Hi, I'm new here, so please forgive me if I'm asking this in the wrong way/place/etc.

I need to get my 35k service, which includes an oil change, new oil filter, and tire rotation. The last time I was there (30k), they mentioned something about an alignment/tire balance. I was thinking of taking it to a regular shop instead of the dealership. First of all, would you guys recommend for or against that, and secondly, what would I be well-advised to buy and bring with me to ensure I've got the right stuff in my car. Also, would it be worth asking about the alignment? Money's sort of tight, but I don't want to destroy my car because I wanted to pinch pennies.

Thanks for the help!

Personally, I rarely bother with alignment or tire balance unless I detect uneven wear or vibration -- but I monitor tires closely. We've had sets of tires last their entire lifetime and wear out evenly without being rebalanced a single time -- particularly on front wheel drive cars like the four Hondas we've owned and the Camry we have now. Your situation could be different than ours -- I'm just telling you what has worked for us.

You do not have to use a Lexus dealer for an oil/filter change and tire rotation. I've almost always done this type of work myself unless the car was still under warranty and I was taking the car in for warranty work anyway. If you are at all handy with cars, are watching your pennies and have a place to work on your car, buy a $4.00 Camry oil filter and oil plug gasket at a Toyota dealer, get a cheap oil filter wrench, and do the work yourself.

I've always used independent Lexus repair shops for more major repairs and service. I make it a point to bring the car back to the Lexus dealership just before the basic warranty expires to clean up any outstanding warranty issues but it is good to occasionally check to see if there are any new service bulletins that are apply to your car.

I"d recommended against using places like Jiffylube, Walmart, Firestone, Goodyear, etc. -- a lot of damage to cars get done at places like that and we don't even want to talk about the scamming that sometimes goes some chains. If you want somebody to change your oil and can't find an indie repair shop that suits you, consider seeing how much an oil change at a Toyota dealer costs.

thanks for the help. I unfortunately neither am handy with cars nor have a place to work on them. I have a local place that I trust to not scam me, but are you saying they might screw up something as simple as an oil change and tire rotation? That's what I obviously want to avoid. Also, so you think all I need is a Camry oil filter? What kind of oil does the car need?

anyone else who can help?

He's right by saying not to bring it to those places. The big chain repair shops are usually no good. Overpriced and they don't give a damn about the customer. You can find any local privately owned repair shop to do the job. Since you already have one then you're good to go, they won't screw it up. I just don't trust those shops either. There is not much that can go wrong on something as stupidly simple as an oil change but you'd be suprised. A camry filter is all you need since the ES350 is a Camry, same cars, same motor. Oil would be 5w-30. Since your car has only 35k on it i'd recommend synthetic such as Mobil One fully sythetic 5w-30. It depends if you want to pay alittle extra. You can buy a 5 quart jug of it for $23 at walmart.

Have you considered going to a Toyota dealership? Lexus does all my warranty work but I do not have them perform any maintenance that comes out of my own pocket. Toyota will do the same job, if not better for much much less. I bring my oil to Toyota (Mobil One) they supply the filter and charges me $25 for parts and labor. That's less than $50 for a fully sythetic oil change done by a reputable technician that knows Toyota's. Do you have any idea how much Lexus would charge for that same oil change? The only reason Lexus charges more is because of the brand name.

I'm wondering if this is scripted because this is almost verbatim of what they told me. It was also at the 35k service.

Your Lexus dealer doesn't balance the tires when they do the rotation? Every Lexus dealer I have ever used rebalances each tire every time they do a rotation.

As for the alignment...no abnormal wear or vibration? Skip it.

i actually do have abnormal vibration so i did some checking and am getting a balance done at the toyota place. but yeah, i asked the service manager at my lexus dealership here and he said that lexus does not specifically recommend a tire balance when they do the rotation at the service intervals. so therefore they don't. he was nice enough to list off all of the wonderful things that ARE included, in response to my somewhat snarky email about $350+ glorified oil changes...

My dealer always does a balance when they rotate...