Putting off 30,000 mi checkup compromises bumper to bumper warranty?

[cabspal]

Trying to help young friend of mine, Rav4 owner, who's freaking out because Toyota dealership is telling her she must get the 30,000 mi. checkup on time or else risk losing her bumper-to-bumper coverage if something goes wrong in between the time the 30,000 mi. shows up on her odometer and when she can afford to go in and get the 30,000 checkup done (about a 6-week delay for her to save the $$ necessary for the checkup). They're quoting her $486, and a "discount" if she schedules it on a weekend. Is this how the bumper-to-bumper works (she has to get the 30,000 checkup on time or risk compromising the warranty if something goes wrong in the meantime?) Can she go to an ASE-certified mechanic at a shop other than a Toyota dealership for the 30,000 checkup and not risk voiding anything (and maybe save some money?)

[Leighcm]

Trying to help young friend of mine, Rav4 owner, who's freaking out because Toyota dealership is telling her she must get the 30,000 mi. checkup on time or else risk losing her bumper-to-bumper coverage if something goes wrong in between the time the 30,000 mi. shows up on her odometer and when she can afford to go in and get the 30,000 checkup done (about a 6-week delay for her to save the $ necessary for the checkup). They're quoting her $486, and a "discount" if she schedules it on a weekend. Is this how the bumper-to-bumper works (she has to get the 30,000 checkup on time or risk compromising the warranty if something goes wrong in the meantime?) Can she go to an ASE-certified mechanic at a shop other than a Toyota dealership for the 30,000 checkup and not risk voiding anything (and maybe save some money?)

It doesn't quite work like that. If she's a little late on her 30k, no big deal. She should still do it, because if something goes wrong with the car, one of the first things Toyota will look at is the service history. If the car hasn't been maintained, then yes, she could risk not having coverage. However, it would need to be much more extreme than just a month or two late on the 30k...for example, someone who never changed the oil in their car, and the engine seized up...that sort of thing would probably not be covered.

She needs to stop freaking out and find either a different service advisor at the same dealership, or another Toyota dealership that's less high pressure. It's not nearly as big of a deal as she thinks.

The weekend discount is probably because the dealership is a little slow on the weekends, so they're trying to generate more traffic for the weekend. If she can take advantage of that, she should.

[oldnslo]

Protect yourself:

If you do your own service I.e. oil changes, tire rotation, etc. Keep all of your oil filter and oil purchase receipts.

Same thing if you have it done else where I.e. Jiffy Lube, Lube Express, etc. Keep ALL of the receipts and mileage.

Dealer ships find it harder to argue when you have good records and documentation.

This info is from my brother who worked for a dealership for years.

Roy

[Leighcm]

It's not like the cost of the warranty repair comes out of the dealership's pocket, so the only time the dealership will argue if it's blatantly obvious that you haven't changed your oil or done any other form of maintenance...ie, if your oil gums up at 30k, they can tell if you've never done an oil change, or if it's relatively fresh oil, or if your brakes wear out every 10k, they can tell that you've been riding the brakes or if there's a real problem. Some of these things are so obvious.

That 30k being a little late is a non-issue.