Toyota Main Dealer or Independent Servicing

[jonny123456]

My Avensis (2011 T4 CVT) is now a few months out of it's 5 year warranty, (and about 1000 miles overdue it's next service - which IIRC is a full one). 

Looking on the fixed price servicing page it looks like this one will cost £330 .  They also do an Essential Care service for cars over 5 years old for £180.  The local independent who I've been using for my wife's car for the last year or so would charge around £110 for their 'full service'. 

I also think the rear brake disks are going to need doing soon, and possibly front tyres too, so this could come to quite a hefty bill if using the Toyota dealer.

On the other hand, I had to have the gearbox replaced under warranty last year (would have cost >£7,000), so I'm wondering whether it's better to stick with Toyota in case there's ever the need to request a goodwill payment in the future (though I may have scuppered all chances of that being over the service interval now anyway!). 

Any thoughts on when's the right time to jump from main dealer servicing to local independent?

Car's done approx 75K miles, and I'm most likely planning/hoping to keep the car until it dies if that makes a difference. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Purely your choice.

Servicing outside the dealer network will reduce, if not negate, any possible goodwill from Toyota in the event of a request for goodwill assistance. The fact that the car is overdue its service (and beyond the leeway that Toyota allow (1 month or 1,000 miles, whichever occurs first)), will also have a negative effect, but precisely what that effect may be is impossible to determine at present.

[rogersp]

I've got the same vehicle, 2013, and have always used an independent who have been great. Had a couple of warranty claims sorted by Toyota without any issue.

I'm just about to post a query regarding the CVT transmission as I understand it's a little complex, or is It?  

Good luck with you motor, I think mine is the Mutts Nuts! 

[FROSTYBALLS]

13 minutes ago, rogersp said:

I've got the same vehicle, 2013, and have always used an independent who have been great. Had a couple of warranty claims sorted by Toyota without any issue.

Goodwill claims outside of the new car warranty are a different kettle of fish to warranty claims within the new car warranty. For a goodwill claim outside of warranty, one of the things the manufacturer will look at is whether it has been serviced within their dealer network, and where it hasn't, there is no compulsion (legal or otherwise) for the manufacturer to provide goodwill assistance.

Goodwill works both ways.

[mickburkesnr]

I went to my local(ish) Toyota Dealer when looking for bits for my Corolla, and the young lad asked me what I was doing. I said I was servicing the car and changing the cam belt while I do it. The lad asked me if I wanted a service pack for the car, cost about £35/£40 which consisted of 5 litres of oil, oil and air filter, and either spark plugs or pollen filter. I didn't need it as I already had the stuff bought (and lost the receipt like an idiot). But he said all the taxi drivers in Birmingham go to the dealer and get the service kit for their car, then bring it to some back street guy to do the service. It counts as a stamp in the book too as it's all official OEM Toyota products.

Worth a thought anyway!

[FROSTYBALLS]

 

17 minutes ago, mickburkesnr said:

I went to my local(ish) Toyota Dealer when looking for bits for my Corolla, and the young lad asked me what I was doing. I said I was servicing the car and changing the cam belt while I do it. The lad asked me if I wanted a service pack for the car, cost about £35/£40 which consisted of 5 litres of oil, oil and air filter, and either spark plugs or pollen filter. I didn't need it as I already had the stuff bought (and lost the receipt like an idiot). But he said all the taxi drivers in Birmingham go to the dealer and get the service kit for their car, then bring it to some back street guy to do the service. It counts as a stamp in the book too as it's all official OEM Toyota products.

Worth a thought anyway!

If the car is still within the new car warranty, as long as the garage (back street guy or whatever) was VAT registered this would satisfy the servicing requirements under Block Exemption, and it would maintain the requirements of the new car warranty.

Outside the new car warranty, and as regards goodwill, this arrangement would be the same as I outlined in my last post - i.e. the manufacturer would look at whether the owner has shown goodwill to them, by having the car serviced within the dealer network, and, if not, goodwill would probably be denied.

[jonny123456]

Cheers for all the replies.  Frostyballs, I suspect you're replying to the other posts in this thread, though I wouldn't expect good will if taking the car elsewhere to be serviced.  As you said it's a two-way thing. 

My dilemma was more towards whether to go for cheaper servicing/repairs and give up the potential for good will, or stick with the main dealer just in case something expensive needs repairing in the future, on the off-chance that I'd get a good will contribution. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Yes, I was replying to the posts I'd quoted.

Think with Essential Care servicing being introduced earlier this year, Toyota, like manufacturers who offer similar service schemes for out of warranty vehicles (e.g.. Ford, VW, Hyundai, etc), are seeking to keep more owners within the dealer network. The Essential Care servicing also satisfies the service requirements of the Toyota Extended Warranty, where servicing has to be undertaken within the dealer network.

Of course, you could have the servicing done under the Essential Care scheme, and go elsewhere for the rear brake discs (cost currently £260 under Toyota's fixed price repair scheme), which may save a bit.

Might be worth looking at Toyota's Extended Warranty, as for most of last year they were doing two years for the price of one, and the cost also includes Roadside Assistance.