Hi, I am a new driver. Just bought a 1999 ES300.
The mechanic who did the pre-purchase check told me that the car was very good, only needing these maintenance items, and he offered the price behind. (I might have mixed up the prices, but the total is the same)

- Trans service with new pan gasket ($88)
- Brake fluid flush ($88)
- Power Steering Fluid Flush ($150)

Is he asking for fair prices?

I am not ready to do DIY yet.

 

Any reply would be appreciated! If you need more info please ask. Thanks!

 

It is good to learn how to do that stuff yourself. I could probably do all that myself for around 60 or so using OEM fluids. With all of the reading I did on the internet on the Acura legend forum and Lexus forum I learned how to do all of these things. The DIYs here are pretty good.

It sounds like you mixed up the power steering fluid price with the trans fluid change price. But like you said, it comes out to the same total.

The are similar to the dealership prices I believe. Its not bad, but you are paying mostly for labor.

BTW welcome to the site.

 

I hesitate to call these services a "scam" but that's exactly what they are for a lot of shops. I would be willing to be that EVERY single car that gets looked at gets a recommendation for these fluids to be flushed, even if they were just done. It's the same at these "full service" car wash places, they'll put little drops of every one of your fluids on a "petri dish" type tray and show you how the colors of your fluid are all wrong. They'll also tell you they can fix your cracked windshield (even if it's not cracked)

None of these are "urgent" services that need to be done, and if you look at your owner's manual, some of them aren't even mentioned (like the power steering flush). None of them are a bad idea, but they're just "gravy" work for a service shop. Unless the car has a history of really bad maintenance, I would pass.

Brake fluid flush I'd wait until you need to get your brake pads replaced to flush and bleed the brake fluid.
Power Steering Fluid Flush Not really needed, and you can get a turkey baster and suck it out of the reservoir yourself in 2 minutes and $3 worth of fluid.
Trans service with new pan gasket I would recommend against a "flush" and would just drain and refill, it's easier to change your transmission fluid than change your oil if you want to DIY. Check your maintenance history to see the last time the fluid has been changed. If it's been a few years, it's probably a good idea to get it done either by you or a reputable shop.

I'm not an expert by any means, and it may be these fluids may look really bad (doubt it) but my opinion is this shop is a little too "aggressive" when it comes to finding work. The prices are also a bit steep and probably more than you would even pay at a Lexus dealer. I'd ask around and find a different shop in the future.

 

I can't comment on if the prices are OK or not, I never let anybody do any work on my vehicles, I do everything myself. But you have to keep in mind that a shop has to build some safety factor in their prices for some of this work.

Take the brake fluid flush for instance. It's not a hard job, especially if they use a pressure bleeder. Set up the machine, put the car up in the air, walk to each wheel and crack each bleeder and wait till fresh clear fluid comes out.

But, suppose they go to open a bleeder and it's rusty and it snaps off inside the caliper. Now they have to pay for a new caliper, on their dime. Plus the labor to replace it.

BTW, brake fluid is supposed to be changed every 2 years.

Sucking the fluid out of the PS reservoir and refilling it doesn't change all of the fluid, probably more like only about 50%. There's a procedure in the FSM that shows how to do it, it's not hard but can be messy.

It's a good idea to drop the tranny pan and clean the filter and magnets occasionally.

 

I am living in an apartment which does not provide space for DIY car maintenance. I can't even wash my car in the car park. Will the DIY be messy?

 

exactly right! you can do these yourself with no experience for 50-75$. Every shop is going to tell you need to do these few things for maintenance, it is their way of making "BS" money. Don't get me wrong, these things need to be done but it is simular to jiffy lube selling you a pcv valve, or new windshield wipers. Even if your wipers were two months old they would say that you need new ones.

 

Appreciate all your comments!

 

best bet. get the oem recommended fluids and any ase trained mechanic can do the work you specifically ask them to do.

 

The brake lines can be flushed easily by yourself, just do some googling! Same goes for the power steering fluid! Just those two would cost you under $50 bucks to do! And the oil pan gasket are usually around 20-30 bucks or so, and I would say its a level 4 do it yourself out of a 1-5 rating and 1 being easy and 5 being hard... To be honest, you can google how to do all those fluid flushed and gasket change and it will save you hundreds of dollars of easy to do it jobs! Shops ask so much because they use the labor to keep there business up and running! Good luck what you do, and the shop is asking for a resonance price from you if you wondered.

 

prices are reasonable.
If you don't feel comfortable doing it, then have the mechanic do it.
Trans service is important so don't put that off

 

Of course you can do all that by yourself. However, as you said yourself, 50$ - DIY or give the guy 38$ more and not have to **** with it yourself. Honestly, there's just some things that are not worth the 'savings' doing them yourself. Since you gain 38$ but you just lost a few hours doing the brakes.

Agreed!