1st service .. longer than advertised!

[50p]

Just had the first intermediate / year service and checks done, although I have only owned the vehicle since April.

I booked it through the My Toyota website and was surprised to see 'vehicle drop off time 10:30 - 28/10/2021' then 'vehicle pick up time 11:10 - 28/10/2021.'

40 minutes for £190 didn't seem good value. On arrival was told it would take 2 hours, actually took 2.5 hours. When I asked where the 40 minutes came from was told it was from the call centre??

All done and happier to get 2.5 hours for my £190!

Whilst waiting at the dealers I had a look at the Yaris Cross and although 7.5 inches (remember them?!) shorter than the Corolla HB but still looked very roomy. The boot space seats up 397 litres for the Yaris Cross, only 361 litres in the Corolla HB. Downside .. black headlining ☹️ Before I bought the Corolla I was looking at a Lexus UX 250h, but didn't buy one due to the claustrophobic black cabin, the few available had white seats which I wasn't keen on.

Yes, I know the Corolla has a black headliner but I went for the pan roof so not so bad with the blind open!

[Devon Aygo]

2 hours ago, 50p said:

Just had the first intermediate / year service and checks done, although I have only owned the vehicle since April.

I booked it through the My Toyota website and was surprised to see 'vehicle drop off time 10:30 - 28/10/2021' then 'vehicle pick up time 11:10 - 28/10/2021.'

40 minutes for £190 didn't seem good value. On arrival was told it would take 2 hours, actually took 2.5 hours. When I asked where the 40 minutes came from was told it was from the call centre??

All done and happier to get 2.5 hours for my £190!

Whilst waiting at the dealers I had a look at the Yaris Cross and although 7.5 inches (remember them?!) shorter than the Corolla HB but still looked very roomy. The boot space seats up 397 litres for the Yaris Cross, only 361 litres in the Corolla HB. Downside .. black headlining ☹️ Before I bought the Corolla I was looking at a Lexus UX 250h, but didn't buy one due to the claustrophobic black cabin, the few available had white seats which I wasn't keen on.

Yes, I know the Corolla has a black headliner but I went for the pan roof so not so bad with the blind open!

The online booking system varies by dealer, as the system is adjustable to suit each dealers circumstances, the 40 minutes is time allowed to complete the service based on what Toyota call flat rate times, a dealer can then add time for the services advisor to see you in, wash & vacuum the car & again see you out, it would appear your dealer has not set times for the extras either side of the service hence the 40 minutes you saw when booking.

[Cyker]

Or they forgot to or didn't know how to  

The ones near me really don't seem to know or care how to use a lot of the Toyota UK-side systems properly - e.g. Their contact details via the Toyota website were wrong for like, 5 years before I mentioned it to them and it still took them a month to fix it!

I would love if they could do it in 40 minutes - As it is I lose a day of work to servicing because I have no idea when they'll get it back to me (Has been better these past few years, but back in the day it wasn't uncommon for me to get it back at 5-6pm!). I even paid for expedited servicing once... it wasn't. (Not even sure if they offer that service any more... would not be surprised if it was canned after my experience!)

 

[AndrueC]

My dealer was pretty good on the timescales but given the location I have to take half a day off minimum (the dealer is at my county town but it's nearly 45 minutes to get there). If Covid hadn't been around I'd have taken a day and spent most of it on the golf course relatively nearby.

[Rambler56]

Are courtesy cars not an option in your areas?  For my first service back in May I requested a courtesy car, no problem they said, even with COVID restrictions/limitations.  The only downside was the car allocated to me was still out with the previous customer as their repairs were going to take longer than expected and the one sitting outside was a top of the range Suzuki Swift with a manual transmission (the dealer has Toyota, Suzuki, and Mazda garages next to each other)!  To be honest it didn't take me long to get fully acquainted and impressed with the little car but was glad when I handed it back, it did the job and kept me mobile while mine was in the workshop.  Most of the safety tech and bells and whistles of my car were pretty much all there on the Swift, the main difference being a major reduction in size, comfort, and no relaxed auto/CVT box.  

[Cyker]

I find they never have any available unless I book a million years in advance, and (to be honest this is the real reason) I can't be ubikd to move all my kit out of my car, into the courtesy car, and back again.

 

[Rambler56]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

I find they never have any available unless I book a million years in advance, and (to be honest this is the real reason) I can't be ubikd to move all my kit out of my car, into the courtesy car, and back again.

 

No doubt you've been told a trillion times not to exaggerate the lead times for booking your service when you need a courtesy car😉.  Emptying the car of 'tempting' bits and pieces before leaving home and prior to leaving it with any garage is surely a no-brainer.  In military workshops (think massive service department with 50 bays that saw everything from staff cars to 52 ton Chieftan tanks being worked on) any vehicles dropped off for repair were inspected and everything/anything that was not a physical part of the vehicle had to be removed, including any spare, prior to acceptance.  No responsibility was accepted for any 'extra' left on the vehicles and both parties signed that everything was removed so no comeback for stuff missing on collection.  

[twintopp]

they contacted me by phone when my service was coming up , booked in courtesy car and price all done, good stuff.

[AndrueC]

I can get a courtesy car easily enough but I'd rather not drive home while the car is being serviced. That's a 90 minute round trip. I'd be on the road for nigh-on three hours in total!

Luckily the dealer is on the outskirts of Northampton and there's a nice river walk. Last time we'd just come out lockdown so I was able to get a snack. But hopefully this service the golf course will be open so I can use the courtesy car for that and make quite a nice day of it. I just hope they give me something larger than a Yaris.

[Rambler56]

11 hours ago, AndrueC said:

But hopefully this service the golf course will be open so I can use the courtesy car for that and make quite a nice day of it. I just hope they give me something larger than a Yaris.

Or a Suzuki Swift😭

[Stopeter44]

11 hours ago, AndrueC said:

Luckily the dealer is on the outskirts of Northampton and there's a nice river walk. Last time we'd just come out lockdown so I was able to get a snack. But hopefully this service the golf course will be open so I can use the courtesy car for that and make quite a nice day of it. I just hope they give me something larger than a Yaris.

I can remember when most of that area was just fields, and in the bad weather flooded! Things have moved on since it was on our cross country run circuit! (How I hated cross country running!)

[50p]

The service department is only 3 miles from home and near my sister, so if I get bored wandering around Sainsburys, I can visit her.

Are the courtesy cars free, when available, as Volvo charged £12!

[Rambler56]

1 minute ago, 50p said:

Are the courtesy cars free, when available, as Volvo charged £12!

That depends on your service department/dealer.  Some are truly free (my recent courtesy car), some charge a nominal fee for insurance cover (usually around £10 but saves faffing about with your own insurance to cover their courtesy car).  If I really need a courtesy car I'm happy to pay (happier when it's no cost though).

[Rhysm]

Why are you just thinking about time for the service 190 quid, you not taken into account the parts, specially oil which is expensive, being 0-20w, also there is time that service advisors are checking the job in and invoicing after all adds time on 

[TonyHSD]

I love to stay in the dealer while they work on the car I get an opportunity to get into all show cars and check them the way I like , and if I have extra time I can go even outside to check the approved stock too, 🤣👌

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 hour ago, Rhysm said:

specially oil which is expensive, being 0-20w,

The Corolla hybrid should have 0W-16 engine oil - the 1.2T 0W-20.

[50p]

3 hours ago, Rhysm said:

Why are you just thinking about time for the service 190 quid, you not taken into account the parts, specially oil which is expensive, being 0-20w, also there is time that service advisors are checking the job in and invoicing after all adds time on 

 

On 10/28/2021 at 6:21 PM, 50p said:

40 minutes for £190 didn't seem good value. On arrival was told it would take 2 hours, actually took 2.5 hours. When I asked where the 40 minutes came from was told it was from the call centre??

All done and happier to get 2.5 hours for my £190!

 

If you read my original post, I said £190 for 40 minutes, which I was originally told the service would take, wasn't good value but was happier when it took 2.5 hours.

 

[AndrueC]

23 hours ago, Stopeter44 said:

I can remember when most of that area was just fields, and in the bad weather flooded! Things have moved on since it was on our cross country run circuit! (How I hated cross country running!)

It's not exactly a desert now:

https://goo.gl/maps/bnH7TqgE6rDE7UkN7

Yeah cross-country running was never my thing either. Amazingly most of the route we ran in Exeter is still intact and only partially encroached on by housing.

The courtesy cars are free but you have to return them with the same amount of fuel in.

[stevecrvn]

I used a Toyota approved service centre Geraint Hill in Aberdare for the first time for this service on the auris 

. Normally use the main dealer near work to me FRF Bridgend who are very good , but due to illness this was not a option to travel that far  . To be fair car was in and out in 90 mins all very efficient and friendly 

[Cyker]

0w20 isn't that expensive now - It's actually quite reasonable if you get it from Toyota. Is still very expensive from other sources tho'.

Now, the 0w8 in my Mk4 - That's expensive oil!!  

 

On 10/30/2021 at 4:13 PM, TonyHSD said:

I love to stay in the dealer while they work on the car I get an opportunity to get into all show cars and check them the way I like , and if I have extra time I can go even outside to check the approved stock too, 🤣👌

I sometimes do that too, and also take advantage of the hot drinks machine and biscuits!   This service I had my work laptop and was just VPN'd in via the garage WiFi and answered e-mails and watched YouTube   Should have brought a tape measure with me to see if the Yaris Cross driver's seat would go in my Mk4... 

I do miss the old days when they had a PlayStation with Gran Turismo in the waiting area - Could race other similarly bored waiting customers  

 

[Velvet--Glove]

This year I availed myself of my dealer's collection service and just stayed at home while they took the car away, serviced it and brought it back. So length of service time wasn't an issue. Didn't cost me anything extra and was a far more pleasant experience than usual. Personally it wasn't a problem being without a vehicle for the best part of a day but that down time may not suit everyone, of course.

I'm guessing this is not a common thing offered by dealers as nobody has mentioned it before?

[FROSTYBALLS]

We've been offered collection options from a number of marques, not just Toyota, when the car has been in for service or repair. Not unusual. We prefer to have a courtesy car.

[AndrueC]

8 hours ago, Velvet--Glove said:

This year I availed myself of my dealer's collection service and just stayed at home while they took the car away, serviced it and brought it back. So length of service time wasn't an issue. Didn't cost me anything extra and was a far more pleasant experience than usual. Personally it wasn't a problem being without a vehicle for the best part of a day but that down time may not suit everyone, of course.

I'm guessing this is not a common thing offered by dealers as nobody has mentioned it before?

It was offered by my Honda dealer and I took them up on it when I was at work. I haven't asked if my Toyota dealer does it but since I'm nearly 45 minutes away I have a feeling that I will be out of range anyway.

[Rambler56]

8 hours ago, Velvet--Glove said:

I'm guessing this is not a common thing offered by dealers as nobody has mentioned it before?

Same as Frostyballs, it's one of the several options offered over the years.  The reality for me is I don't want 'just anyone' driving my car any unnecessary distance (at least the test drive should be done by the tech working on my car, hopefully).  'Taxi' service home and back is just a shuttle transfer with no real control over the times as they like to take more than one customer at a time.  Sitting in the dealership during the service is a pain and just dull (ex mechanic).  The Audi service department offered a viewing room to watch every detail, or, via video link, shoot me now!