Shades80

New member here. Getting the IS 350 sedan or coupe. I currently own a BMW coupe. Does Lexus offer a free maintenance program like BMW through warranty period. Also do they use synthetic oil on the current and/or future IS and if so what are the intervals for changing the oil.

Thanks.

flipside909

Hi welcome to CL!

Lexus does not offer any free maintenance program through the warranty period. Factory bumper to bumper warranty is 4 years/50k miles and 6/70k miles for powertrain. All Lexus & Toyota's come with the recommended regular oil from the factory. The current and future IS uses regular oil as well. Recommended oil change intervals for Lexus is set for 5k or 7.5k.

Here you can find more info:
http://lexus.com/models/warranty_veh...ion/basic.html

Good Luck

upbull340

And why is it that Lexus does not offer free service for 3 or 4 years like BMW, Volvo, and Audi to name a few?

flipside909

Probably because Lexus vehicles are usually trouble free so regular maintenance in the car is part of cost of ownership of vehicle. To make those European vehicles more appealing to buy, they offer free maintenance for the duration of their bumper to bumper warranty. MBZ already figured out it wasn't the way to go. There really is no need to offer free maintenance on a vehicle that will outlast it's European competition past it's warranty duration.

Xanadu350

For what it's worth, I've had a BMW where the maintenace was free for the first years of ownership such as oil changes however they are really strick when it comes to that & will not alter from the ditial readout on the intrumental panel which counts down & resets it self. Unless you do a whole lot of driving, you can't get free oil changes every 6 or 9 months. So although they say yes it's free, unless the counter says it's time, you can't get it. And plus when you go in they try to say you need this & need that so you end up paying for extra stuff. There service stinks.

On the other hand, a co-worker told me she was getting rid of her Lexus RX which she had since 1999. It had over 100K miles, she loved it & wanted the newer updated RX to replace it but her husband said no because Lexus doesn't offer free maintenace on there vehicles. So the husband won & they traded the Lexus for a Cadillac sport utlilty & got the GM employee discount. So I guess Lexus sorta lost a customer in one sense because of no free maintenance.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

That's odd. My sister got both the 1000 and 5000 mile check-ups for free. And she gets free car washes for the life of the car...

And how much is an oil change anyways? I'd rather pay the $25 to change the oil for my Lexus, than get a discount on most cars out there.

MikeP

I assume it's because Lexus doesn't have to. Mercedes Benz no longer offers free maintenance, Jaguar will stop for the '06MY and Audi is strongly considering ending the program as well. I can honestly say that I prefer to pay for great service at Lexus than to have experienced the poor free service on my BMW and Jaguar. "You get what you pay for" has proven to be true for me.

spwolf

why doesnt Lexus offer GM discount program? I want that RX400h for 40k!!!




:-)

Shades80

Thanks for your responses...
My BMW intervals with the free maintenance is 15k on Castrol synthetic. As stated before, computer dictates intervals based on set of different factors. My friend who works at BMW assures me to follow the schedule as dictated by the computer...no problems will arise. So far this car has had zero issues in 2 years..this is my second Bimmer..first was 95 325is and this one 04 325coupe is much more refined but i would not say it is a better more exciting ride...just a little to refined for me...i loved the rough edges of my 95..i hope the IS350 is not a bimmer..i want it to be a handfull and a blast to drive...but i know this is a lexus so i will test drive first. I anticpate loving the power of the 306hp and the fun of the sport suspension with the 18's.
I am not excited about the new bimmers look...i think the new 3 coupe will look like a small 6er..i think lexus will appeal to all types based first on style...i saw the car at the NY autoshow and i was in love. I will wait for the coupe to decide on the body style. I hope it doesnt take to long for it to be shown.
ps..my wifes car is a 03 g35 coupe.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Might as well ask for the GS450h for 45k when it comes out...

And it is possible to get the discount if you know the right people...