gtmax

Aside from the service ('99GS400, btw), the following issues came up:

Ball Joints (have to do): 648$
Engine Mounts: 742$
Trans Pan something: 495$
Upper Control Arm: 1900+labor
unfound Oil Leakage: ~six hr labor (124$/hr), not including the cost of the part

I'm getting the Trans problem done first, but the rest i think i'm going to go back to school, get a degree in auto mechanics and then fix the car myself.

I mean, i love this car, but that's a down payment on a newer car (E class, 5series or GS350).

Now to give the wife the good news...

NYGS3ANDY

Dont you just love NY price. Sounds a bit much but i do everything my self.

UpstateLex

Where in ny would help. Could also post in the regional forum

luda42688

iTrader: (2)

wowww that is out of control, DIY!!!!!!!

gtmax

Queens. I love cars, but other than changing a tire, or a air filter, i'm clueless about working on them. Also i'd have to do it on the street since i don't have a garage (parking spot).

I know of a good mechanic though. I can buy the parts and the labor would be halved. However, i'd be without a car for a few days, which would mess up with work since i HAVE to drive to work.

I think defaulting the loaner, like keeping a movie from blockbuster, would be cheaper than fixing this.

Ceezo

dang thats a rip off, im glad i do all the work myself

raytseng

The total cost of repair is a good reason to not do the repair, but
the lack of the car is not a good reason.
You can rent a car in the meanwhile. If you search for a cheap rental, I'd think you could find one without trying for $20/day if not less. Versus the hundreds or thousands you are paying for this repair, the rental is just part of the cost of doing the repair.

excluesive

iTrader: (10)

GT... I have someone who can help for way less and have the car done in a day, possibly 2. Maybe do it in two sessions.

Mike813

iTrader: (5)

pm'ed you my mechanic if you would like to check them out. its located in flushing queens.

gtmax

Thx guys. I'm weighing my options right now. We're thinking it might be a good time to trade in. If we change our minds i'll let you guys know (Mike, Excluesive).

Thx again dudes.

gsCrazy

iTrader: (1)

I have a very good mechanic and he charges very reasonable prices. He is located in downtown Brooklyn and is very thorough and knowledgeable.


Let me know if you want his contact.

gtmax

Just looking up at Sewell Lexus, since i've seen it all over the place here, the prices are...curious to say the least. For one, Lexus of Queens doesn't list prices for parts on their website - you have to fill an order and email it to them. I guess from there they assess how much they think you know about parts and charge you accordingly.

I added up all the parts that the guy on the phone told me i needed. I even included both water pump and timing belt just for the hell of it. From Sewell it comes out to 1,273.30. Lexus of queens is charging me 4,400$ or so, not including the water pump and timing belt, and not including the 500 i just paid for a transmission pan change. Over 3Gs just in labor? Doesn't sound right.

Tomorrow when they call me in, i'm going to have the salesperson add up all the parts, and then see if they tell me with a straight face what they're charging me for labor. Just as an example, the ball joints at Sewell came out for 168 bucks. At lexus of Queens, including labor, they're charging 648$.

Whether they're being legit or not (Lexus of Queens), i'm just not going back to that location.

raytseng

It seems like you are comparing apples to oranges. LABOR IS EXPENSIVE, especially if you're paying dealer rate of $124 (in my area, it's more like $160 for the dealer rate)


648 with labor sound right when they're charging you $124/hour+MSRP for the parts (203).

So it's NOT something fishy, it's just MSRP prices and dealer labor rates. The MSRPs are listed on Sewell, and that's what you can expect your lexus dealer to charge you if you just walk in off the street.

Any job of this nature, your labor is going to account for the majority of your costs.


but anyhoo, if you decide to buy from sewell, also be sure to make your account with clublexus as the referral and you will get an additional discounted price (significantly so, I might add).

Instructions here:
http://is.sewellparts.com/clublexus.php

iamkhanz

The guys at sewell are great guys, I had some issues they did what thy could to resolve issues. I would recomen them for the low prices. I suggest u take he print out from th ealer order all the parts from sewell and take to ur local TRUSTED mechanic it seems a lot of our cl brothers have offered some shops and suggestions. I did my front end upper contrl arms lower ball joints tie rods. And parts were cheapest w sewell and then I took the box of parts to my mechanic who charged me 300 to do the work..don't be overwhelmed by dealer rates.. I know timing belt is a little expensive to do on our cars but u can get everything done and have a piece of mind everything is in good workming order and u don't have a car payment either for a new car... I love our car it still is beautiful

KingNasGS4

iTrader: (22)

fixed right Lexus does great work. They are on the border of bklyn and queens and will do all that work with a fraction of that cost.

PM me for info.