Wow, that's what my Raleigh dealer used to do 20 years ago. Not any more, though.

 

I LOVE IT!! With a view like this, who needs a big screen TV to watch while waiting......

 

Those big Lexus dealerships can be really impressive and make you feel important.

 

When we got our 2010 LS 460L back in early July of 2014 it had 28,928 miles. As we live in NW Arkansas where we have no Lexus Dealerships I drove it up to Omaha, NE to see my sisters on the way to see my brother in Olympia, WA. I had Lexus of Omaha do the 30,000 mile service at 29,730 miles and it was $439.00 out the door. $242.05 in Labor, $154.09 in parts, $29.97 in misc/envir fees and $12.89 in Sales Tax. As the car was new to us and this was the first time having it serviced I let the dealership do it's thing. That was the last time I let a dealership change any of the engine or AC cabin filters. Now we have a former Lexus Service Tech from Lexus of Tulsa running a Mobile service here in NWA which I used to change out the spark plugs at 60,000 miles. I am not sure when the next time I will go into a Lexus Dealership for service. I have the oil and filter changed now at the local Toyota dealership.

Dennis

 

Just curious: is a regular old Toyota dealer a viable option for any of you? I imagine they can save us some $, especially if we provide our own filters and oil.

 

Absolutely. I have had my trans fluid changed and brake fluid flush done by my Toyota dealer and they are excellent. They obviously have Techstream and can do pretty much anything a Lexus dealer can. Plus, they're cheaper than Lexus. The added bonus for me is that they are 10 minutes away, vs the Lex dealer that requires an hour commute to Vancouver. They even fill up my empty oil jugs with their bulk TGMO 0W20 oil for 6 bucks/qt.

 

Not because of my independent mechanic. If I'm not going to use the Lexus dealer I would rather use him than a Toyota dealer. He's a prior Lexus Master Tech, uses all OEM parts and fluids, and he's similar in cost to a Toyota dealer but I feel I get much better quality work.

 

So how does the work done at these places get into the Lexus service record? I haven't tried, but can we manually enter it into the database? I suspect the work done at the Toyota dealership will probably show up on the Lexus database, but not the Indy work.

 

You can enter service history into the database yourself, that and just keep a record of your service history, I scan them in and save a copy on my computer.

 

The last three times I had my LS serviced at the Toyota dealership it shows on my Lexus service history. I think its great that their data is now linked,

 

As much as I would love to find a "go to" independent mechanic with Lexus expertise, it's nice to know that the Toyota service option is an affordable alternative. My 45k, 50K, 55k, and 60k services are all covered under the CPO sale, but after that I plan to do subsequent service intervals on my own with what I can't do carried out at a solid Toyota dealer nearby. That it will be reflected in the service history for future resale consideration just makes it that much better

 

Last year, or maybe 2015 late, I took my Corolla to a Toyota dealer due to the Takata airbag recall. When they were finished, it looked like they had let a bunch of greasie monkeys run amuck in my car. There was greasy nasty finger prints all over the dash and windshield. There were screwdriver gouges in the dash around the airbag door. The airbag door itself was not pushed down to its design position correctly, it had a corner completely out of place. It looked like they didn't give 2 ---ts about my vehicle, their work, their image. It simply looked like they were trying to slam it out in 30 seconds.

I made a complete power point report, with before I had to clean and repair their work, and after I had to clean and repair their work. I sent it to them, called them, and raised all kind of hell. And all they ever did was ignored me. So ... do you think I'll EVER take my Lexus to that particular Toyota dealer? Hell no. I will not take it to any dealer. I'm still pissed about it. I can't clean or repair the gouges. Sure my Corolla is old, and has a lot of miles. But it's not some hooptie to beat on.

 

The 2 or 3 services I had done by my Toyota dealer, (trans flush and brake flushes), show up on Lexus records. Toyota and Lexus share the info through their system.

 

My cars primarily been maintained by Lexus/Toyota dealership not by indie so far. Few times have used auto chains such as All Tire and Mavis for oil changes, tires etc that's it.

ES : day one through 50K only at Lexus. After 50k, tried few Toyota service centers and settled with the one I liked the most during my stay in TX. Excellent service/support by them. When I moved to NJ 5 years ago, started the search again, tried both Lexus and Toyota services. Settled with Bridgewater Lexus.
GX : Same as above
LS : I am only using Lexus service. Will continue to use them even after CPO expiration since I am very happy with Bridgewater Lexus service and their pricing. Also, LS doesn't have 'sibling' in Toyota line up like ES or GX does. Still could use Toyota for oil changes etc but there is not much price difference between Toyota and Lexus. Bridgewater Lexus do take parts I bring in. That's a big plus, having two aging cars I could purchase OEM parts outside and have them install/fix it.

As far as service history updates, surprisingly I found out that one of the Toyota dealership (TX) service records showed up in Lexus history. When asked about it, they said that they are part of some national program which enables updates on Lexus service history. I forgot exactly what they said. No other Toyota services that I have performed showed up in history.

 

While the LS doesn't have a true sibling, that doesn't mean techs at Toyota can't work on it or won't know how. Some of them may have previously worked at Lexus, the engine is essentially the same engine as is used in the Tundra and Sequoia. All of its Toyota, so it's variations on the same theme.

Where you really get killed at the dealer is big repairs, because of their labor rate and their replace first mentality. Dealers will just keep replacing things instead of taking the time to accurately diagnose issues with the car, that's how they're trained. That's fine when Lexus is paying for warranty work, but it will soak you when you're paying. Most of what they work on is new cars, they don't have a lot of experience diagnosing older cars. Case in point, lower control arms on my old ES. With my parts Lexus wanted nearly $3,000 in labor. Said it was a 15 hour job. My guy did it for $850 lol.

Trust me, if you drive an older Lexus you need an independent mechanic other than the dealer or it will cost you. I've had em for 20 years, I know!