Lexus Essential Care Minor Service Or National Tyres Oil Change?

[RXJasonRX]

Hello all

Looking at an oil change for my RX400h 07 reg.

I am considering having the Essential Care Minor Service at £179, but when i look at the schedule sheet that i asked to look at for comparison, apart from the oil change, i just see a lot of checks that would be carried out on the car.

So, i look at the Natonal Tyre oil change quote for Quality 5W30 Fully Synthetic (includes oil filter) at £40. for comparison.

My question is: which to go for? If i went for the National Tyres one am i missing out on something important that Lexus would do?

Is there anything stopping National Tyres doing the change for me? (Such as, will they have to take off the bottom engine cover/ sheilding, to do it?

thanks

Ja

[It wasn't me]

My opinion as a self employed mechanic (ex Toyota ,Mercedes,jaguar, bmw) is that national tyres are doing charity work at that rate, put it this way they are not using a quality oil, not at that price.

An oil filer would cost me in the region of £5 or 6 quid +vat so might retail about £8 or 9 + your vehicle takes 4.7 litres so say 5 litres of high quality fully synthetic retailing at around £10 a litre + so that's around 60 quid ish for arguments sake, then an hours labour at around £45 to 50 + screen wash etc so say £140 ish inc vat for good reputable garage to do it.

Note; oil filter media is made to be comparable with the oil designed for that engine, using the wrong oil can cause this to become brittle and break up,this is really only visible on paper element insert filters. I have come across this on 3 occasions on servicing new customers cars.

Conclusion avoid national tyres like the plague,use Lexus for the minor services until u find a reputable garage to take on your car, and don't be afraid to ask important questions like what make and spec of oil are they using. A good quality oil is the best mechanic u will ever get.

The spec you req is 5W-30

GM DEXOS 2

MB229.01

BMW LL-04

VW 502.00/505.01

ACEA A3/B4

ACEA A3 low saps

Regards Shaun

[RXJasonRX]

thank you for your advice. It is much appreciated.

[nelmo]

You could compromise; buy the oil yourself and ask National to do the labour bit (and watch them use it )?

Or, if you're not too bothered about the stamp in the book, do it yourself - it's the easiest job you can do on your car.

I'm not a fan of dealers - I'm dubious of their ability to do a better job on a simple oil change than even the newest, ham-fisted of mechanics.

Now, I bow to Shaun's superior knowledge about oil BUT I've just sold a motorbike that I serviced myself for 5 years using bog-standard Halfords oil. The service intervals for my bike were supposed to be 5k miles but I never managed to do a service with less than 10k miles interval. The mileage on my bike when I sold it? 96,000!! And I only sold it because I fancied a change, not because there was a problem.

[RXJasonRX]

hello

i went to national tyres for a look, and they said they use Castrol, but are now using Fuchs oil. Is that a good make?

Just wondering so i can make up my mind. I'll post in the forum too.. thanks


jason

[Boxbrownie]

Fuchs oils are very good, but you got to find out which Fuchs Oil they will be using.........must be the correct spec.

I would be very interested also to know what filter manufacturer they use also? Just as important as the oil a good filter.

[It wasn't me]

Fuchs are very good oils,up ther with the best. Some oil manufactures with do crazy deals for bulk orders,so they will probably have only the 1 oil grade and use it in anything, I don't know? It's more critical in some cars than others 10w-40 was considered fine for 400h 05-06 but not a year round or not recommend for temps below -10 so the 5w-30 became the norm 06 onwards .

Basically their going to do an oil and filter changed for £40 quid,just doesn't add up but what they might do is produce a list as long as your arm of things you need doing, sir your shockers are leaking (after they have sprayed duck oil on them) your brakes are binding( but rather the strip and clean them,will try and sell u discs and pads all round then telling you, oh it's your calipers too) and your tacking out (it might be but to what degree) I know it goes on its happened to friends of the family, but the usually pick on the vulnerable some people panic oh can't do with out my car and in a lot cases with have it done and that's how they make ther money.

I wouldn't compromise my engine for the sake of a few quid, engine rebuilds are expensive. Interesting to see nelmo used a cheap own oil in his bike and it went on to do96,000 miles fore he sold it, in my bikes( yamaha r1/fz1) I use the oil q8 10w-50 racing and change it every 3000 miles without fail.(be interested in finding out what year and size bike nelmo had?).

Another question I would ask is why a expensive quality car then compromise on it's maintaineance.

Let me know what service is req'd, mileage and number of book stamps and I'll tell you what's req'd on the particular service.

Cheers Shaun

[It wasn't me]

I will read it through next time before posting.

[RXJasonRX]

Thanks for the input everyone / Shaun. Yes what you say is right about having a quality car, then skimping on maintanance just does not add up.

I have decided to let Lexus do it anyway.

thanks again

ja

[It wasn't me]

You will generally save more money on major services by taking it too a local, prestige or Toyota specialist. Have a look on the good garage scheme website, where you can put in your postcode and check out the customer's feedback of garages near you.

All good garage scheme members use forte treatments/ additives, they'll put one in with the oil and one with the fuel with amazing results, by bringing compressions back into line and cleaning the air/fuel ratio sensors, the benefits are a smoother more fuel efficient engine. Have a look at the website,forte lubricants (engine flush and gas treatments).

[nelmo]

Interesting to see nelmo used a cheap own oil in his bike and it went on to do96,000 miles fore he sold it, in my bikes( yamaha r1/fz1) I use the oil q8 10w-50 racing and change it every 3000 miles without fail.(be interested in finding out what year and size bike nelmo had?).

Suzuki V-Strom 650, 2006 model. I commute 12 -15k miles a year, so if I had to stick to the service intervals, I'd be doing one every 6 months or so - I'm far too lazy for that

I traded it in for a 2011 Versys 650 and I promised myself I'd be good and take it to a dealer for it's 15k mile service. But then they quoted me £300 to do an oil, filter and spark plug change - so I did it myself for £60 (and 1500 miles late). I'm such a tight-wad... :eerrrmm:

[DanD]

I have to say that I always get the dealer to work on my car. My view is that I won't buy a car if I can't afford to have it serviced within the dealer network. I am reassured by the thought that approved parts will be used and that the engineers dealing with my car have received the proper training and use the right tools for the job. I think it is worth building a good relationship with the dealer, and if and when things go wrong and you have entrusted your car to them over the years, they are more likely to help out. I appreciate that loyalty tends to be a thing of the past, but I also think that if you invest a little time and effort in building a good relationship with the dealer / service staff, it will serve you well in the future. I know most of the staff at my local dealership by name and always have a chat with them. I know them, they know me, and a little politeness and respect go a long way. I am appalled when, while waiting to be dealt with, I hear the condescending tone of some other customers and how they treat dealership staff. Driving an expensive car does not give you the right to treat others with contempt. At the end of the day, when you end up in a garage, you need them more than they need you!

Treat others the way you expect to be treated and they are likely to do the same.

Feel free to disagree!

[Duncan Roberts]

Entirely correct, I find the Sheffield Lexus dealership to be excellent for service. I have used them for 15 years and they are more than willing to help or do minor things without charge if I turn up.

[artherdaily]

heres another option

i use a very good specialist mechanic and before buying my RX300 i got a quote off him

full major service

oil + filter

air filter

pollen filter

any other filters

spark plugs, all 6 of them

everything checked

everything lubricated

everything done as it should be done

£200 ish

or

oil and filter changed,

everything lubricated

everything checked

£60

and the screen wash topped up

for me theres no option, but i do get my cars service twice a year, oil and filter change a proper full service every year, and i only do 4000-5000 miles a year