How'd I do?
 

I have a 2005 ML on a 5-day return policy. Very nice in person, very few blemishes. 153k miles.

Timing Belt was never done! Carfax was negative, and a call to the prior owner (its a trade-in at a dealership) confirmed he never changed it. That said, the (Hyundai) dealership has agreed to do the Timing Belt kit for an extra $600 (and they quoted me $350 for the Dayco kit, which is still a markup of $100 even though they told me in person it would be at their cost, I will be discussing this with them tomorrow).

Anywho, I'm out the door at $7100 before tax for the car and the TB install. I have the car now for 5 days and then once I decide to keep it we schedule the TB service.

How did I do?

So, $6500 for the car? That sounds about right as described in a dealer transaction. $600 for the TB is a seriously good price - make sure it includes the associated parts and the water pump.

Does $600 include the parts?

Regardless, order this kit from Amazon and then take the $350 off.

Yep, the $600 includes the parts kit they will order from Autozone. Now that I see the Aisin kit is cheaper AND recommended, I will be asking them to switch to that kit.

It's interesting that they lied to me about the price of the Dayco kit from Autozone, since it is so easily discovered.

Good move on the Aisin kit. You can't go wrong. I'll be doing the TB on my 2005 in a few weeks (weather permitting) and I purchased the Aisin kit for mine.

I did my timing belt at 130k. Use the Aisin kit. Do the waterpump and tensioner. Ask them to return the old belt.

My timing belt was cracked up pretty good on the flat portion. I would guess with +150k, yours will be in rough shape.

They should put a sticker with the date of change near the air cleaner box. Make sure they do that and keep the invoice.

Drive it, tinker with some DIY fixes. I would change the air filter and clean the Mass Airflow Sensor. You can buy MAF cleaner at any autoparts store. Give it a thorough cleaning and let dry. 2 screws. Easy update.

Check your coolant level. Welcome to the club!

Thanks! I am well-trained on DIY since my daily driver is a BMW. I am looking forward to having LESS to do with this beast!

Congrats! We're the opposite. My DD is the LS, and my BMW is a 335i. My wife's car broke this weekend so I had to pull the BMW out, hasn't been driven since Dec. Man it's a sweet car, I can't imagine driving it daily (why imagine, just do it is what my cousin says). I have a 75 min. commute to go 24 miles, I guess rather have the LS take the wear/tear and it's comfortable too...BMW is reasonable to work on, straight six everything is out in the open, plus so many OE and OEM parts for discount online...

but in my 18 mos. of the LS only park assist sensors went bad, so that speaks to the reliability...

Welcome to the club. Order the water pump kit yourself. They WILL get the autozone parts if you leave it up to them. All they do is pick up the phone, and autozone delivers to them. Then they mark it up by a hundred bucks. They have an account with them, and it's just too convenient.

Trust me! If you want the Amazon parts, order them yourself and hand it to the dealer, with receipt, and deduct from sale price. Otherwise you will get screwed!

Not a bad price from a dealer. Get the Aisin kit and bring your own parts and keep the labor low. Hopefully the Hyundai guys know how to work on a Lexus. They could get it wrong. Good luck on the deal.

If I am to undertand its a Hyundai dealership, just go to a Toyota specialist, and pay maybe $700-$850, to include the parts. Now, an expert does it who has done many many jobs, AND, since they got the parts, full warranty. When customers supply parts, as a general rule, no warranty. The peace of mind imho is worth the delta over $600. I tried to buy a LS430 from a Hyundai dealer, mentioned the timing belt since the car was at 88k, and the salesman goes let us discuss what is, not what will be. I was like dude who do you think you are, Bertrand Russell?

In this case, this Hyundai dealership is offering autozone parts. I would bring the parts, or have them get the parts from the local Lexus or Toyota dealer, with proof. Otherwise I'd drop it off and keep looking.

Thanks everyone for the responses! It's great that there is an active community supporting this car.

However, I did end up bringing the car back in yesterday because it overheated in traffic. The dealer called later and said the tech thinks its the head gasket, so we are cancelling the sale and I will continue to look. I feel pretty good about dodging this bullet...

Honestly I strongly believe in the human factor. It doesn't make sense to provide parts to a Hyundai dealership, whereas it may, to an indie, just me. We've all caught new car dealers cheating at some point in our lives. My buddy with a Toyota Matrix 6-manual, used to bring synthetic oil to the dealership, and he said to return the empty jug. I asked him wth does that prove? It in no way indicates the oil you gave them went into your car. One day, they accidentally returned an empty dino juice jug. Then tried to claim oh they made a mistake it was another customers'.

I totally know what you mean, seriously. My wife got her alternator replaced at a GMC dealership yesterday--under extended warranty. The job is around $1000, which again I was thinking I must be living on another planet. The last alternator I installed had fins on the outside! I look under the hood it says GM and Denso, and lists for $678, new, not remanuf based on the p/n. amazon sells it for $230. This is why dealers do not install customer parts (as well as they claim they don't know if you got a knock off counterfeit etc.). I thought that was highway robbery until I looked up the BMW and it is $780 remanufactured. I paid them $60 for a OE serpentine, not covered by the warranty, and made in Thailand. It cost $44 on amazon so I didn't feel as bad. They even tried to charge me $65 labor to install, but I said the belt is already off, and the labor is covered by GM, why would I pay extra? So they took it off. I don't trust dealerships, sorry.

In OPs case I'd rather get $600 off, then drop up to $850 at an indie...my .02. Don't give the seller an opportunity to make even more money off you....because they will let you dig your own grave...they consider their labor to be $0 (sunk cost)

I definitely agree in some sense with this, I would have preferred an indie who worked on Asian stuff exclusively (I take my BMW to a Euro guy in town when needed). That said, I would have ultimately preferred to have $600 off and done the TB job myself, since I am technically inclined. However, this is a dealer that doesn't negotiate price, and their final offer was either $600 extra to do the work including parts, or they would take $250 off the cost of the car.

That said, the car is now back with them since the head gasket was blown. They have a 5-day return policy and thankfully this happened before that time was up.