can't tell if this lexus service quote is a joke or not
- Thread starter cdlx470
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
That's a good price for transmission fluid change at least.
What service interval? Year , mileage?
Some dealerships are only interested in doing fluid changes it seems. But they drain a little, top it off and call it done on your VIN's service history.
I was quoted 5 labor hours for RUCAs and RLCAs replaced (parts were already purchased by me), at $199/hr when I had trouble wrenching and aligning these with the mounting points. Timing belt is 11 labor hours at this stealership.
But Hunter Hawkeye Elite aligment + loaner for a day + wax and wash is $99 and if I get lucky it will be a GX loaner. Makes you wonder what are those quote writers are thinking.
I was quoted 5 labor hours for RUCAs and RLCAs replaced (parts were already purchased by me), at $199/hr when I had trouble wrenching and aligning these with the mounting points. Timing belt is 11 labor hours at this stealership.
But Hunter Hawkeye Elite aligment + loaner for a day + wax and wash is $99 and if I get lucky it will be a GX loaner. Makes you wonder what are those quote writers are thinking.
Formerjeeper
SILVER Star
Yep spark plugs and rear diff are the ripoffs there. The other two are within what I would expect for Lexus dealer.
BullElk
SILVER Star
I think you are waaaaay late making your maiden voyage to a non Lexus dealership.
Doesn’t surprise me. Inflation is through the roof on everything now. The nice thing about having lexus do it is the peace of mind that you won’t get a car that’s completely f’d up. The only time in my life that I went to a non-dealership to fix my car if I’m not working on it myself, I got a car back that had a steering wheel that was off by 45 degrees, missing bolts, overfilled fluid, and other broken/stripped hardware. Had the transmission on my ES300 conveniently die right at my work and our neighbors had a mechanic shop. I found a low mileage trans ($1,300) and had him replace it. Guy charged me $500 but it was so bad I couldn’t even drive the car home. Had to pay towing out the ass to have it brought to the Lexus dealer my brother works at for them to pick up the pieces. Shop that did the initial work had good reviews too.
You know, there was a time I believed that, but not anymore. I do most work myself, but there are times I get lazy, or I don't have the tools or desire to do certain projects. I also used to go to Lexus for oil change and tire rotation because it cost the same as anywhere else and I got to sit in their nice waiting room and eat their food and drink their fancy coffee.
Well, a few weeks ago I was at home replacing my rear brake pads and rotors. Driver side rear went fine, moved over to passenger side and started removing the wheel. Four nuts came off no problem, fifth started getting harder and harder to turn as it came off. I finally managed to get it off and found this. Keep in mind it was the Lexus service department that had done the last three tire rotations and I hadn't had the wheels off for anything else.
I went down to the same dealership parts department to buy a new stud and nut. I showed this picture to the parts guys and told them the story and they couldn't believe it. They called the service manager over so I could talk to him.
Good, I thought, they're going to make it right. I showed these to the service manager and explained to him that one of two things happened, and they're both bad. Either they started this cross threaded and gunned it on really hard last tire rotation, or it's been damaged for a while and they just kept jamming the nut on and off with their air tools.
He listened to my story, said he'd find out which tech worked on it last time and talk to him....and...that was it. He didn't offer to pay for my parts, didn't apologize for the inconvenience it caused me.
The parts guys, to their credit were perplexed and thought he'd offer to eat the parts cost. They sold the stud and nut to me at their cost since they felt bad. But, never again. It's only my own garage or a trusted independent for service from now on, even for simple oil changes and tire rotations. It's one thing to pay overinflated prices if you truly are getting "the best" factory trained techs and service. But, the reality is that isn't necessarily the case. Are there excellent techs working at dealerships? Absolutely, I'm friends with a few of them, and I'd be happy to have them work on my cars. But it's hit or miss, and the quality control and make it right attitude just aren't always there.
Well, a few weeks ago I was at home replacing my rear brake pads and rotors. Driver side rear went fine, moved over to passenger side and started removing the wheel. Four nuts came off no problem, fifth started getting harder and harder to turn as it came off. I finally managed to get it off and found this. Keep in mind it was the Lexus service department that had done the last three tire rotations and I hadn't had the wheels off for anything else.
I went down to the same dealership parts department to buy a new stud and nut. I showed this picture to the parts guys and told them the story and they couldn't believe it. They called the service manager over so I could talk to him.
Good, I thought, they're going to make it right. I showed these to the service manager and explained to him that one of two things happened, and they're both bad. Either they started this cross threaded and gunned it on really hard last tire rotation, or it's been damaged for a while and they just kept jamming the nut on and off with their air tools.
He listened to my story, said he'd find out which tech worked on it last time and talk to him....and...that was it. He didn't offer to pay for my parts, didn't apologize for the inconvenience it caused me.
The parts guys, to their credit were perplexed and thought he'd offer to eat the parts cost. They sold the stud and nut to me at their cost since they felt bad. But, never again. It's only my own garage or a trusted independent for service from now on, even for simple oil changes and tire rotations. It's one thing to pay overinflated prices if you truly are getting "the best" factory trained techs and service. But, the reality is that isn't necessarily the case. Are there excellent techs working at dealerships? Absolutely, I'm friends with a few of them, and I'd be happy to have them work on my cars. But it's hit or miss, and the quality control and make it right attitude just aren't always there.
It's not a joke it's just math. Whatever their labor rate is X the flat rate book time + parts cost. Cough up the cash or learn to do the repair on your own.
My local toyota has quoted me way less for those jobs though so not sure what to think.
My local toyota has quoted me way less for those jobs though so not sure what to think.
Ive been there. My local discount tire did the same thing but i made them pay for replacing one stud. It was the front so it required pulling the rotor and repacking bearings 600 bucks st the dealer.
Our studs are pretty soft so becareful not to over torque them.
Dealers are a scam paying 200 dollars an hr to support their bloated business. They dont want to work on repairs they just want to do warranty work.
I have a similar story to @dbfw with the local Stevenson Lexus of Colorado. Pre-covid I used them like clockwork every 5,000 for a synthetic oil change. It was $60-70 or something which was a deal for 7.5 quarts not even including the car wash they would do and the donuts.
I used Blackstone a couple times after using that dealer and my numbers were not healthy. High aluminum and other metals and they recommended I go down to 3,000 mile intervals. I was worried about my "perfect maintenance history engine."
Well COVID happened and I started doing the changes myself because the price went way up to over $100 and the donuts dissapeared.
After doing the changes myself 2 or 3 times my Blackstone numbers started going up. My last report said I should go to 7,000 miles per interval!
Needless to say I do not believe Stevenson was draining the full contents or neglecting to change the filter or a combination of both. Either way I will not be using them again. It's worth mentioning the ownership changed recently but still probably a common business practice on 200,000 mile cars they don't really make money on in any way shape or form. Maybe it wasn't such a good deal after all.
I used Blackstone a couple times after using that dealer and my numbers were not healthy. High aluminum and other metals and they recommended I go down to 3,000 mile intervals. I was worried about my "perfect maintenance history engine."
Well COVID happened and I started doing the changes myself because the price went way up to over $100 and the donuts dissapeared.
After doing the changes myself 2 or 3 times my Blackstone numbers started going up. My last report said I should go to 7,000 miles per interval!
Needless to say I do not believe Stevenson was draining the full contents or neglecting to change the filter or a combination of both. Either way I will not be using them again. It's worth mentioning the ownership changed recently but still probably a common business practice on 200,000 mile cars they don't really make money on in any way shape or form. Maybe it wasn't such a good deal after all.
I got a coolant flush from a dealership after the local indy shop that did Timing Belt with Aisin TKT-021 as they used green coolant when I got gallons of Mr T antifreeze at the back of the truck.
I've let the Lexus SA know that a full flush was necessary to get rid of the green that was in there, he agreed. Bill was $140.
When I took the mall cruiser, coolant was neon green from the mixture. I've emailed the service director a complaint, and they wanted to fix the work not performed issue and assured me they could clean that up and it turned up well. Things happen sometimes and I was glad that was taken care of.
The Hunter Elite Hawkeye alignments performed at this location were great however.
I've let the Lexus SA know that a full flush was necessary to get rid of the green that was in there, he agreed. Bill was $140.
When I took the mall cruiser, coolant was neon green from the mixture. I've emailed the service director a complaint, and they wanted to fix the work not performed issue and assured me they could clean that up and it turned up well. Things happen sometimes and I was glad that was taken care of.
The Hunter Elite Hawkeye alignments performed at this location were great however.
Last edited:
I feel like there's an internal metal struggle going on in this post. Make point A, then discredit it with statement B.
Kinda weird the parts guy was perplexed. Just because the Service Tech's shirt has Lexus branded on it doesn't mean that at one time it wasn't branded Discount Tire.
Lol I thought the same.
Wah00
SILVER Star
Unfortunately, you can get this same treatment from non stealership shops. I’ve dealt with one that advertises itself as specializing in Toy-Lexus and having certified mechanics etc. They charge as much or more as a dealer.
Finding a trustworthy shop that is reasonable is like finding a gold mine. I have one now (so far) and am just praying it survives long term.
I would also say that people are often very chincy and unreasonable when paying for service industry or professional labor costs. We can all complain about them, but it’s pretty simple economics. Other people want the time and attention of this same provider, and they do not have an infinite supply of time (or in the case of vehicles, open bays and lifts).
Finding a trustworthy shop that is reasonable is like finding a gold mine. I have one now (so far) and am just praying it survives long term.
I would also say that people are often very chincy and unreasonable when paying for service industry or professional labor costs. We can all complain about them, but it’s pretty simple economics. Other people want the time and attention of this same provider, and they do not have an infinite supply of time (or in the case of vehicles, open bays and lifts).
So true. I think I was watching him become disillusioned with management in real time. He clearly understood the least they could do was offer to give me $25 worth of stud and nut for my trouble. I'm sure they would have if I'd made a bigger deal about it, but it wasn't worth my time or energy. I'd seen all I needed to see, and just needed my parts so I could finish my brake job and move on with my weekend.
