I am one of those that dread going to the dealership for routine maintenance such as a simple oil change because every time I bring it in, I would get some kind of damage such as scratches, dings and technician loosing a bolt or cross threading it.

I know my ways around cars so I can handle somethings like fluid changes and repairs.

But the question remains is, if I should decide to sell the vehicle in the future would anyone be afraid to purchase it because it has no service history?

To me if the truck is clean even though it has no service history I would be willing to take a gamble on it. Then again I am a mechanic by trade.

What is everyone's thought on this?

 

Probably in the minority here, but I personally think that dealer service history is completely overrated if you plan to hang onto the vehicle past the warranty end date. I've sold numerous vehicles private party (low and high end) and have done all maintenance myself and I've never had any pushback. Your passion will show when it comes time to sell, not to mention the barrage of synthetic fluids and car care products you probably have around the garage, if you're anything like me. You'll save thousands by doing the fluids and brakes yourself. As you know, these tasks are just about as simple as it gets.

 

Same here.

I take detailed pictures of EVERYTHING and email them to myself.. Nowadays the smartphones tag the pictures with GPS and time/date. So you can show them later.

Here are examples of pics I took when I changed my oil in my CT200h last time (I can't locate any for my LX570 at the moment).....

 

Other way is you keep record on a small book ( daily reminder book) of mileage and date each time you do anything, oil/fluid change, timing belt, tire rotation etc.. And put it in the glove compartment.

 

A coworker of mine has a 3 year old Kia Optima bought since new. He was told by the selling dealer that in order to keep the warranty intact he needed to go into Kia dealership for routine service as indicated in his car manual. He was shocked when I told him it's illegal for the dealership to require you to do so. He told me Everytime he goes in he spends big bucks vs if he just go to an indy shop. I told him no need to continue to do that or might as well go and get a Toyota and you won't have to worry about warranty service.

At the time of trade in or sale......as long as all services are up to date and running well, it makes no difference.

 

Routine Maintenance at Lexus dealership is not so expensive. At my dealership (Reno, NV) I can schedule an apointment the same day and always get a loaner. It's much easier than doing it myself. I would not buy LX without a service history. I know that some owners do it correctly or even better than at the dealership but I would have to know the owner personally. Othervise LX without a service history is a big NO for me.

 

Agreed. Even if it was a daily driver in the 5,000-7,000 range there's too many choices that have been properly maintained for me to even consider a car that hasn't been actively maintained.

 

I do the maintenance myself even though I have the free CPO maintenance for two years. I hate taking my cars to the dealerships because I've seen what happens there. I input all the maintenance i do to the Lexus drivers website so that there's a record and anyone can take a look at the history if i decide to sell it.

 

EXPENSIVE is a relative thing. For me it's NOT the issue of money since I can take my Lexus vehicles to any place I like for services.

I used to think like you do. Way back when I bought my first Lexus LX470 brand new with like 8 miles on the odo in 2000. I had that LX470 to a Lexus dealership WITHOUT fail on the dot per owners manual all the 13 years and 280K+ miles. Spent a lot of money on the services and ate and drank lots of "FREE "donuts and coffee while I visited. Back then I was a lot busier and thought just let the Lexus dealership do it.

As I got a little bit older (and wiser), I learned that the guy changing the oil at "most, if not all dealerships (high or low end)" is usually the LEAST EXPERIENCED AND LOWEST PAID "MONKEY WRENCH" in the whole dealership. My RCF was OVERFILLED TWICE BY A LEXUS DEALERSHIP!!!

For me, I just do my routine maintenance like oil changes and such bc it takes me WAY less time vs go to the dealership, drop it off, pick up a loaner, and the go back and retrieve my car. I can do oil changes in less than 45 minutes and drink my coffee in between waiting for the oil to be drained out of the drain bolt. For stuff more complicated such as bleeding the brakes which requires the TechStream software do do it properly, I'll go to either an INDY OR A Toyota dealership (which I had in the past and a lot closer and cheaper) or a Lexus dealership. I find that an Indy guy will do a WAY better job vs ANY DEALERSHIP since the buck stops with the Indy guy as usually he is the owner and operator of his shop.

Then the shocker is at trade in or sale it really made little or no difference. This depends on how long you keep it. For me I kept it for a long time, so the depreciation curve bottomed out. I could have sold it privately instead of traded it in for a few grand more. But the dealership where I bought my brand new replacement LX570 GAVE ME A GREAT DEAL THAT IT WAS A NO BRAINER. One thing to keep the n mind is when trying to sell a vehicle like a late model LX570 privately, you run the risk of frauds and even if a legit buyer shows up, you still have to deal with problems with financing bc not too many banks will finance a vehicle over a certain age and usually requires a substantial down payment. This will take time to sort out.

So as long as one gets all the routine maintenance done properly and on time and document it, I think it's all good.

 

I understand where you are coming from, but all I need is one buyer. There are plenty of people out there. Plus there is always the Lexus dealership. I'm not too worried about it.

Did you know there are plenty of times where a Lexus dealership takes a Lexus car in and turns around IMMEDIATELY put it on the list for sale WITHOUT really check it out COMPLETELY? If I were in the market for a used LX, I will personally check it out PLUS hire an expert. There are lots of clues on the vehicle to tell how well the vehicle was cared for.

 

Active maintenance can be done at a dealer or an indy shop or by the owner. E.g., if I change the transmission fluid instead of assuming it will last for the life of the truck, will I end up with a better truck at 80 or 90K than someone who believes the atf fluid is "lifetime".


IMO, you're hanging it out there without a pre-purchase inspection by a shop not associated with the deal. In my neck of the woods, it's $100 or so and good insurance.

 

Their is an age component to this that is overlooked by many. Not the age of the vehicle, but the age of the owner. Yes, I used to do much of my own maintenance on all my vehicles, but now at 75 I find it makes much more sense for me to take my LX into the dealer for service. Now, I am fortunate to have a great dealership, but if I didn't I also have a great independent (who was an authorized Lexus service provider before the dealership opened). Routine maintenance runs me a little over $100, I get a loaner, a wash, and individual attention. At 75 it is worth every penny to not have to crawl under the vehicle.

 

It is not really about the money. For example a 20k service on a 2017 LX570 cost about $250 plus tax. That service includes an oil change, tire rotation and inspection of the brakes, suspension and so forth. However, I am more worried about it getting more damage. There used to be a saying when I went to Lincoln Technical school of automotive. The students and instructors there were so bad that any volunteer vehicles "that drove in, would be pushed out" lol. Of course I can understand since the students are learning to repair.

However, I feel that Lexus "white glove" treatment isn't what it used to be. For example when I bought the LX570 new a few months ago, I worked the roof rack into the deal. Well turns out the roof rack had a bad design and it rattles like crazy. Brought the vehicle back to Lexus to get it repair or replaced but rather than replacing it, they kept fiddling with it. There were more scratches on the roof due to the technician being careless when removing the roof rack. In the end I just got fed up and fixed it myself.

The technicians are very careless these days and all they care about is quantity not quality of the work.

Thanks to all those that replied and I hate to say it, but I think I may be the last of the few old school mechanics that take my time and is really careful with the customers vehicle. Lol

 

Oh yes, I've experienced similar.

On my LX570 first few complementary services, the Lexus dealership somehow scratched the rear corner bumper. I complained and they were able to buff it out. But still someone was very careless. And yes, they walked around the vehicle on initial drop off to note any PRIOR damage and since it was practically new at the time it was in a pristine condition.

On the next service the Lexus dealership somehow scratched up the rear bumper again!! But this time a little deeper requiring more work. So I had to schedule it to bring it back into it's body shop !! I was assured this won't show up on CarFax!! WTF!!

In the end, all got fixed. But the whole thing ended up taking me more time out to get it sorted.

It's all about numbers now for the Lexus dealership...... quantity vs quality.

 

I can see your point of view.

As long as I'm able, I'll do as much as I can myself. It actually relaxes me to get under and over the vehicle and appreciate how it all works and put together. I take my time. If I see something that requires expertise beyond what I can do, I will not hesitate to go for expert help.