Lexus Servicing

[steve2006]

Just been reading a post from a new member looking at independent servicing for a Lexus SC430 and I was going to suggest Lexus as they offer the cheaper servicing packages on vehicles over 5 years old but then I read what they actually do for a "minor" and "major" service and it would appear that it is just the engine oil and filter that is actually replaced the rest of the service consists of "checks" which should an addition component, say the diff needs topping up is an additional cost to the service price.

So basically you pay between £155 and £475 for an oil and filter change and checks on everything else.

Take the car to an over zealous MOT station and have the same checks done for a mere £50.00 

 

[paulrnx]

I'm not an expert on MOTs but I think I can find about 12-15 things listed on the service schedule for a major that MOT testers wouldn't check. I'm not justifying the extortionate servicing charges for Lexus, far from it, but surely an MOT check doesn't cover it

[peachy]

Anybody who has a car serviced at lexus that is not under warranty has more money than sence. 

I've just had a minor service at a local garage with extras including aircon regas, brake fluid flush and all caliper slide pins regressed and a new air and cabin filter for £189.

 

[J Henderson]

I'm fine with paying £150 or whatever for a glorified oil & filter change (minor service) just to keep the book stamped each year, and to keep open the opportunity of taking out the Lexus warranty at some point.

The additional stuff (filters, spark plugs, brake fluid etc), I'll take care of myself using genuine parts where possible.

 

[steveledzep]

I have a Lexus warranty in place, so don't have a choice.

My vehicle has fully stamped Lexus history and is four years old (all done by previous owner).  If I pay £100 or so more than an independent for servicing at this stage, with the history of the vehicle I'm positive I'll get that back at resale.

It becomes less recoverable as the vehicle gets older.....however, I'd wager £500 more for an 8 year old vehicle with FLSH over an Indy serviced one....I reckon I could sell that .

 

Assuming mileage and condition is in keeping with age of vehicle of course.

Edited July 14, 2017 by steveledzep
Addendum

[rayaans]

Surely it's the same with everything.  

You can get a suit from Next or Armani, food from Lidl or M&S, a shower from Homebase or one from Bathstore, a fridge by Beko or a fancy ice making one from Samsung, petrol from Tesco's or V-POWAAAR from Shell, fly Ryanair with no luggage or stretch out in Emirates, sign with a biro from BIC or use a Parker instead, can wipe with some loo roll or squat on a bidet......

Point being, there's always a cheaper option.

[steveledzep]

Point taken,  Is the cheaper option the most economical though ?  I buy quality products for my home (not the most expensive, but best value) and they last.

[mikeyv]

It's not just the cost of main dealers, it's often the fact that they are also rubbish.

As to the lists of what's done on the services, come on, a lot of items could be checked by anybody, in ten minutes flat, and some, if faulty, would be apparent as soon as you drive the car.

They just pad it out, to make it appear more than it is, as above, a glorified oil change.

I usually do my own work, mainly so I know the job's been done, and done properly.

The savings are a welcome bonus.

[Rebecca]

When I bought my is250 in November 2016 it had 6 lexus service stamps in the book.

Ideally I would like to have my car serviced at a lexus dealership as they will know these cars inside out.

Unfortunately living in hereford it's over a 100 mile round trip to my nearest lexus centre which is in bristol. 

Luckily for me we have a toyota dealership here in Hereford. I recently took out a service plan with them and as an added bonus they promised to grease my caliper slide pins too at no extra cost. 

The service plan is considerably cheaper than what I was offered at lexus bristol and I'm certain the toyota mechanics know these cars just as well as the lexus guys.

A full lexus service history stamped in the book would be nice but a toyota stamp is better than some back street garage.

 

[rayaans]

11 hours ago, mikeyv said:

It's not just the cost of main dealers, it's often the fact that they are also rubbish.

As to the lists of what's done on the services, come on, a lot of items could be checked by anybody, in ten minutes flat, and some, if faulty, would be apparent as soon as you drive the car.

They just pad it out, to make it appear more than it is, as above, a glorified oil change.

I usually do my own work, mainly so I know the job's been done, and done properly.

The savings are a welcome bonus.

Some indies are pretty bad too.

I've never had an issue with the work done on my vehicles - it's always been the same guy as well.

On the other hand my experience with indies has been pretty negative overall. 

If you're into p/xing cars it makes a big difference too. The dealer i part exchanged my RX into said they tend to give £1-2k less for up to 5 yr old cars as they dont retail it so either have to send it to auction or to independent dealers for less.

[olliesgrandad]

When I had an almost new Mercedes 2 years ago  it was never maintained at Mercedes. My local independent I have known for 30 years since he was Service Manager at my local dealer before Mercedes took them over. He did a small service, changed front brake pads and changed gearbox oil. All for £400 which is almost  what Mercedes wanted for a gearbox oil change alone.  He is good and I have seen both Steve Winwoods and Richard Ashcrofts cars there (both still under warranty). I don't think that the money I got for it was when traded was poor and the car wouldn't have been retailed by the dealer as it was high mileage for age. I also knew the car had been properly serviced by fully qualified Mercedes trained technicians and not an apprentice. 

[mikeyv]

3 hours ago, olliesgrandad said:

When I had an almost new Mercedes 2 years ago  it was never maintained at Mercedes. My local independent I have known for 30 years since he was Service Manager at my local dealer before Mercedes took them over. He did a small service, changed front brake pads and changed gearbox oil. All for £400 which is almost  what Mercedes wanted for a gearbox oil change alone.  He is good and I have seen both Steve Winwoods and Richard Ashcrofts cars there (both still under warranty). I don't think that the money I got for it was when traded was poor and the car wouldn't have been retailed by the dealer as it was high mileage for age. I also knew the car had been properly serviced by fully qualified Mercedes trained technicians and not an apprentice. 

Exactly.

A good indy, especially one who specialises in your make of car, will beat a main dealer every time.

If you want to pay for pomp and ceremony, that's your choice, of course.

Rayaan, your experience has been the complete opposite of mine, hence my opinion being different to yours, I guess.

My last main dealer experience, not Lexus or Toyota, by the way, consisted of parts being charged for, but not changed, materials, not even required for the jobs on the service schedule, also charged for and not used.

They even tried to wriggle out of it, until I produced a dirty pollen filter, at which point they could hardly argue.

The vehicle only went there, as it still had one year to run on it's manufacturers warranty, and I figured there'd be less argument, had I needed to claim.

It's now out of warranty, so won't be going back there in my ownership.

[rayaans]

3 hours ago, mikeyv said:

Exactly.

A good indy, especially one who specialises in your make of car, will beat a main dealer every time.

If you want to pay for pomp and ceremony, that's your choice, of course.

Rayaan, your experience has been the complete opposite of mine, hence my opinion being different to yours, I guess.

My last main dealer experience, not Lexus or Toyota, by the way, consisted of parts being charged for, but not changed, materials, not even required for the jobs on the service schedule, also charged for and not used.

They even tried to wriggle out of it, until I produced a dirty pollen filter, at which point they could hardly argue.

The vehicle only went there, as it still had one year to run on it's manufacturers warranty, and I figured there'd be less argument, had I needed to claim.

It's now out of warranty, so won't be going back there in my ownership.

There doesn't appear to be any Lexus specialists near me and from what I've seen, the indies around here seem to specialise in taxis! The state of some of them are awful as well.

Have seen plenty taking wheels off and putting them back on with a pneumatic air gun too.

[paulrnx]

If using an independent, it's best to know them well. See how they treat cars and check whether they have the right diagnostic equipment and use genuine parts. If all ok, using an independent is fine. Had a number of BMWs serviced by a recognised BMW independent and I felt he was an enthusiast who knew his cars and was always fair and did a good job. Thing about a Lexus hybrid is that the garage doing the work should be certified to work on Lexus hybrids because of the high voltages involved and specialist procedures when working on them. Horses for courses though. No point buying an £8k Lexus and then spending upwards of £600 per year to service it (assuming the 20k miles per year that I do) but there is merit in buying a £30k Lexus and then spending this amount on servicing to maximise re-sale value and ensure no warranty issues.

[paulrnx]

And independent Lexus specialists are few and far between too