Thats a great approach. Lets hope this dealer is better and can get some of it goodwilled. I bet they will cover the part...

As for finding a car that never breaks, such a car doesn't exist...every car can have issues...the question is how much it costs to repair those issues. Something like a Camry will be much less expensive to repair, as would a Lexus ES which is essentially a Camry.

However, those cars aren't nearly as good and special a car as your LS, and if you were to trade it you would have to have the repair done first or you will get killed on trade in. Right now isn't a good time to trade a car anyways. I would explore an extended warranty, we can help you choose one here and just keep your LS.

 

i would suggest swap.to coil , for 2000, end of story, u dont have to worry about it anymore,
i test drive as or non air, to be honest, u cant feel a difference,. there r some parts out part or china made air strut or around 1000 one piece, i still consider it is expensive, and yes, the chance of.all four die at the same time us very low, but for sure, it is gonna all die at the end, so u have to prapare for the cost of 4 ,plus, everytime one fail, it put extra stress on air compressor, it has to work extra hard to pump the air to air strut to keep the height normal, so eventually everything is gonna fail, so change to coil.is a 2000 dollars, once for all solution

 

Theres definitely a difference between the air and the non air ride, I've had both Its subtle but its there. You also have to bear ion mind this is a newer low mileage car, and a care that she may not keep. Converting that car to coils is different than when they are 12 years old and 100k+ miles, it will have a big impact on its resale value. Someone looking for a late model low mileage car isn't going to want an air car converted to coils, I wouldnt. an older high mileage one is different.

 

Hi Tiffany,

Thanks for the update. It was pretty clear from the outset that the water damage to your compressor was a very rare event. It must be a relief to know that the damage was likely caused a defective design/procedure as described in the TSB. I am also hoping the 2nd dealer is able to convince Lexus to goodwill at least the cost of the parts, if not all costs. If the answer is still NO, you should take it up directly with Lexus Corporate and plead your case.

As for dealers sharing service records, if any of your service visits were at Lexus or some Toyota dealers, they should show up on the Lexus Driver site. Have you registered your car and checked your vehicle's service history? These records are "public" information that service departments at all Lexus dealers should be able to access. Any other service performed on your car will not be visible, unless you manually enter that information in the Lexus Driver database.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that you will have good news on the compressor repair very soon! Good luck!

 

I totally agree with Steve. OP has a 2015 LWB car with air suspension. Based on what she has said, Tiffany may sell or trade it in the near future. I would definitely keep the car in its original specs and equipment. Otherwise, she is likely to take a big hit in trade in/resale value.

 

When Tiffany sees how little money she will get from any dealer (even with properly repaired air system) she may rethink her stand on selling it. My guess. Optimistically between $21-23k depending on which dealer she takes her car to. She does appear to be a newbie when it comes to cars, repairs and their value. We were all there at one point!

 

Especially right now...best to hang onto a car right now.

 

I agree now may not be the best time to trade in or sell her car, but I think you are underestimating its value. Tiffany's 2015 460L returns the following range of values on NADA.com. I priced it for Houston, RWD, base model, 36K miles. Even if one accepts that NADA and KBB generally give optimistic prices, I think Tiffany's car, properly fixed, and if in decent shape, is worth 25-27K as a trade-in.

 

Yeah. Just try getting those numbers at a dealer. They are fantasy numbers. I've gotten trade quotes in FL, MI, CA over a 35 yer period. The dealers are all the same (never say always) They will offer you less than auction wholesale prices in case they have to send the car to auction, so they won't lose money. If you had access to Manheim or similar auctions data, you would understand what I'm saying. I have that access and have looked many times over the past 10 years when swapping cars to see what the real value is and it's always way below these "books".

 

Good evening Lexus family,

It seems depreciation is much more ruthless than I thought. How ignorant I am. To be honest, this is my first car and also probably the last. My feelings are mixed. Having my entire saving dried up for the car, I feel like this is all I have now. If I were to sell the car, all my hard work would have gone into the drain. Conversely, who knows what will fail next in my car after this height control compressor? =(

While hoping things to go in the way we want, I am also preparing for the worst. Do you think it is worth fixing before selling the car? It is quite a dilemma to decide whether to spend $3000 out of pocket or sell it as it is; allowing the buyer to have the upper hand (Question: will anyone buy a limping car?). Assuming that $20k is all I can get, it may sound like a better idea to drive it until all wheels fall off and sell it to a junk yard for a couple hundreds. How many of you agree to convert the air suspension to a traditional spring coil system ? $2000 sounds like a great deal for me without the need of tin foil hat time every day. Regardless of selling or keeping the car, this permanent solution is a blessing. For those of you who have converted the suspension, did the car computer keep showing up error messages because it did not receive any input from the suspension?

As for escalating the case to the Supreme Court (Lexus), this may sound unreal. It is written clearly that the warranty expires after 4 years / 50000 miles; whichever comes first. Furthermore, both dealers are consistent in the view that water damage is not a mechanical failure by definition. There is no legitimate reason for Lexus to goodwill, in theory. Let's just say that I am one of the few chosen ones; given that the other dealer told me they had not seen any failure of this kind at this low mileage =( My bad. Should never buy anything that is off my budget.

Meanwhile, I will be taking this week off. I cannot work under such frustrating mood. As much as I want to sell the car to prevent future astronomical repairs, it is also difficult to let go the car. Sorry to bring up my parents' Celsior again but why is such a reliable and luxurious (at least to me) car discontinued? While the infotainment system is definitely dated by today's standard, it is controlled by a touch screen display. How does it make sense at all to use a mouse in a LS 460? Other functions include back-up camera, bluetooth (although phone calls only), electrically powered and memory front seats, ventilated seats for both the front and rear, sunshades; which most cars today do not even have. Don't forget when the Celsior was made! I don't know what advancement a LS 460 has other than a larger screen, more legroom (not useful anyway) and a more fancy front grill. Yes, I admit that my car rides much smoother and quieter than any other rental cars I have driven but that's it. Does it worth what its price tag is? I don't know.

Sorry to hijack the forum to whine again.

Good night.

Tiffany

 

Fix it and keep it, drive it another 100k miles.

 

Hi Tiffany,
It seemed like you were discounting calling Lexus cooperate for help. Don't discount them, call them.

I bought a 2009 SC in 2016. The car had low mileage. The display for the climate control developed a problem and required replacement. The car was long out of warranty and the repair was $2,000. I called Lexus and asked them for help. I explained that it was my first Lexus, the car had low mileage and I thought it very unusual that it would have a problem like this. They agreed and covered the entire cost for me.

Just because your car is out of warranty, don't discount a call to them. You are out nothing for trying. Explain to them that it's your first Lexus and you've taken excellent care of it. If the compressor got water in it, it was certainly nothing you did. Be polite and ask for their help. My experience was nothing but positive.

Best wishes!!

 

Tiffany, to clarify, if you chose not to do the repair, you'll get $3-4k less than the estimated $21-23k because the buyer must repair it in order to sell it. So, maybe $17-18k. As suggested by others, if Lexus won't cover the repair, find an independent shop (Yelp is usually a good source or ask Club members in a new thread for recommendations for your TX city). The part cost won't change much but labor will be much less. Also, as stated by several others, Lexus is considered very reliable, best to keep the car for the foreseeable future from a financial viewpoint. If keeping this car continues to keep you emotionally distraught, sell it or even better, talk to a professional to help with your emotional state. As a healthcare professional, you should be aware that help is available to help you get past this roadblock (taking a week off from work is a symptom of a real issue).Good luck.

 

Fix the car. This is nothing bad bad luck in an otherwise amazingly reliable luxury car. Chances are you won't be spending anything else in terms of major maintenance for a long, long time. If you've only driven 36k miles in five years, this car should last another two decades. The depreciation will hurt your feelings a lot longer if you try to sell this car than the repair costs will. And you'll end up with something nowhere near as nice for your trouble. Budget the repair, chalk it up to sheer misfortune (which it is) and go on. Did you contact your insurance company like Steve suggested? You never know until you try.

I'm also curious as to the whole "water in the compressor" problem. Has anyone ever tried to rebuild one of these rather than just replace? In a worst case, I'd try and get one out of a wrecked car if $$$ is really at issue. I'm sure that would knock at least $1000 off the bill right there. It's not likely to fail twice.

 

Sounds like we need a little tough love here.

Its a car. Its money. Its nothing to be depressed or upset about to the point that you need to "take a week off". Its just a thing thats broken that needs to be fixed. Get it fixed and move on with your life. As for replacing the suspension with coils, I would not do that unless you are committing to keeping this car for the long term as it will seriously hurt the resale value on top of the cost of the repair ($2k to convert, $4k hit to value means the repair cost you $6k instead of $3k). Like DedBird said, you can explore used parts as well. You haven't called Lexus yet, you haven't called your insurance yet, you haven't taken it to an independent shop. Lots of options still available.

Things happen in life. This is a very complex and expensive car, wasn't a good choice to buy this so young as a first car but you're in it now. Your parents LS430 had the same negatives with the air suspension if it was equipped with the air suspension. A lot of this just boils down to luck. The whole transmission was replaced in my LS430...under warranty. Steering rack was replaced in my ES300 at around 35,000 miles.

You are not ignorant, you just got into something that you didn't really consider all of the potential costs and its over your head. Everybody on the earth has done that at some point in their lives, whether its with a car or with credit cards or with a house or other things.

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, fix the car and move on. Buy a warranty or trade the car if you are afraid of additional costs down the line.

Personally, I would keep the car, just be prepared for potential future costs. Get a warranty, or put $150 a month away in a car repair account and self warranty. Just understand that a car of this caliber has expensive parts and repairs are expensive. That was true of the LS430 and LS400 also in their day, they're just so old now that prices on parts and repairs have come down a lot.