So I took my car that is less than a year old for an oil change and tire rotation to a Lexus dealer. They said they highly recommend wheel alignment and air filter change. I turned it down. What a joke, its not even in the owner's manual, especially that I drive my car on highway.

 

Shocking! But let's not jump to conclusions first. If you do have a lot of miles on ur car and the alignment is off, it is possible both are needed. Since you mention less than a year old and it sounds like the first oil change I am going to assume that you car has around 6k miles.
You can check the air filter yourself easily. Also for the alignment, if you car does not pull and drive fairly straight I wouldn't bother. I had a big debate with some people on this forum. Why did they say you need an alignment and what were the costs?

BTW one time I took my es350 for an inspection and tire rotation. I was expecting to pay $25 for the rotation which is already a ripoff imo b/c it takes them like 5 minutes once it's in the air. But the guy told me with the es350 they always do a balance with the rotation and it would be $50. I was like no thanks and got the inspection and went home and did the rotation myself LOL. I tried to give them extra business and they got greedy.
Now that I got the tires from Costco it will be free rotations and balance for the life of the tires! Woohoo!

 

My title says 15K miles on 2012 ES 350. It was 3rd oil change. No alignment was not off, it drives perfect, they simply made a statement that they recommend alignment every 15K miles

 

They charged me $50 for rotation, no balancing. its ridiculous. supposedly they also checked the brakes. balancing of tires is good to get if you experiences some vibrations -- otherwise its not needed.

 

With a $135 per labor cost,I'm not surprised.
A recommended alignment every 15K miles is ridiculous if you don't have odd tire wear or steer pulling to left or right issue.Add in the cost of a dealer service alignment.
This is one reason why the name 'stealerships' is used.

 

Doh! my bad hehe. I would not get an alignment every 15k miles unless there are visible or noticeable issues such as uneven tread wear or vibrations.


50 is ridiculous for just a rotation. Since they already have the car in the air, it would take them very little time to air impact all the tires off and put them back, with correct torque. I used to get mine done at toyota and I think it was $20 for the rotation and they didn't ask me to do a balance.

Maybe you should start going to a toyota dealership? The car is just like the avalon/camry in many respects and generally a toyota dealership charges less than a lexus dealership. I also notice Tolians ur in NJ, which dealership is this anyways?

 

I have 15 000 kilometers on my 2011 Es and I called dealership near me and ask what it would cost for the oil change, they said that they will check brakes, oil change, rotate tires, etc., when I asked how much, it was $280
plus tax,so I declined. Can I change oil myself without affecting the car warranty?

 

Yes you can do it urself and the warranty will be fine. Just do a search on youtube or this forum and you'll find some DIYs. If you really are unsure, call ur local toyota dealer and they can probably do ur oil change for $35 or so. Did you try asking lexus how much just for the oil change? Some will do just the oil change but others want to do more...

I remember when I first got the car back after the 5k mile complimentary oil change, I asked them how much the next one would be and they were like 450. I almost fell over. I was like what if it was just the oil change and they said something like 150 because they check this and that. Needless to say I didn't go back there for an oil change. I took it to toyota for a few times before doing it myself now. It was around 55 for an oil change and rotation. Now it is lot less when done in my garage..

 

yeah, they try to sell service package to me too, I turned it down. $50 for tire rotation is nuts. I also have Acura, they charge $20 for simple tire rotation. It practically cost them nothing when car is on the lift. Its Cherry Hill Lexus.... I think they are all like that.