hlthlnk

So I decided to go into the Lexus dealer to have the airbag recall taken care of...$3,000 and 4 days later I have my car back. I have 120,000 miles on my 2002 sc430, has never given me any problems, I do my own maintenance like spark plugs and a few mods like Megan racing coilovers and air intake. I thought about tackling the timing belt and water pump but after reading a few posts decided to leave it to the professionals since they were going to have the car anyway. Below is a rundown of the cost of labor and parts from a dealer in northern Virginia near Dulles airport, I hope this helps other members in the future.

1. Timing belt- belt. $105 labor. $ 585. Total $690

2. Water pump- pump. $143. Coolent. $43. Labor. $ 325. Total. $ 511

3. Valve cover gaskets- 2 gaskets $60 Labor $650. Total $710

4. BG power steering flush- BG kit $48 labor $130

5. Motor & transmission mounts- 2 motor mounts $175 trans mount $119 labor $780

I called a local Toyota dealer to see if they could beat these prices and they were actually higher on all except the power steering flush.

mrblister

Why is the labor so high on water pump. If your doing the timing belt then the labor should be minimal
for water pump.

momssc

Yeah you got took..

Acura2Lex

iTrader: (1)

Sorry bro, that's why they call it the STEALERSHIP.

SC43052

After the timing belt is off you remove a few bolts and the water pump falls off. Putting it back on is the reverse. Maybe 5 minutes total. $325?

The only thing worse would have been if they had been total idiots and examined the water pump and then said "it looks good" and left it in there. Timing belts never break on their own. The water pump seizes or the tensioner or idler pulley breaks and takes out the belt. If the next scheduled timing belt service is 180K miles do you really want to risk your engine that a water pump or bearings will make it to 180K miles?

I don't see any mention of belt tensioner or idler pulleys being changed. The extremely small incremental cost of replacing the idler and tensioner bearings when you are already in the engine compared to the consequences if they fail makes not replacing them negligence.

mrblister

If I were you I would question the dealer as to the labor charges on the water pump. I would want a full accounting and adjustment. They took advantage of you plain and simple. I would not trust them in the future . This seems like an intentional overcharge.

jasone36

Oh wow. These kind of bills are the reason why I use independent mechanics.

best of luck

OBP

Uh oh, I have pretty much the same service scheduled for next Thurs except no tranny and engine mount fixes needed. I got quoted under $1000 including parts and labor at an independent ( former Lexus tech ) mechanic. I'll post my experience next weekend. Hope it works out OK