AlexusAnja

I'm a DIY person, so oil, transmission, battery, etc. small things, I do myself because I can and have time. As for going to dealership for $140 or Jiffy Lube for $25 (oil and rotation), it all depends on how much you want to pamper yourself. It's like, okay, do I go to a barber shop and get a $10 haircut, or to "Giorgio Fetiruchis" for $200. Some see a hair cut as just a hair cut, other's see it as an experience. Also, there is "value" later on with going to a dealer for a "major" thing, like perhaps the 60K maintenance. If your record shows you go back for little things like oil changes, then they may "cut you a break" and charge you $1200 instead of $1800 for the service. Still a rip off, but it's what you consider to be "pampering."

codex57

I see value in that. Especially if you have an extended warranty and want a convenient way to show you've kept up with maintenance. Still, $140 seems quite a premium even if you consider added benefits like that. Especially when it sounds like other Lexus dealers don't charge that much.

doug_999

You are not thinking this one through....

Since BMW handles the maintenance, there is none of this "well the dealer says" crap that goes on with all other makes.

Find a Lexus dealer that does what the manual states and you have found a rare dealer. Most dealers want to do things like trans fluid changes at 15K (all of the ones in the Chicago area do it - even though the manual states 30K).

When you take the decision making (and/or profit making) out of the dealer's hands, you get maintenance done by the book - because they won't get paid if they do more.

B.Diddy

iTrader: (1)

I refuse to have Lexus touch my cars. From rebuilding my Supra, Maintaining a Turbo IS300 for years and doing basically all the maintenance on my cars myself right here at home. I cant see a tech spending more time and care on a car than I would, on my own car. I take pride in owning my vehicles and keeping them in tip top shape. I wish Lexus offered a BMW like service plan. I dont see the need to price gouge to preserve an elite status amongst brands.

B.Diddy

iTrader: (1)

I had a horror story of an experience at a local Lexus dealer with my IS300 and it's 30,000 mile service. I had just put on my brand new Blitz Technospeed Z1 18x8 18x9's. I went in and told the service agent *do not rotate my tires* there was no point. I come back to pick up my car, I notice that all the lug holes on my Blitz Wheels were stripped of paint. I was like WTF? I then noticed that the 7-sided Kyokugen security lug nuts that I used on the wheels were all rounded off due to some technician using an impact gun with some random 6-sided socket that fit over 7-sided lugs loosly. (FYI, key was in the center console) I was so pissed off. The service manager blamed me for having after market wheels. I was like - what part of "do not rotate the tires" did you not understand its even stated on the work order? Needless to say I got absolutely nowhere with them and It cost me $500 to have my wheels repaired/repainted and have my rounded off lugs removed.

After that episode, no dealer will touch my cars.

codex57

Which dealer is that? Their error and they still refused responsibility? You need to name them and the service manager so we know who to avoid.

tfelsky

You buy $50k-$100k cars, and then spend hours out at the shops picking up supplies for the car, and then the time to put it all together, get dirty, bring it in to the service garage anyways, only to save $50-$100? Don't most of you make $50-$100/hr at your jobs because you can surely afford cars most Americans can't? What you do with your own money is no one's business but your own, but to call dealerships "stealerships" or "rip offs" is completely unenlightend.

I bought my Lexus so I wouldn't have to worry about all those little things. My service team does a good job at what they do and a solid service history with a dealership will net you more when you trade in the car or when buying your new car. Ask the service department if they don't have "favorite" customers who do get special treatment because they are loyal. As it relates to modified cars, I'm pretty sure it says explicitly in the manual somewhere not to do it, and yet you complain when things don't go your way? The dealership should come good for any damage to your car, but next time, don't expect that factory training is whats needed to handle your vehicle, when its no longer equipped from factory!

/end dealer rant

Yang1815

iTrader: (1)

I kind of agree with you on the first half of the rant; however, if it's no longer a factory items, the factory trained technicians should obviously spot the fact that it's not a factory item and therefore leave it alone.

If you are talking about the B.Diddy's lug nuts then yes it actually is the dealership's fault. It's as simple as looking at the lug nuts before the idiot put an impact gun on it. There is absolutely no excuse for that.

GS350

Change your own oil. You can get full synthetic oil and a filter for around $50. And it's not hard to do it yourself. Just take your time and have plenty of paper shop towels.

tfelsky

Change your own oil if you like changing oil and you value your money less than you do your time. I have "enough" money but what I lack is time!

B.Diddy

iTrader: (1)

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smalldog

I also think they charge too much for oil change. My question is (if you DIY)
will the car still be covered under warranty if something in the motor breaks/goes wrong. I was looking at an extended warranty and it states that you must continue scheduled service maintenance. If you DIY you will not have proof of the oil changes. I changed my oil when I got my car and was going to do it again until I read the warranty.....

GS350

Have receipts of your service. I have a little book that I keep in my house with all my receipts of the maintenance I do on my truck (the Titan in my sig). When I changed the oil at 5000 miles, I have the receipts for the oil and oil filter I bought from O'Reilly Auto Parts. I also have the receipt for the crush washer I had to buy from Nissan. You want to talk about dealership ripoffs, how does $2.27 sound for a washer?? But nonetheless, I have the receipt. When I get my tires rotated and balanced, I keep the receipt for that as well. So if you can prove you maintained your vehicle, they have no basis for arguments. And to tell you the truth, I think it is fun to be able to work on my vehicle.

cwchill

I'm glad I'm not the only one who takes their car some place else for an oil change. But I will admit not to Jiffy Lube, but another dealership (Toyota)can do the same at less than half the cost and you don't have to tell them what not to do.

EXP_Cougar

I guess I need to find out how much my dealer normally charges. The 1st 48 months of service is free/included, so I've been taking advantage of it. Unless it is lots of $$$, I'll probably keep going to the same dealer.