Electric

Buy the springs from Sewell or Carson and take them to a shop that will charge you $150-250 max to install.

nabbun

if u were paying $1,000 then it'd better come with a utterly complete underbody detail with every micron of dust removed from all the nooks and crannies

BoOst3d

iTrader: (1)

for $1000 id get full body coilovers and install them myself and still have money left over. all you would have to do it take out the whole stock shock/spring assembly and throw in the coilovers. then when u decide to put the car back to stock, you just do it again.

jns350

iTrader: (7)

For a Dealer Quote that sounds right. But I am sure you can find an independant shop that can do it for less. But as for others posting here that these indi shops should only charge around 150-200 range..good luck! Unless they sell you the springs also maybe. But it is a 3-4 hour job total..mostly for the rear install since it does involve removal of the entire rear panels. I dont find where people are getting these labor rates from...I mean 150-200 for a spring swap at 3-4 hours min....what are those shop labor rates per hour 20-30 bucks????? yea I would trust them with my Lexus

player1

thats what thinking too jns350. I feel that the lowest I can the whole thing down to (springs + install) will probably be in the 700-800 range and that's still alot of dough. i don't know, we'll see. I gotta get my windows tinted first.

projectdna

iTrader: (56)

1. i bought my s-techs, $180. brand new.
2. tommy @ musicbox (check the socal threads for how highly recommended he is) in south el monte, california installed my s-techs in two hours TOP for $150. and that was when he first started working on 2is's (he's been known to do the install in under an hour now)...
3. three weeks later, i took my 2is for an alignment after i let my s-techs settle in. four wheel, laser. $80.

that's $410. less than half of what the stealership is charging.

granted...
1. i live in socal, and speed shops/local mechanics here abound. install rates are ultra-competitive.
2. f-sport springs retail for, what, $300?

which ever way you look at the numbers, you can definitely pay a lot less than what the dealership is charging. and btw, it's not out of the question for a local speed shop to do good work for the kind of price that some of us have been throwing around. just because you're overpaying doesn't mean the rest of us are/have.

oh, and i have full faith and confidence in tommy @ musicbox to do the install work on my car. otherwise, he wouldn't be so highly recommended, would he?...

ffpowerLN

iTrader: (1)

projectdna, I agree full heartedly.

1. Eibach pro-kit from Tire Rack: $230 including shipping
2. Tommy @ Musicbox installed for me in 1.5 hour: $150
3. Lifetime alignment from Firestone: $160 (I track my car so this is a worthy investment)

Total: $540. Still way less than the quoted $1000.

player1

I agree with you all, if I lived in Cali I'd never get my springs installed from a dealer because there are quality shops that could work of equal caliber or even better than a dealer for a better price. T

he key is QUALITY though and unfortunately, in the Raleigh/Durham (NC) I am not aware of any such places. I know of tuner shops but all they touch are Civics, Integras, Accords and such. To be honest, I don't trust them with the install on a new Lexus. So I guess I'm stuck with a dealer or doing it myself. Unless they drop down to 650ish range, I don't think I'll be getting it done.

projectdna

iTrader: (56)

ffpower> thank you. btw, when did tommy work on your car?

player1> do you have a competent/reliable local mechanic that you can go to, or a toyota/lexus specialist nearby? i'm sure they can do the job, provided they have directions and have the right equipment and know-how...

is350matic

I got my eibach for $230 shipped if I remember correctly. Installed it my self and also installed it on my boss car. Got it laser alignment for $65 here in Chandler, AZ (local shop that I usually go to) . My total cost is my own labor and $295 out my wallet. I like doing stuff my self since I'm a mechnical engineer and I like doing this kinda stuff. Also, I like getting the statisfaction it is done correctly.

Lex Law

You don't sound like much of a player to me! (Sorry, couldn't resist)

I love how you always throw rocks from inside the glass house. Keep crackin' 'em and crackin' me up!

player1

yo lex law, it's not like I don't have the money and can't get it done. I'm trying to be logical and save the money ($1000) so that it can be put to better use. why would I even start this thread if I wasn't remotely interested in purchasing the springs? as you can see from the various member posts no one would ever get them done for $1000, let alone the $700-800 price range. being new to the Lexus market (as I just purchased my Lex), it's wise that I heed the advice of fellow CL members that have already had this upgrade done for much cheaper. So in my opinion, I feel that I'm being rational when opting not to get it done for that price range.

ISF_GG

iTrader: (2)

$700-$800 install price is crazy $$$$. I just had my coilovers installed and adjusted for a perfect even drop (and it did take some time to do that) for $100 at the place I bought my coilovers.

darkdream

fsport spring - $240
installation- $270
Alignment from lexus-$299

so about $809 for me... maybe i should of went for coilovers so well didn't think it would have costed that much for labor....

projectdna

iTrader: (56)

hindsight is 20/20, eh?

at least you got the f-sport springs for lower than MSRP. that, and you retain your factory warranty.

though IMO it did come at a rather high premium...