wayman28

In a related thread a poster noted Carchex was a good third party warranty to consider but there was no discussion on Carchex. I did some homework and they are A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). There are some scathing complaints about them online but I haven't come across any third party warranties that didn't have some negative reviews online. In general Carchex seems to have a lot less negative complaints online compared to other companies like Warranty Direct. For example, on the BBB website Warranty Direct had no rating and over 300 complaints over 3 years. However Carchex is A+ rated and had about 40 complaints over 3 years.

I was quoted $2400 for a 3-year, 30k-mile warranty from Carchex for their Titanium plan which is their highest plan and supposedly covers everything including wear and tear items.

Does anyone have any experience or testimonials on using a Carchex warranty for their Lexus?

Thanks.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Put that $2400 in an account with the best interest rate you can find. If you have a problem, take it to a good local Lexus mechanic and source the parts yourself. Wast of money to buy any 3rd party extended warranty.

wayman28

Thanks. The whole reason I'm looking into warranties is because I just got quoted over $4000 for front control arm bushing and ball joint replacement. I figured if I could find a warranty for under $3000 that covered these items then it would pay for itself right off the bat.

Per your recommendation, if I bought just the control arm bushing from Ebay and handed them to a Lexus service center would they replace just the bushing? They seemed pretty adamant that the entire control arm needs to be replaced. In general will they use the parts you source from aftermarket suppliers?

Thanks.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Honestly, 460 owners will have to answer this. I don't own one. I have a 430 but the price you were quoted is totally insane. Cost me $250 to do both my front lower control arm bushing with OEM parts and my local dealer doing the labor.

I would stay away from the dealer in general. Especially in your neck of the woods. Use Yelp.com and search for a good local independent mechanic to do the labor. Lexus Dealers will almost never allow you to bring your own parts unless purchased through them or OEM with their part numbers stickers on them. My local dealer charges 30% less if your order the parts yourself though their online department. There are plenty of good independent mechanics. Check out Yelp and look at the user reviews.

Example:

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc...f534220c71bf7#

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Here, this may help you. Check out their prices to compare. Lexus of South Atlanta has darn good prices vs other dealers. Sewell may be even better on some stuff too. Your dealer is taking you for a huge ride. Their trying to fleece you. As I mentioned, doing it yourself vs these warranties is a smarter financial decision majority of the time.

$102 for a ball joint
About $250 each for lower control arms

2009 LS460:


http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.co...modelYear=2009

and

http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.co...modelYear=2009

wayman28

Thanks Lavrishevo. My dealer said the control arms were about $500 a piece and I would need four of them for the front. Labor would be about $1000 at a rate of $130/hour. They said it's an all day job because they're hard to get to. I've read others who received similar quotes so it seems like I'm in the ballpark. I wish I lived near your dealer if you got it done for $250 but it sounds like you were able to get just the bushing replaced which is the key difference. My dealer will not replace just the bushing and insists on replacing the whole control arm.

I'm only a novice DIY'er and quite honestly I'm not sure what I'm looking at in the diagram you sent. In the diagram it looks like there are two upper and one lower control arm which means there are three control arms per wheel??? I thought there were only two per wheel? Like I said I'm not sure I know what I'm looking at and when I do searches for aftermarket parts I get confused about whether I'm looking at the right part, which makes me hesitate to buy any parts in fear of getting the wrong stuff.

For example on Ebay I found a listing for a set of four front control arms for $160 which seems to be everything I would need (but at that price I have to question the quality). But when I look at other sites they list "front right upper arms" or "front left upper arms", etc. for prices ranging from $100 - $500. It's a little confusing to me as to what exactly I need.

I have no confidence that I could pull off the work on my own. I lack the tools and the know-how. Plus when the dealership says it would take them 8 hours to replace them that means it would probably take me about 5 days with no guarantee for success.

Thanks again.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Maybe you can get a list of the exact parts they want to replace. Get them yourself and negotiate on labor. I was hoping some others would chime in here who have had this work done. Don't be afraid to get second opinions and negotiate on labor. The 460 suspension is kind of a Pita vs the 430 from the amount of arms you have and the overall cost / longevity. I was not suggesting you do the work yourself. Just get what you need without paying the mark-up and source the labor yourself. No reason to pay $130 an hour in labor. I would not pay more then $80 or so. Again, I'm not that familiar with the 460 suspension to tell you what others are doing and works well. Start searching on Google and see if you can find what others are doing.

Edit. Check this out:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums...-arm-bushings/

And this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231070896616?redirect=mobile

efxonly1

Hello Wayman28,

I used my carchex warranty to replace front control arms and bushings a few months ago. The dealer said they were cracking, but I never noticed any sounds or felt anything while driving. The amount came to over $4,000, but only paid the $100 deductible. And that was about 40 days and a little over 1000 miles after the policy started.

wayman28

Thanks. Did Carchex ask you to look into cheaper aftermarket parts or were they okay with the Lexus OEM parts?

Ascari_2

Why not look into the Lexus used vehicle Platinum VSA?

wayman28

Tried but can't get one because my car is no longer under any warranty and it is listed in the Lexus database as needing control arms as well as some other repairs. Third party warranties are my only option if I choose to go that route. Leaning towards no.

Ascari_2

What year and how many miles?

cgawelko

4 control arms? So they are doing upper and lower??? Still sounds like your getting shafted...

Source the parts on Rockauto.com and then go to an independent shop if your not confident you can do it and pay them. But the only way to learn how to do something right, is to learn from experience.

ctatum7

Can you purchase the Carchex warranty after you have purchased the vehicle?

wayman28

I've got a 2009 LS 460 AWD SWB with 74k miles.