Toyota servicing

[philip42h]

51 minutes ago, Terry1956 said:

so before I push the button on this. Would you buy a rav 4 again, and why

I'm on my third over 14 years of RAV4 ownership (so a relative newbie to the marque). The car suits my needs and none has ever needed anything more than routine servicing ... 😉 

[NASY]

Buy again? Only if I am unable to get a new model Prius PHEV in the UK. Which apparently is current thinking, or not thinking really.

[Terry1956]

Ok, let’s review. Some people on here have made unhelpful comments on my questions. It’s not about being able to afford servicing a rav 4, it’s about being tied to one dealership in my area which in a way how you over a barrel if you want to keep up the warranty. As the car is a hybrid I think it a good idea to keep the warranty. Therefore my question was, do dealers take the Micky when it comes to servicing. 
a simple question. It’s a cash purchase, not a pcp nonsense idea. So the servicing long term is important.

kia 2.5lt not a great idea, that is if you get one on the U.K. in anything bar a saloon car.

[ernieb]

In my area there are a few Toyota dealers but they are all the same franchise. However, I will be trying a couple of them rather than use the same one when I get my next couple of services just to see if one is better than the original.

[NASY]

16 minutes ago, Terry1956 said:

Ok, let’s review. Some people on here have made unhelpful comments on my questions. It’s not about being able to afford servicing a rav 4, it’s about being tied to one dealership in my area which in a way how you over a barrel if you want to keep up the warranty. As the car is a hybrid I think it a good idea to keep the warranty. Therefore my question was, do dealers take the Micky when it comes to servicing. 
a simple question. It’s a cash purchase, not a pcp nonsense idea. So the servicing long term is important.

kia 2.5lt not a great idea, that is if you get one on the U.K. in anything bar a saloon car.

Agreed, it is a good idea to keep up the service at a franchised dealer. As for poor dealers, in terms of after sales care then certainly they should be dumped. A 50 mile journey once year to make the point seems not an unreasonable effort to make that point. On a wider note the franchised dealer does necessarily carry a considerable overhead which only the customer is able to fund so beating their prices would be easy enough for an independent operation. Given the real cost of ownership includes resale value and minimisation of exposure to risk the Relax deal is a good one in my view. I hope that's helpful, it is meant to be.

[forkingabout]

40 minutes ago, Terry1956 said:

It’s a cash purchase, not a pcp nonsense idea. 

 

Nothing wrong with PCP or HP if you get a decent interest rate.

Toyota did have 0% finance PCP last year on certain deals.

One benefit of finance over a cash purchase is in the unlikely event of a mechanical / breakdown issue the dealer is unhelpful to resolve, you can always approach the finance company to get involved as they technically own the vehicle until you finish paying for it.

 

[Hayzee]

1 hour ago, forkingabout said:

One benefit of finance over a cash purchase is in the unlikely event of a mechanical / breakdown issue the dealer is unhelpful to resolve, you can always approach the finance company to get involved as they technically own the vehicle until you finish paying for it

You're right the finance company do very much own the vehicle and I was told by my insurance company that I must declare that on my insurance submission for my vehicle on a PCP

[Yugguy1970]

Regardless of the purchasing method, the only way to maintain the long term warranty is dealer servicing.

If the individual dealer is over charging massively then yes, it may actually be worth the journey to the next.

I'm on the 0% deal with the RAV.  Looking at the rates now it's a good thing, especially as I found out it can be extended up to 12 months over the finish date if you have another order in.

For the initial question, would I have another one?  Absolutely.  I'd even go 2 or 3 years old, to get a better spec, as the new list prices are getting high.  Provided it had dealer servicing of course 🤣

[forkingabout]

FWIW: When I was a Peugeot owner, I used to drive 10 miles across to the next town to use that official Peugeot service centre then 5 minutes down the road to my local Peugeot main dealer.

My local Peugeot main dealer was completely useless plus I ended up banned from there anyway 🤣

[Talshia]

Terry,

If you take out a Toyota Pay Monthly Service Plan for 2 or 3 years then you have Fixed Price servicing, and the potential 10 year warranty; and I would hope little reason to feel concerned about being "ripped off" by  future service problems and costs.

If you are dissatisfied with the service from a Toyota Dealer, you could contact Toyota and report that to them.

My local Cardiff dealer has been no help in explaining various messages that have appeared on the car information screen, indicating that various items were expired or about to expire.......they promised to investigate and contact me in November ! ....I am still waiting .I Emailed Toyota and the issue was clarified and fixed within a week.

Good luck

Paul

[Terry1956]

Thanks talshia. I do know about the service plans. However has you have seen the dealerships are next to useless once they have your money.

i don’t want to get into bun fights over a car. So after lots of thinking I think it best that I keep with my very good local garage for services and forget Toyota. Thanks for input

[ernieb]

I have a 5 year service plan that I took out when I bought the car, it's paid monthly, and good for any of the dealerships in the franchise, 3 or 4 within around a 30/40min drive.