major service's almost up...

[Tinz]

i'm due for my 60K service in a couple of weeks time...

with things like engine oil, coolant, etc... do you guys normally bring your own or juz have the workshop replace whatever they have?? i'm heading back to the toyota dealer i got my car from but not sure if i should just leave it with them or would it be better if i bring my own lubes.

thx thx

[DJKOR]

It depends on how you feel about it all. I personally just don't like Castrol oil (which is what my service department of choice most likely uses) and have better peace of mind bringing in my own fluids. The only fluids I'd let them use is the ATF and the coolant.

[Tinz]

It depends on how you feel about it all. I personally just don't like Castrol oil (which is what my service department of choice most likely uses) and have better peace of mind bringing in my own fluids. The only fluids I'd let them use is the ATF and the coolant.

what do you use if i may ask?? and for a camry, how many litres you reckon i need??

you would bring in your own break fluid as well? other than that, its ATF and coolant, anything else i missed??

[DJKOR]

what do you use if i may ask?? and for a camry

I use Fuchs Titan Super GTO. This oil is only available in a 10W30 oil weight. I believe your engine requires a 5W20 or 0W20 for optimium performance however. Fuchs do have oil to suit though, but it won't be the same as the one I use.

how many litres you reckon i need??

If you look at your manual, it clearly states how much oil you need to fill it. I took the effort of finding this answer for you. You 2AZ-FE engine requires 4.3 litres for a drain and fill including oil filter change.

you would bring in your own break fluid as well?

That is a personal choice. If you don't intend of giving your car a hard workout all the time, you can just stick with whatever brake fluid they use. I bring in my own brake fluid though when I get a service. My current brake fluid is Penrite Sin, but I'm thinking of changing it with TRW Lucas GP600 next service.

other than that, its ATF and coolant, anything else i missed??

Well you also have the power steering fluid, but they don't usually change that... just top it up.

[Tinz]

what do you use if i may ask?? and for a camry

I use Fuchs Titan Super GTO. This oil is only available in a 10W30 oil weight. I believe your engine requires a 5W20 or 0W20 for optimium performance however. Fuchs do have oil to suit though, but it won't be the same as the one I use.

how many litres you reckon i need??

If you look at your manual, it clearly states how much oil you need to fill it. I took the effort of finding this answer for you. You 2AZ-FE engine requires 4.3 litres for a drain and fill including oil filter change.

you would bring in your own break fluid as well?

That is a personal choice. If you don't intend of giving your car a hard workout all the time, you can just stick with whatever brake fluid they use. I bring in my own brake fluid though when I get a service. My current brake fluid is Penrite Sin, but I'm thinking of changing it with TRW Lucas GP600 next service.

other than that, its ATF and coolant, anything else i missed??

Well you also have the power steering fluid, but they don't usually change that... just top it up.

thanks champ... ;)

[private number]

I got my 75,000km service due in about 500km. I bought my 07 camry second hand (old rent a car). I was wondering if i should take it to toyota or go somewhere else? the servicing at toyota will set me back about $400+. Should i just go to toyota and blow this much money or go somewhere else?

[DJKOR]

I got my 75,000km service due in about 500km. I bought my 07 camry second hand (old rent a car). I was wondering if i should take it to toyota or go somewhere else? the servicing at toyota will set me back about $400+. Should i just go to toyota and blow this much money or go somewhere else?

If I just picked up a second hand Toyota (as I did last year), I would take it to a trusted Toyota dealer for the initial service mainly because of peace of mind. To me, I feel (most of the time hope) that they know more about it than another garage. After that, you can then do what you want.

It is questionable as to how good the dealer really is, but it's just how I feel.

[private number]

true that, if i had all the money in the world for a couple of guys to "inspect the following" for $400+ i would, but money is an issue and i feel as if im being ripped off with this one because that cost just covers them to "inspect the following" and if they need to change anything they will charge me extra ontop of that.

Edited September 9, 2009 by private number

[wong666]

hey private number...

im sure on the 75k service, other than your oil n filter change they also replace your in tank fuel filter..

i think a fair bit of that price is going onto that fuel filter change.. and obviously the rest is just a visual inspection,

kevin.

[private number]

really? it doesnt really say anything of that kind in the servicing book. What they told me that price will cover them to replace engine oil and filter, but inspect about 20 extra things. anything else, the told me, that needs to be changed will be charged on top of that $400

[Tinz]

really? it doesnt really say anything of that kind in the servicing book. What they told me that price will cover them to replace engine oil and filter, but inspect about 20 extra things. anything else, the told me, that needs to be changed will be charged on top of that $400

juz did my 60K and i did not go back to toyota... bought my car from an authorised dealer and brought it back countless times to get the same things repairs (finally all done now).

was surfing around and found this website called fixed price car service which you can find the best priced workshop, their background, number of years doing what they are doing etc for comparison.

anywayz... went to this place called g.s. auto clinic off smith street (melb) coz its near to where i live and its cheap... got my 60K done for $211 which includes oil change, oil filter change and everything that is stated in the service manual. all i can say is, they did a great job and very honest... they use valvoline, which i am more than fine with.

also, when i look around and see his working on brand new lexus, saabs and mercs... i tell myself this guy cannot possibly screw up my camry :)

[wong666]

really? it doesnt really say anything of that kind in the servicing book. What they told me that price will cover them to replace engine oil and filter, but inspect about 20 extra things. anything else, the told me, that needs to be changed will be charged on top of that $400

from my time when i was with toyota i am pretty sure thats wat it said in the service manual.. that there is a fuel filter change in the 75k service.

mite be an idea to call around a few toyota service centres and ask wat they do in the 75k service.

kevin.

[private number]

thanks for that tinz, i think im going to use that website to figure out where im gonna do my 75k service.

[m_luke]

I'd say take it back to a Toyota dealer for servicing at least once for any of the minor service stuff as they can find and check for any uncompleted Toyota Service Bulletins that you and I and the general public don't know about, but are done to correct whatever the issue is.

-m_luke

[Tinz]

true that... for ur peace of mind if ya got the car not too long ago and got it from a dealer which aint toyota.

i would have sent it back to a toyota dealer too if i got the car second hand from some car yard. but if ya got it off a toyota dealer and still got warranty covered, the scheduled service can still be done professionally by a certfitied mechanic and at the end of day it does not mean that sending ur car back to toyota will get you top notch service... thats my honest opinion anywayz having been unfortunate enough to feel like i am not heard and have to keep going back to get the same things looked at... thank god for warranty!

so yeah... its all in ur head... if ya believe toyota provides you that edge in quality of service (all depends on which toyota dealer too?) then that lil premoum you pay is justified i guess...

[Whip Cracker]

I reckon you'll find a fair few people around here that wouldn't get their car touched by Toyota at all, especially in Melbourne. At the end of the day, they're still mechanics. They just might get bulletins for known issues, but that doesn't mean that they're going to look at or fix the issue.

If it were me, I'd be taking it to a local garage or mechanic that has a GOOD reputation. It's not hard to find out who's the best at what they do... you can't advertise on that kind of thing. I've asked different people who they use and I always get good feedback from that person.

On the Sunshine Coast here, we have a thing called "WOMF" - Word Of Mouth Forum (Other regions have this too) - you can see what people say about different businesses and holiday areas... best places to eat, etc etc.