can't tell if this lexus service quote is a joke or not (1 Viewer)

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Update -- called the lexus dealership 1 town over... -50% on total package, timing belt full job 1,739 had the least percent reduction vs original price
 
Also as for learning to do the work myself -- I look forward to learning as I keep owning it but going from zero to timing belt seems ambitious right now
 
I would also say don't be afraid to negotiate or ask for a discount at the dealer. A few years ago I had vehicle in for recall work and on their free inspection, they found brakes were due and they quoted me $800 ish for all 4 wheels. I said no thanks, I'll take it to my mechanic and the service manager came over and lowered the price to $650 to get it done today with the dealer. I still left, took it to my mechanic and got it done cheaper, but not by much at the time. I was in shock to see them lower the price. Some dealers also price match on tires + alignment discounts.

Quality of work is another can of worms.
 
Another things that needs to be mentioned is that these service writers that quote us are paid on commission as well. Whatever they jack up the price on they keep so they are incentivized to rip us off.

Sometimes all it takes is shop the local dealers and tell them the other dealer will do it for x amount and they will do it since they dont want to lose the business. They dont call the other dealer to verify anything so do with that as you will.
 
$980 for spark plugs
$2,300 for timing belt/water pump
$330 for transmission fluid
$340 for rear diff service

anyone else seeing prices this high these days? might make me take my LX to a non-lexus service for the first time...
inflation.
I did all that during the pandemic lockdown.
For any mechanic the timing belt H2O pump is easy. Remove the radiator / fan shroud and replace everything you can reach.

I changed spark plugs, tensioner, water pump, timing belt and anything else I could reach
In the end I fixed it all and it works great!
Only thing is that the cam position sensor went out when I was on vacation.
Change that too! Some of the forums and great youtube videos show everything you need
purchase it on Rock auto and let a mechanic do it.
 
$980 for spark plugs
$2,300 for timing belt/water pump
$330 for transmission fluid
$340 for rear diff service

anyone else seeing prices this high these days? might make me take my LX to a non-lexus service for the first time...
I take my Cruiser to a Cruiser specialty shop in Portland, but, I'm going to chime in here with my Avalon Limited DD...I took it to the Lexus dealership where I purchased it for an oil change, because oddly enough, it was less $$$ than my normal shop of 10 years. That being said, they handed me an inspection that noted "PS Hose replacement"...at $3400. I asked if that included the PS pump and all peripherals to it in a text (that's how they work when a client doesn't stay on site" The reply form the service tech was literally, "LOL, no...just the hoses" - I went to my normal shop and they charged me about $250 for all the hoses/clamps replacement.

Other outrageous pricing they quoted?

  • FRONT rotor turn without brake replacement: $750
  • REAR rotor turn w/o brake replacement: $850
    • My normal shop has quoted me $800 for BOTH front and rear NEW rotors, brakes, and shims (Toyota OEM parts)
  • Change cabin air filter: $200
    • Toyota OEM part on Amazon is currently $10.99 and ordered
  • Change engine air filter: $225
    • This was replaced by me, 1500 miles ago for $14.99 (Toyota OEM part from amazon) and 30 seconds of my time


I found out when I picked dup my car that the entire dealership was having a massive remodel...no wonder the prices were so high.
 
I found out when I picked up my car that the entire dealership was having a massive remodel...no wonder the prices were so high.
They quoted me $477 for the front-end boots clean-up and the clamp replacements...

What shop do you use in Portland please?
 
They quoted me $477 for the front-end boots clean-up and the clamp replacements...

What shop do you use in Portland please?

Kuni Lexus was my dealership, mostly for oil changes (ONLY because they were a lower cost than my other shop) - And I won't go back to Kuni for anything going forward other than an oil change.


My NORMAL shop that I've been going to for a little more than a decade...ATOMIC AUTO and I can't say enough good things about these guys. They do all work, even though their site says EV/Hybrid. They started as a predominantly Saab shop when I had my (then) Chrysler Concorde towed in over a decade ago and I've kept going. They've expanded their business.

I just had full front rotors, brake pads, and shims, plus an inspection on my 2011 Avalon Limited for about $530 (Rear rotors and brakes are fine and well within spec). Kuni Lexus told me that the DS wheel bearing was beginning to go out...Atomic pulled the front apart and inspected and verified that the wheel bearing was NOT going out.

Everything they do is via google...if you can't get a hold of them via phone, there's an option to text. They will get back to you.

Seriously, they are the best shop I've ever been to for my car, and they know the Land Cruiser shop guys here in PDX ;)



Hope that helps!
 
I do ATF full swap at Kuni every 60-80 thousand miles, the only thing I do there. Thank you for the Atomic reference. there is also a garage for rent in Tigard, Hourly rates..
 
The spark plugs and rear diff service are a good place to start learning how to work on it yourself. Both of these services are fairly straight forward. I would start looking for a good indy shop to handle the rest.
 
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.

View attachment 3045927


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.
The trained techs that make them Lexus warranty money don't do the tire rotations. Those are the kids that they hire to clean up the garages and move the cars.
 
I just had similar work done on my 2001 Land Cruiser. After getting quotes from The local Toyota Dealer and two Toyota / Lexus specialist shops, I settled on one of the specialist shops because they had the best prices and were staffed by mostly ex-dealership mechanics, including the owner who is a Lexus trained mechanic.

June 2022 prices:

OEM Timing belt, water pump, thermostat and cam shaft / crankshaft seals, new Toyota coolant: $991
Front Diff + Rear Diff + Transfer Case fluid change: $210
Transmission drain and fill (5 quarts ATF fluid): $100

All prices above include 6.5% tax, shop fees and miscellaneous parts. All work has a one-year or 12,000 mile warranty.

I would shop around and find a Toyota and Lexus repair shop with excellent reviews. Go in and speak with them and get a written estimate.
 
I've said this a bunch of times before.... The Lexus dealership does NOT want to work on your crusty old truck (and to them, our trucks are all crusty old trucks). The dealership wants to work on new vehicles that they can send a bill to Lexus for. They know that as soon as they start doing a timing belt job on your truck, they're either going to break off a stud, strip out some threads, find something else that's worn out that they don't stock (which is most stuff for our trucks), or two weeks after it's done, you're going to find some other leak and blame them for it. The minute they go outside the billable allowed hours on fixing your truck, they're losing money on something else. They don't want the hassle. So they charge you a stupid high amount, $2,300. They either want you to go away, or they charge you enough to make it worth their while to do the job and accept the possible consequences of something else going wrong. So they charge you an arm and a leg.

There is nothing magical about taking your LX or Land cruiser to the dealership for service. The engine is a 35-year-old design, basically. It's a Tundra engine made in Japan. There is nothing mystical about it and you're not getting any special service from Lexus. Their techs are just as s***ty as the ones at Ford and Dodge and Chevy.

Find a good mechanic that works on Toyotas and take it there. You'll save a lot of money, and you'll probably get better service.
 
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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.
“Peace of mind”? That’s a false sense of confidence. Dealers do screw things up, most times take abrupt shortcuts to beat flat rate hours on jobs, re-using non-reusable components or not doing the work at all and billing you for it.

Indi shops are not much savings, and it’s hard to say if the work quality is any better. You really have to search around for a quality shop/ they do exist.

If you don’t do your own work for whatever reason, you should become proficient in auditing others work to ensure you’re getting what you paid for.
 
I've said this a bunch of times before.... The Lexus dealership does NOT want to work on your crusty old truck (and to them, our trucks are all crusty old trucks). The dealership wants to work on new vehicles that they can send a bill to Lexus for. They know that as soon as they start doing a timing belt job on your truck, they're either going to break off a stud, strip out some threads, find something else that's worn out that they don't stock (which is most stuff for our trucks), or two weeks after it's done, you're going to find some other leak and blame them for it. The minute they go outside the billable allowed hours on fixing your truck, they're losing money on something else. They don't want the hassle. So they charge you a stupid high amount, $2,300. They either want you to go away, or they charge you enough to make it worth their while to do the job and accept the possible consequences of something else going wrong. So they charge you an arm and a leg.

There is nothing magical about taking your LX or Land cruiser to the dealership for service. The engine is a 35-year-old design, basically. It's a Tundra engine made in Japan. There is nothing mystical about it and you're not getting any special service from Lexus. Their techs are just as s***ty as the ones at Ford and Dodge and Chevy.

Find a good mechanic that works on Toyotas and take it there. You'll save a lot of money, and you'll probably get better service.
Friend of mine took his 80 into a dealership and they had no idea what it was.

My dad rolled up in his 40 back in 1997 and they told him, seriously, "We don't service jeeps here"...it was almost like that "Your droids, we don't serve them" from Star Wars. He had to literally go inside, find the old guy who had been there for thirty years and talk to him...AND THEN he showed the other techs his 40 which was on a "History of Toyota 4x4's" wall mural.
 
Timing belt jobs per everyone on this board who has paid to have it done, have been around $900-$1500 over the last few years. Unless inflation hit that hourly labor rate at the dealer that badly, i'd say its too much.
 
Timing belt jobs per everyone on this board who has paid to have it done, have been around $900-$1500 over the last few years. Unless inflation hit that hourly labor rate at the dealer that badly, i'd say its too much.
UGH...Timing Belts.

I'm so glad my 80 has a chain.
And my DD Avalon Limited.

When I was in my early/mid twenties I had a 1995 Audi S100 (back in 2000 - 2007) - damn thing cost me $2500 every 60k miles because of a timing belt. And then, when doing that, you pretty much HAD to do the water pump and tensioners...it would cost me almost $3800 total. Every. 60K Miles.

In the seven years I owned it, I drove it 150K miles. Lots of road trips. Lots.

I've had my Avalon Limited less than 2 years and I've put almost 45K miles on it, and no, I don't Uber or Lyft it ;)
 
$980 for spark plugs?! You can go oem and get them and all the tools need for under $100 and diy.
 
$980 for spark plugs?! You can go oem and get them and all the tools need for under $100 and diy.
Hell, you could get everything OEM and STILL pay less:

OEM Plugs and OEM Cap & Rotor (with rings) costs $57 from TPD (I just purchased some)

OEM Wires/harness is $159 via Toyota

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