Headed in for car maintenance? Do this first
BOSTON - Going to the mechanic can be expensive and often you end up spending more than you planned for regular car maintenance.
Here's what you need to know, so you don't overpay.
When you're taking your car into the dealership or auto repair shop, the key is to know exactly what your car needs so that shops can't push their expensive package deals on you.
Undercover shoppers with Consumers' Checkbook called about 230 repair shops, including dealerships, to find out how much they'd charge for maintenance on a 2020 Toyota Camry with 30,000 miles on the odometer. Here's the thing to keep in mind: the maintenance is supposed to be according to what Toyota recommends which is an oil change, oil filter change, cabin filter change and a tire rotation.
Consumer expert Kevin Brasler said 29 shops quoted $400 or more to complete the maintenance. Six said they'd charge more than $1,000 and two Toyota dealerships were planning to charge more than $1,400.
"We called back the shops, especially the ones that quoted package pricing for 30,000 mile maintenance. And the next time we called a few months later, we asked for what's your price, just to take care of these four specific services? We didn't mention that it was 30,000 mile maintenance and found that for the most part, our prices came way down," Brasler said.
According to Consumers' Checkbook, there were still some shops that quoted them more reasonably with prices under $200. The average price was $288.
"Some shops recommended doing work that Toyota did not recommend. Some really didn't have any excuse it was just - they assumed, I think- that drivers don't really know what their cars need at 30,000 miles, 60,000 miles," Brasler said.
Now when it comes to knowing what your car needs, it's no mystery. You can find that information in your owner's manual.