Mar 17, 2025
9:43:20am
TheNerd 3rd String
I usually took my previous car into the dealership for that kind of regular

maintenance, hearing that since they were the dealership they supposedly knew the cars well and specialized in it. One time after taking it in they did the inspection thing where they did a little video going around the car and mentioning things. One such thing was the headlights; the daytime running lights weren't on and therefore should be replaced, which they could do for only $35 per light, or $70 for the pair of front lights.... no thanks! I can buy the pair for much less and putting them in isn't that bad (not bad enough to pay them $40-50 more, at least).

Anyway, I went to O'Reilly to get the lights and had a hard time finding out which lights to get for the daytime running lights (DRL). The book and online implied that it was the main headlight, no special light. I asked the O'Reilly guy for help. He was confused as well. We went to the car, and sure enough, when I started the car (just like in the video as the dealer mechanic explained) the lights weren't automatically on (making sure the lights were off, not on auto, to verify). The O'Reilly guy asked what happens if I put the car in drive. I put it in drive, and the DRL turned on. So much for the dealers being the "experts" on the car. I figured if they didn't know that about their cars, they were no better than mom and pop mechanics.

TLDR: I don't think the dealer really gives you any better service, unless it's crazy super specialized, which I highly doubt your Sienna is

TheNerd
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TheNerd
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