Has anyone out there with a new (2005) ES330 tried to get the XM Satellite Radio option installed?
As you may know, there is a button for Satellite Radio on the 2005 radio. So I thought I'd investigate how much it might cost. Here's what my inquiries found.
The part you need is a receiver. Sewell Lexus of Ft. Worth Texas will sell you that receiver (brand new) for $369. Seeing that price, I figured it shouldn't be that big a deal to install it so I called the closest dealership to me - Lexus of Roseville (California). Their price for the receiver and installation was...(gulp!) $1,600!!!!!!!
OK, I then figured I'd try my other "local" dealer - Lexus of Sacramento. His price... $995+tax.
So I thought I'd try a couple of other dealers. Coliseum Lexus of Oakland - $700+tax
Lexus of Westminster (in Orange County, CA) - $544.
After these calls, I phone Lexus Customer Care and vented my frustration at these wildly divergent prices. He said, each dealer was free to set his own price. Fine, I said, the real question is just how long does it take to actually install one of these receivers? He wasn't willing to make some calls to find that information out for me.
This is a very un-Lexus like situation. It's more like the crap you get from your typical Chrysler dealer.
Have any of you had a similar experience? If so, how did you deal with it?
Mark W.
