Service Plan via Toyota.

[Haliotis]

Bought my C-HR back in April 2023, and arranged service plan at same time.  Plan last two years before renewal.  Already had one service and MoT.  Got a phone call from Toyota today, and was told that my next service, although not until September 2024, needed to be booked in now.

Then the receptionist told me that there seemed not to be enough funds in the plan - I have been paying Direct Debits from the start.   I said I was not happy with this situation, and my plans with VW were no problem over a 20-year period.  When I was moving over from VW to Toyota, the VW service department did say that they could easily take on the servicing of my Toyota.  Depending on how the situation is sorted, I am now keeping it in mind to use VW.  Only problem is, would I lose the add-on year’s warranty if the service is by a non-Toyota dealership?

[FROSTYBALLS]

14 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

Only problem is, would I lose the add-on year’s warranty if the service is by a non-Toyota dealership?

Yes.

[FROSTYBALLS]

15 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

Then the receptionist told me that there seemed not to be enough funds in the plan

Depends what was included within the service plan - was it for two services and two MOTs, or two services. Aside from the above, if the receptionist was looking at the plan's funding now (July), then there probably won't be sufficient funding currently to cover the September service but come September, if the plan had  been calculated correctly when taken out, the funding should be there.

[Cyker]

What do you mean there wasn't enough funds in the plan?? I thought the whole point of these plans is the price is fixed - They calculate how much it would cost and you get charged that spread over a period of time instead of all at once, no??

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 minute ago, Cyker said:

They calculate how much it would cost and you get charged that spread over a period of time instead of all at once, no??

That's correct.

However, if the service is due September and the receptionist is looking at the plan's funding as at July, there won't be enough. They need to take into account what is paid in up to the end of the plan - presumably September.

[Bper]

What was the terms of the plan and the direct debit payments required.?

[Mojo1010]

31 minutes ago, Cyker said:

What do you mean there wasn't enough funds in the plan?? I thought the whole point of these plans is the price is fixed - They calculate how much it would cost and you get charged that spread over a period of time instead of all at once, no??

 

Reading between the lines there may be more to this calculation than what has been presented here. If there was 2 months of payment short then the staff made a mistake. OP got car in April 2023. OP needs to clarify what amount is short and why with them. 

[Cyker]

18 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

That's correct.

However, if the service is due September and the receptionist is looking at the plan's funding as at July, there won't be enough. They need to take into account what is paid in up to the end of the plan - presumably September.

Sorry if I'm being dense, but not enough what? Money? But if the price is fixed, why wouldn't there be enough money if they already calculated it? 

 

[Paul john]

2 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Sorry if I'm being dense, but not enough what? Money? But if the price is fixed, why wouldn't there be enough money if they already calculated it? 

 

This caught me out once. It happens when your “estimated millage” used to calculate the service interval increases dramatically in real world driving so therefore the service interval arrives quicker than anticipated. 

sample calculation

estimated monthly millage 1000 so a £500 service would arrive in month 10 so £50 per month

however im actually doing 1500 per month so at £50 per month in month 6 when your service is due you would be £200 short of the cost. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Just now, Cyker said:

Sorry if I'm being dense, but not enough what? Money? But if the price is fixed, why wouldn't there be enough money if they already calculated it? 

Think we need to revisit the first post and need some clarification.

We don't know whether the servicing is being done on the time basis (every 12 months) or mileage basis (every 10,000 miles).

The car was purchased used in April 23, and the service p!an was for 2 years. Presumably the service plan was taken out at time of purchase (?) and one service has been carried out (Sept 23?).

So if the plan was purchased in April 23, it runs through to March/April 2025. The next service is due Sept 24 - around six months before the plan ends. In which case, there may be a shortfall. 

Basically the timing of the services is out of kilter with the service plan - ie the second service appears to be due several months before the plan is fully paid for.

[Cyker]

Wait, so you have to have *already* paid them amount that the service would be *before* they will service it under the plan??!!

That's not how I thought this worked at all - I thought you just get a set number of services for a fixed cost and and pay them off over a fixed period - I didn't know you had to pay for them *in advance*!

It'd be like me having to have paid off my car instalments fully before I could drive it!

So what we're saying is, in this case, the OP would have to pay extra, on top of their normal regular instalments, in order to fully pay for the service, somewhat defeating the point of spreading the cost out over regular manageable payments??

[FROSTYBALLS]

5 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Wait, so you have to have *already* paid them amount that the service would be *before* they will service it under the plan??!!

Different scenario, but with service plans I've had with various manufacturers, the plan's have begun when the new cars were collected by me. So services have been due at each annual anniversary (time basis) of the cars first registration. So by the time the last service of the plan was due, the plan had been fully paid up (eg. 3 services on a 3 year plan).

With this instance, although the plan is for two years, we don't know how many services it covers, or whether the servicing is on the time basis or the mileage basis. If it is the time basis and the plan covers two services, this may be the final service of the plan - in which case it seems there may be a mismatch between the timing of the service and the end of the plan. Ie. the plan may be in deficit several months before the end of the plan. 

Which is why we need some clarification on when the plan started and what it covered.

[Paul john]

3 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Think we need to revisit the first post and need some clarification.

We don't know whether the servicing is being done on the time basis (every 12 months) or mileage basis (every 10,000 miles).

The car was purchased used in April 23, and the service p!an was for 2 years. Presumably the service plan was taken out at time of purchase (?) and one service has been carried out (Sept 23?).

So if the plan was purchased in April 23, it runs through to March/April 2025. The next service is due Sept 24 - around six months before the plan ends. In which case, there may be a shortfall. 

Basically the timing of the services is out of kilter with the service plan - ie the second service appears to be due several months before the plan is fully paid for.

In my experience. There is always a question asked.

how many miles do you do a year ? 
after that question is asked they work out the monthly payment. 
 

does not seem to be calculated by time , rather by millage.

[FROSTYBALLS]

46 minutes ago, Paul john said:

does not seem to be calculated by time , rather by millage

Not in my experience - which is with Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota ....

[Haliotis]

I have been on the phone this morning to get the matter resolved, and there does seem to have been some clerical confusion.

The car was purchased in April 2023 from Toyota Nuneaton, and the service plan arranged by their salesman at same time.   The plan is serviced by a company called Emac.

I am retired, and my current annual mileage is calculated at 6,000 max per year.

The call that started all this was (I now find out) from Toyota Birmingham, and it was their agent who mentioned a lack of funds.  Why I should get a call from them is anyone’s guess!   I have already checked my bank statement payments (Direct Debit) and they are fully paid up to date.

The only reason Toyota Birmingham could be interested in my vehicle (and it’s only a guess) may be that the vehicle was originally supplied and serviced by them.

Toyota Birmingham gave me a phone number for Emac and I have been in contact with them.  The Emac agent checked my plan and said that “with my particular plan there is no question of lack of funds and someone must be confusing themselves over type of plan.”

[Bper]

52 minutes ago, Haliotis said:

I have been on the phone this morning to get the matter resolved, and there does seem to have been some clerical confusion.

The car was purchased in April 2023 from Toyota Nuneaton, and the service plan arranged by their salesman at same time.   The plan is serviced by a company called Emac.

I am retired, and my current annual mileage is calculated at 6,000 max per year.

The call that started all this was (I now find out) from Toyota Birmingham, and it was their agent who mentioned a lack of funds.  Why I should get a call from them is anyone’s guess!   I have already checked my bank statement payments (Direct Debit) and they are fully paid up to date.

The only reason Toyota Birmingham could be interested in my vehicle (and it’s only a guess) may be that the vehicle was originally supplied and serviced by them.

Toyota Birmingham gave me a phone number for Emac and I have been in contact with them.  The Emac agent checked my plan and said that “with my particular plan there is no question of lack of funds and someone must be confusing themselves over type of plan.”

Hi Albert, I understood this was a mistake, can you just clarify for my own understanding. I thought Toyota's service is 10,000 miles or 1 year whichever comes first. So how does your 6,000 annual mileage factor into this. Was this just info or is there a service plan that works on  annual mileage over a 2 year period.?👍

[Haliotis]

1 minute ago, Bper said:

Hi Albert, I understood this was a mistake, can you just clarify for my own understanding. I thought Toyota's service is 10,000 miles or 1 year whichever comes first. So how does your 6,000 annual mileage factor into this. Was this just info or is there a service plan that works on  annual mileage over a 2 year period.?👍

Hi Bob.  You have answered your own question:  Toyota’s service is 10,000 miles OR 1 year, whichever comes first.

So, with my 6,000 miles per year, the service would be every 12 months.  For anyone exceeding the 10,000 miles, the service would be on reaching the 10,000 miles mark, be a variable service period, and not related to any fixed time period.

The 2-year period is just the length of time before renewal of the contract - nothing to do with actual mileage per year when that is less than 10,000 miles.

My service plan with VW was very similar - their contract renewal period being over 4 years.