Toyota Pampanga

[OnMyWay]

I had my first car service experience here in the Philippines yesterday, at Toyota Pampanga in San Fernando.  It is over one hour to get there from Subic, but it is the only Toyota dealer in the area, and I wanted to use the dealer for my first service since purchasing.

 

First off, I was amazed at the activity at the dealer!  I have never been to a car dealer with so many employees and customers!  There must have been a several hundred people on the property!  They are the only Toyota dealer around so everyone has to go there.  They could use another dealer in this area of Luzon, but the crowds also tell me that business is good and the local economy seems to be doing well.  The dealership does not look that big from the front but the service bay is huge, down below in the back.  

 

They seem to handle the service crowd fairly well.  Definitely need to make an appointment to avoid waiting longer than you need to.  There is a different que for the lowly "no appointment" crowd.   We were 30 minutes late at 1030 but they didn't seem to mind, and we were promised 2-3 pm.  As at most dealers in the US now, they have service advisers who handle you start to finish, and our adviser was good.  The nice thing about their location is that they are close to SM City Pampanga, and they have shuttles back and forth.  We went to the mall, had lunch, shopped, etc., then caught the shuttle back over at 2 PM.  They had the car ready at 3 PM.

 

The Avanza was due for a 20k (km) service which includes replacing the spark plugs.  I had noticed the Avanza was down to about 89.5 hp and I think the new plugs got it back up to the full 90 hp!   :hystery:

 

They do a 20+ point inspection, adjust the brakes, change the oil, filters and the plugs.  They recommended a new battery which I didn't ask the price of, but in retrospect I should have had them swap it to avoid another hassle to get one elsewhere.  I knew it was needed as I am pretty sure it has the original battery, which they tested to have only 140 CCA.  The adviser was not pushy about it and even recommended one to buy if I get one elsewhere.

 

I accepted his offer to get an engine wash for p950.  Back in the US I always keep my engine bays clean but here they do not have the Spray & Wash type places that I like to use for that.  It seemed pricey but I was very happy with the result.  The engine bay is spotless and they dressed everything so it looks great.  They also include an exterior wash with all service for free.

 

Total cost with the engine wash:  p6050.  A bit pricey but a job well done and I will give the dealer a  :thumbsup:   I will get the minor stuff done locally next time at a lower cost, I hope.

 

Sidenote:  There is an S&R across the street and we stopped in afterward to see if they would let us do a walk through, but no go without joining.  We passed this time.  It looks exactly like a US Costco on the inside!

[joeatmanila]

 

I had my first car service experience here in the Philippines yesterday, at Toyota Pampanga in San Fernando.  It is over one hour to get there from Subic, but it is the only Toyota dealer in the area, and I wanted to use the dealer for my first service since purchasing.

 

First off, I was amazed at the activity at the dealer!  I have never been to a car dealer with so many employees and customers!  There must have been a several hundred people on the property!  They are the only Toyota dealer around so everyone has to go there.  They could use another dealer in this area of Luzon, but the crowds also tell me that business is good and the local economy seems to be doing well.  The dealership does not look that big from the front but the service bay is huge, down below in the back.  

 

They seem to handle the service crowd fairly well.  Definitely need to make an appointment to avoid waiting longer than you need to.  There is a different que for the lowly "no appointment" crowd.   We were 30 minutes late at 1030 but they didn't seem to mind, and we were promised 2-3 pm.  As at most dealers in the US now, they have service advisers who handle you start to finish, and our adviser was good.  The nice thing about their location is that they are close to SM City Pampanga, and they have shuttles back and forth.  We went to the mall, had lunch, shopped, etc., then caught the shuttle back over at 2 PM.  They had the car ready at 3 PM.

 

The Avanza was due for a 20k (km) service which includes replacing the spark plugs.  I had noticed the Avanza was down to about 89.5 hp and I think the new plugs got it back up to the full 90 hp!   :hystery:

 

They do a 20+ point inspection, adjust the brakes, change the oil, filters and the plugs.  They recommended a new battery which I didn't ask the price of, but in retrospect I should have had them swap it to avoid another hassle to get one elsewhere.  I knew it was needed as I am pretty sure it has the original battery, which they tested to have only 140 CCA.  The adviser was not pushy about it and even recommended one to buy if I get one elsewhere.

 

I accepted his offer to get an engine wash for p950.  Back in the US I always keep my engine bays clean but here they do not have the Spray & Wash type places that I like to use for that.  It seemed pricey but I was very happy with the result.  The engine bay is spotless and they dressed everything so it looks great.  They also include an exterior wash with all service for free.

 

Total cost with the engine wash:  p6050.  A bit pricey but a job well done and I will give the dealer a  :thumbsup:   I will get the minor stuff done locally next time at a lower cost, I hope.

 

Sidenote:  There is an S&R across the street and we stopped in afterward to see if they would let us do a walk through, but no go without joining.  We passed this time.  It looks exactly like a US Costco on the inside!

Your experience at Toyota is the same at Honda and at Mitsubishi where I go now.

I wish you never experience that but let me enlighten you on a few things about "casas".

There are plenty of people working there, yes in all the casas, the actual engineers though are 2 max 3. The rest are assistants who do what they are told from the engineers.

The engineers their self now, for every trouble shoot they follow the manufacturers manual. You might think it is a good thing...no it isn't!!! If the problem is not written in the manual, they change the entire part or section of the machinery.

for example...due to floods one ball bearing in the a/c of my old Honda was getting noisy...instead of changing the ball bearing they insisted to change the entire compressor and fan!!! I complained and said no, they replied that is what Honda (the manual) instructs them. I did change the ball bearing for a cost of 1500p and all was fine.

At my old Honda again there was a misconduct on one cable for the electrical windows...they wanted to change the entire wiring of all the electrical windows...mercy!!!!

So be careful and keep aware of what they tell you that needs to be done!!!

The price you paid for your service is the usual one, should be cheaper for avanza and wondering why they changed the spark plugs on 20K kms....that should be done at 60-100k kms...it is a new car!!!

[OnMyWay]

why they changed the spark plugs on 20K kms....that should be done at 60-100k kms...it is a new car!!!

 

That is what it has in the Toyota service schedule I got with the car, and I did wonder why it is so low.

[Jake]

Hey guys,

 

I wonder what the typical cost is for cleaning injectors?  Not just pouring gasoline additive into the tank

but actually pulling each injectors out and doing a pressure cleaning and flow test.  As you may know,

gasoline or diesel from any gas station may not be free of contaminates and gas filters will probably

need to be changed more often?   

 

I still prefer old school two barrel carburetor system and distributor without all that computer stuff.  I would

love to go back to basic tools of the trade like timing light, vacuum and pressure gauge.  

 

Respectfully -- Jake

Edited May 18, 2013 by Jake

[Mike S]

I would love to go back to basic tools of the trade like timing light, vacuum and pressure gauge.

 

Jake  ... my friend  ... we will never see those days again ..... now you have to plug your car's computer into another computer so it can tell you what is wrong with your car ......

 

I take my Kia Sportage (diesel) to the Goodyear service center here in Bacolod and they do a pretty good job ..... they have enough tech's so that most of the guys are specialists with some trainees thrown in ..... been  happy with these guys ..... just got done buying 4 new tires from them ..... only gripe I had was the guy inflated them to 45psi ...... I knew once we got out on the road they were over-inflated ..... my asawa said "wow .... it feels like we are floating ... these new tires sure make a difference" I just smiled and said nothing ...... then I found a bump and her tune changed drastically ..... to "what the hell was that" (my definition not her's ..... :mocking: ) ....... I thought they would know not to put that much air in the tires ..... car manufactures manual calls for 26psi ..... but i think that is a tad bit to low ....  :thumbsup:  :cheersty:

Edited May 18, 2013 by Mike S

[Steve & Myrlita]

 

I would love to go back to basic tools of the trade like timing light, vacuum and pressure gauge.

 

Jake  ... my friend  ... we will never see those days again ..... now you have to plug your car's computer into another computer so it can tell you what is wrong with your car ......

 

I take my Kia Sportage (diesel) to the Goodyear service center here in Bacolod and they do a pretty good job ..... they have enough tech's so that most of the guys are specialists with some trainees thrown in ..... been  happy with these guys ..... just got done buying 4 new tires from them ..... only gripe I had was the guy inflated them to 45psi ...... I knew once we got out on the road they were over-inflated ..... my asawa said "wow .... it feels like we are floating ... these new tires sure make a difference" I just smiled and said nothing ...... then I found a bump and her tune changed drastically ..... to "what the hell was that" (my definition not her's ..... :mocking: ) ....... I thought they would know not to put that much air in the tires ..... car manufactures manual calls for 26psi ..... but i think that is a tad bit to low ....  :thumbsup:  :cheersty:

 

I Myself run 32 lbs. Are you using the GY on Aranita? I use them and they treat me well. The recently changed my front & rear main seals, cam seals, timing belt, tensioner, vc gasket & oil pan gasket. They charged me P6k. The GY on Lacson up in Mandalagan tried to get 15K. Yeah right - I'll bring it by 1st thing in am :th_hu: . The only thing wrong afterwards was there was still a leak but not their fault. It was a cracked oil sending unit. They replaced it for reduced cost where I just spent P6k a few days ago. Ever since then, not 1 drop of oil lost which is good for synthetic oil is expensive.

 

PS: Avoid the GY on the corner of Gatuslao & Rosario. The have done damage and cost me a few pesos to correct. One of those mistakes almost cost me my engine.

Edited May 18, 2013 by Steve & Myrlita

[OnMyWay]

they have enough tech's so that most of the guys are specialists with some trainees thrown in ..... been  happy with these guys ..... just got done buying 4 new tires from them ..... only gripe I had was the guy inflated them to 45psi ......

 

I had this happen in the US when I had new Michelins put on my Corvette.  Do they over inflate to set the seal?  Then forget to fix it?

 

There is a Goodyear in Olongapo City that was recommended to me.  I might try them for the next service.

[Mike S]

Are you using the GY on Aranita?

 

Yes sir that is the one ..... it was recommended to us by another ex-pat who has lived here in Bacolod for a while .... he said he always got good service there so we gave them a try ..... he takes his cars there as well as his 2 taxis .... I saw a brand new one somewhere but always like the old tried and true theory .....  :thumbsup: ...... so far we have had 1 universal joint changed (called a cross joint here) and the master and slave clutch cylinder replaced plus the tires .... good people and the scenery ain't bad either ....  :hystery:  :hystery: 

 

 

I had this happen in the US when I had new Michelins put on my Corvette. Do they over inflate to set the seal? Then forget to fix it?

 

Yea I kinda suspect that is what happened he just forgot to let the air back out ..... they had  a bunch of people there that day getting tires for some reason ..... I did watch him tighten the lug nuts though .... :hystery: :hystery:

 

 

There is a Goodyear in Olongapo City that was recommended to me. I might try them for the next service.

 

I believe they are a chain here like in the US ... but just like anywhere you gotta find a good one ... they are only as good as their chief mechanic and the one we use is constantly checking on the mechanics ..... he also test drives all the cars that have been repaired .... just not the ones having new tires put on .....  :hystery:  ......  :cheersty: 

[i am bob]

I believe they are a chain here like in the US ... but just like anywhere you gotta find a good one ... they are only as good as their chief mechanic and the one we use is constantly checking on the mechanics ....

 

Yup!  GY is a chain in the Philippines but they also have franchise stores as well.  That would explain the good and bad ones.  Now the fun part - which is the good one?  Franchise or chain?  Winner gets free air in their tires for a month!!!

 

:thumbsup:

[OnMyWay]

Hey guys,

 

I wonder what the typical cost is for cleaning injectors?  Not just pouring gasoline additive into the tank

but actually pulling each injectors out and doing a pressure cleaning and flow test.  As you may know,

gasoline or diesel from any gas station may not be free of contaminates and gas filters will probably

need to be changed more often?   

 

I still prefer old school two barrel carburetor system and distributor without all that computer stuff.  I would

love to go back to basic tools of the trade like timing light, vacuum and pressure gauge.  

 

Respectfully -- Jake

 

I forgot to mention that they returned the plugs and air filter to me.  Air filter was done.  It was probably the original.  Jake reminds me that I should check it often and clean it out because of the dirty conditions.  Plugs were in good shape without any major issues showing.  Jake, the computer is doing a good job, so you can be replaced!   :hystery: