Originally Posted by PCW

CDJones, I have a 2001 LS430 with 76K miles on it and just had the same problem with valve cover gaskets leaking oil. I had my local Lexus dealer do the work for me as I have used the same Technician the entire time I have owned this car. It took over 6 hours to do the work. In addition to replacing the valve cover gaskets they also replaced the spark plug tube seals and the PCV valve. All these are necessary when the valve covers are removed. There was no additional labor to do that work since they have to be removed in order to remove the valve covers. And the extra parts were approx $80 in addition to the new valve cover gaskets. The entire job parts and labor cost approx $1040. The Technician showed me the old OEM faskets, which are made from rubber, which had turned hard and had multiple cracks in them. After 13 years things start to wear out. I would venture to say your gaskets are most likely hardened as well.

Originally Posted by bmore430

1000 bucks for valve cover gaskets is insane. I've seen places charge less for a timing belt job

Originally Posted by Johnhav430

I have heard Nissan gets over $1000 too on a V6, when an indie charges just under $400....it's just how it goes with dealers, they have a facility, health care, documented workers, etc. I never quite bought into the "stealer" term unless they really did that, i.e. charged for work not performed (I'm sure that goes on too but it would be at the tech level, not the serv. mgr. level)....

Originally Posted by bmore430

I've worked in dealerships my whole life in the sales/management side where I had to deal with getting cars ready for sale, inspection, serviced etc for both independent and franchise dealers. If you think for a second that's not happening at the service manager level you are very mistaken. That's actually where it starts and trickles down to the techs. The techs usually are only worried about their billed hours and may short cut here or there but nothing too crazy. The manager side has to meet goals/quotas/dollar amounts. If people think the sales side of the dealership is shady they don't even want to know what goes on in a service department day to day. The larger the dealership the worse it usually is. We were constantly battling with service managers for charging for work that was never performed, over-charging etc. Charging customers for fuel system services, brake flushes, fluid changes that were never done was an everyday occurrence. One dealership encouraged lube techs to just change the oil and then wipe the old oil filter clean and charge for a new filter. I could go on and on but you get the point. Its the reason i try to do most things myself and if i cant I try to use independent/performance type shops where reputation is everything. If i have to use a large franchise dealer I sit and watch everything being done.
i know a few BMW/Mercedes techs and they love the fact people come in those dealerships with an open checkbook mentality and management takes full advantage of that fact.

Originally Posted by CDJones

I just wanted to say thank you to this site for helping me in my ever-exhausting research when looking for a new car. After finally deciding that I wanted a 2000 LS400, and searching for months to find a good deal, I found a great car at a delearship about 2 hours away. I test drove it and took cash to negotiate but manager wasn't there, so we left. Before we could make it back up there, it was sold. The search continued... until I stumbled upon a 2001 LS430 ULwith 160k miles in Atlanta. It started off a little high for our budget but I kept watching it and the price dropped. So I took a day off work and drove up with my wife to look at the car and came back with the car. And I got 26 MPG on my 150 mile way home.

The car itself is in fairly good shape. Exterior has your typical road rash from years/mileage.The trunk does have a nice dent in it from the owner backing into something while having a bike rack on the car. And the drivers side outside tail light is busted. I have already done a few simple things such as replace the trunk struts and ordered hood struts. I need to get some touch-up paint and do a good clay bar and waxing. The interior is very nice. No cracks in the leather and all the buttons work.The rear buttons are a little sticky due to Coke being spilled on them but they still work. I want to do a full detail with some Leather Masters to clean it up and get it in top shape. Service was not done at a Lexus dealership but he had receipts that show the following were all done within the last year: tires, alignment, brake pads, brake rotors turned, timing belt, water pump, cam and crank seals, and spark plugs.

Now that I have a LS430, and mostly because of this forum, there is so much that I would like to do to this car to make it mine but that'll have to come with time. I will try to do a How to Guide if I end up doing something that doesn't already have a good one.

I know that a thread is no good without pics but it will probably be the weekend before I get some good pics.

It does have a couple of things I need to figure out, but I will start another thread to do that. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone!

Originally Posted by Johnhav430

I was down in VA for training, and saw MB techs taking customer cars out for lunch, so blatantly. Thought it was a stupid move for the dealership, they were wearing their uniforms.

I had thought that BMW dealerships were beyond cheating, kind of discounted some of the comments on the forum for over 8 years, until one day it happened to me. Not everyone is gonna do it, but I fought them to the bitter end and won. Very few are gonna do that. They agreed to give me free work that would retail for around $1,600, towards cust sat and to remove the now C- BBB rating, but I am on the fence. Coworkers tell me take them up, they're not gonna sc*** up your car, they won't even remember. But I still think when crooks get busted and admit to it, do you really want anything from them ever again?

edit p.s. I hope you're not referring to authorized Lexus service. The reason is, if that's the case, it's the ultimate fraud, where you're treated very well and then ripped off behind the scenes. At least with BMW and Audi, they are generally not very nice nor friendly. About all one can say is they give you a free loaner for days when you're only paying $60. But imho, it's easier to rip someone off if you don't act all touchy feely. I don't rip anyone off and could not work in a field that routinely does that.

Originally Posted by bmore430

The local lexus dealer in MD was among the worst places I shopped when looking for my LS430. They had Certified Lexus pre-owned cars with accident history, paint work, mismatched tires and needed mechanical work to where i wondered how they got through MD inspection. Most of the cars looked like they came right from the auction then buffed with a wool pad, tire shined and put on the lot.

Originally Posted by bmore430

Congrats on the purchase and you know what they say, "PICS or it didnt happen!" lol. Welcome to the 430 forum. Awesome wealth of info over here and couldn't do without some of our members like RKW and a few others. This forum has saved me quite a few dollars. If you can sort through alot of the boring, pointless posts here you can find a bunch of good tech, how-tos, modification and maintenance threads. And beware if you ask any questions about what is the best oil or tires be prepared!!

Originally Posted by Gronemus

Well he has had four years to post his pics. I'd say, don't hold your breath...

Originally Posted by Johnhav430

I was down in VA for training, and saw MB techs taking customer cars out for lunch, so blatantly. Thought it was a stupid move for the dealership, they were wearing their uniforms.

I had thought that BMW dealerships were beyond cheating, kind of discounted some of the comments on the forum for over 8 years, until one day it happened to me. Not everyone is gonna do it, but I fought them to the bitter end and won. Very few are gonna do that. They agreed to give me free work that would retail for around $1,600, towards cust sat and to remove the now C- BBB rating, but I am on the fence. Coworkers tell me take them up, they're not gonna sc*** up your car, they won't even remember. But I still think when crooks get busted and admit to it, do you really want anything from them ever again?

edit p.s. I hope you're not referring to authorized Lexus service. The reason is, if that's the case, it's the ultimate fraud, where you're treated very well and then ripped off behind the scenes. At least with BMW and Audi, they are generally not very nice nor friendly. About all one can say is they give you a free loaner for days when you're only paying $60. But imho, it's easier to rip someone off if you don't act all touchy feely. I don't rip anyone off and could not work in a field that routinely does that.