40K+ Without A Service!

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Hi Guys,

So we picked up the wife's IS200 SE nearly 3 years ago now with 110k on the clock.

We only paid a grand for it and it had just been fully serviced at an independent and It needed all new brakes..... discs, pads and 2 callipers so got that sorted.

Our plan was to drive it until it went bang then pick something else up for a grand! Sort of disposable motoring! :)

The thing is its now done 153k and is still as reliable as ever. No sign of breaking or failing to start, never had a warning light come on ( and yes the bulbs are in the dash) I did change the oil and oil filter but that is literally all we've spent on it maintenance wise in the last 3 years. It also needs 4 new tyres. It passed its MOT 4 months ago with a few advisories, nothing I can't sort myself tho.

Do you guys think it's worth spending the £300 for a full service, £200 for air con service as it stinks rotten lol.... and £400+ for new tyres or get rid of it and get something with less mileage? I'm just in two minds as the car did 40k without any attention or maintenance and the service bill with tyres and air con will be the same as buying something new?

Thanks

Chris

[north]

Well ...think like this, you know exactly what the IS will set you back and how long it'll last (at least another 40k)

now think about it... getting your money out for some car you'll have to gamble the state of....costing you more or less the same as fixing the trusty IS that has never let you down in 3 years ;)

I think you know what you'll do now ;)

[ColinBarber]

an aircon service shouldn't cost you £200, there are plenty on independent companies that can do this work. You could just try an aircon 'bomb' first, around £10-15 at Halfords

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Well ...think like this, you know exactly what the IS will set you back and how long it'll last (at least another 40k)

now think about it... getting your money out for some car you'll have to gamble the state of....costing you more or less the same as fixing the trusty IS that has never let you down in 3 years ;)

I think you know what you'll do now ;)

Yes I think I'll book it in on Monday :)

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

an aircon service shouldn't cost you £200, there are plenty on independent companies that can do this work. You could just try an aircon 'bomb' first, around £10-15 at Halfords

What's this air con bomb? Never heard of it before!

The £200 quoted was from the same Lexus independent that I get it serviced at. I thought it was a bit steep. There's a mobile guy that I found will do it for £140+ VAT. It really does need some attention, it absolutely stinks when you turn it on or even just have the normal fans blowing!

[ColinBarber]

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_224996_langId_-1_categoryId_165632

sounds like your pollen filter is also mouldy which would normally be replaced every 1 or 2 years if serviced by Lexus.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Thanks Colin. Going to get 2 of these, 1 for the wife's car and 1 for my IS as well. Mine doesn't smell too bad bad but I get a fungus whiff every now and then

[fil4362]

Serious advice ,,,,,, change your garage. As a mechanic of over 20 years i have never ever charged 300 pound for a service.

Your car, if done properly last time will/should of had iridium spark plugs, i put them in mine, they are not cheap compaired to a normal plug but hey will do 60,000 miles between servicing. So yours still have 20,000 miles on them, mine currently have 40,000 on them and not skipped a beat.

Your pollen filter will cost no more than 20 quid , change it yourself its fits in a slot behind the glove box ten minutes work even if you stop for a brew whilst doing it.

An air con purge and refill is 40 pound i dont do it myself but thats what i pay.The Air con bomb can do the trick on funny smells but makes sure your read the instructions on the can before use.

Tyres are a matter of choice for 400 i would expect some decent rubber although 4 new tyres can be as cheap as 200. you pay for what you want with tyres.

I really do wish people would stop paying over the odds for servicing/repairs at so called Lexus dealers indipendants or other wise. I am not a lexus expert or dealer but if i quit my current job and worked at a dealer tomorow it wouldnt make me any better of a mechanic than i am now and therefore shouldnt increase my labour charge

If your trying to run your car on a budget mate do just that. A Lexus is no harder to repair/service than any other car so dont pay over the top prices. Labour charges may vary around the country but parts prices shouldnt If i tried to charge 300 for a service i would be out of work in a month. If i charged 200 for an air con service i wouldnt sell any.

[bilmac]

Serious advice ,,,,,, change your garage. As a mechanic of over 20 years i have never ever charged 300 pound for a service.

Your car, if done properly last time will/should of had iridium spark plugs, i put them in mine, they are not cheap compaired to a normal plug but hey will do 60,000 miles between servicing. So yours still have 20,000 miles on them, mine currently have 40,000 on them and not skipped a beat.

Your pollen filter will cost no more than 20 quid , change it yourself its fits in a slot behind the glove box ten minutes work even if you stop for a brew whilst doing it.

An air con purge and refill is 40 pound i dont do it myself but thats what i pay.The Air con bomb can do the trick on funny smells but makes sure your read the instructions on the can before use.

Tyres are a matter of choice for 400 i would expect some decent rubber although 4 new tyres can be as cheap as 200. you pay for what you want with tyres.

I really do wish people would stop paying over the odds for servicing/repairs at so called Lexus dealers indipendants or other wise. I am not a lexus expert or dealer but if i quit my current job and worked at a dealer tomorow it wouldnt make me any better of a mechanic than i am now and therefore shouldnt increase my labour charge

If your trying to run your car on a budget mate do just that. A Lexus is no harder to repair/service than any other car so dont pay over the top prices. Labour charges may vary around the country but parts prices shouldnt If i tried to charge 300 for a service i would be out of work in a month. If i charged 200 for an air con service i wouldnt sell any.

There are good, honest and able mechanics like you,out there, the thing is to find one and stay with him. He likes the repeat business and you get the best service, everyone wins

[is200 Newbie]

Get the cam belt done by Lexus - do the rest yourself as there is not a lot you cant service on these cars - Getting the belt done by the dealer is peace of mind. I do my services in August evry year (on the bank holiday Monday) as its not worth going anywhere due to the amount of traffic on the road - i have just bought all the parts i need for a service and theres plenty of change from £50.

I have just changed the pollen/cabin filter and the picture below shows one years use - the picture on the top is the old one (one year old) - i had noticed that the screen was starting to mist up and i am thinking it was due to a clogged up filter. Changing this took less than 2 minutes !! and i purchased the part from Japarts

[fil4362]

good job on the pollen filter change.

The cam belt is every 90,000 i thinhk its actually 100,000 (from memory) but would always advise early change. Get the timing belt changed at any v.a.t. registered garage. To be honest (as always) the timing belt on an is200 is very very easy timing belt job. Theres loads of room and no special tools required. Any decent mechanic can do a timing belt if you feel the dealers will do a better job use them but i bet their labour time is way more than a decent independant garage that will do exactly the same job.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Timing belt is every 60k according to the handbook and auxiliary belts too. The timing belt on my wife's IS was done at Lexus Bristol on 107k as it has the stamp on the engine cover.

So yes £300 is steep for a service. I'm not going to name the garage but it's a very popular Lexus independent in NW London. I was put onto them by this forum. I only got them to quote me for the A/C as I thought just get it all done in 1 go. These prices you speak of, I can't find anybody quoting me under £130 for a full A/C service or less than £250 for a full service. So I'd like to know where these cheap and honest garages are because I can't find them!

[sjrainsford]

I used these and can recommend http://www.coolcaraircon.co.uk/

Not sure if they cover your area, but worth a look.

A regas won't really cure your smell, that's down to bacteria build up. However I'm sure they will do that too.

The pollen filter would normally get changed as part of the cars service schedule, but wouldn't normally be done with an aircon service as this primarily means a check and regas.

Otherwise you just want a 'bomb' as everyone calls them. It's a canister that you let off inside the car footwell with the aircon running on recirculate. This gets sucked into the system killing the bacteria.

[fil4362]

Timing belt interval change was a guess of the top of my head. I try my hardest not to remember all intervals. I have a 600 pouind a year computer program to tell me all the data required when i input the reg number.

As i said i have been a mechanic and mot tester of more than 20 years "I have never charged 300 for a service" I pay 40 pounds for a full aircon service. I cannot say garage names, but as you live in London , my services would be pointless as the travel expenses would be negate any saving on service prices.. Although i do have one customer from central London who travels to Manchester visiting family and has his car done while up here.

I did put in my post" labour prices may vary around the country" but i still see no reason to be paying 300 pound for a service when the parts are less than 50. A service takes aprox 2 hours so 300 minus the 50 in parts is 250 minus 20% vat is 200. So your actually paying a guy who i garantee is no more skilled than i am, 100 pounds an hour to service your car. My labour charge is 36.75

.A full aircon service is connecting your car to a machine. The last one i had done was a Vito van on thursday. The van was connected to a mechine and a few buttons pressed. 15 minutes later a buzzer sounded and it was done. I paid 40 pounds. Other than connecting the pipes, the lad didnt touch the van or the machine. Now allowing my forty pounds to cover over heads (meaning the lad who does it for me makes no profit at that price) your still paying 160 poind too much. To the public the lad charges 60 pounds for an aircon service.

The bottom line is theres a service where everything is changed even if its not needed, then theres garages like mine that look at the car and see if the air filter and pollen filter actually needs changing or will a blast from the airline clean it out and last another 10,000 miles saving the customer the cost of the parts. Theres garages that change parts and theres garages like mine that repair parts again saving the customer the cost of the parts. You have a little crack in your exhaust Lexus will bill you for a new one , i will crack out the welder and fix it saving you the cost of a new one for a while so you have chance to save up for a bit. Oh and i wouldnt charge you for welding it either because i know you would tell your mates about it and chances are i would get them as customers as well.

I used to date a secratery at a local nissan dealer , she once showed me a bill, 998 for a full service on a k11 micra. The dam thing was 12 years old and worth about 500 quid. But it had done 100,000 miles and the dealer did the "full monty" service on it, including the timing CHAIN. i wouldnt dream of giving a customer a bill for more than the value of a car. I would refuse to work on it before i did that. What i do and spend on my car is my choice,but wouldnt inflict a stupid price of 300 for a service and another 200 for an aircon service.

I cant comment on your garage that you use i can only comment on my experiance in the motor trade,and in my experiance even including regional diffrences your still paying way more than i would/could get away with charging.

[fil4362]

I used these and can recommend http://www.coolcaraircon.co.uk/

Not sure if they cover your area, but worth a look.

A regas won't really cure your smell, that's down to bacteria build up. However I'm sure they will do that too.

The pollen filter would normally get changed as part of the cars service schedule, but wouldn't normally be done with an aircon service as this primarily means a check and regas.

Otherwise you just want a 'bomb' as everyone calls them. It's a canister that you let off inside the car footwell with the aircon running on recirculate. This gets sucked into the system killing the bacteria.

spot on !

[kenfoxy]

Auto electrician places charge about £60 for an a/c service in my area. They check it for proper function, regass it if necessary and put some green dye in the gas which is used to identify leaks. If they find any they fix the leak and regass.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Just did the A/C bomb on both IS200's.

Mine is perfect again :) but it's done hardly anything for my wife's car, it still stinks.

Mission for next week then is to find a local garage that are less than £200 for a full service and to find an A/C service for under £100.

I don't think it's going to be very easy! I live just outside bath on the Wiltshire/Somerset border and trust me, everything is expensive around here! The cheapest labour cost I've found is a garage in Chippenham who are £55 per hour. Every garage in Bath I've rang are £70+ with one even charging £95 per hour and their justification is that it's still cheaper than a main dealer!

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Oh and fil4362 does your garage add on nasty hidden costs such as disposable charge and "sundries" such as grease?

I got that Chippenham garage to do my back brake pads and discs as I had a broken arm at the time so couldn't do it myself. Oil, oil filter and brakes being the only jobs I can do myself.

They charged £55 per hour but when we picked the car up they had added on £20 to dispose of the old parts and £20 sundries which when questioned were told it was for the copper grease! so total cost with me supplying the parts was £150!

[steve2006]

So basically "brake pads fitted at £55.00 an hour, brake pads fitted properly with copper grease on contact points £55.00/Hr + £20.00!!!!

Guess there won't be a next time but if there ever was take your own copper grease with you, tell them to use that and then ask for the remains of the tube back when you collect.

That would be like me when repairing a TV charging for the solder when replacing a component, just a minute that's why I'm still not retired!!!

BTW I have just done a guide on the pollen filter/AC clean if any one is interested in DIY.

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?app=tutorials&article=196

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

So basically "Brake pads fitted at £55.00 an hour, brake pads fitted properly with copper grease on contact points £55.00/Hr + £20.00!!!!

Guess there won't be a next time but if there ever was take your own copper grease with you, tell them to use that and then ask for the remains of the tube back when you collect.

That would be like me when repairing a TV charging for the solder when replacing a component, just a minute that's why I'm still not retired!!!

BTW I have just done a guide on the pollen filter/AC clean if any one is interested in DIY.

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?app=tutorials&article=196

Yeah exactly mate, I was furious! Im glad the wife was with me or I seriously think I would have landed one on him, broken arm or not, cos he was a complete tw#t about it as well. I hadn't been that angry for years!! And no there will not be a next time.

But this is my point entirely, at least at the independent garage mentioned earlier I know when I return I will not pay a penny more than quoted even if it is £300. There may be some things they pick up on and tell me about but no hidden charges and certainly no work carried out without my authorisation.

Finding a cheap honest garage is so difficult!

Thanks for the guide fella I'll take a look and see if I can't sort it out myself! :)

[fil4362]

No i dont charge any "hidden" extras. The thought of it annoys me. I get 4-5 calls a day asking for quotes knowing full well the caller will go somewhere else for the work as over the phone they will get a cheaper quote only to then get all the add ons.

My local "big national tyre centre" advertise tyres cheaper than i do. If you want a tyre at the quoted price though,,,, thats what you get ,,,,a tyre. you have to fit it yourself. The valve, balance, fitting, nitrogen air fill (i think thats their current gimmick you get your tyres blown up and a green dust cap) and eco tyre disposal are all added extras. I make the same money on a tyre no matter what the tyre the bigger the tyre the better the make the more they charge. Tyre price to me + 10 pound is what i charge. includes fitting, valve balance and tyre disposal. It cost me 1.50 to get rid of the old tyre.

The big places now even add an "additional charge if they have to remove any engine under trays. Dont know about you guys but i dont like oil on my drive. When i take an oil filter of my Lexus i take the under tray of so no oil drips on it to then run onto my drive later. Alot of bigger garages are now charging for this.

Bottom line guys and girls i keep cars on the road as cheap as i can for my customers. I make a wage which is the same no matter how much work i do, how many hours labour i sell how many extras i can tag on your bill.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Tell you what mate did u say your in Manchester? I'm up in Manchester at least twice a month cos I'm a United season ticket holder. I come originally from Prestwich where most if my family still live! At this rate it might be worth coming up a day early, staying with family and getting you to do the car! :)

[steve2006]

I can do most things on my car myself but when the cambelt was due I thought it was a little too much so asked my local independent garage who always does my MOT to give me a price.

He checked on Autodate and came back with "It's a 3 hour job so there won't be much change from £100.00" I had already obtained the parts from the USA.

I must be a good poker player,hid my excitement and replied OK I'll let you know until I got around the corner when I took on the composure of Sue Barker blowing up the Go Compare guy!

I did book the car in and on day 2 he said the job was a little more involved than he estimated but the quote stands!

I did feel for the guy and also gave them a 24 pack of beer.

He won't fall for the same price next time but it goes to show there are good honest people out there.