I am a new owner of a used 2007 LS-460 and have hit on the 30K mark on the car. Called the dealer today to see how much the 30K maint would cost and he said $750. Looks like this would include oil change, filter change (oil, cabin & air), and brake fluid change. I typically do my own maint on all my vehicles so the only thing that I couldn't do is the brake fluid change.

Just checking to see if $750 is out of the norm and why do you think changing the brake fluid is necessary at the 30K mark.

 

my 2 cents.. replace the oil and filter with 9qts of good quality Synth, Mobil 1 or other, with filter, $65.00, Costco has their $9.00 off each case of Mobil One this month. The cabin filter is about 15.00, the air filters I would check and maybe just clean, they are about 25.00 so in total about 2 hours of your time or less and about $120.00 and you will learn a lot about your vehicle. You could also get an Indy to drop the brake fluid if that was a big deal to you, but I dont swap it out as often as the dealer wants to.. look around Ebay or Craigs list if your a DIY guy and just buy the service manuals, I found the complete set for 07-09 (6 volumes) for $250.00, after the dealer cranked the crap out of my oil filter housing and didnt torque the bolts or nuts on the wheels to any spec.. I just dont take it back any more unless its a warranty repair under the CPO... they just dont care as much as I do and it takes just as much time to do it right as to do it wrong and I get the piece of mind that it IS right every time.

 

since you've worked on cars before.. i agree with cmasten..

forgo the brake fluid change..
replace engine oil w/ good synthetic.. (costco doesn't have 0w-20 or 5w-20, btw)
filter from Lexus/Toyota OEM
replace the air filters.. THERE ARE TWO.
cabin filter.. PLEASE READ THE MANUAL BEFORE ATTEMPTING.. you need to have the a/c or air circulation mode in certain position or you'll break a very important part..

that's my take and i am sticking to it..
order the air and oil filter online... OEM only..
order the cabin filter on EBAY.. MUCH CHEAPER.. good quality..
there are plenty of threads on clublexus to show you how to change parts.

 

IMO, all car manufacturers make up a long list of stuff that they do at each service level in order to make people think that they are actually doing something for the outrageous price they charge. The fact of the matter is that other than oil and filter changes, air filters and spark plug changes (at 100K mind you) all the other crap they say they do is busy work that you don't need or can easily do yourself.

I'm surprised that they don't recommend windshield washer fluid change every 2000 miles!

 

u could ask ur toyota dealer if they service lexus,,,u could save alot,,,

 

Why exactly do you care what the price of the service is if you going to do it yourself?

 

$750 is completely out of the norm, considering the simplicity of the service that would be done. Just keep your filter/oil receipts as proof that you did the work when trading up or leasing up. If you have a good relationship with your salesman, they won't nickle and dime you about oil changes when trading up.

Consider this, I just traded my 600; I had about 35K miles, the tires were bald, two rims were rash'ed, one badly due to a minor accident, and my rear wheel well and bumper cover had suffered some paint scraping. The $1600 insurance claim I had was never acted on, but my dealer ignored these discrepancies and said they'd look after everything. And... I only used my dealer for the initial 5K service; they didn't see me after that, as I did my own service. In the end, I got a smoking deal on the new purchase. So really, DIY is the way to go. Why else would Lexus provide us with an excellent Owner's Manual that cover most of the basic services, if it was really that important to use their dealers?

 

Thanks for all the feedback. Sounds like self service for me. Looks like I'll have a busy weekend.