SW17LS

Lexus dealers actually have the highest profitability per franchise in the industry.

Dealers are still seeing customers every 5k miles, just only changing the oil every 10k.

mmarshall

That means they actually change the oil and filter only half as often as they charge for it LOL? (just kidding)

SW17LS

Pretty much lol. They're charging $100 basically to rotate the tires and test drive it at 5k miles!

patgilm

That's why I don't do the 5k services especially with staggered wheels on my IS.

When my friend leased a Lexus and they sold him the maintainance package I told him to go back in and cancel it. First oil change is free and for the 3 year lease it's basically costing you two oil changes and maybe a brake flush.. Everything else like cabin or air filters take all of 5 minutes to do yourself.

mmarshall

For decades, I did my own oil changes (also did them for my late Mom on her Corolla wagon), over at my brother's house, where I have more room to physically work on the car. Every three months / 3000 miles, whichever came first. But, since then, I've found, particularly with a good service department, that it's usually easier to just take it in and let the Techs do it. First, oils, filters, and oil-additive-packages are much better today...they usually don't need to be changed as often. Second, on many cars today, the engine-computer keeps track of things like number of cold-starts/warm-ups, long trips, stop-and-go driving vs. highway driving, oil temperature, length of time since the last change, total miles driven, etc.....and calculates the estimated amount of time left in the life of the oil. Third, when you change the oil, the computer now has to be reset back to 100% life on the oil.....the average driver is not going to know how to do that, and, since that is a service function, the Owners' Manual may not describe how. Fourth, when you change the oil yourself, if you are going to be environmentally responsible (which I was), you have to collect the old oil in a container, cart it down to the nearest oil-disposal facility (usually a gas station with a service-bay) and dump it in the proper container. Fifth, there is the added work of keeping all of the sales-receipts you spend oil and filters in order to prove that what you bought and used were suitable for the warranty. Sixth, on a lot of vehicles, it became harder to reach the filter itself because of increasing complexity under the hood.......I finally said the heck with it, especially with my older back and legs, and now let the Techs do it.

geko29

Since this is Lexus we're talking about, how difficult is it to hold the trip odometer button for five seconds when starting the car? This is not some arcane incantation we're talking about, or some secret function that requires a multi-thousand-dollar tool. Just one press (and hold) of your left index finger.

mmarshall

If the car is set up that way, fine. Not everyone drives a Lexus.

Anyhow, back to thread-topic, a number of today's new-car deals, out the door, include a pre-set or time-period number of oil-changes with them, whether on the house from the factory, from the dealership, or as part of an added-cost maintenance-package., So, my general feeling is just let the Techies do it.........that's what they get paid for.

geko29

Even though different, most are similarly easy. But at any rate, this thread is about Lexus, so that's the process that matters. What other people drive is irrelevant.

patgilm

i never said I change my own oil, I just said for a lease you typically only need to pay for two oil changes since the first one is free. I agree I am not getting dirty and driving to the dump to dispose the oil. What I will do is change the cabin and engine air filters because it takes like five minutes and is easy to do.

Johnhav430

imho that Free stuff is of questionable value...my wife's car was purchased new in 2011, and it got free state inspections for life. Here's the catch and almost every dealer does it except on the German cars.

in PA we have state safety and state emissions. Use a $39.99 coupon, and it ends up being $46-$50 out the door--go figure. So I ask the dealer, hey, I got a $39.99 coupon for the state inspection, should I use that, or is it better that we got the free safety for life, since we bought the car here? He goes, use the coupon, the free for life will cost you like $15 more. DOH!

On the oil thing, in PA, I feel like that barge that left NYC and sailed around trying to find somewhere to get rid of the garbage. Go to the "Three Stooges" to return used motor oil, they may or may not accept it. When I lived in NY, it was the law that THEY HAD TO ACCEPT IT. I do my own oil basically because I don't trust anyone else to do it, odd, but I have caught new car dealers not doing the change. Sad. I used to mark the oil filter and we're going back 20 years. Newer cars don't always have disposable canisters, so I used olive oil and wanted to see either the mark is gone, or in another spot....

Johnhav430

hahaha I couldn't do it the first time, and did it by trial and error. If you watch YouTubes they may be inaccurate but work, problem is I plan on going beyond 5,000 so have to live with the triangle on the dash for a while....I know I know the real key is to get rid of the trip A and trip B, at least on my car, so when the ignition is switched from off to on, that trip odo is not there. I didn't grasp that Sept. last year when doing my first change as I bought my car used.

One of my pet peeves is that at least my 2006 Lexus "requires" a service every 5,000. No modern car truly needs that, and the oil should be conditions based. Here's where Lexus was behind the BMWs of the world in 2006.

Toys4RJill

Which is will be higher than the prices if there were a least one dealer offering a negotiation based method. Without the ability for consumers to haggle, Lexus dealers and Lexus USA will have ever bit of an incentive to increase that average once all competitors are out as well as increase the MSRP.

Removing negotiating dealers and moving everyone to a no-haggle model does not increase the competition. It reduces it. This will lead to higher prices. Not good for the consumer. Only people who benefit are the dealers and Lexus Corporate.

I would argue having a mix of no-haggle and haggle dealers is the best thing for a customer.

Johnhav430

I think this has been a domestic car tactic for many years. $60k pickups discounted down $15k, the only requirement is that your pulse is over 40......also the fake "employee pricing" discounts, Japanese do that....I even saw a credit union (3rd largest in nation) do that on Mercedes Benz, which piqued my curiosity, high price central....honestly, I equate price fixe as amazon.com. But with amazon, remember, many many happy customers pay more. And they are happy to do so.

Toys4RJill

And anyone can pay the fixed MSRP of a car today if they don't really want to haggle.

Johnhav430

call me naive, but I had no idea you could "negotiate" on things at Lowes. We couldn't find plastic bins, and so we asked an associate where they were, and she led us to them. My wife goes great, this one is scratched (it's a storage bin, will never see it again once it goes to the attic), can you take anything off? Associate goes sure, 20%, so she goes I need 3, sure, 20% as many as you want. Wife asks for 50% off, and the associate just says, "You wish...." But you never get anything off, unless you ask.....same thing at Home Depot. Our gas stove got delivered with a scratch, it got fixed under warranty, and they took 20% off the entire purchase (a new dishwasher as well) which was around $400. Already got 20% on the original purchase. But I get it, my cousins consider us to be unwashed worrying about such details, literally. I find that to be arrogant.....