All of you living in Toronto GTA area I highly recommend
https://www.mecanoauto.com/mississauga-carrepair-shop

Service@MecanoAuto.com

​7175 Tranmere Dr., Unit 2

Mississauga, ON, L5S 1N4

Tel: 905-486-0271
OPENING HOURS:

Mon - Fri: 8 am - 6 pm

​​Saturday: 9 am - 3 pm

​Sunday: Closed

 

Can you tell us more about the work you had done, did you personally observe the work, how much they charged for what sort of work, etc? Do they have former Lexus/Toyota techs on regular staff? Do they have real TechStream, TIS access, and Toyota Special Service Tools? How experienced are they with Lexus/Toyota, and in particular, the LS430? Do they have a Hunter Elite laser alignment machine or Hunter GSP9700 roadforce wheel balancer? An on-car brake lathe? Paintless dent repair, paint shop? Their website doesn't seem to indicate any specialties or their on-site equipment.

The GTA-area shop I've heard good things about is Bullock City - they specialize in Lexus/Toyota, is owned by Toyota Master Techs, and I think some/all of their staff are former Toyota/Lexus. Luckily for me, after 10 years of owning my 2002, I've had zero mechanical issues, and near zero other issues, that I couldn't handle with basic hand tools. There were 3 jobs I needed a shop for - rear AC high-pressure line corroded and leaked (only a concern if you have the UL package), installing new front and rear stabilizer bar bushings + alignment, and replacing both rear wheel hub bearing assemblies.

For the rear hubs, I went to a highly reputable shop in town that I went to before for tire bead cleaning + rebalancing, and even though I gave them printed instructions with pictures on how to do the job, to my surprise they did not have the SST needed to reinstall the dust deflector, so they improvised somehow but it took them many hours longer than it should have. In addition, a careless tech did not use the exact same bolt when reinstalling the speed sensor, causing incorrect speed sensor readings, so I had to make another trip back for them to fix it on their dime. The wrong bolt sheared off when they tried to remove it, so that added to repair time.

I am due to change my LH front wheel bearing this summer, hopefully I can get the bolts out with my cordless impact driver and a standard household hammer. If not, I'll go to whichever shop in town has the lowest quote, since the job is extremely simple and requires zero specialized knowledge.

 

The problem with anywhere in the GTA is that Aussie Auto in Mississauga (Streetsville) is a Lexus master tech and is a genius with these cars. Rick knows what he's doing and doesn't touch anything other than Lexus/Toyota products. He did my timing belt/water pump and has done general maintenance for my current LS and previous '99 LS without blinking.

I've heard great things about Bullock City as well, but they're quite far from me.

 

I was original planning on going to Rick @Aussie Auto. I had purchased Spark Plugs SR11 Denso and complete Timing belt kit.
That was all from maintenance she needed, 2 problems happened. First Rick was unable to look at the car for 1 month, he said busy time of year with tire changes.Second 2 days after I spoke with him she started to hesitate and I got misfires due to old Spark Plugs. I heard good things about Bullock City, but could not take the chance of driving her that far. So with further research I found Mecano Autoworks. I met with Rish, he is a Lexus Master Tech, he showed me his work area and was impressed with the organization and cleanliness of his shop.
After discussing what I needed done, he provided me a written quote and was satisfied with his prices.
StanVanDam I can't really comment about everything you've asked.

I paid $750 CDN for Timing Belt Kit install including water pump, Spark Plug install and Oil change. Mobil 1 0w-30