LEXUS LS OVERHEATING AND RADIATOR REPLACEMENT

[ALVIN1993]

I just bought a used 2007 Lexus LS460 with 205,000 miles. At first, i had to jump start it at anytime before i can start it. I thought it was the alternator so i decided to take it to the Toyota dealership on August 30 since the nearest Lexus dealership is about 60 miles from me. It drove fine the first day i drove it. But i parked it for about 9 days. On August 30, I jumpstarted the battery and I was able to start it. suddenly, the engine light came on. I did not know what was wrong so i decided to drive it to the dealership. On my way, the car overheated and steam started coming out of it. So i parked it and had it towed to the dealership. They called me about 5 hours later and told me my radiator was bad and the battery was weak but it could go for a while after it is charged. A quote of $1500  which included some tire repair, brake light switch lamp, and oil change in addition to the radiator was slapped to my face. I called a local mechanic that i usually patronize but he gave me a quote of 300$ which I found it hard to believe since the dealership quoted $964 for the radiator. I was just scared to take it to my local mechanic. Anyways, i gave them the go ahead to work on it but my conscience is beating me to that decision. I feel like i should have had it towed to a different mechanic which could be less. Has anyone replace a radiator on a 2007 Lexus and paid that much ? Did i make the right decision by letting them do it instead of a roadside mechanic?

[marc780]

I'll reply to your (Alvin's) comment that starts with "I just bought a used 2007 Lexus LS460 with 205,000 miles." in case anybody else got here like me, while looking to answer the same question.

The cheapest and maybe best way to go would be to buy a radiator (image) and have your local mechanic install it.  The radiator itself at $246.80 is relatively cheap, especially for OEM (the price shown was on 11-22-2024).  And I'm guessing the reason your mechanic quoted you only $300, might be that he's done it before on an LS, and already knows it's a quick repair that won't take him a long time to do.