moodylu

Yes, thank you bsjones35. I didn't know who to trust, and because my brother always took the car to the dealer, that's where I took it for those repairs. I am still learning and so thankful that I found this LS400 forum and all the nice people who share their stories and opinions.

If it is the compressor seal that is causing the slow leak, the independent mechanic said he can replace it for about $10 plus the cost of labor to get to it.

The philosophy that the dealer had ($5,100 price) was this - the car is old, the parts are old, you need a whole new A/C system, or the new parts are going to be too strong and blow out the old parts. Isn't that a rather aggressive philosophy? I thought so. He said he was trying to save me money down the line, instead of paying for more parts and more labor as the other parts went bad piecemeal later. While this is possible, I decided not to accept that reasoning. I'm glad I did.

The independent mechanic is trustworthy so far and I will be taking my car back to him for other routine maintenance.

Here's another question for other LS400 owners. Is there any maintenance you feel should always be performed by Lexus dealers? Maybe something that is particularly difficult to be done correctly? Just wondering.

deanshark

Your question about dealer specific repairs; Personally, I don't think there is any repair that deffinately has to go to a dealer, Lexus or any other vehical. There are plenty of independant repair shops that have qualified mechanics. Lexus' are somewhat complicated but not extremely complicated. I do my own work, (I always have) but if there's ever anything I can't do for some crazy reason, I would never bring my car to a dealer only b/c of what they charge. Not a "rip off", just expensive. If I ever hit the lottery things would be different.