Antennae Woes/lexus Toyota Silliness

[tmastres]

Replaced the antenna mast on my RX 300 this weekend (thanks vickyg2003 for some great tips in a previous post) Pretty easy job really, although there were some entertaining moments. I had to disassemble the entire motor assembly to get a small piece of the nylon cord out (which had broken off). Its an, er, "interesting" design but hey, it seems to work well. As mentioned in previous posts the biggest hassle is ripping out all the interior body panneling and trim pieces. Funniest part of the whole process was getting the replacement mast.

I started off at my local Toyota dealer (only 3 mi from my house). I came armed with the part number but it was a "Lexus" part number and wasn't cross-referenced on their Toyota parts lists. They were good enough to pull out about 4 different Toyota antenna masts which all looked VERY similar but upon close inspection there were some differences in cable length and shaft section lengths. They ranged in price from $60-$80. Although I had brought the old mast and cable with me I had stupidly left the broken-off cable end at home so I couldn't tell if the cables at Toyota had exactly the same length. The Toyata parts guy also claimed that installing any one of them in a Lexus would void any warranty of the part if they broke etc.. To shorten the story, I bit the bullet and drove the 30 mi. to the nearest Lexus dealer to get the genuine Lexus antenna mast. I located the "Parts Boutique" (which is exactly what they called it) It had Granite countertops with polished brass everywhere and the parts guy had a button down shirt and tie on. By now I was sure I was in for a real reaming on the price but surprisingly it was only $70. The parts guy didnt even look up the part number or anything, I told him I needed an antenna mast for a 00 RX and in less than 30 seconds had handed me one. I was happy to get a semi-reasoable price but the truly funny element is that the bag the mast was in has a big sticker that says, you guessed it "Genuine Toyota Parts". Anyhow, all's welll now but the Toyota/Lexus thing is really annoying, like realatives that refuse to acknowledge each others existence.

PS For some actually useful info, the part numer is

-- Rod & Pipe Sheild w/cable # 863370W030

[monarch]

Toyota and Lexus often use different part numbers for the same parts and dealers do not have any easy, quick way of knowing which parts cross over. Same situation with other automakers; e,g, the Ford Crown Victoria and Lincoln Town Car share many components and parts, but I doubt a Lincoln owner who goes to a Ford dealer will get much help finding out what Ford parts fit his / her Lincoln.