I have a 2000 ES hitting the big 90k soon. (89,800) I was wondering if anyone knows how much it will cost for Lexus to do it? Would it be better to do by a private mech? My car is feeling sluggish now and throttle response is very poor.

 

if you trust your private mechanic, and he gives you a better rate, by all means, save some money... there is nothing special about lexus maintenance, especially on that car...

Normal and Severe 90k service should include:
Replace:
Brake Fluid
Cabin Air Filter
Coolant
Timing Belt
(aside from the normal oil change, tire rotation, etc)
and checking pretty much the rest of the vehicle

 

At dealer, you are looking at around $1800 for a complete 90k service that includes timing belt and water bump.

Around $1400 for a good private mechanic..

 

you are nuts...

timing belt and water pump should be around $600 or so parts and labor (at least if you were at my shop, $79 / hr labor rate, thats about what you would pay) then coolant flush is $80 and brake flush is $90.... cabin air filter is like $40(a guess, but close), and to "inspect" everything else doesn't cost anything at a good private shop...

 

Personally I like to get all my fluids changed at 30,000 mile intervals, so i would go ahead and do that. Like others said, also the water pump and timing belts should be exchanged. Also get your spark plugs changed, use denso or Iridium(platinums). Change all the filters, air, cabin and fuel(if applicable). Since you said your car is sluggish, i would check out this site, www.auto-rx.com and do a couple of rinse cycles to clean out your engine. I have used this product religiously and can vouch that it works and its worth its weight in gold. You might also want your fuel injectors cleaned and always add a bottle of chevron/techron or redline SI-1 fuel system cleaner to a full tank of gas at every oil change. If you want more info on auto-rx and testimonials go to www.bobistheoilguy.com. Hope it helps,

X.

P.S. Get your 90k service done at a toyota dealer that services lexii, mine here will do the above work for $750, i think thats a very good price!

 

i have a feel the reason he's asking the question is b/c he doesn't know/have a trusted private mechanic. if the $ difference isn't a big deal, i would just take it to the dealer. I've been through a half dozen private mechanics over the last few years. It's not hit or miss, but rather miss, miss, and miss again. they've lied about using OEM parts, they've misdiagnosed problems, and they've overlooked potential problems causers (blatant oil leak which probably caused my alt crapping out last year) that lexus mechanic i work w/ now spotted in 5 secs. Inspection is free, but i guess that makes mechanics free of liability regarding spotting issues. Who wants to fix a $1 seal now when i can fix an alternator for $300 if i wait a few months right.

Anyway, I do believe there are good private mechanics out there that'll save you money and do good work, but unless you know them I would go to a dealer for a major service. check where the CA ppl in your area get their cars fixed.

 

Sad thing is, I work at an independent shop and I know exactly what you are talking about. We do NOT do shoddy or half assed work here, but, we are constantly fixing screwups of other places... Here in Vegas, at the dealer, just to get your oil changed is a 1 day drop it off affair, and any kind of service, warranty or not, is 3-5 days advanced notice and appointment (its just as bad as setting an appointment at the doctors office). So many people use independent shops, and many have very bad reputations... The company I work for has been in business since 1948, and out of our 14 locations, there were only 2 complaints filed at BBB last year, both of which were resolved. If you were to look at some of the other shops in the area, you will commonly see shops with 10-15 or more complaints per year, per location... I'm not saying we're perfect though - by far, we have mis-diagnosed some things, but then again, I've had people come in from the dealer with quotes to fix things, and when looking at the vehicle find that they need 1/2 the work done that the dealer quoted, and at 1/3 the price...

As far as OEM parts go, keep in mind, it doesn't have to say Toyota to be an OEM part - as an independent shop, we can buy things that are OEM but without coming from the dealership - for instance timing belts, bearings and such, or control arms... We buy the exact same part as you would get from the dealership, yet it doesn't have Toyota's tag on it... We pass the savings on to the customer, but, if the customer insists, we get it from Toyota (or whatever other automaker), then we will be happy to charge extra (still less than the dealer lists) for those toyota stickers...