Two shops: $11,000 vs $750 to fix same issue!

[NY2LA]

An amusing anecdote.

As I was routing a stubborn cable, I nicked the wire harness in the firewall of my GX550. A few wires on the perimeter were damaged as a result, mainly affecting the coolbox. I took the truck to the Lexus dealer, and they wanted $11,000 for the repair. This included $6,000 for a replacement main engine room wire (which, of course, was available for $50% less online) and $5,000 for 22 hours of labor. I then took the truck to the best-reviewed electrical shop in town (one many local dealers use when they need specialized help), and they repaired the harness in a few hours for $750. Probably could have gotten down to a few hundred bucks at a more humble electrical shop, but I was happy with the 93% savings.

Learned two lessons from this--one involving the firewall, another involving the need for good shops that are not the dealer.

 

[MaxJr]

An amusing anecdote.

As I was routing a stubborn cable, I nicked the wire harness in the firewall of my GX550. A few wires on the perimeter were damaged as a result, mainly affecting the coolbox. I took the truck to the Lexus dealer, and they wanted $11,000 for the repair. This included $6,000 for a replacement main engine room wire (which, of course, was available for $50% less online) and $5,000 for 22 hours of labor. I then took the truck to the best-reviewed electrical shop in town (one many local dealers use when they need specialized help), and they repaired the harness in a few hours for $750. Probably could have gotten down to a few hundred bucks at a more humble electrical shop, but I was happy with the 93% savings.

Learned two lessons from this--one involving the firewall, another involving the need for good shops that are not the dealer.

So many vehicle owners don't want to recognize that the best mechanics never stay a car dealers. All places with higher populations have excellent independent mechanics.

I'm particularly perturbed by my male friends who generally can't discern true craftspeople of all types from the riff raft. I seem to be old enough that I give my female friends a break from that judgement.

 

[ryanjl]

Car dealerships will seldom "repair" parts. They'll replace the damaged/broken part with a new one. Even it it's as simple as fixing a wire.

 

[vipergrhd]

An amusing anecdote.

As I was routing a stubborn cable, I nicked the wire harness in the firewall of my GX550. A few wires on the perimeter were damaged as a result, mainly affecting the coolbox. I took the truck to the Lexus dealer, and they wanted $11,000 for the repair. This included $6,000 for a replacement main engine room wire (which, of course, was available for $50% less online) and $5,000 for 22 hours of labor. I then took the truck to the best-reviewed electrical shop in town (one many local dealers use when they need specialized help), and they repaired the harness in a few hours for $750. Probably could have gotten down to a few hundred bucks at a more humble electrical shop, but I was happy with the 93% savings.

Learned two lessons from this--one involving the firewall, another involving the need for good shops that are not the dealer.

You have pics of the damaged wire before and after? Stealerships are not the best place to go if you want something repaired, unless it's the manufacturers money on the line I have worked for dealers and when it comes to customer pay they will go after the money you have to deal with greedy writers mechanic and managers ( not all). It is good that you found a good place to have it fixed.

 

[Rednexus]

Possibly another appearance of the "I don't want to do it price" .

To be honest, they might not wanted to touch splicing the harness due to the fact that they'd also have to warranty the repair, and the risk (real or perceived) of messing up a very expensive computer system and twin-turbo engine if they somehow screwed up a splice. For a "by the book" place like a dealer, they might want to avoid taking on that kind of risk for a few hundred dollars. However, a trustworthy dealer may still do something like that to keep a customer happy. Assuming this is the same dealer you purchased your GX from, I would have hoped they would have taken that route as they would have just done very well on commission/markup from your purchase of the new GX. If so, apparently that wasn't the case unless you handed them over another $11k .

Either way, I avoid dealer service/repair like the plague, outside of the free service on our 2023 Highlander and for recalls where I'm not personally giving them money. Other than that, I almost never use them, as when I have in the past I've usually been disappointed. I've also been very unhappy watching them try to rip of the female members of my family if I'm not there. Some dealers are actually decent, but most are not.

FYI I probably could have fixed it for you for around $300 .