lesz

I found this article about auto maintenance costs by manufacturer to be interesting.

http://twocents.lifehacker.com/the-c...ver-1781639773

I suspect that the reason why the cost of maintaining a Lexus over a 10 year period is higher than the cost of maintaining a Toyota or Scion is related to the fact that, if a Lexus owner has his/her vehicle serviced at a Lexus dealer, the charges for parts and labor are likely to be around twice as high as they would be to have the same work done at a Toyota dealer. And I also suspect that the very high maintenance costs for vehicles like those made by BMW and Mercedes is the result of both more frequent breakdowns and high costs at their dealers.

bc6152

Well Lexus is at the bottom of the list for costs so it looks like we made a good choice. Even better if not serviced at the Lexus dealer...

Great article Les. Thanks...

Universe93

At our local Toyota and Lexus dealerships, the Toyota labor cost is half of what Lexus charges. So you can bet where I am going for routine oil changes and services. Lexus doesn't warrant twice the labor cost -we aren't servicing the Space Shuttle here. Also, Toyota has free gourmet coffee, popcorn, business internet computers, loaner cars and everything that Lexus has.

EJC

You can have Toyota service your vehicle.
But, you'll still have to go to Lexus for Warranty work
And Toyota doesn't "give" loaners

lesz

I can't speak for what all Toyota dealers do, but my Toyota dealer gives loaners. The difference is that, instead of likely getting an ES loaner from the Lexus dealer, I'll get a Camry or Avalon loaner from the Toyota dealer, but I'm happy to drive a Toyota for a few hours if it means saving half on my service bill.

Lexus dealers typically charge $125-150 (or more) for an oil change and tire rotation. The last time that I had my oil changed and tires rotated at the Toyota dealer, the cost was about $55 (with a coupon for a free rotation), and the Toyota dealer used the same full synthetic Toyota oil and filter that the Lexus dealer would have used.

A few years ago, I had a leak in the AC refrigerant line on my GX. The Lexus dealer said that the entire line needed to be replaced and quoted me $1800 to do the repair. The local Toyota dealer quoted me $800 for the same repair, but they also said that replacing the line was not necessary. Instead, they just replaced the bad fitting where the leak was, and the cost of the repair was under $150.

The Toyota dealer has WiFi, gourmet coffee, other snacks, TVs, etc. So, even if I have to live with a Camry loaner, I'm more than happy with the service experience (and cost) of having my work done at the Toyota dealer.

SW17LS

Very interesting, really low for a luxury brand.

Its interesting, I've kind of come full circle on the dealer. I used the dealer for many years, until my then '03 ES300 hit 100k miles. I had Lexus do the timing belt and water pump for $1,800, and about that time I met my independent mechanic who is great. He was a Lexus master tech for 16 years and he opened his own shop. He would have done that same job for $800. So...$800 is a big savings.

So I started taking it to him, also took the '10 ES to him, and I took the '13 GS to him once and used the dealer for the free services, and a couple pay services. The 30k I took to him because Lexus wanted $500 for it and he was $240.

BUT, I find myself going back to using the dealer again just out of ease. Now that I have kids and I'm so busy at work, honestly the ease of just stopping by the dealer on my way home the day before, dropping it off and getting a loaner, and picking it up on my way home the next day is worth the additional cost to me at this point in my life. At least, when the difference is small with these smaller services. Before our kids were born and when my wife was working, we both commuted past his shop and our offices were within 3 blocks of each other, so stopping by and dropping whatever car we were servicing and driving the other to work wasn't a big deal. Now though, its a big deal. When my LS hits 30k and the gap is $250+ again I may feel differently. But for the 10k oil change service at 20k, he was like $150 and the dealer is $199. For $49 I'll take the loaner.

Freds430

Great find and thanks for sharing. Now it makes the choice we all made a real no brainer since J D Power ranks Lexus #1 in reliability five years in a row. I have read and even posted myself how ridiculous it is what BMW charges for maintenance even a simple oil change. Now we have the facts!!!

SW17LS

Remember though that BMW includes service for the first 4 years for free.

I haven't found Lexus dealers all that much cheaper than BMW dealers, at least around here.

lesz

I think that you are correct in saying that the prices charged for service at BMW dealers are generally in the same range as those charged by Lexus dealers. Both are quite high, especially compared to the prices charged at non-luxury brand dealers, but I would guess that the primary reason why the cost of maintaining a BMW is much higher than that of maintaining a Lexus is that the frequency of needed repairs is much higher for a BMW than it is for a Lexus. That certainly would be consistent with the results of other studies, including those done by J.D. Power

I can't know for sure, but I would also assume that the 10 year costs in this study take into account the free 4 years of maintenance that BMW provides (and the 1 year of free maintenance that Lexus provides).

SW17LS

No doubt the 10 year cost of maintaining a BMW is WAY more because of reliability issues, the cost of service is similar with the Lexus you just do a lot more routine stuff and less repairs.

I know a lot of people with BMWs. Some of their repair stories are hilarious.

imrankh24

This is the first time I bought a Lexus, so exactly how many services do you get for free? And are personalized settings free ?

lesz

Lexus only offers free maintenance twice. The first time is at 5000 miles, and it is basically only a tire rotation and a number of inspections. At 10,000 miles, you get an oil change, tire rotation, and the inspections.

You are allowed to have the "dealer only" personalized settings changed once without being charged. That is supposed to be done at the 5000 mile service, but most dealers will let you do it at another time, such as the 10,000 mile service if you haven't already done so.

You can also change the "dealer only" personalized settings by yourself if you buy either the Carista smart phone app (and the appropriate hardware interface with the OBD port or Toyota TechStream software.

Freds430

Remember this study just looked at maintenance items not repair items. If they factored in the cost of repairs based on J D Power reliability study BMW WOW they can not go higher than first but ouch to their pocketbooks and wallets.