Super expensive brake job!!!!
07-30-16, 04:48 PM
#31
Lexus Fanatic
My mechanic suggested I buy the parts myself lol
07-30-16, 05:36 PM
#32
Pole Position
So you say "staying at the Ritz Carlton is totally different". Why? You're paying more for a different higher quality experience. You're doing that at the Lexus dealer too. The actual service you car receives may be the same...may not even be as good...but the experience for you as a customer is much different. People are friendlier, they treat you differently, the surroundings are better, there are drinks and snacks, smaller rooms with TVs, there may be putting greens and golf simulators, may be a lot of other things depending on the dealer. You're greeted in a nice indoor area, you can have a loaner that is delivered to you quickly and efficiently. Nice music is playing. Its a very upscale experience that I enjoy. At my independent mechanic theres a small room with his desk, and a one bay shop. It smells like oil. I have to have somebody pick me up or he will drive me to the subway in my own car. Pretty different.
The difference is you appreciate the value of the luxuries the Ritz Carlton gives you, and you don't care about those luxuries when servicing your car and thats fine...but plenty of people do.
Its not a business' job to present a case against customers using their service. Its the customer's responsibility to price shop and decide what the best value for them is. I don't feel bad for customers that over pay one iota. Not one tiny bit.
Yes, I think staying at a Ritz Carlton is quite a bit different than choosing a dealer repair for ambience. At a dealer the main "product" is the repair. At a hotel the main product is much more than just closing your eyes and going to sleep. At a hotel you pay for luxury - if that's what you want - people will actually stay at specific hotels for the sole purpose of ambiance. I very rarely hear (well until now) that people go to the dealer for the luxury experience. Seriously?
At at a high end hotel you expect outstanding service, modern and luxurious rooms, perhaps a massage, dinner at a five star restaurant, an outstanding bar, a beautiful pool, a modern fitness club, mints on your pillow case, champagne, a location in the heart of the city...that's why you go.
At a service repair facility you expect to get your car fixed properly, efficiently and at a price that is fair. You describe your independent shop like it is a dungeon, and perhaps it is, but there are many that are clean, modern and honest. My Lexus dealer is shiny, pretty, full of marble...gives you free coffee, donuts, bagels, wifi and soft drinks. You will also get a loaner if you ask. My wife's Honda dealer is modern, nicely furnished, gives you free coffee, donuts, bagels, soft drinks and a loaner if needed. The independent I bought my car from has a clean waiting area with free coffee, muffins, a large flat screen tv, magazines and a loaner if you need it. But in my humble opinion none of that matters, what matters is if the repair being made to the vehicle is high quality and fair.
To even hear that a dealer would charge $395 dollars to cut rear rotors or $4,000 to replace control arms is absurd...no coffee and marble in the world would confuse me into thinking I was receiving high end luxury treatment in a scenario like that. What that is, is a royal screwing...a different kind of luxury...the royal treatment kind. At some point labor rates and times must be factored into the equation. To remove and cut rear rotors on a LS 460 should equate to 1.5-2.0 hours labor...and that should be what you are charged. If the labor rate - which should be clearly posted - is $120 an hour, you should be charged $240 for that repair. You would have to eat a lot of donuts and really really appreciate marble to make up the difference. Meanwhile at the Ritz Carlton you are swimming in a better pool than the one at the Holiday Inn...you are eating better food...your room is bigger and more modern. Am I missing something here? Those are two totally different things, did I hit my head today? Thats like allowing a dentist to charge you double of what other dentists would charge because they have end tables that are made of mahogany rather than oak. It's like agreeing to pay double for aspirin because the carpets at the entrance have more woven fibers than the one at Walgreens.
I mean I understand taking the car to the dealer because you have too...because of variable valve timing, or updates, or manufacturer specific trouble codes, or intricate engine and transmission repairs...but for brakes? For oil changes? For simple repairs that any other place could do for half the price? For the luxury car repair? Keep in mind that half the techs at every dealer are young kids just starting out. At least half, maybe more. There isn't a dealer in the world that is filled with high end techs making $120,000 grand a year, there may be a couple...maybe three...but the rest are beginners/B techs. The reason is they don't want to pay their techs big salaries, yet they still will charge those prices. There is a very good chance a kid right out of trade school is working on your $80,000 dollar car. Guaranteed. Meanwhile you're paying close to $170 for an 18 year old kid to dump your oil and fill it with God knows what, but the bagels are fantastic. I'd rather stay at the Ritz.
The difference is you appreciate the value of the luxuries the Ritz Carlton gives you, and you don't care about those luxuries when servicing your car and thats fine...but plenty of people do.
Its not a business' job to present a case against customers using their service. Its the customer's responsibility to price shop and decide what the best value for them is. I don't feel bad for customers that over pay one iota. Not one tiny bit.
Yes, I think staying at a Ritz Carlton is quite a bit different than choosing a dealer repair for ambience. At a dealer the main "product" is the repair. At a hotel the main product is much more than just closing your eyes and going to sleep. At a hotel you pay for luxury - if that's what you want - people will actually stay at specific hotels for the sole purpose of ambiance. I very rarely hear (well until now) that people go to the dealer for the luxury experience. Seriously?
At at a high end hotel you expect outstanding service, modern and luxurious rooms, perhaps a massage, dinner at a five star restaurant, an outstanding bar, a beautiful pool, a modern fitness club, mints on your pillow case, champagne, a location in the heart of the city...that's why you go.
At a service repair facility you expect to get your car fixed properly, efficiently and at a price that is fair. You describe your independent shop like it is a dungeon, and perhaps it is, but there are many that are clean, modern and honest. My Lexus dealer is shiny, pretty, full of marble...gives you free coffee, donuts, bagels, wifi and soft drinks. You will also get a loaner if you ask. My wife's Honda dealer is modern, nicely furnished, gives you free coffee, donuts, bagels, soft drinks and a loaner if needed. The independent I bought my car from has a clean waiting area with free coffee, muffins, a large flat screen tv, magazines and a loaner if you need it. But in my humble opinion none of that matters, what matters is if the repair being made to the vehicle is high quality and fair.
To even hear that a dealer would charge $395 dollars to cut rear rotors or $4,000 to replace control arms is absurd...no coffee and marble in the world would confuse me into thinking I was receiving high end luxury treatment in a scenario like that. What that is, is a royal screwing...a different kind of luxury...the royal treatment kind. At some point labor rates and times must be factored into the equation. To remove and cut rear rotors on a LS 460 should equate to 1.5-2.0 hours labor...and that should be what you are charged. If the labor rate - which should be clearly posted - is $120 an hour, you should be charged $240 for that repair. You would have to eat a lot of donuts and really really appreciate marble to make up the difference. Meanwhile at the Ritz Carlton you are swimming in a better pool than the one at the Holiday Inn...you are eating better food...your room is bigger and more modern. Am I missing something here? Those are two totally different things, did I hit my head today? Thats like allowing a dentist to charge you double of what other dentists would charge because they have end tables that are made of mahogany rather than oak. It's like agreeing to pay double for aspirin because the carpets at the entrance have more woven fibers than the one at Walgreens.
I mean I understand taking the car to the dealer because you have too...because of variable valve timing, or updates, or manufacturer specific trouble codes, or intricate engine and transmission repairs...but for brakes? For oil changes? For simple repairs that any other place could do for half the price? For the luxury car repair? Keep in mind that half the techs at every dealer are young kids just starting out. At least half, maybe more. There isn't a dealer in the world that is filled with high end techs making $120,000 grand a year, there may be a couple...maybe three...but the rest are beginners/B techs. The reason is they don't want to pay their techs big salaries, yet they still will charge those prices. There is a very good chance a kid right out of trade school is working on your $80,000 dollar car. Guaranteed. Meanwhile you're paying close to $170 for an 18 year old kid to dump your oil and fill it with God knows what, but the bagels are fantastic. I'd rather stay at the Ritz.
07-30-16, 06:23 PM
#34
Lexus Fanatic
Yes, I think staying at a Ritz Carlton is quite a bit different than choosing a dealer repair for ambience. At a dealer the main "product" is the repair. At a hotel the main product is much more than just closing your eyes and going to sleep. At a hotel you pay for luxury - if that's what you want - people will actually stay at specific hotels for the sole purpose of ambiance. I very rarely hear (well until now) that people go to the dealer for the luxury experience. Seriously?
Everybody has different things that are important to them. Clearly you place no value on the experience of having your Lexus serviced. Other people do though, I hear people talk about the luxury experience of having their luxury car serviced all the time. If people didn't care about that luxury ambiance, perks, etc why would dealerships pay to have those things? People clearly do care...you do not, and thats fine.
I don't care so much because I've been around it for so long, but if price was equal I would always choose the dealer? Why? Because its a better experience and I like it. Why do people buy clothes at Nordstrom instead of Macy's? The experience is better. Its a well known business fact that people will spend more and be more satisfied spending more when their surroundings feel more expensive. Retail stores, restaurants, and yes car dealers.
Might surprise you to know that my wife does not understand why anybody would stay at a Ritz Carlton. She doesn't have any desire to have the difference in service, left to her own devices she would much rather stay at a Holiday Inn and stay twice as long. Just because she doesn't understand it though doesn't mean that other consumers don't happily pay the difference and appreciate the differences, and the same is true of you and the luxury car dealer difference. It doesn't have value to you, but it does clearly have value to others...otherwise they wouldn't pay the prices and then fill out excellent surveys afterwards. If they felt cheated, why would survey responses overwhelmingly be higher for luxury car dealers?
At at a high end hotel you expect outstanding service, modern and luxurious rooms, perhaps a massage, dinner at a five star restaurant, an outstanding bar, a beautiful pool, a modern fitness club, mints on your pillow case, champagne, a location in the heart of the city...that's why you go.
To even hear that a dealer would charge $395 dollars to cut rear rotors or $4,000 to replace control arms is absurd...no coffee and marble in the world would confuse me into thinking I was receiving high end luxury treatment in a scenario like that. What that is, is a royal screwing...a different kind of luxury...the royal treatment kind. At some point labor rates and times must be factored into the equation. To remove and cut rear rotors on a LS 460 should equate to 1.5-2.0 hours labor...and that should be what you are charged. If the labor rate - which should be clearly posted - is $120 an hour, you should be charged $240 for that repair.
Meanwhile at the Ritz Carlton you are swimming in a better pool than the one at the Holiday Inn...you are eating better food...your room is bigger and more modern. Am I missing something here?
Thats like allowing a dentist to charge you double of what other dentists would charge because they have end tables that are made of mahogany rather than oak. It's like agreeing to pay double for aspirin because the carpets at the entrance have more woven fibers than the one at Walgreens.
The hospital in Bethesda used to have a "signature suite" where you could pay out of pocket for a wing that was finished like a hotel. My Dad stayed in it one time when he was in the hospital. $500 a night out of pocket. Same hospital...same hospital bed...better surroundings and food, service, etc.
Luxury is something that means something different to everybody, and its not always easy to logically describe why people respond to certain things differently. I'd rather go someplace and stay in a really nice hotel and go first class and go for 1 week, my wife would rather go and stay middle of the road and go for 2 weeks, or even just 1 and pocket the savings. Everybody is different.
Plenty of people don't understand why we pay a premium to drive a Lexus at all.
Last edited by SW17LS; 07-30-16 at 06:51 PM.
07-30-16, 06:56 PM
#35
Lead Lap
Theres always someone whose willing to offer a better price for the same product. It happens. Regardless of price of a brake job at the holiday inn or the Ritz (lol), the end matter is what is the value to you. If you weighted the options and think that paying $395 is good vs paying $195 at an indy or just parts for DIY weekend, then more power to ya 
07-30-16, 06:59 PM
#36
Lexus Fanatic
Theres always someone whose willing to offer a better price for the same product. It happens. Regardless of price of a brake job at the holiday inn or the Ritz (lol), the end matter is what is the value to you. If you weighted the options and think that paying $395 is good vs paying $195 at an indy or just parts for DIY weekend, then more power to ya
What does bug me is when people complain about the cost of the dealer or somehow try and say that their prices aren't fair. Life isn't fair...business isn't fair...you have other options, just use one of the other options. If you want to use the dealer...you gotta pay.
07-30-16, 07:05 PM
#37
Lead Lap
Exactly. I don't fault anybody for doing it themselves or having an indy do it or having the dealer do it.
What does bug me is when people complain about the cost of the dealer or somehow try and say that their prices aren't fair. Life isn't fair...business isn't fair...you have other options, just use one of the other options. If you want to use the dealer...you gotta pay.
What does bug me is when people complain about the cost of the dealer or somehow try and say that their prices aren't fair. Life isn't fair...business isn't fair...you have other options, just use one of the other options. If you want to use the dealer...you gotta pay.
07-30-16, 07:26 PM
#38
Pole Position
Thread Starter
, and I got a loaner 2016 NX for the whole day. So yeah, we all pay more for the good things in life, and from what I have read here, I would say my Lexus dealer is pretty reasonable.
07-30-16, 08:08 PM
#39
07-30-16, 08:56 PM
#41
I made 97k my best year in 2000. Also my last year. A couple guys I worked with got up to 120k a couple years after I left. My body pushed me out and I did marketing for my buddy's financial firm for 5 years till I really retired.
Last edited by Kennyr44; 07-30-16 at 09:01 PM.
07-30-16, 09:17 PM
#42
Pole Position
SW15LS, everyone is entitled to their preference in this country, and it doesn't matter what I say, but I'm going to say it anyway. Someone called them "stealerships". In my opinion that is what they are. I feel this way because I know for a FACT what they are providing. When I was younger I worked in dealerships as a tech and I think the perception for a customer is much different than the reality. And that appears to be good for you, perhaps even great. But what you're paying for, vs what you're actually receiving, are two very different things. And that's fine, but really if you take a look around you'll find yourself holding a paper cup with some cheap coffee in it, while you sit in a commercially manufactured leather chair...meanwhile your car is being worked on by a high school kid in a co-op program, who is making ten bucks an hour. And that's a win win for the dealership and the kid. The dealer gets to pay a tech minimum wage to do oil changes, brake jobs and other simple tasks...and the kid gets paid while gaining experience he can use towards his high school diploma. Maybe he'll continue to work at the dealer when he graduates, maybe he won't.
So I understand where you're coming from now, you don't really go to Lexus dealers to get your car fixed, you go their to feel good about yourself and all you've accomplished in life. It's a prestige thing. Platinum card.
When people call them stealerships - myself included - we are talking about vehicle repairs and the prices we are being charged for THAT aspect of it. Not - I guess - the feeling of being special. Sorry if I missed that portion of it.
So obviously for myself the last thing I'd spend money on is high car repair prices, just to feel good about myself. I've reached the point in life where I guess I don't need a car salesman to make me feel good at where I'm at. And I really can't anyway, just this weekend alone I spent $400 bucks so my daughter could hang out with the cast of the Walking Dead...VIP. She comes home with pictures of her and Glenn. Who the hell is Glenn? I don't even watch that show. And in two weeks we're going to see Halzey (never even heard of her), but we'll be meeting her backstage (I'm so excited). This is my life now.
So I understand where you're coming from now, you don't really go to Lexus dealers to get your car fixed, you go their to feel good about yourself and all you've accomplished in life. It's a prestige thing. Platinum card.
When people call them stealerships - myself included - we are talking about vehicle repairs and the prices we are being charged for THAT aspect of it. Not - I guess - the feeling of being special. Sorry if I missed that portion of it.
So obviously for myself the last thing I'd spend money on is high car repair prices, just to feel good about myself. I've reached the point in life where I guess I don't need a car salesman to make me feel good at where I'm at. And I really can't anyway, just this weekend alone I spent $400 bucks so my daughter could hang out with the cast of the Walking Dead...VIP. She comes home with pictures of her and Glenn. Who the hell is Glenn? I don't even watch that show. And in two weeks we're going to see Halzey (never even heard of her), but we'll be meeting her backstage (I'm so excited). This is my life now.
07-30-16, 09:28 PM
#43
Pole Position
Thread Starter
07-30-16, 09:31 PM
#44
SW15LS, everyone is entitled to their preference in this country, and it doesn't matter what I say, but I'm going to say it anyway. Someone called them "stealerships". In my opinion that is what they are. I feel this way because I know for a FACT what they are providing. When I was younger I worked in dealerships as a tech and I think the perception for a customer is much different than the reality. And that appears to be good for you, perhaps even great. But what you're paying for, vs what you're actually receiving, are two very different things. And that's fine, but really if you take a look around you'll find yourself holding a paper cup with some cheap coffee in it, while you sit in a commercially manufactured leather chair...meanwhile your car is being worked on by a high school kid in a co-op program, who is making ten bucks an hour. And that's a win win for the dealership and the kid. The dealer gets to pay a tech minimum wage to do oil changes, brake jobs and other simple tasks...and the kid gets paid while gaining experience he can use towards his high school diploma. Maybe he'll continue to work at the dealer when he graduates, maybe he won't.
So I understand where you're coming from now, you don't really go to Lexus dealers to get your car fixed, you go their to feel good about yourself and all you've accomplished in life. It's a prestige thing. Platinum card.
When people call them stealerships - myself included - we are talking about vehicle repairs and the prices we are being charged for THAT aspect of it. Not - I guess - the feeling of being special. Sorry if I missed that portion of it.
So I understand where you're coming from now, you don't really go to Lexus dealers to get your car fixed, you go their to feel good about yourself and all you've accomplished in life. It's a prestige thing. Platinum card.
When people call them stealerships - myself included - we are talking about vehicle repairs and the prices we are being charged for THAT aspect of it. Not - I guess - the feeling of being special. Sorry if I missed that portion of it.
07-30-16, 09:33 PM
#45
Not really. My guess is a majority of CL members are middle class folks who have always wanted an LS, and buy in the 20-50K range. So, I think we are all looking for good value, whether it is in the discussions of brake jobs, oil changes, wheels and tires, and most of all, the prices of specific cars people are debating to buy. The really wealthy LS owners are probably too busy to be bothered to participate in CL
Everyone here could've found a good value in a used Toyota right? Pretty sure we all chose a Lexus because we recognized "some" aspect of the added value. Just saying...