So I registered with
Toyota Owners - Official Toyota Owners Website last night (which I highly advise EVERY Toyota owner to do) and was shocked to find that the previous owner declined the 60k maintenance. My '06 v8 4x4 currently has 72,000 miles and I bought it at 66,000. Should I wait until the 90k maintenance, or what? I've visually inspected the timing belt and it looks fine. I've also greased the 6 points under the vehicle to reduce the "driveshaft clunk," any other recommendations?
Your thinking is foreign to me (but having said that, to each his own) -- Over many years of owning many vehicles, my experience has been that I can always find much better quality service at a much lower price than what the car dealers offer. Plus, I do much of my own maintenance.
Dealerships get lots of business due to factory warranties (the manufacturer pays them full retail for that), and I have actually caught them making up stuff they definitely didn't do to overcharge the manufacturer! And if some shady dealerships will defraud the manufacturer, what do you think they might have the potential to do to you, the retail customer?? The dealerships also get ready-made business because some people don't know where else to take their branded car, and assume the dealer gives the best service (wrong assumption).
On the other hand, an independent shop has to earn a good reputation and a flourishing business, in order to gain those traits. No one will automatically take their Toyota into "Harris Auto Service", but many will automatically take their Toyota into a Toyota dealership. Harris has to compete in the marketplace and earn a good reputation to earn the trust of repeat customers and customer referrals and have a long term successful business. The branded dealership does not have to do those things to obtain a certain level of service business. Although certainly if the branded dealership provides good service, they can attract more business.
I have found over the years that IF you do your due diligence, as I said earlier, you can generally find much better quality service at definitely at a significantly lower price at independent shops as compared to dealerships.
I never ever take my vehicles to a dealership unless they are on factory warranty and I can get the work done "free".