Thebreeze

I have a 2013 ES300H with 13K miles on it. I took it in today for my 15K mile oil change and maintenance at Cool Springs Lexus in Franklin, Tennessee just
south of Nashville where I bought it new.
I took it in there twice so far for the 5K mile oil change and the 10K mile oil change like they told me to when I bought it new. Those were free.
I was going on a trip so the mileage would be over 15K miles when I returned is why I was doing the 15K mile maintenance early.
They told me the cost would be $275.00 plus tax.
They said the 15K mile maintenance would be the tires being rotated, oil and filter changed and some air filters.
This seems way high to me so I left.
They told me on the phone it would be $60.00 and take about an hour to hour and a half.
When I got there they told me two hours at least and $275.00 plus tax which would be over $300.00.
They never offered me a loaner car when I told them I couldn't wait that long due to appointments and them telling me otherwise on the phone.
I know I'm supposed to get free food and free car wash but every time they set food out at the Cool Springs Lexus in Franklin, Tennessee
the employees eat it all before any customers can get to it. So scratch that.
Their free car wash is so bad I'll never have it done there again. It actually looks a lot worse when it comes out of their car wash.
They didn't tell me that I only need the oil changed every 10K miles.
Is anyone else paying this much for oil changes and maintenance?
I'm thinking of selling this car as I'm not getting the "excellent" service I had heard about before buying a Lexus.
I can't go to another Lexus dealer in my area as they are all to far for me to drive. This one is an hours drive one way.
Is there anyone I can call at Lexus corporate that would care?
When I tell my friends about it they say that kind of treatment they would expect from Ford or Chevy but not Lexus.

sapd911

Oil changes are every 10K with full synthetic oil.

lesz

There is definitely something amiss. First, as said by sapd911, you should not need another oil change until 20,000 miles. Basically, the 15,000 mile service is just the tire rotation and a number of checks of various vehicle components.

Many of us have made a practice of having our service done either with independent mechanics or at Toyota dealers. Since I bought my first Lexus in 2005, I've had the service done at the local Toyota dealer. They charge about $52 for a full synthetic oil change, which is about half what the Lexus dealer charges. For other repairs and service, I've found that the Toyota dealer charges 1/2 or, often, less than what the Lexus dealer charges.

bc6152

They are abusing you my friend. Oil changes, like SAPD states, are 10k intervals using full synthetic oil. Not 5k like your friendly dealer is telling you. For basic maintenance such as tire rotation, oil changes, etc. you can go to a Toyota dealer, do it yourself, or take it to your local neighborhood garage. In most cases you will pay about half the charge or less that Lexus (especially this dealer) would charge. This includes while the car is under warranty. Make sure, if you decide to do this, that you keep a record of all maintenance done outside the dealer.
I recently paid $64.00 for an oil change at Toyota with full synthetic and a Toyota filter. My next change will be in about a year...

Thebreeze

Thanks to all for the info.
I'll get to the Toyota dealer.

Canesguy

Yeah, you're being taken advantage of. If you really like the car, get the service at your local Toyota dealership. If you don't like the car, get rid of it. It's a shame you are not able to take advantage of the usually fantastic Lexus service experience owing to your local substandard dealership.

LexRuger

Buy your own oil and filter from an autoparts store and find a good mechanic on yelp. Sometimes dealers are too much of a hassle.

Sometimes I don't trust getting my car serviced at the dealer because I can't see what they are doing to it. With a small mechanic shop, it never has to leave your sight.

williakz

Good advice here. You can get 0W20 Full Synth for around $1/quart with a bit of work. Filter kits are less than $5 each in quantity. I use my local Walmart for my LS oil changes (9.5 quarts every 5k miles!!!). I know the techs by name and have trained them on exactly what I want done and exactly how to do it. I'm in and out in 15 minutes and they charge me $15. Hard to beat.

Arty101

Like Bob says, you can have a Toyota dealer do it, do it yourself, or go to an indie but keep all your receipts. Also, in my area, we get dealer specials every once in a while. The last special was a full synthetic oil/filter change and vehicle check for $79. Basically, I got my 15K service with an oil change but without the tire rotation, which would be same for the 20K service too.

mcomer

Go to www.dealerrater.com and read up on your dealer. Add your $ .02 worth and see if you get any response. Is this your first Lexi? Were the services you received (for free) at the 5k and 10k visits favorable?

IS350atWOT

iTrader: (1)

I would not go back to that dealer for sure. I do my routine maintenance myself. My oil change and tire rotation is $32. I buy Mobil 1 Advanced 0W20 at Wal-Mart and OEM filters from Sewell.

wasjr

This is also my dealer and not defending them at all, but I have not had these issues as I bought the prepaid maintenance plan (see reasoning below). I am taking the wife’s car for 20k service next week and out of curiosity I am going to check prices. I will say as to loaners, when I have called to schedule all services, I also schedule a loaner (had a GS a couple of times). So if you don’t have time to wait, be proactive and schedule a loaner.

As for why I got prepaid plan, the 300h is our first new Lexus. When we bought it, I sprang for the 5 yr/ 50k mi prepaid maintenance (with the provision that they rotate AND balance the tires at each service) as it was $1,400 and, since it was rolled into the 5 yr financing, it really did not seem to be prepaid. I will admit that I did not research the maintenance schedule, and I expected more maintenance within the 5 yr period (such as transmission fluid change, and more frequent oil changes & air/cabin filter changes, etc). However, while I thought at the time I got a good deal, at $1,400 spread over 5 years of monthly payments I still don’t feel ripped off.

As an aside I went to the dealerrater website for this dealer and Greg (not my salesman) must get all of his customers to post on that site (or he posts himself). Apparently he is the greatest salesman of all time.

williakz

So have you crunched the numbers and figured out:

1) what your plan actually cost you (must add in finance charges)
2) what dealer would have cost you if you were paying out-of-pocket
3) what you could have paid using 3rd party service providers?

I've been told that pre-paid maintenance plans made SOME sense when - as you noted - maintenance was required more often and involved more involvement by technicians. With extended oil change intervals and tire balance/rotations included in your tire purchase (after 15k on Lexus rubber), it seems there's not really much sense in such programs anymore. Thoughts?

lesz

I was just checking the ES maintenance schedule for the first 50,000 miles/5 years. During that time, the maintenance schedule calls for oil changes every year or 10,000 miles and tire rotations every 6 months or 5,000 miles. Other than that, everything else called for in the those 5 years or 50,000 miles fits into the category of "inspections", and during that time, there are no major fluid changes or servicing of vehicle components. Thus, I figure that, during that time, I'll spend about $200 for oil changes (at the Toyota dealer at about $50 per oil change), and I'll spend about $80 on tire rotations (which can, with no loss of tire tread life, be done at 10,000 mile intervals). I'm certainly capable of doing things like checking to see if the floor mats are properly positioned and checking remaining tread on the tires myself. And, the Toyota dealer, when they do the oil changes and tire rotations, routinely checks things like the brake pad wear, fluid levels, checks of steering and suspension components, etc. Thus, I figure that, during the first 5 years of ownership, I'll spend less than $300 on scheduled maintenance.

There is no question that, if dealers can sell car buyers things like maintenance packages and extended warranties, they can turn what would appear, at first, to be a "good deal" for the buyer into a great profit generator for the dealership. If the dealer can sell the customer maintenance plans, extended warranties, appearance protection packages, dealer installed options, nitrogen tire fills, etc., that dealership can sell the car for a price that is truly below its cost and still end up with one of the best sales, from a profit point of view, for the dealership.

williakz

Excellent analysis! Your conclusions are also right on the money AFAIC, with the possible exception of the extended factory warranty. I consider paying for a pro-rata refundable extended FACTORY warranty makes good sense as both insurance against major malfunctions and as an essential aid to private sale (maximum value) of the vehicle. For those who will trade in the vehicle to a dealer, the option is much less compelling.