Is "recommended maintenance" at XXX,XXX miles even worth it for a Toyota that...

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dave186

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...is bought used? Or can you just make the car last by getting oil changes regularly and getting just basic visual inspections? Is "recommended maintenance" a way for the dealership/ASE certified mechanic to rip you off?

I'm just curious since I bought a used 1998 Toyota Corolla with 123,500 miles on it and it runs great. I just have no idea how the previous owner treated it. By doing a basic visual inspection at an ASE certified Toyota specialist, I had an oil leak fixed and a strut replaced. I brought it again when the brakes started vibrating and got my brake rotors replaced.

So in other words, can I just rely on oil changes, visual inspections, and diagnostics to keep my Toyota up and running? They are very reliable cars.
 
Very reliable vehicles BUT it will need the timing belt changed soon if it was not done around 90,000 miles. Other than that, keep up on the oil changes, check your fluids on a regular basis and give it new plugs and wires sometime.
 
recommended maintenance and dealership/ASE certified mechanic to rip you off.. i can see it... maintenance is just maintenance ame as car care its up to the driver whenand how its done and never do you have to take it to a dealer for most of it when it can be done at home.. well knowing your cars needs and doing them is how one keeps the car on the road anyone could do it and any shop would be cheaper than dealers.only one reason why one would go to a dealer the work is free and you cant find anyone that has the parts to fix it other than that it would be the last place to go when 95 percent of it could be done at home for pennies
 
they are just as reliable as any other car when properly maintained.if you choose to do no maintenance don't expect the car to last real long no matter how reliable you think it might be.remember its a used car and if its so good you have to ask yourself why? did the previous owner get rid of it?generally the timing belt and tensioner should be replaced at 100.000 miles,but thats up to you.
 
Toyota's are VERY reliable cars, you are right about that. The number one problem I see facing their reliability is that people assume that because they are so reliable they need little to no maintenance. I do agree though that the dealer will request more then the car may need. The best thing you could do is to find a good independent shop that will treat you fair, yet give your car good service.
At our shop we recommend your car has it's timing belt replaced every 60K, although it is not an interference engine. If the belt does break the engine will stop running, but not do any additional damage. I would not be surprised to find that the previous owner did not change the belt. It is a fairly expensive procedure and we often see cars that were traded in instead of having the belt replaced.
The other services we recommend at our shop are to have the brake fluid replaced every 2 years. Brake fluid absorbs water which will cause brake fade and that is not safe. Also, if it is an automatic, have the transmission fluid replaced (not flushed) with genuine Toyota ATF every 30K. Again, Toyota's are reliable because they come from the factory with Toyota parts, replacing Toyota parts with aftermarket parts (including fluids) will shorten their life span. Other then those fluids, the air filter should also be replaced every 30K and ONLY every 30K. Do not let those oil change monkeys mess with the air filter at each oil service. Disturbing the air filter housing sends small particles into your motor and that can be worse then not replacing the air filter.
As far as I can tell, your spark plugs are standard and should also be replaced every 30K to keep the car running good.
 
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