Should Have Stayed In Bed This Morning

[jamienopoints]

took my lovely IS200 sport to lexus stockport this morn for its 40k service, an hour later i got a call saying the front ball joints need replacing so on top of the £280 service i am faced with paying another £380 for the work......hopefully my drive assured warranty will cover it...........any thoughts??

[mudzs]

40K i thought these cars were meant to be reliable seems very low milage to be doing ball joints.I would think your warrenty will cover it .if not take it to a non lexus garage and save yourself £££££££££££s

[jamienopoints]

i'm no mechanic but it did seem very low mileage for such a fundamental part needing replacing......

.....anyone else had this problem???

[Matthew_McNally]

your car is covered by a 60k / 3 years warranty, which I would expect to cover this.

how old is your car?

be prepared for the "wear and tear" conversation - does anyone here know if this sort of part failing at 40k is acceptable wear and tear?

[jamienopoints]

the car is on a '99 V plate.

is the 60k warranty independent of the 3 year warranty?? or are they both invalid after 3 years??

[dark_is200]

If its' 99 V you will be out of warranty now I think - when did you get the car? I got mine in December 99 so its not covered any more unless there is an extended warranty on the part e.g. the ERR3 on the CD player.

[ricky_is200]

Whichever is reached first, so in your case it expired after three years (I hit the 60K miles first!).

If both side needs doing the warranty company is likely to say 'wear and tear' in my experience.

[Matthew_McNally]

the car is on a '99 V plate.

is the 60k warranty independent of the 3 year warranty?? or are they both invalid after 3 years??

oh - SOL then mate.

your warranty ran out after three years :(

Gold membership could cushion that blow a little bit mate - but it's still gonna sting!

[Chris.S]

It is quite common on IS200's for the lwr ball joints to prematurely wear

[jamienopoints]

like the sales technique Matthew.....maybe i should get gold membership

the garage just phoned, now the "coolant elbow" needs replacing what ever that maybe......

.......today just get worse and worse!

I knew it would be a bad day when i missed out on having a nice new gs300 by being 3 years to young, they want you to be 25 before you can borrow anything more than an IS200

ah well.....

[Matthew_McNally]

like the sales technique Matthew.....maybe i should get gold membership

not so much 'sales' technique - more some useful info - if you are going be facing a big bill, knowledge of all discounts come in handy.

not denying salesmanship completely though - search some of my other posts!

[jamienopoints]

so what sort of benefits are there....???

and when it says access to tuning parts does it mean uk distributors ??

very tempted to join if it is worth it??

[Matthew_McNally]

so what sort of benefits are there....???

access to special insurance scheme

dealer discounts

eligibilty for group buys

access to goldmembers forums

nice gold logo next to your name on the forums

the warm, cuddly feeling you get from knowing you are helping the club continue to grow

and when it says access to tuning parts does it mean uk distributors ??

yeah - you can get disocunts from UK suppliers.

if you really want to - can get you TRD / TOMS / L-Tuned parts at cost price from the states.

very tempted to join if it is worth it??

don't think I ever heard anyone say that its not worth it

[Chris.S]

The coolant elbow is a small alluminium pipe that comes off the water pump, again a common fault on IS200's

[Veece]

It's a small price to pay just for the usefull information that you have no doubt picked up during your time on the forum.

I know I have picked up a lot, (knowing I can get my wheels replaced for one).

I plan to keep my car as standard - mainly because it is still under warranty (I like the peace of mind :) ). But joined Gold anyhow.

If you are planning to mod' in any way, then GOLD is definately the way to go.

Paul

:D

[jamienopoints]

a small alluminium pipe..........must be hand made....they said it would cost £70!!!

as for the gold membership.....i am just off to do it..........

thats it...............I'M GOING GOLD

[Matthew_McNally]

hopefully my drive assured warranty will cover it

to get back on topic

what does the drive assured warranty say?

Chris works for Lexus, and says

It is quite common on IS200's for the lwr ball joints to prematurely wear

and

The coolant elbow is a small alluminium pipe that comes off the water pump, again a common fault on IS200's

so, its certainly worth taking up with them

[jamienopoints]

i would love to speak to drive assured.....but they are always engaged, i have told lexus stckprt to hold off on the work until they have confirmation of the warranty, if it aint covered i will get the parts and get them fitted elsewhere.

is it possible to get hold of a performance panel filter for the IS200??? if so where can i get one??

[javadude]

My IS200 has just had it's 40k service, its also just out of warranty (Jan 2000 V) and it also needed the ball joints replacing at the front. The water pump was also leaking though not sure if it was the same bit so pump and o rings were replaced. So that was £600 on top of the service (which was also almost £600 as it needed new brake pads.) At least that was with a bit of a discount being a gold member. <_<

Oh plus I needed new tyres. Went for new alloys too - hey that seemed like peanuts after the rest.

It's pretty annoying that they're common problems and happen just after the warranty has expired!

[Chris.S]

a small alluminium pipe..........must be hand made....they said it would cost £70!!!

as for the gold membership.....i am just off to do it..........

thats it...............I'M GOING GOLD

The pipe is only about £20, its the labour that does it cause the pump has to be removed

[jamienopoints]

ah well.......

lets hope that my drive assured warranty covers it!! :( :(

[Matthew_McNally]

did you buy the car from a delaer within the last 12 months?

[jamienopoints]

yep, had the car only 6 months.....this is the second IS200 i have had, the first i bought brand new and never had a problem over the 12 months of having it......STUPIDLY.....i was tempted by a fiat stilo abarth (no abuse please) which i kept for 6 months that was in the garage 12 times for new parts......so i decided to come back to faithful and reliable Lexus!

[Matthew_McNally]

/matt throws jamie a lifeline

from http://www.lexus.co.uk/approved.php?area=search

Lexus Approved Used Cars include:

    * Lexus Warranty: Minimum of 12 months, unlimited mileage

    * Lexus Approved Service History: Servicing checked and up to date

    * Lexus Vehicle Preparation: Every Lexus prepared to exacting standards

    * RAC Inspection: RAC quality approval of every Lexus Approved Used Car

    * Independent Mileage Check: Stated mileage verified

    * 30 Day Exchange: Reassurance from mechanical or electrical faults

    * Lexus Roadside Assistance: 24 Hour Pan-European assistance

    * Lexus Accident Assistance: Complete support if needed

(emphasis mine)

might be your saving grace?

Fiat Stilo???

nah - can't - too easy

[jamienopoints]

EXCELLENT......thanks Matthew

more ammunition when i go and see them!!

please ......dont hold the stilo against me......i was not of sound body and mind!

IT WONT HAPPEN AGAIN! :iraqi-info-minister: