canned virtue-signaling response #4. i know lots of people who have very old "german" cars, love them, expect to put a chunk in now and then (because they're complex and well built, but even well built things fail eventually) but in no way do they consider them a "PITA". even your older 4runner's had a chunk of issues in recent years, yes?

 

I'd rather have something that's fun and engaging to drive, even if it requires a little more maintenance, than 90% of Toyota's boring fleet.

 

‘sure. But my brothers BMW is just nagging him. My closest word of mouth example. 11 years old now. I think he is now using cheap aftermarket parts now, he does maintain it at an independent.

 

they have a slightly different mechanism of operation though... toyota/lexus does the 'tighten until clicks', opposed to the single half turn of the benzes

i prefer how toyota does it tbh, makes it just slightly easier to be certain the cap is seated properly

 

using cheap aftermarket parts could contribute to the 'nagging'. examples of problems he's had with it?

 

Has your brother considered getting a different car?

 

A few years into ownership of my RX 350 the gas cap stopped clicking when I tightened it. Never had any problems with check engine lights pertaining to the gas cap though.

 

His newer parts and repairs haven’t failed him yet. I think the OEM is likely too high in cost to repair when looking at the value of the car

 

OE parts (BMW-branded) are often quite expensive. But OEM (same part made by the same manufacturer, but without the BMW logo on it) are often available at far less cost. For one example, a complete front suspension for his car, consisting of upper and lower control arms, tie rods, boots, sway bar end links, and associated hardware is available as:

BMW Original Equipment, for $1254
OEM Lemforder, for $479

The parts are identical, made in the same factory by the same workers and machines. The bags they go into have different stickers put on them before they are shipped out. There are other brands available of course, but the savings is going to be in the "tens of dollars" range for the whole shebang, not $800 like shifting from OE to OEM.

 

I like the MB one, it feels way more substantial. There might as well be a warning that says anything under 91 octane will seize the engine, just on the cap.

Surely to God a NA M113 could handle a tank of regular? It's just a SOHC 3 valve but yes I assume it has a high compression. Not that I'm going to do that lol.

 

And your reason for postiing this on what you know is an entire forum of Lexus owners was... what again, exactly?

 

This is car chat, so people posting here are less likely to currently own a Lexus/Toyota vehicle.

 

I seriously doubt OEM is too expensive since I've always found the Germans I have both FAR easier to acquire OEM parts that are clearly the correct ones and more accessible than Toyota/Lexus.

As above it's very easy to find out exactly who makes what where with the Germans, Lexus involved me having to buy every single control arm on the market and compare casting marks to try and glean who actually makes the stupid things. Oh and other OEM sources for Lexus cost MORE than any of my Germans by around 30-40% and is one of the primary reasons it's cheaper for me to own them vs the LS460/430

So no. German is cheaper for parts across the board if looking for factory quality parts and you van actually get them easily.

 

......................So we can assume that the Supra is in that non-boring 10%?

 

Interesting the recommendation is to replace all 10 parts in the kits at 80K if still running original parts