A friend and I stopped by Boch Toyota this afternoon, to see if we could pick up a gallon of pink SLLC to top up a Prius's overflow tank. The parts department was closed, but the service department had a service writer sitting at a desk and we asked if there was any way they could just sell us a jug of coolant anyway. The answer unfortunately was "no" because they're not set up for retail sales without the official parts desk being open, but the second half of the answer was the real shocker: . "There's a NAPA right down the road, why not just get some coolant there..." and a strong implication that "any old type" would be fine for a Prius. . We stood there dumbfounded, after a *Toyota guy* failed to actively recommend the Toyota fluid that would not only be the right thing for the car, but bring in revenue for his own shop. After my fairly deep study of coolant and radiator chemistry in the 100k writeup I just couldn't think of what to say to this guy in response to his suggestion that we go right ahead and screw up the cooling system in a perfectly functional Prius. Unbelievable. . Yes, today we reaffirmed that the moniker "Botch Toyota" is well-earned by these people. If you're Boston-local you've probably heard all their "we're on the Automile in Norwood, COME ON DOWN!" obnoxiousness. Well, if you do, that's the kind of competence you can expect. . _H*
Yep. I stopped going to my local dealer for any kind of service after they faked an alignment printout to show that they fixed my car (I verified they didn't by getting an independent check a few days later). I was clued in by the fact that the guy could not explain how they fixed the rear toe in (they didn't they just faked the numbers). I do buy parts from them since the parts people have never given my any problems, but I don't take either of our cars there for service.
