I'm at Lexus dealer, and they want $690 to replace timing belt, its an 02 with 36k miles; but they say needs replacement after 6 years.
2 questions: do it now?
and, could a Toyota dealer give a better price?

thanks!!

 

Toyota dealer will be much cheaper (same training...same Toyota Engine)...

Matter of fact there is a sale going on locally at Del toyota - around $369 for the timing belt, the water pump however is extra...

36k miles is a bit young for a Lexus imho... I'm sure others will offer their superior "expert opinion" shortly haha

Cheers

 

toyota generally charges half what lexus charges. and a timing belt is a fairly simple task for a mechanic. i'd say go ahead and do it there. the timing belt is made of reinforced rubber. it gets brittle with age. chances are, it will last a couple more years. but if it breaks, it'll cause serious damage to your engine. basically, you'd be looking at buying a new engine.

 

use your toyota dealer, here's an example - had a 90,000 mile service done at toyota for my RX for 840, the Lexus dealer wanted 1400. the service is the same for the Highlander as the RX, go figure !

 

And if you find a good/competent mechanic who ONLY works on Toyotas and Lexus, it'll be even cheaper than that. I only go to the dealerships when I absolutely HAVE to.

The stealerships make you feel like you're not taking proper care of your car unless you bring it to them, but that is simply not the case. That's just what they want you to think.

Recently, Lexus was wanting me to bring my car in to switch to out my wheels. They gave me a price and then I called Discount Tire to see what they would charge me. Of course, Discount Tire was cheaper. I asked him if they would have any problem working on a car that had TPMS and was built for run-flats. He was like....."Umm, no, this is what we do." He said he has frequently received calls from the guys at Lexus asking HIM tire/wheel questions. Go figure.