Lexus: RX300 Questions

My experience with Lexus service is that they typically charge at least
double what a Toyota shop would charge. For example, a tire rotation and
balance can be around $80 or more. A 4 wheel alignment can be around $100.
Once my warranty is up, I will be doing all my 2002 ES300 service at the
local Toyota dealership. I don't really see the value in paying 2 to 3
times as much as I should, just for the sake of the service being recorded
in the "Lexus database". When I go to sell my car one day, I'll put it up
on ebay motors, and the Lexus database won't mean squat. It's only of value
to the dealership when they go to resell your car after the trade-in, it
helps them market that whole "Lexus recertified" thing. Regarding tires,
I've always had pretty good luck with Michelins, although they tend to
wander a bit. I've heard good things about Toyo.


"John Bittner" <net> wrote in message
news:com... 

"Steve Larson" <com> wrote in message
news:epK3d.87400$bellsouth.net... 

While I generally agree that dealer charges are excessive, I'm not sure that
you don't get what you pay for at least at some Lexus dealers. I recently
acquired a '99 RX330 and took it to the local Lexus dealer because the front
brakes where making noise. I'll comment on a few positives from the
experience. First, the service rep treated me like a person, offering me
coffee etc. and most importantly offering a loaner car or to drop me off at
the local mall or at home and pick me up later when the car was done.
Second, they were able to look up the history of the car (which I had a good
idea of since I bought it from by brother-in-law) and confirmed that it had
a full service history. Third, I was surprised when I got a call an hour or
so later telling me that the front rotors were glazed but that they would
recommend not replacing them at this time (e.g., not worth the expense of
replacing parts that had good life left just for a noise). They did find
that the rear pads were below renewal and so I agreed to have them replaced,
but as I recall the cost was not different from what I've paid recently for
other cars at independent shops. Finally, I had used a loaner and gone to
the mall to kill some time and so got back to the dealer before my car was
done. While waiting for my car, I sat by a window that looked out onto the
shop floor and watched one of the technicians working on what looked like a
normal service visit. I was amazed at the amount of work and the attention
to detail (e.g., it was not just a pull the plug and filter oil change).
So, if all you want is the basics, go to the local Jiffy Lube for the oil
change. If you want full service and don't mind paying a little more, find
a good dealer (there are a few out there).

Gus

P.S. I friend of mine at work bought a used Lexus (from a different dealer)
a couple of years ago. She recently noticed that the seat belt was dirty
and commented to the dealer who suggested several cleaning methods. She
later took the car in to have the brakes checked and when she went to pick
it up was told that the brakes were fine and that the dealer had installed a
new seat belt to replace the dirty one at no cost (e.g., they had noticed
that she had not been able to get it clean and just replaced it on their
own).