Should I Not Go To The Dealer?

[Diana]

Hello all,

I posted a while back about the suspension on my Lexus. We are pretty sure the rear right strut needs replacement, however the dealer wants over $1000 for the work.

I recently had some work done on my Civic at Midas, and they told my husband and I that if we brought in Lexus parts, they could work on his car for $70 an hour.

We found at newlexusparts.com the strut for $450, and considering over 2 hours labor this means we could replace it for around 600.

So we thought, well, we could buy the timing belt and other things and save enough money that we could afford to get a lot of work done.

What do you all think?

If we can't get it done at Midas, we can't afford to do a lot of these repairs for at least another year, and the midas guys seemed knowledgeable.

Thanks!

[Diana]

I also forgot to ask,

if we get some NGK iridium spark plugs, and it is alright for Midas to put those on for us, is there anything else we should do for a "tune-up" that a dealer might do?

[VMF]

yeah, get DENSO iridium plugs on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...egory=1467&rd=1

then get new cable set from newlexusparts and get fuel and air filter as well. dont forget to get some original toyota oil filters, you can get couple of each to save on shipping and change them from time to time. fuel filter every 30k

spark plugs and cables - every 60k

air filter - check on its condition from time to time.

you should definelty go for that money saving scenario, get timing belt, water pump and if your engine is makin whining noise around 800 rpms then get timing tensioner and pulleys(left and right). you can even get a very good online manual at www.alldatadiy.com for 25$ and check what you can do urself and what you cant. print it out and bring it to your mechanic to make his job easier and to reduse the risk of doin smth wrong

[kisik]

I would never go to places like Midas or another conveyer type where so called “mechanic” will learn for $70/h how to work with a finest machinery like you have.

Please do the right way. Find a good local guy who has done work already and will take your parts. It may sound easier for me leaving in Boston but you should try. If you need spark plugs it sounds like it is 90k service, which needs a lot of parts. Check other topics for that matter. For a minimum: timing and drive belts, water pump, plugs,caps and rotors, PCV and other valves, change automatic and cooling fluids etc…total of at least 8 hours of labor.

Good luck.

[VMF]

this is what i did. but i did it myself, save lots of money, even moy local guy told me 375$ only for timing and pulleys and water pump. so check that do it urself site:)

[kisik]

That is the best thing providing you know and enjoy :P what you do with all time, tools and space you need. If you screw up you are the guilty one. My position is that I do what do best and let profeccionals do theirs.

[VMF]

they dont know stuff about lexus, not many of em even want to deal with serious lexus repairs.......

and 99% dont have that manual. so you have to take your chanses with them as well.....

not all of them will assume the resposibility

[SKperformance]

it is fine to let midas change brakes,belts struts and tires

the simple things

but when it comes to ripping apart an engine for a new timing belt then i prefer to spend a ton of money and have lexus do it

as they do it all day long

[SW03ES]

Guys, we're getting a little melodramatic about the Lexus here. Its not a Ferrari, its a large, easy to work on Japanese car. Anyone can work on a Lexus, nothing so special about it that it requires special expertise. Its not like a BMW, Mercedes, or VW in that fashion. Thats one of the great things about it, you're not tied to the dealer. Lexus techs are just that, techs. They're not "the best mechanics on earth" or anything. They just happen to be employed by Lexus. I mean, if we were replacing an engine or something that would be different, but its just a strut.

Take it to Midas. As long as they're doing Lexus parts, then whats the difference? Go for it. Their techs are trained on a wide variety of vehicles, including Toyotas/Lexuses. Just make sure they'll stand by their work like anyone should and you'll be 100% fine. I would probably hold the timing belt for someone more experienced also though. No reason they can't change spark plugs though.

Better yet like was said above, the thing for you to do is find a small shop that you can get to know the owners and such, then you'll get inexpensive, high quality repairs that you know are done right. I reccomend this to everyone.

I do want to give you some advice though. You really want to replace BOTH the struts on the same axle depending on the age of the car. Otherwise the handling dynamics of the car will be adversely affected and it could be a safety issue. Ask the shop what that would run you. Its like replacing one tire and not a pair. If I were you, I'd put some of those other items on hold and replace both the struts for safety.

[VMF]

i had couple of cars including M3 before, LS is the hardest:)

i didnt know where to start or what to do. considering that i used to work in the shop and have some experience i was scared to start:)

[SW03ES]

You're kidding... The M3 is much more complicated to work on... You sure we weren't talking about a fear factor here? ;)

[VBdenny]

I asked a friend of mine with a Mercedes who she had work on her car and she told me about a shop that works on 4-In cars. They did my power steering pump and hose replacement for about 600 less than Lexus wanted. Try looking in the yellow pages under foreign car repairs for something like Japanese Auto Repairs. Finding a good mechanic is difficult, but important. Learning to do it yourself is very rewarding as well. I always think of it like this, if it's broke, you can't break it. Good luck.

Denny

[VMF]

i dont think 1990 was more complicated then LS:) plus when you are young you look at things differently. i had it when i was 18, 7 years ago

[SW03ES]

VMF, Very true there.

Denny, I also agree that finding a good shop you trust can make car repair much easier, and less expensive.

[VBdenny]

I guess since I didn't have much money when I first started driving and I had a Ford (yeah) which always broke, I learned to fix stuff or walk. I remember removing starters and generators (what they had before alternators) in the snow and rebuilding them. Perhaps it is also the belief that I can (and will) do a better job than just about anyone else on my car. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, but if it is broke, you can't break it. Rock on!