Lexus Dealer Vs Independent Repair Shops

[92lexus300ak]

Is it true that Lexus dealers will charge anywhere from 3-4 times what a certified repair shop (eg PepBoys) could do for much less? I did not have the luxury of owning a new lexus (but will one day!!) so I have not dealt with the dealers at all.

[amf1932]

My past experience with my Lexus dealer has shown that certain repairs such as putting in new brakes did not cost me more than 2X as much as other repair shops. This also holds true with normal maintenance like oil, transmission and coolant changes. I also have the peace of mind that the work has been done by qualified mechanics. I think that 3-4 times the price of their repairs is excessive. :)

Alan

[spalkin]

There is something called the Lexus Way, there's also the Honda Way. These are the best in the world and their service practices are imaculate. They will never try to get you for something that you don't need. they make their money on the parts and the labor. The parts they use will always only be Genuine Lexus, not Pep Boys. these part will cst you though! When I needed a coil for my '95 ES it was $177.82 at the Lexus dealer and $81.27 at Toyota. Where do you think I went. Lexus needs to charge you almost double for that part so that they can have marble and Cherry in the showroom. Also, their customers wouldn't quibble over the price of the part. Your car is a Toyota. If it needs to be at a dealership take it to your local Toyota Dealership. There are a lot of great independant garages around and they can get genuine Toyota parts same as anyone. If you find one you can trust, use him.

[SW03ES]

LOL, Lexus dealers will scam you on service just like anyone else. Not all of course, but plenty of them. Think about it this way, any car dealership makes way more money servicing cars than selling them, and Lexus are as reliable as they come. They have to make the money somewhere, and its made on unneccisary service. I've yet to meet a Lexus service department that hasn't tried to screw me somewhere. Got to watch them just like everyone else. Not a bad mark on Lexus, the service is definately great with lots of frills, but they're just people like everyone else.

Here's what I do, Its what you should do too! For stuff where I'm not going to leave the car, oil changes, tire rotations etc, I take it to Toyota and just wait. If I'm busy and need to leave the car for a bigger maintenance that takes all day, then its really worth it (to me) to let Lexus do it for several reasons-

1. They come and get it, and bring it back.

2. They leave me a "free" loaner.

If I took it to Toyota, I'd have to take it over there, find somewhere to rent a car, rent an equivelent car to the ES (a Caddy or Lincoln) then at the end I'd have eaten up my savings in spent money on the loaner and my wasted time. Generally say the 30k service on the ES is around $450 at Lexus, $250 at Toyota. You add $80 to the Toyota service for the loaner, plus 3 or so hours of wasted time at whatever you figure your time is worth per hour. Gets close to the Lexus service price huh?

Personally, I'd never have any car serviced at PepBoys. To me they're like JiffyLube. Find a good repair shop, hell even a gas station with people you trust. Nothing so special about a Lexus that any old ordinary mechanic can't work on it, thats another nice thing about them over BMWs or Mercs etc. I just wouldn't take any car to PepBoys...

[92lexus300ak]

LOL!! That sure sounds like 'sound' advice!

I will do exactly as you suggest - take it to Toyota. Thanks.