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inflation.$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.$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...
They quoted me $477 for the front-end boots clean-up and the clamp replacements...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?
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.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.
“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.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.
Friend of mine took his 80 into a dealership and they had no idea what it was.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.
Book rate is 1.2 hrs for the entire job. Maybe they multiplied it by 8!$980 for spark plugs
UGH...Timing Belts.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.
Hell, you could get everything OEM and STILL pay less:$980 for spark plugs?! You can go oem and get them and all the tools need for under $100 and diy.