Toyota of Walnut Creek service dept?

I would think it depends on the mechanic and the service adviser. Not really the dealership

 

This is debatable. But at the management level, if it has to reach that level, will always take care of you at Toyota. I wouldn't think any one dealership can say their quality of workmanship is better than another dealership (unless there is a specific trusted person you know)

 

Go to Nate’s Green Garage in Berkeley.

https://yelp.to/lT4MUYzdbvb

 

Dealearships are warranty specialists... They primarily replace the most expensive parts with brand new at the greatest cost because it benefits their dealer contract with Toyota to do that. That's ok if you have a new car under warranty, not an old car. Old cars are too much temptation for them to be corrupt. That's why we often refer to them as Stealerships.

If you take a 12 year old Prius in there with a problem odds are they'll make sure they find enough things to repair to convince you to trade it in and finance a new car.

On the other hand an honest mechanic will find the easiest least expensive repair because that's what an honest mechanic does. I typically charge 10% of what the dealership quotes for a repair and when that happens people tip generously.

 

Well Longo Toyota, a dealership that never charges over MSRP for their new cars. Also a dealership with one of the highest per hour charges for their service department. Their parts retail department is consistently charging over MSRP list prices. Same owner, same dealership.

Different philosophy for the same dealership. MSRP for new retail customers. Over MSRP for their service department and parts. Honest or not honest to you?

Looking for honesty is hard in the car business. They are out to make money from you. It's just how they put out the hook and sinker, that will make you feel better with doing business with them.

 

So that mean the other 90% is bad. Those odds are not in your favor.

 

It's a lot different than a while ago . You stay away from dealers. The dealer is only for warranty coverage . .never

 

Just tell them you're planning to replace the hybrid battery and you aren't buying it from them so they don't try to sell you one. I've seen them try to turn a 5 minute repair for a bad electrical issue that takes 5 minutes to fix into wanting to charge $4K for a new battery pack install. So take that off the table and tell them you're only there to confirm the warranty repair on inverter.

Also do lots of Googling and reading up on the inverter warranty so if they say it's not covered, you have facts to counter them with to get the work done without charge.

 

IIRC there’s a component inside the inverter case, that Toyota does not consider part of the inverter. Came up in discussion of Toyota Canada warranty, but think that’s applicable in States too. They’re ballsy, gotta grant them that.