Essential Care

CJHYBRID · July 24, 2013

Just wondered if members could give their thoughts on the Lexus essential care package.

Supplying non Lexus dealer serviced my 2005 400h se nav and put 12 months tax and a six month warranty 2000 plan on the car.

Am wondering if to go for the essential care and also if to extend warranty 2000 for a couple of years or if there is a better alternative.

Would appreciate any experience or thoughts my car has now done 42000 miles and I guess I do around 15000 miles per annum

Thanks in advance

Chris

ColinBarber · July 24, 2013

by the Lexus essential care package do you mean a service plan? I would look to keep up Lexus service history for the short to mid term if you want to maintain a higher resale value - how you achieve that, by service plan or just standard servicing, is a personal financial decision.

For extended warranties you need to pay attention to the maximum payout for a single fault and also maximum labour rates that are allowed. Most third party warranties will not pay rates to allow a main dealer to perform any repairs - which with a hybrid could be an issue as experience at independents is limited.

CJHYBRID · July 25, 2013

Sorry Colin missing part of your message are you saying go with the essential care

Chris

ColinBarber · July 25, 2013

Chris please define essential care as you understand it?

CJHYBRID · July 25, 2013

Hi Colin

Lexus mention a plan for older vehicles which gives a big and a small services plus two mot's over a two year period.Think it is around £24 per month for RX400H.

See they have fixed rates for older cars for discs cambelts etc.Just wondered what experieces members had had and if they would recommend it. My two local (Ish) dealers are in Lincoln and Hull it would be nice if they gave a club discount but did not see them on the list. The second part related to older vehicle warranty i received a warranty with the car which can be extended.Undertatand the Hybrid side is for main dealer care but I am hoping for reliabilty here which was a major factor in choosing the car in the first place. The warranty does seem to cover lots of major items most of which are common to Hybrid and and Non Hybrid Cars. Just interested to get a view as this is a new experience for me.Have not used a main dealer for over 12 years and not had a warranty.Have however had my cars regularly serviced by specialist independants. My initial view is that the Hybrid perhaps requires a different strategy.

Thanks for help and advice so far it makes a big difference.

Chris

ColinBarber · July 25, 2013

the essentials servicing is available for vehicles of an age 5 years and over. This is available in standard adhoc servicing or as a 2 year service plan. Whether you chose to pay for services as and when required or in monthly instalments is a personal financial decision. Personally I don't both with the plans.

In terms of standard dealer servicing vs essentials vs independents I feel the main different is really resale value. Having full 'L' stamps in the service book makes a different to the average buyer. As a vehicle gets older, and its value decreases, that resale difference reduces to a point where it may not be worth staying with a main dealer

Essentials was introduced to stop too many people moving away from the main dealer. They don't check/replace as many things as with the true 'L' servicing, which is one way they are able to reduce the cost, and they shouldn't stamp an 'L' in the service book (although many dealers do) - you get a separate sheet.

For routine servicing any good independent should be able to do it, I don't see the hybrid part playing a factor. The only caveat on the 400h is replacing the brake fluid because to bleed the brakes you have to follow a procedure and have diagnostic equipment to operate the brake booster pump on demand so make sure they can do it correctly. Also changing the inverter coolant may not be something an independent knows about - but that is only every 100k/10 years.

All of my ramblings above don't really answer your question - I guess it is a personal decision.

Personally I have used main dealer servicing for the last 15 years, mainly due to wanting to retain resale values. For the last service I had done on my wife's old RX300 I had an independent do it because it was 10 years old and it was the big 100k service with the cambelt change. It saved me a good few hundred pounds, although they did ***** it up by getting the timing wrong and causing some VVT error codes which meant they had to redo it again :(

I don't purchase warranties. The only ones I've had were anything remaining on the original 3 years or as a 12 month user car dealer warranty. I've only had a couple of issues with all my Toyota/Lexus vehicles over the years which I've fixed myself. If something major came up, with all the money I've saved by not having warranties I'd still be up.

My 400h needs its 100k service. I will probably go essentials this time rather than full 'L' and after that, if I keep the vehicle, maybe essentials every 2 years and I'll just do the minor oil service myself.

CJHYBRID · July 25, 2013

Thanks Colin this makes good sense.

Think I mentioned I hope to keep car for around five years and as it is already 8 years old by that time and mileage resale value is going to be nominal. What I want is reliability and peace of mind and am sure that I will get that as long as I look after the car.

Your detailed response is much appreciated

Chris

RXJasonRX · February 1, 2014

Hello, does anyone know what the Lexus essential care minor service changes / checks on the RX400h?

I have an 07 model that i want to have done soon.

thanks

Duncan Roberts · February 1, 2014

Lexus web site or ask your dealer for the service schedules.

vrodman · February 1, 2014

On the subject of servicing - I have a Toyota HiAce van which I bought new for my business ten years ago and now has 107,000 miles on it. It has only ever been worked on (apart from replacement tyres) by the Toyota main dealer who I bought it from. They have been the epitome of what I would like to see from a main dealer - reliable, honest and affordable servicing with no problems at all, in fact, the only part that has failed in the ten years that I have owned it apart from normal service and wear items is the radiator, which they replaced for me at what I consider to be a reasonable cost.

As I have just acquired a low miles (35,000) 08 RX400h, which I bought privately, I am wondering whether to take it to the Toyota main dealer for servicing. The car currently has full history with four Lexus main dealer stamps in the book - I suppose having Toyota main dealer stamps for future services is not as good as having Lexus stamps.... but better than indy stamps? I plan to keep the car for four three to four years then hopefully to move it on and maybe try a 450h. The question is, will Toyota servicing depress the re-sale value on a 9-10 year old car?

CJHYBRID · February 13, 2014

I realise it is quite some time since I started this post but feel I must now conclude.

My car has just been serviced by Lexus of Hull and can honestly say the service was first rate. Must say that my intermediate service turned out to be far more expensive than envisaged but car ownership is always a roller coaster ride. Due to circumstances i had run over the mileage by 2k and wanted to het the car in Asap. The after sales manager James could not have been more accomodating and the car went in this morning. The coffee and courtesy car were excellent and previously reported by others. At about 1130 i received a call advising that the service had been completed however the brakes were in need of some serious attention. The rest of the car other than wiper blades was fine having had a thorough check. James fully explained the position and suggested that I had discs and pads replaced all round and the calipers freed off. Having read brake related tales on here I resigned myself to the fact that it was going to hit my pocket . Well the intermediate service and new nrakes cost me £825 ouch !!!!!.

The shock aside when I went to collect the car James offered to show me the old discs and pads wow what a mess. I believe the discs were originals and had lasted the 52,0000. The car now stops wonderfully and drives like dream.

Heres the twist when I collected the car its was washed and hoovered to a high standard. I look after my cars and try to take a pride in their appearence. Unknown to me until I saw the small print on my invoice Lexus Hull is part of the John Roe Motor Group. Whilst this is my first Lexus I go back a long way with John Roe Toyota . As an 18 year old my first job was as a car cleaner for John Roe Motors when they first attained the Toyota dealership in Grimsby working on Saturday mornings and during the holidays whilst I was at sixth form. During my time there I loved my job and held a very high regard for the brand . I particulary liked driving the new cars and dewaxing them from the protective coat and turning them into pristine showroom icons. I remember the first time I drove a land cruiser it seemed huge. Thirty Six years on I now own a Lexus and unknowingly return to John Roe Motor Group as a satisfied customer.