What to expect when servicing at Sunshine Toyota

Booking your service at Sunshine Toyota

Sunshine Toyota has made your next service as simple and convenient as possible. To book, you can call us between our office hours or you can use our online booking system whenever you have a spare moment, it should only take three minutes if you have your vehicle information handy, including:

• Service location (Currimundi or Sippy Downs)
• Your name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Post code
• Vehicle make
• Vehicle model
• Registration number
• Approximate Kms
• Your preferred service date
• Your preferred drop off time
• Your preferred pick up time

You can then select how you would like us to confirm your booking, you have the option of us giving you a call back, or if you’d prefer not to talk to someone we can simply give you an email or text to confirm.

Arriving for your service at Sunshine Toyota

When you arrive at the dealership you and your car will be looked after with the highest level of professionalism and care. If you have chosen the early bird option of dropping your vehicle in before 7:30, we have a secure key drop-off box for you to leave your keys in and one of our service advisors will then call you to confirm details of your service booking. If you have chosen an in hours drop-off time, one of our service advisors will greet you in our driveway, so there is no need for you to leave your vehicle, they come to you!

During your service at Sunshine Toyota

While you wait for your service to be complete by our Toyota trained technicians you have the option of getting a courtesy bus home between Aurora or Maroochydore or if you feel like shopping we can drop you to Kawana Shopping World or to the Sunshine Plaza. If you would like to wait while your vehicle is serviced, we have comfortable air-conditioned guest lounge that offers free WIFI, tea, coffee, water and snacks. There is also a live TV that you can watch your car getting serviced from.  We are also located in a walkable distance to local cafes if you wanted to stretch your legs, and if you are at our Currimundi location, there is also the Currimundi Lake that is beautiful to walk along.

When your service is complete at Sunshine Toyota

When your car service has finished, our service advisors will give you a call to let you know. You can also arrange to conveniently be picked up and brought back by our courtesy bus before 4pm. You can pick up your car before 5:30pm or you have the option to have it safely locked up and you can collect it the following morning.

Booking your vehicle in for a service on the Sunshine Coast

To book your next service, have a go at doing it online by clicking here and filling out our service booking form. To find out more about our two Sunshine Toyota service centres at Currimundi and Sippy Downs, click here. 

What parents need to consider when choosing your teens first used car on the Sunshine Coast

What parents need to consider when choosing your teens first used car on the Sunshine Coast

When you are making the exciting decision of what first car to buy your kids, the choice can be very overwhelming and sometimes their decisions are based purely on looks, not practicality. Making the wrong decision can not only cause future annoyance of having to sell and buy another car, but it could have large financial, time and safety implications for them as well. You need to make sure you have put enough thought into the decision so you get good value for money and make sure the vehicle suitable for what they will needed for.

So what should you consider when choosing your first car?

1.Clearly define the needs of their vehicle on the Sunshine Coast

Firstly, you need to define what they will mostly need the vehicle for. Then determine what the vehicle needs to offer, in order to meet those needs so it is safely fit for purpose.

Some considerations include:

• Do they require towing capacity for work?
• Do they need a Tray and what size will you need?
• How many passengers the vehicle needs to carry?
• Will their sporting or hobby equipment (such as a surfboard or stand up paddle board) fit in or on top of the car?

If they have specific equipment or requirements for their vehicle, get assistance from sales staff or an expert fitter at the start of the vehicle selection process to ensure you choose the vehicle that meets their needs.

2.    Consider their plans for the future

When choosing the right vehicle for now, you should also think about if the vehicle they want now will still be fit for purpose in 3 to 5 years time. Will they move to the city where smaller cars are easier to drive and park? Do they plan to start a building apprenticeship where they would then need a Ute?

3.    Define vehicle usage for fuel based decisions

Understanding the main vehicle usage will determine which fuel type is most relevant for your vehicle. Therefore you should consider:

• What type of roads (urban or highway) will be driving on
• The length of journeys they will be driving
• How often the journeys will be made

Diesel vehicles are most economic when used predominantly for long journeys on motorways and highways. This is why diesel is the preferred choice of fuel for commercial working vehicles. Petrol vehicles can have an economic benefit when using them for regular short journeys. Hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles are ideal for stop/start urban journeys but can be inefficient for longer or motorway drives.

4.    Look for a good ANCAP safety rating

Firstly, the most important feature of a vehicle (especially for new drivers) is the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) safety rating. This organisation performs a robust series of universally recognised crash tests on new to market vehicles, which are carried out by independent and specialised laboratories to determine each vehicles safety rating. Choosing a vehicle with a 5 star ANCAP rating is the best way to know that they are as protected as they can be.

Sunshine Toyota’s used cars

At Sunshine Toyota we are committed to helping our guests find the best car for them. We stock a huge of makes and models- not just Toyotas, so click here to contact us at Sunshine Toyota to discuss your used car options or click here to check out our ever changing used car stock.

Top 10 features to look for when buying a new family car on the Sunshine Coast

Top 10 features to look for when buying a new family car on the Sunshine Coast

The excitement of buying a new car can sometimes distract you of the important things to look for when deciding what vehicle will best suite you and your families needs. The top 10 features to keep in mind are:

1. Safety Rating

Firstly, the most important feature of a family vehicle is the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) safety rating. This organisation performs a robust series of universally recognised crash tests on new to market vehicles, which are carried out by independent and specialised laboratories to determine each vehicles safety rating. Choosing a vehicle with a 5 star ANCAP rating is the best way to know that you and your loved ones are as protected as you can be.

2. Enough room and sufficient anchor points for baby/car seats

A commonly overlooked aspect of choosing the right family car is whether or not your baby seat can be easily and safely installed. And the amount of room in the back seat as well as the height of the vehicle has a lot to do with it. If you already own a car seat, a good tip is to bring it along when car shopping so you can see if it is the right car for your needs. As for access, you want to be able to install and remove the car seat without straining your back or (and perhaps more importantly) waking the little passenger. 

3. Storage and space

Whether it’s room for prams and baby bags or bikes and sports equipment, the constant logistical struggle of moving a family from A to B has to be considered when choosing the right family car. Flexible flat-fold down seating as well as roof racks can be the key to keeping your sanity when trying to fit little humans and all of the “extra baggage” that comes with them into one vehicle quickly. Flexible seating is also great to keep the kids out of each other’s hair on long road trips.

4. Smart entry and start system

Juggling the kids, shopping trolley and heavy bags of groceries becomes a lot easier with the smart entry and start system, which allows you to unlock and start the car while the key remains in your pocket or bag. That’s one less thing you have to try locate when your hands are full!

5. Built-in Entertainment

To keep the tribe quiet on long trips, rear seat entertainment systems are a blessing from above. Blu-Ray and DVD players with wireless headsets really will be your best friend.  

6. Multi zone climate control air-conditioning

Keeping you and the little ones all at the right temperature can be a tricky job. But with multi zone climate control they can adjust their own air-conditioning and heating temperature so everybody is happy.

7. Lane Departure Alert/ Pre-Collision Safety system/ Active Cruise Control

Keep your family safe on the road with an extra set of eyes. These safety features will:

• Stop you from accidentally entering into another lane
• Monitor your blind spot
• Alert you of upcoming threats
• Keep a constant distance between vehicles while using cruise control

8. Front and rear parking sensors

When trying to manoeuvre and park your car in tight spaces with the distraction of children wanting to get out of the car, some assistance from reversing camera, front and rear sensors can save you from unwanted contact with walls or rails (especially if you are driving a larger SUV).

9. Window Tint

We are blessed on the Sunshine Coast to have such long hot summers. However, protecting your family from too much UV is extremely important. A good quality window tint is good for:

• Maximising visibility
• Reducing glare
• Protecting your eyes and skin from UV damage, and
• Keeping the cabin (and your little ones) cooler.

10. Satellite navigation

This one is a no brainer. Just enter in the kids friends address and you will be on your way without having to reply on their memory and sense of direction.

Family cars on the Sunshine Coast

If you would like to chat to one of our team about finding the best family car for you, simply click here. If you would like to check out Sunshine Toyota’s current stock click here. To find out more about window tinting your vehicle click here. 

How Sunshine Toyota helped to save up to 24 lives on the Sunshine Coast

Sunshine Toyota giving blood to save lives.

Blood is obviously an essential part of our being, but it is so much more vital in a time of emergency or for those who are fighting sickness with ongoing medical treatment and procedures. Mind blowing stats about blood donation is that 1 in 3 Australians will need blood in their lifetime but only 1 in 30 will actually give blood. Due to these alarming figures, Sunshine Toyota has joined Team Adem in the fight to raise awareness as well as give blood to help save precious lives in our community.

A single blood donation can help save at least three different patients as the blood is separated into three different key components for lifesaving treatments. We are proud to announce that eight incredible members of the Sunshine Toyota Team made the selfless act of donating blood on the 24th January. In total, our team’s kindness can help save up to 24 lives!

So, how did the team go?

Amazingly! Out of the eight Sunshine Toyota team members who donated on the day, four had previously donated blood (many years ago), and it was the first time for the other four! There were many nervous faces walking into the van, however everyone came out smiling and surprised about how painless and quick the procedure was! After the team filled out their forms, one-by-one they hopped on the chair and had approximately 500mls of blood taken.

How long does it take to give blood?

The quickest time in the team was only 4 minutes and 19 seconds from Alex Doon who is in our Used Vehicle Sales team. That’s three lives he could have saved by giving up four minutes of his time!  It’s really astonishing when you think about it. And to top it off, the team were given chocolate milks, iced coffee, cookies, chocolate, nuts and bread scrolls after! So it is safe to say that they will all be returning again in three months time.

So, what is Team Adem?

Team Adem is a registered not-for-profit Sunshine Coast charity that was started by Adem Crosby from Buderium in 2011 when he was diagnosed with aggressive leukaemia at the age of 17. Adem wanted to raise awareness and inspire others to donate blood to help save lives. Adem himself needed over 350 blood product transfusions before he sadly passed away in 2013. And every single week, Australia needs over 25,000 blood donations! You can see why it is so important to have charities like Team Adem continue to raise awareness such an essential cause. To learn more about Team Adem click here.  To learn more about where and how to give blood click here.

We would like to again congratulate Alex, Ros, Candice, Jess, Kylie, Tricia, Sandra and Darren from the Sunshine Toyota team on their wonderful decision to donate blood. Click here to contact Sunshine Toyota.