kitlz

Have your SA remove unnecessary services. Just this past Friday I went in for the 20K, without an oil change because I don't need it now. New tires and an alignment were done a little over a month ago at a local tire place so rotation wasn't necessary either. She put me down for multi-point inspection instead. Didn't cost me anything. I was in and out in less than an hour.

Cruiter

If you own a Lexus you can go online https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/home and record all maintenance that even you do to the Lexus data bank for your car. I enter the maintenance tickets from the Toyota dealer that services mine. You'll have to create your own login and ID

GoHuskers

Yep, I keep records (via this webapp) for all of DIY jobs. I only bring my Lexus in for warranty works. I do all the maintenance works myself.

svofan1

...I am watching this thread and I happened to agree with everything said...except that I belive that Naazim should be charged DOUBLE because of what he puts his RX 350 through....lol...on another note I am wondering how long before someone says.." you wanted a Lexus...you got a Lexus pricey maintenance".....is the same rationale that someone has when talking about premium gas vs regular gas.....<S>

rx11fan

I doubt our dealer is that nice. It opened last year and the only one in the area with closest 90 miles away...

InRBigness

I have read all the threads about cost of service and having had other Luxury cars I was expecting the worse. When I went in for my 8000k oil change they gave me this paper with the costs of upcoming services. I was quite surprised and pleased.
Oh and I will opt out of the cabin air filter as I can do that with ones from Amazon. I can not get a full synthetic oil change at Mr Lube for $65. They are a joint Toyota dealer so I guess they have to be competative with themselves.

svofan1

...you are lucky!!!! ...I don't think here in the USA you will find that document at any Lexus dealer or any dealer for that matter

Sevn86

Ralph, u are really after me aren't u? Lol

Marqevans

I believe tire rotations extend tire life by 25 percent at most, but at $40 a rotation you'll have 7 rotations by 40,000 miles. That's $280 for rotations which would have bought 2 tires.

RGSW

I've been driving/owning six Lexus vehicles over the past 10 plus years. They have all been maintained/serviced by the local Lexus dealer. I decided when I purchased the cars that I wanted the dealer to maintain/service the vehicles, realizing that his price was higher than Toyota and other foreign car specialists. Over the years (on the LS's I've owned) the dealer has replaced the rugs (due to ill fitting), replaced one eight speed transmission on recall (with $200 gift fuel certificate from Lexus), replaced the heater/AC evaporator in the dash, replaced driver's seat bottom, replaced damaged tire (even tho not covered under Lexus warranty), replaced on recall the engine valve springs (2008 LS 460), and other minor items brought to the dealer's attention. I understood that the dealer was more expensive than other sources of maintenance; however, I do want the dealer to be available when my automobile requires expert maintenance.

Sevn86

You have a very good point. I know first hand how important a relationship with ur dealership is. My 2011 toyota camry SE was at the dealership more then it was in my garage, but becuase i was there for all my services they went above and beyond to make things right with my car. In the end i sold it so we could buy an RX350.I just feel that with this vehicle I might do things differently.

ejm3

My personal theory on dealer service is this:

I usually buy reliable cars (Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Acura) and keep them for a while, even if they eventually become a third car for us. Predictibly in my experience they require little more than routine maintenence up to and well over 100k miles. Even routine maintenence is generally reasonable in terms of frequency if not hourly labor costs.

Since I'm not pumping money into these cars all the time for actual repairs I don't mind paying a little extra to get it properly dealer serviced. I think that relationship does help. They will take care of things for you at no charge from time to time.

I recently had a Jeep Wrangler as a third car that of course was not as reliable as the aforemention Japanese brands and was in the shop for various things beyond the routine stuff. That, combined with the fact that the dealers by my house and my office were horrible meant I found a good local shop who knew Jeeps well to do the work. This guy wasn't inexpensive but at least honest and still cheaper than the dealership.

So maybe I'm crazy but if the actual cost of repairs is low then I feel ok spending money on dealer service.

JimH2

There is no doubt that tire rotations extend the service miles of the tires and create more even tire wear among the tires. However, unless I obtain free tire rotations via my tire service center (e.g., America's Tire, etc.), I usually only rotate the tires every 10,000 miles which would amount to 3-4 rotations in total per set. I have always found the tires to be within 1 mm of tread wear among them even if rotations are extended to a 10,000 mile interval.

kwbuggy

[QUOTE=Cruiter;7218480]If you own a Lexus you can go online https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/home and record all maintenance that even you do to the Lexus data bank for your car. I enter the maintenance tickets from the Toyota dealer that services mine. You'll have to create your own login and ID[/QUOT

It is even easier in Canada. Any service visits to either a Canadian Lexus or Toyota dealer are automatically entered into the Lexus service database using the car's VIN.
I'm curious about dual ownership of dealerships and how willing they are to service Lexus at their shops. Most if not all Lexus dealerships in Canada are owned by Toyota dealers and they are usually located side by side. I assume that those posters who use Toyota dealers for service live a fair distance from Lexus dealers. I've used a Toyota dealer for service once but I was 200km from the nearest Lexus dealer so there was no chance of a conflict of interest and they were happy to do the work.

JimH2

[quote=kwbuggy;7220310]It is pretty easy in a number of the States not to have a Lexus dealer in most locales, whereas a Toyota dealership is normally in closer proximity to most major cities. As an example, there are no Lexus dealers in North or South Dakota, and only two dealers in the State of Oregon. Only California has a great deal of dealers with a total of 38 scattered about.