high profit margin for some reason. But during my service - which, aside from taking over two hours, was otherwise fine - they found a bulb that sits over my license plate that was out. This is a $2.99 bulb, but I was quoted around $75 for the replacement effort. This is also insane - the process is popping off a plastic cover, switching out a bulb, and popping the cover back on. I know because I bought the bulb and did it myself in about 3 minutes. I am probably the least handy person in any random sampling of 30 guys, by the way. Yet I made approximately $1,500 an hour in those three minutes for my handyman skills!
Basically, using Toyota service for warranty issues and recall problems is defensible, but on the other side, things like minor maintenance (tires, oil change) are prohibitively expensive, and simple things you can do yourself with 3 minutes of YouTube assistance, rather than $25 a minute in their shop. It's the internet age - you can lookup your car and order a part, or even wander into a parts store, get what you need, and put it on yourself or with the help of YouTube.
I guess you can't expect costs to plummet given all this, but...seeing them so far above-market is kind of head-scratching. I don't think it's hurting them - their waiting room is always packed, and there are enough people with new vehicles that want brand-name service...heck I was just the sign-off-on-whatever-they-wanted-to-do type for years, so I can't fault them. If you go here for service, do yourself a favor and compare prices ahead of time to be informed, and do simple light bulb replacements yourself to save coin.
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