Confirming that 03 LC has a timing belt and not a chain

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S

sickspeed

10 Year
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Aug 7, 2012
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I looked at a used 2003 LC yesterday and when I inquired about whether the timing belt had been changed and when, the dealer tried to claim it was a chain so please confirm that there is in fact a belt on the 2003s. I am pretty sure I visually confirmed this already but just in case I am mistaken about model year changes or variations, please advise.

Also, what would a timing belt service cost at a dealer or indy shop?

Thanks in advance.
 
thanks. this particular LC had 189k on the clock.
 
thanks. that $1k figure is a good enough ball park and about what i was thinking. i figure that it is due for service and was just wondering how much to haggle the seller on the price if the timing belt hasnt been changed recently. it seems to drive well so i assume it was done at 90k so the question is whether its been done again since then. hopefully they can tell me.
 
Hate posting from I-Phone! To finish, some shops put stickers on the engine indicating service was done on t-belt. The stealer should also be able to pull service history if serviced at a stealer.
 
Please tell the sales person they are a F'in moron for me personally.

Chain, right! Sounds like a quick easy answer to get you to buy, and for them to not pay any repairs before the sale. When I bought my 2004 with 107k on the ODO the dealer could not show me with 100% certainty the timing belt was done at 90k. So I made the dealer do the service at their cost before I purchased the vehicle. Years later I found some online access to Toyota dealer records for my LC and saw it was actually done at 90k as expected. :D
 
sickspeed said:
thanks. that $1k figure is a good enough ball park and about what i was thinking. i figure that it is due for service and was just wondering how much to haggle the seller on the price if the timing belt hasnt been changed recently. it seems to drive well so i assume it was done at 90k so the question is whether its been done again since then. hopefully they can tell me.
Click to expand...
plug the VIN into www.toyota.com/owners and see what it says (only will show service at dealerships, but better than relying on your oh-so-knowledgeable sales guys)
 
We couldn't be that lucky to have a chain instead of a belt...
But in the big picture of things I'd much rather have the reliabilityof a Toyota with a timing BELT than anything else out there with a timing CHAIN!:cheers:
 
I had mine done at an independent Lexus shop with Toyota parts for around $650, that was for belt, water pump and a full flush with Toyota brand coolant. That included the little sticker, too!;)
 
Trying to be the optimist here, but the guy may have been thinking of an 80 series and every LC that came before the 100, which has a timing chain.
 
if you pull a carfax on the vehicle there should all/most of the dealer services and maybe independent service too. There was one on mine LX470 and they did the timing belt w/other stuff (2K$$$!) :)
 
thanks for all the response.

yeah, i knew there wasnt a chain but didnt feel like arguing with the guy. the car had just come from auction and had a bunch of stuff that needed to be fixed before i would buy it let alone pass any inspection. turns out someone came along right behind me and bought it in cash as is. i guess they wanted a project. that toyota owners site is indeed a great resource so thanks too for that. i have two other toyotas, tacoma and prius, but have never used that site. ive got my eye on a different one now and thanks to that site, i can see that the timing belt was done at 77k miles and it now has 104k on it.
 
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