Toyota "Secret Service" bait and switch?
Discussion
My wife's 2024 Corolla Estate was due for an interim service. Toyota quoted £290, so I used BookMyGarage to compare options. among AA and various local garages, I found “Toyota Secret Service” offering it for £160 at the same dealer that quoted £290.
When I dropped the car off today, the person handling the booking mentioned that this was a different, more basic level of interim service—not the standard one I’d expected. He said they won’t be replacing the pollen filter and possibly some other stuff I didn't catch. To include those extras, surprise surprise, the cost jumps to £290. He mentioned needing to take trim off which is why the price jumps so much.
Now I’m thinking I should have just gone with AA or another reputable garage. Would they have included the extras at the quoted price? It feels misleading—like a bait-and-switch tactic: advertise a cheaper service to secure the booking, then upsell once you’re committed.
I did of course stick with the £160 service.
When I dropped the car off today, the person handling the booking mentioned that this was a different, more basic level of interim service—not the standard one I’d expected. He said they won’t be replacing the pollen filter and possibly some other stuff I didn't catch. To include those extras, surprise surprise, the cost jumps to £290. He mentioned needing to take trim off which is why the price jumps so much.
Now I’m thinking I should have just gone with AA or another reputable garage. Would they have included the extras at the quoted price? It feels misleading—like a bait-and-switch tactic: advertise a cheaper service to secure the booking, then upsell once you’re committed.
I did of course stick with the £160 service.
Did you get the first quote and the specified work it would cover in writing?
Pollen filter and coolant top up is just about the cheapest and easiest of jobs to do on a car, even given some probably pointless plastic prettyfication trim removal and refitting, so I'd just DIY and save myself £130 for the hour or so at most it will take.
You can then use that 130 quid to put towards a comprehensive Halfords Pro toolkit that you can use for other jobs in the future.
Pollen filter and coolant top up is just about the cheapest and easiest of jobs to do on a car, even given some probably pointless plastic prettyfication trim removal and refitting, so I'd just DIY and save myself £130 for the hour or so at most it will take.
You can then use that 130 quid to put towards a comprehensive Halfords Pro toolkit that you can use for other jobs in the future.
After completing the service and asking a few follow-up questions, they wanted to also do the pollen filter and hybrid filter. My main concern is simply that the car is safe, and that the service meets our obligations to the lease company while preserving the warranty. I did ask about the warranty, but his response was somewhat vague.
I just remain puzzled as to why they promote a lower-cost interim service, only to upsell additional items once you're booked in.
I just remain puzzled as to why they promote a lower-cost interim service, only to upsell additional items once you're booked in.
Wackywoo105 said:
After completing the service and asking a few follow-up questions, they wanted to also do the pollen filter and hybrid filter. My main concern is simply that the car is safe, and that the service meets our obligations to the lease company while preserving the warranty. I did ask about the warranty, but his response was somewhat vague.
I just remain puzzled as to why they promote a lower-cost interim service, only to upsell additional items once you're booked in.
'because captive audience'!I just remain puzzled as to why they promote a lower-cost interim service, only to upsell additional items once you're booked in.
Most garages do this sort of thing - they say it doesn’t follow the same scope of work as the manufacturer service so it should be advised that it may affect warranty claims.
Mercedes used to it on an official basis - they called it “value” servicing and pointed out that it didn’t follow the same checklist as the standard service so the dealers wouldn’t stamp the service book. Caused a lot of angst on MB forums.
Mercedes used to it on an official basis - they called it “value” servicing and pointed out that it didn’t follow the same checklist as the standard service so the dealers wouldn’t stamp the service book. Caused a lot of angst on MB forums.
Hindsight I know, but pop it on the official Toyota Service plan.
£XX per month and it covers the servicing costs and keeps all warranty intact. Toyota are being VERY fussy now about servicing to maintain warranty status
Ours is a 2020 Corolla 2.0 and we've been paying £23/month to cover the service requirements.
£XX per month and it covers the servicing costs and keeps all warranty intact. Toyota are being VERY fussy now about servicing to maintain warranty status
Ours is a 2020 Corolla 2.0 and we've been paying £23/month to cover the service requirements.
RayDonovan said:
Hindsight I know, but pop it on the official Toyota Service plan.
£XX per month and it covers the servicing costs and keeps all warranty intact. Toyota are being VERY fussy now about servicing to maintain warranty statusthats a good price, 27 a month with Renault for a 3byr plan,
Ours is a 2020 Corolla 2.0 and we've been paying £23/month to cover the service requirements.
£XX per month and it covers the servicing costs and keeps all warranty intact. Toyota are being VERY fussy now about servicing to maintain warranty statusthats a good price, 27 a month with Renault for a 3byr plan,
Ours is a 2020 Corolla 2.0 and we've been paying £23/month to cover the service requirements.
grumbledoak said:
I know for a fact that my Toyota warranty is 10 years conditional on Toyota servicing for the whole 10 years. I would imagine yours is the same.
I wouldn't lose that for £130.
That’s not quite correct. The first 3 years (or 5 of it was an older car) any VAT registered garage can maintain it in line with the service guide and you maintain the manufacturers warranty. You can then switch to Toyota at year 4 and then continue with the extended warranty. I wouldn't lose that for £130.
My wife ran a Toyota Corolla a few years ago. It was a leased car serviced by the local dealer. At one point at around 2 years old the A/C was rubbish, so we complained. Went to the garage and one of their techs came out. Agreed with us, next thing is he's ripping the glovebox out. Pulled out the pollen filter, with a cloud of dust, dead thigs & leaves. Obviously never been changed despite having had 3-4 services until then. Put in a new one, apologised & all was well.
I's why I laugh at Toyota reliability! Later went for service, they reported the alternator faulty & they'd call us to return it so it could be replaced when they got it in. We had to chase as they didn't phone on its arrival. It went in for several jobs. Guess what they didn't do? No alternator. No apologies & had to book it in again to be done. B.... Useless.
I's why I laugh at Toyota reliability! Later went for service, they reported the alternator faulty & they'd call us to return it so it could be replaced when they got it in. We had to chase as they didn't phone on its arrival. It went in for several jobs. Guess what they didn't do? No alternator. No apologies & had to book it in again to be done. B.... Useless.
grumbledoak said:
I know for a fact that my Toyota warranty is 10 years conditional on Toyota servicing for the whole 10 years. I would imagine yours is the same.
I wouldn't lose that for £130.
Agree with this. I wouldn't lose that for £130.
Not to be rude to the OP, but if you can't afford the service, you can't afford the car. I take the point that the service is over priced, but that's main dealers for you and you have to accept that as part of the cost of buying and maintaining a new car.
Edited by Leftfootwonder on Tuesday 9th September 17:28
Presumably the SH will rellect it hasn't been servcied correctly, no one's going to bat an eyelid at a missed cabin filter which takes about 10 minutes to swap first time you do it, but the hybrid battery filter being missed might have repercussions down the line, ie could it affect the car being considered suitable for approved used status.
Regarding the cost of a major service, Toyota used to be the only maker i'm aware of whose dealer workshops fully strip clean and lube the brakes correctly, i'm assuming this is still the case, if you subtracted the £100 or so this important task likely costs at dealer rates the major service would be very reasonable.
Presumably major service also includes the hybrid battery check?
Regarding the cost of a major service, Toyota used to be the only maker i'm aware of whose dealer workshops fully strip clean and lube the brakes correctly, i'm assuming this is still the case, if you subtracted the £100 or so this important task likely costs at dealer rates the major service would be very reasonable.
Presumably major service also includes the hybrid battery check?
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