lianomorga

I had a quick question on how much did you guys pay for the 15k service. For the 4th gen RX. Thank you!! I just don't want to be surprised at the dealership!

FastFord

Nothing. I didn't do it. I have never gone to any dealer at any interval for their "inspections"

Not that I don't have my vehicle checked from time to time, but not by a dealer. As long as the car has some documentation, even then not really, your warranty will be good.

The 15K is probably just an oil change.

ssmtsx

The dealer I bought my RX from charges $495 for their 15k service. There's another dealer about the same distance from my house that only charges $38 for their 15k service. Needless to say I went to that dealership. They rotated my tires and changed the smart key battery as that is all the manual says to do.

lesz

For the service at 15,000 miles, 25,000 miles, etc., the only thing of consequence that is called for is the tire rotation. The other recommended services are basically just checking things like whether the floor mats are installed properly, checking fluid levels, and other checks that could easily be done by anyone in a few minutes.

Basically, those intermediate service intervals are just pure profit for the dealership. I can get a tire rotation at the Toyota dealership for $10, and they will do all of the other checks as courtesy checks for no charge. If a Lexus dealer charges $40 or $50 for the 15,000 mile service, they are just padding their profits. If they charge hundreds of dollars by convincing the customer to pay for additional services that aren't even on the list of recommended services, they are purely gouging the customer and assuming that Lexus owners have more money than brains.

Even tire rotations at 5000 mile intervals are not really necessary. As long as there are no alignment issues, the tires will wear just as well if they are rotated at 10,000 mile intervals that coincide with oil changes, but if people still want to do oil changes at 5000 mile intervals, that can be done for a lot less than a Lexus dealer will charge. Many tire dealers will even do rotations for no charge as a good will gesture to encourage customers to come back to them when they need to buy tires.

The bottom line is that, unless you have money to waste, there is little point in going to the Lexus dealer for the 15,000 mile, 25,000 mile, etc. service intervals.

yardbird88

15k only require tire rotation. It's a waste of money & time to go to the dealer. Oil change interval is at every 10k. however, I usually change the air filter & cabin filter myself every 10k regardless. It's just $10 each.

sirtiger

"Service"...such a joke. Money grabbing scheme. It's such a easy DIY.

As noted here, there is no oil change. Tire rotation isn't really necessary in my option. Just check this & that. $500 is beyond obscene only Benz can make up a la Service A schedule

RGSW

Dealer service is important;
I had a GMC dealer go out of business the day after I purchased the car.
Had another GM dealer forget to put oil in the engine during oil change. Claimed they did a 19 point inspection???
Had a broken GM shock absorbed,,on new Tahoe, dealer told me I did not know what a truck (Tahoe) drove like, not a sedan? Went home and found the broken shock myself.
Lexus recalled my LS and put in a new transmission in one day, loaner provided, sent a $200 Gift Card for the inconvenience
Lexus recalled another LS and put in all new Valve Springs in V-8 engine, in one day, loaner provided free.
Lexus replaced all rugs in another LS due to slight imperfection in fit on driver's side.
Lexus replaced Leather driver's seat due to imperfection.
Lexus replaced air conditioner fan/condenser assembly under dash on LS due to rumble noise.
Lexus replaced tire at no cost on LS that had a nail in sidewall, not necessarily a Lexus or Dealer problem.
Lexus provided a software update for transmission rough shifting on 2016 RX 350.
Lexus Dealer provides Free Loaner cars during service.
Lexus Dealer provides Unlimited Free Wash Jobs.
Lexus Dealer will Pick Up/Deliver Vehicle for service if requested.
Lexus Dealer always has Free Coffee and Pastries for customer convenience.
Agree that Lexus Dealers generally charge more for servicing Lexus automobiles.
I don't think that non dealer shops would do most of the above listed Lexus items at any price.
I believe I'll stick with Lexus Dealer Service.

FastFord

All of the above are problems with a vehicle that can be booked and repaired by the dealer. Having to pay $XXX for an 15K Inspection is what the question was. No doubt that Lexus and most other manufacturers will repair problems while under warranty. I find that Lexus has some great service perks and will use them for warranty issues. Lexus has already replaced two of my tires due to nails, and no charge. But like others, paying $XXX for coffee and a free wash is not for me.

If I have an issues like carpets, valve springs, transmission, drivers seat, A/C, I agree with you, let Lexus do it.

rcworks

YUP. lol.

i also didn't get my car from the lexus dealer 10miles from my house, i had to get it from a different state 511 miles away which was $3,000 cheaper. The Lexus dealer near me wouldn't match the buyer agreement sent to me by the other lexus dealer signed by the manager.

i guess the $3,000 overchagre was for all those coffee's , latte's , free car washes they offer that was supposedly free but is actually $3,000. Nothing is free in this world.

lesz

+1

There is an obvious difference between warranty work and non-warranty work. We are paying for the warranty as a part of the price of the car, and warranty work needs to be done at the Lexus dealer, but I find no reason at all to use the Lexus dealer for non-warranty maintenance and repairs.

I've been using the local Toyota dealer for maintenance on my Lexus vehicles for over 15 years. Since the mechanical components of many Lexus models, including the RX, ES, LX, GX, and NX are virtually identical to similar Toyota models, the Toyota technicians are likely to have just as much knowledge as the technicians at the Lexus dealers, and they use the same parts that the Lexus dealers would use, but I can consistently expect to pay 1/2 or less for work at the Toyota dealer than what I would be paying at the Lexus dealer.

For example, a number of years ago, I had a leak in the refrigerant line of the AC system on my GX. The Lexus dealer said that the entire refrigerant line needed to be replaced, and they quoted me $1800 to do the job. The Toyota dealer quoted me $800 for the same job, but they said that they were confident that all that was needed was to replace the bad fitting that was the source of the leak. They replaced that fitting and recharged the system, and my bill was well under $200. Further, the repair has held up for over 6 years.

Just last week, I had the timing belt and water pump replaced on the GX. The Lexus dealers typically charge from $1500 to $1800 or more for that job. At the Toyota dealer, I paid $657 (with a $100 dollar dealer coupon) to have the same work done.

When I get the oil changed on my ES at the Toyota dealer, I pay $40 (with a $10 coupon) for the full synthetic oil change. And the Toyota dealer uses the same oil and filter that the Lexus dealer would use, except that the Lexus dealer would charge 2-3 times as much for the same oil change.

The Toyota dealer has a very nice waiting area with big screen TVs, free WiFi, Starbucks coffee, complimentary pastries and fruit, etc. They offer pick up and drop off service and free loaners. The only difference is that, at the Toyota dealer, my loaner is likely to be Camry or Avalon, instead of the ES or RX that I would get at the Lexus dealer.

As someone who is particular about the fits and finishes on my vehicles, I learned long ago, as have many others, not to let dealers do the "free" car washes because, quite often, the car will also come back to me with "free" polishing swirls after those dealer-done car washes.

I'm sure that, over the years that I've been having my Lexus vehicles serviced at the Toyota dealership, I've saved many thousands of dollars, and I'll be happy to continue doing so in the future.

Nail34

Lesz, is there a relationship, same owner, between the Lexus dealer where you bought your car and the Toyota dealer where you get your service, and if not, would you expect a problem if there were??
And I hope no one you know catches you driving a Camry, OMG the shame of it all!! Personally, I would wear a disguise!! LOL

lesz

No, the Toyota dealer and Lexus dealer are not at all related. In fact, the closest Lexus dealer to me is about 100 miles away, and the Toyota dealer is much closer. And, no, there are no problems at all with getting warranty work done at the Lexus dealer even though I use the Toyota dealer for routine maintenance. Since the vehicle warranty is a part of the purchase of the car, the Lexus dealer does not have the option to decline doing warranty work.

Another nice thing about getting the routine maintenance done at the Toyota dealer is that any work done there ends up getting entered into the Lexus data base for the Lexus Drivers website. Also, when I go to the Toyota dealer and when they input my VIN into their computer, any technical service bulletins, recall notices, etc. come up just as they would if I was at a Lexus dealer.

I suspect that many who use Lexus dealers for service have no idea just how much more they are paying for service that could be done just as well elsewhere. Further, besides charging higher prices for required maintenance, Lexus dealers quite frequently will try to up-sell customers and convince them to get services that are not even required or recommended for their vehicles. An especially good example of that was discussed in a recent post on the ES board. The Lexus dealer tried to sell the OP of that thread replacement of the rear differential fluid on his ES at a cost of several hundred dollars. Considering that the ES is a front wheel drive vehicle and doesn't even have a rear differential, not only was the dealer trying to sell the customer an unnecessary service, but they were trying to sell him a service that doesn't even apply to his car.

Nail34

My Lexus dealer and the Toyota dealership are walking distance apart, I'll find out about ownership.
When I bought my car in January I found a Lexus dealership about 40 miles away with a very very good discount about 3 or $4,000 less than the quote I got from my local dealer about 5 miles. I walked into the local dealer just before buying the car and the sales mgr said we'll match any offer. I was surprised because I never asked him to match my other offer and on the spot bought the car.

mikemu30

Forget the scheduled service routine that the dealerships try to sell. All you do is tell them you want an oil change at whatever interval you feel comfortable with. I'll stick with every 5k.

lesz

I've seen people post here saying that, sometimes, when a Lexus and Toyota dealer are nearby, they might have an agreement not to work on each other's cars, and that is more likely to be true if the two dealerships share the same ownership. Otherwise, most Toyota dealers will work on Lexus vehicles.