I have never had a problem with this, then again I have never had to go back to a dealership where the car was serviced and remove a part that needed replacement for the second time.

 

Yeah that's steep...

 

It looks like they just want to throw parts at it, hoping to fix the problem.

You really need the opinion of a second shop here.

 

If you look long enough you can the answer you're looking for, might not be the correct answer tho....
A person could find a shop that will replace exactly what you ask them to if you sign a release of some sort stating that it was your diagnosis and there would be no warranty on the job or part if things didn't work out. If you call in part numbers and don't go by vin you'll see this on the invoice.

There are lots of examples of dealers/shops getting screwed over by customers on repairs, that's partially why the shotgun approach is used....along with profit margins and greed.

 

Take it to an independent shop that knows Lexus vehicles, you'll pay probably 35% of that.

She may only have 29k miles, but shes an old lady. If a repair like that on a car 10+ years old makes you think about trading it in, you should do so and get a much less sophisticated car.

 

When the cost of parts/repairs is a large percentage of a vehicle's worth, many people consider selling/trading in the vehicle, regardless of how "sophisticated" the vehicle may or may not be.

 

But you have to ask yourself what are you going to get to replace it that is going to be as good of a car if you want a car of that claiber. If you don't...you shouldn't have bought it in the first place.

That car is still worth over $20,000...he got an offer for $20,000 here with it unrepaired. What is he going to buy for $20,000 that is going to be as good a car as that car he knows the history of? Nothing, other than another older flagship sedan thats going to have the same repair risks.

As an example, my old 2003 ES is worth maybe $2k? Maybe. My aunt drives it and she loves it, its a nice looking nice riding Lexus, if it needs a $2,000 repair...what else is she going to buy for $2,000 that is going to be those things?

If you have the means and the desire to go out and buy a new or newer LS caliber vehicle then by all means, do that...but thats not a financial decision thats a desire decision.

 

Happy to have it back, finally quiet when I park the car was always hearing that pump refilling
This killed my battery too, put in a new one from Costco just before service.

 

I agree with SW17LS. I'll repair a car with a history of proper care and reliability rather than buy an older car that's unknown.

 

My heart bleeds that you paid the dealer for that job, but glad its back.

 

Glad you got it fixed, I would now take the pre-emptive step of totally replacing all the fluid with ESI6 so you don't have this happen again. It's designed to protect system like that far better than what Lexus used and it allows VDIM to react faster as well as having a longer service life.