5000-mile Scheduled Maintenance Forever Necessary?

[coolwater]

My 2000 ES300 is nearing the big 90000-mile mark. I had stopped the every-5000-mile-dealer-maintenance at 75000-mile and I only do oil changes for my car now-a-days. Ah, I do replace the air filter regularly as well. And, I just replaced the battery at 83500-mile after the car failed to start for third time in one week.

Here are my questions:

1. Am I making a mistake not taking my car to the dealer at every 5000-mile for scheduled maintenance?

2. I know I should soon change timing belt and water pump, but what else is to be changed?

3. Is it wise to buy extended warranty now for future major repairs i.e. transmission replacement?

4. Is it too late to buy extended warranty now?

5. How much does extended warranty cost anyway?

[SW03ES]

1. Am I making a mistake not taking my car to the dealer at every 5000-mile for scheduled maintenance?

No, as long as you change the oil every 5k and keep records, you didnt have to bring the car to the dealer for the 5k maintenances when it was new.

4. Is it too late to buy extended warranty now?

Its too late to buy the Lexus new car extended warranty yes, I believe they have a used car warranty and there are always aftermarket warranty companies, although you have to be careful with them.

[backwoods lex]

If you are interested in preserving your vehicle for many miles, I would be sure to do regular drain and fills of the transmission fluid and switch to a synthetic oil if you are not using one. That would greatly reduce any chance of oil gelling in the engine.