New car delight but missed services

Doug2 · August 4

In June we bought a 2021 ES300h from a Lexus main dealer. We are absolutely delighted with the car; smooth wafting drive, impressive mpg, comfort etc. It also looks good!

In the buying process the salesman implied all of their cars were top notch and this justified their premium price. At handover it emerged that a service(s) were missing which means 18,000 miles between oil changes etc.

He said not to worry and played this down. He explained it was a Lexus owned car and will have been well looked after, beyond what the service record suggests. I asked if he would put this in writing but it has been totally ignored.

On the bright side, the car is guaranteed, I don’t believe anything is wrong with it, so perhaps I shouldn’t be concerned.

The nagging feeling is having previously learned about the importance of servicing, especially oil changes etc. After all, I think it has a timing chain?

What do people think? Not to worry?

Spock66 · August 4

Have you checked the service history online - may be just the paperwork is missing?

Personally I would not be happy with a car that has done 18,000 miles without an oil change and it would certainly affect it's resale value.

Doug2 · August 4

1 minute ago, Spock66 said:

Have you checked the service history online - may be just the paperwork is missing?

Personally I would not be happy with a car that has done 18,000 miles without an oil change and it would certainly affect it's resale value.

Thanks, yes I checked the online history and it matches.

Tickedon · August 4

I wouldn’t worry, assuming you’re planning on keeping the car for quite some time. Just ensure you service it properly, and I don’t expect you’ll have any issues. It is quite normal for other manufacturers to have longer service intervals these days, I think Lexus has stuck with 10k for purely financial reasons (more services = more revenue!).