mburnickas

Just looking at the numbers above, I would not use them in the N.E. states in my opinion for low temp usage. The pour point is nice but not what the real world uses. Usually you care about pumping temp. The pour point gives you the lowest point it will pour some distance in like 5 seconds (on the test). A general rule is that the pumping temp is about 20 degrees higher. So either oil above, I would NOT use them below -7 degrees without external aids in cold weather starting. Outisde of that, good luck starting in low temps. I will take a syntheic oil over these.

A few days ago you were very certain the Toyota oil and Exxon Superflo were exactly the same. Specifically, you said: "your Genuine Toyota motor oil is nothing but rebadged Exxon Superflo oil." And today you say: "They are pretty much identical" I've never known the Toyota engineers tell a lie so I believe them when they say genuine Toyota Motor Oil is: - "specially formulated by Toyota for Toyota vehicles." - "formulated for Toyota metal and gasket surfaces." They are not lying at all. It is a marketing ploy that people seem to buy. It is not a lie, but it is not 100% true either. Buying their fluid/product gives some people piece of mind. If that is “your bag”, then so be it. Too bad it is just a normal fluid in an expensive Lexus bottle. Never mind that it prevents anything, has more of “this or that” then any other fluids. If it does print what is has more of or less of. Too bad their oils all pass the same standards as other API cert petro or synthetic oils respectfully. "specially formulated by Toyota for Toyota vehicles." Could be nothing more then adding some additives to their oil. Is it good, could be but it is not needed either. Again Toyota does not make oil, they make & sell cars. You seem to buy and like their products, which is good for you and Lexus/Toyota. They could have good products but there are better products out there for less money or at the same value.

I only use ATF in my PS fluid; however, from what I have read PS and ATF are pretty close in fluid properties and would be ok to use in PS fluid apps only.

Yup 93LSOwner is correct- Mine are doing the same thing but my father got rid of the plating machine he had. The killer is the emblems only use like $10.00 worth of gold.

76 is perfect but you could go from 72 to 78 without a problem.

Sure oil flows through many different material (Al, Cu, Pb, Ni etc). These parts all move since the engine has piston, cams, bearings etc and thus these items are mostly lubed by oil or coolant if you have a bad sleeve or cyl wall or bad turbo, ext cooler etc. All these moving parts wear to some degree (ppm) and the oil carries the particles into the oil. If you have a bad or cheap oil filter good luck. Next, if you have a major soot problem do not blamn the oil. The oil is the effect of something gone wrong. Look for the source of the soot. Lastly, notice I said moving parts not multi moving fluids. :D

Hi monarch- You are 100% correct and it has been around for along time and has shown proof that it works. But, on the flip side it could be the best thing in the world and if people do not feel ok, then it will not work. Example look at laundry soap, about 10 years ago someone invented a soap that worked 10X better then what we have now. It was proven to work better and it did in lab tests and in the real world on a testing team. But since it did not have suds or bubbles people thought it did not work. So what happens, they stop making it. Samething with the synthetics here; however, I can’t say it does not work since it has been used in everything from jet engines, cars, etc. Yes it works but people see the upfront cost and say, “ya right are you kidding”. Most people do not think about cost 10 years down the road, only today’s budget or this year. The oil people could show a gain, power etc but most people need to weight this into the product. I did not see any gains to what you stated in your post. The HUGE impact for me is less oil changes, time –which is $$$ and my wear rates in my oil test are damn good. My family’s time is worth 5 qt of synthetic oil and cellulose, glass filter. Never mind finding a place to return it, bottling it up, bring receipt etc. Plus why do most people want their engine to last 600K miles when 40 to 50% of cars are leased? Why would they care to spend the extra money? It does not make practical sense here. Plus the cheaper oils are very cheap and again, people look at price VERY hard. Do I buy this $1.50 qt oil and get some crackers and milk (in Wal-mart) or buy the Mobil 1 at $4.50 with no crackers and milk and I still change oil at 3K miles? Basic math can do this one. Back to real work evidence, hell I am doing it like many other people. I am not breaking new ground here. I am not that smart. The problem with extended, yes problem is that most people are clueless on how, the process to do oil changes and why it works. People want to get in their car and drive. It is not just put oil into a car and say it is good for XXX miles period! Not even Amsoil states that. Look at Amsoil diesels oil. They can go 100X longer then they post on paper, but there are a lot of variables to contend with. If Amsoil users read Amsoil warranty, there are a lot of things in there that must be working up to par. It is not a “fill and forget”. Plus look at it from a Lexus financial standpoint with extended drains. You are opening a MAJOR can of worms here. You will have a range of smart users all the way to morons doing it. And look what WILL happen. You will have some moron guess at something that is not spelled out in there manual and will sue. Plus who defines how long the oil is good for and correlate that to all users? Then some other person will do the same. It is much safer for Lexus to play on the conservative side and do not rock the boat unless told too by the EPA (gov) etc. Plus people will have a very hard time believing that things change. Most people HATE change but change is all happening. Lastly, extended drains do not caused accelerated wear. They are a lot of moving parts in an engine and oil is just one. Are synthetic for all, no way. Is it over kill for a car? Depends how you look at it and what your application is. I did not want to turn this in a Amsoil thread but you get the point. There are other oil that also do extended drains.

You have a good post here and I am not trying to throw in a “money wrench” but since 1994 I have seen zero increase using Amsoil; or it is to small an increase to tell. I have used in things from my tractor, to my car, motorcycle etc. Do I like it yes, is it the best oil out there, No way. For the money I feel it is the best “bang for the dollar” though. Mobil was good in the 90’s and they even had the 10K mile drain, but that stopped but the price did not go down. If you like to drain at 3K miles I would not use it. If you like draining oil, so be it. All I will say is see my lastest oil change tests results (as I am sure you have all seen). This is for my own car and other might differ by some delta. Can someone show there es300 with lets say 7500 miles so we can at least show some kind of comparison? I know what the un-used oil teats are so I can compare it to my used sample. Looks pretty darn good. Can you go longer 100% yes using a good-oil. Can you drain sooner, 100% yes you can. Drains are not set “in stone” to what you must do. Next is some say synthetic is not needed. You are 100% correct; but then again we do not need cars, phones, etc since we can use a horse and buggy and mail respectfully. This is the great oil debate from 1970+and will it change, not really unless the manufactures give a nice “warm and fuzzy” out there with drain intervals. Look at Europe they go 10 to 12K miles, not km, and thinking nothing of it. The good-old USA is still stuck on the 3K mile drains. Give it a few years and it will change. Nevermind the fact that synthetic is nothing new here. You can thank Hitler for making it. Nutbag.... I started doing to short drain when I was in high school, then I at least went by the book (higher miles). Then I went longer and now I am here. All the testing I have done, as never come back bad on any of my cars. My motorcycle was perfect except for 1.1% fuel in the oil. My diesel was high in silicones due to the oil glazed air filter. This was because of my extensive idling and a lot of starts on the bike. To go back on the topic at hand, someone stated it correctly. If there is sludge covering up holes, leaks in gaskets (preventing Leaks) the synthetic will clean the sludge and cause leaks. Does it directly cause leaks, No. The leaks were always there. Also synthetic about 10 years ago never have seal enlargers in it so that was bad. Now they are fine. I have used a synthetic from my truck with 00008.2 miles, my bike with 00018.7 miles (both new) to my used Lexus with 41K miles etc and never had a leak. My tractor and wifes MB were both new too. Works fine. I know on my wifes old cars (87 Toyota and a 94 accord) 4 bangers with oil changed every 5K miles with petroleum, the oil dipsticks had a lot of yellowish varnish on it. The T had car had 160K miles on it and the accord had 130K when we sold them. Is it still running, yup and see them all the time. But I would not want to open the valve covers on the those things! Plus I would not put synthetic oil in there due to its age and it is not worth it. Nevermind the T leaked like a sponge and the accord just started. Yes it looks nice to see the high miles but look at all the $$$$ it took to keep it running. No one ever talks about that. My Lexus is still young in miles, (76,932 as of today) and it is perfect and the car runs mint. I will be doing yet another 12,000 mile oil-change (YES again) to compare the oils at the same mileage on oils. This will be the best test in my book. You can have shorter drains but the oil does not show a linear pattern. Plus levels affect other levels and not the same.

tundra-lover- Yup, you are correct. My local Lexus wants between 200 to $250 for new belt. Add approx $200 for water pump if you need it . So that is $450 max for pump and new belt out the door. That is one thing this stubborn guy is not doing!

Amazing. You're making that kind of investment without understanding the consequences? If someone totals your car, you still owe the bank the amount of money they loaned you. If your house burns to the ground, you still have to pay the mortgage. More importantly, if you kill someone with your car or if someone slips on ice on your sidewalk and is incapacitated, it's YOUR liability, not the bank's. Insurance protects you from things that are your liability. The fact that you have other obligations doesn't enter into the matter. I understand 100% but I again they get paid to do a job! Again I have more important things to worry about. I just hope they do they job as they state in their policy. The banks say you must have insurance, not me. I just do what they say per the loan agreements. They are covering their investments since they own the house and car. I do not own anything. They just care about their items, not me. Since I know what I owe on my car, it is less then a new engine. pocket cash. My tractor is worth 2X my car! If someone totals my car, Lexus goes after the insurace since the want there money for it; since they have the title. Samething goes for my tractor, something happens to it (theft, fire etc), Kubota agoes after metlife for $18,000. It is not my problem. If my home burns down the bank makes sure you have the proper coverage before even buying it. . That is why you pay upfront before even signing. Someone can sue me for whatever but they can't force me to leave my home nor take my home due to the homested act. It seems you are worry a great deal. If you are that worried about things do not go out of your home. Insurance is out for themselves first, then comes you.

Hi Bryan: Do you people know I really need to get work done at work here :D I take the SAME outlook on my car/bike/tractor since I must get cut in front of weekly on my bike. Never mind on my tractor…People need to open their eyes since road have things called CARS! I do not need piece of mind, just do their job. My home is owned by the bank and so is my car. If something happens let them deal with it. I did not forget here. I have refinanced three times from 8.5% down to 5.0 last fall, switched 2 insurance companies, and 3 different mortgage people. All 3 had the home inspector people come out for $200 and then 1 month later I get a call asking the same standard questions. Age of roof, plumbing, pool, dogs, hospital, kitchen-oven, furnace, a/c, etc. Did I not just pay someone to figure this out for ya! So why are you calling? I guess the inspector does not talk to the mortgage or bank since all this was spelled out on a huge book. Or someone is not doing their job. If they push for info, I pull numbers out of air since it is their problem since I “paid” for an inspector. Again this was done 3 times with different mortgage people. No wonder insurance is so high. Everyone is duplicating effects here & wasting their and my time. Example, I removed a 16 x 32 in ground pool and my liability changed ZERO! Figure that out.

I do not have a problem. I do have a problem with the owner ME guessing on what these items are and my policy is based on that. That is a bad way to run a business. I really do not have a problem since my insurance is just fine. Plus it is home insurance policies your way since the process for coming up with it is a total joke. Maybe I should "guess" when I send them payment? You stated “your best guess and you give them your best guess, that's an honest guess”. They said guess not anything else. They said "best guess". Back to basics here, define best guess since I do not know a good roof vs old per say. So I guess and my best guess is when I bought the house. Can’t prove me wrong since that is a best guess. If they think I am wrong, call the builder of the home, inspector, city hall etc. Again I would state just because some company gives more discounts for wearing shoes vs sneaker then the pills some old person takes. They can give you a discount for this and that but they get you in other ways. Rates go up. Other discounts go down etc. They get there money. How do you prove you are a good student or good grades since it is not defined? What happens if you are not, higher rates :) I never stated it was false info at all. Bdonkersgoed - What do I get for my low auto or home insurance? So far nothing. I have never had to use insurance to date and so far I do not get anything. Oh, wait I get a policy packet each year at my renewal time. I do not pay a huge rate at all, in fact I pay the least ever. It is the point. Do not bring taxes into it since I get something for my taxes. It is called a trash, recycling, city roads, bridges, city police, fire dept. Completely different story here plus I get service all the time for these. I never stated actuaries in any post I jut state stats are not 100% correct. Also you stated ,” soon you will be paying cheaper insurance as you prove yourself as a driver. ”. I disagree since you can get into more accidents go to court and get off 100%. You are not proving anything. Get pulled over for speeding and go to court and get off. You are not proving anything. But if you look at it that way, feel free. I am not mad at all. My rates are very low it is just the point. I hate insurance companies, period. My wife worked for them and it is not NASA here. You like them since that is your field and of course you want to save YOUR job. I would do the same. I really like the process for making your our home policy bill though. And this is not the only company that does this. My last one did the same. Insurance does have a magic crystal ball, it is called actuaries and that is the best they have. Yes, there are in high regards since what they do/say effects the companies bottom line. If an insurance companies is not making much, define much? Also if they don’t break even “clean house” since someone is not doing there job. Again I like my final bill but I feel sorry for the people getting porked.

It is not a lie, I do not know, call the fire department or city hall. Not my job since I pay THEM to do a job.... so do YOUR JOB. Also I just called Metlife at 10:13 EST and the lady said, “give your best guess on these house questions” . Again that was from Metlife. I also asked her how do you people prove this is correct data? She said “we can’t due to manpower issues since it would cost too much. Sir it is only a guess & we rely on the customer”. I asked what happens when an 80 year old calls and then what. She said we still try to get the answers. So I then asked, “what do you do if they do not know, charge the most”. She then stated, “sir we try to get the answers”. They ask about wiring, roof etc but never about real things like, my FFL business in guns, etc. It is not a lie if you are guessing and they can’t prove it. You could be 100% wrong and they can’t say you lied since they stated “please guess best to your ability”. I am facing it and I do understand it and play by there rules, or lack there of. I answer to what they ask no more, no less and I am guessing. Also I would not bring this type of attitude into it since it is against LOC policy rules as posted and will be reported. I also asked her on the discounts on auto and home. She said I was at the best I can get. I then asked her if they give discounts for people going to school with good grades, Response “no” unless it is for drivers Edu. I then asked about what types of jobs make a higher auto rate, she said, “none since we do not ask what you do for a job since it changes to offen and we could have to go back and edit the forms and re-do the policy. It is too much time”.

1. It's not about whether you THINK you're a better driver or not. It's not even about whether you ARE a better driver or not. It's about what the risk is for you. And, yes, the risk is lower for a 29 year old than for an 18 year old with everything else being equal. So I am at a lower risk..prove it. The fact that you state everything else being equal is not realistic. But ha, I will take the discount since they apparently know all. 2. No one said that anything was 100% accurate. And, yes, if you have stupid teams, they'll get stupid results. But the insurance industry has thousands of companies competing for your business and each of them has thousands of actuaries running the numbers. Then you have the insurance commissions running the same numbers for verification. Then, you can look at the ACTUAL loss history versus the projected loss history and assigned premiums and they match pretty well. Actuarial science does a very good job of estimating risk. I have thousand competing for my business..are you sure? There are thousands of HIGH ones and few low ones. You summed it all up, projection (is a guess) and then “match pretty well”....Such wonderful ways of billing people. How nice. 3. What is your advisor's PhD in? Certainly not actuarial science. An Art History PhD isn't qualified to discuss it. Talk to someone with a degree in actuarial science. Can you fudge statistics? Probably - but not to the degree you're suggesting. To pretend that the entire insurance industry is based on false numbers is beyond absurd. I will not comment on the but it is not art history. Contracts for NASA and other goverment contracts. 4. It's a shame that your advisor says he didn't get any discount due to his degrees. Notice that I never claimed that he would. In fact, I specifically stated that doctors pay one of the highest insurance rates out there. Education is one of the factors considered - but not the only one and it can raise rates as well as lower them. You stated “If you're a good student, you're less likely to have accidents and” Then in an early post good grades get a discount. And where is my discount?? I will call METlife today and see how valid this post is. I can’t wait…. 5. Your analogy about 'no cars, no planes, etc' is another absurdity - presumably an attempt to hide the fact that you don't know what you're talking about. My comment was that you don't need to know every single detail about why a doctor has more accidents to recognize that they do, in fact, have more accidents and should therefore pay a higher premium. If you wish, you could stretch the analogy to say that you don't need to know all the intricacies of how free radical propogation contributes to flame speed in order to drive your car. Knowledge is obviously a good thing. My only point is that your lack of knowledge doesn't invalidate a fact. If I am paying for a doc I want to know. Why is a doc at high risk? So far my insurance does not care what I do for work. I never stated any facts just what I have gone through in my life and what my wife did working for them. I will call METlife today and see how valid this post is. I can’t wait…. 6. No one ever claimed that insurance was 100% efficient. No company is. Is there waste? Sure. That doesn't change the facts. If you look at the overhead, it's actually quite reasonable - compared to many other industries. quite reasonable??? not from what I have seen and the industry needs to get more streamlined here. I have seen the numbers when my wife worked there. Again outsource, bye bye, 7. Insurance companies are there to provide a service. They give you the terms of that service. If you violate the terms of the service (by having too many accidents, for example), then they have every right to cancel it. So I can be perfect for 20+ years and I get into 2 accidents in 6 month I am high risk? Factor in the 20+ years with your stats! Your suggestion that you should lie to the insurance company is not only incredibly unethical, it's also quite illegal. I would encourage you not to act on it-insurance companies are finally coming to their senses and cracking down on fraud. It is not unethical, nor quite illegal. When some moron from METLIFE asks me, how close is a fire hydrant to my home, I say you tell me and what is the closest I can have? I did not measure it with a tape! Then for a fact, she states, "Guess on the distance"!!!!!!!When some moron on the phone asks me, how old my electrical wiring is, you tell me what gives me the best discount? I say define old? How about roof age, you tell me? I state the date I bought it since I do not know. What is the best discount? Plumbing age? depends on what sections are in question. Since I am not a builder, electrician, inspector I am only GUESSING and they buy it. Again my policy is based on GUESSING BY ME. How nice! Since they can have million of teams on stats getting overpaid, why not get proper people to get real answers on what my home contains....maybe call the inspector that did my home...dah...wait, you know, insurance is just fine, don't change a thing.

It seems like you like insurance and so be it. If you like paying more because of where you live, age, etc..good It is called LEGAL crooks. So I could like 1 foot of some "fake" high theft city line from a low safe line and my insurance is 3X more because I am 1 foot (12”) over the line? Boy, that is fair. Or better yet I could be 29-years old and "think" I am a better driver then when I was 18-year old. Could be true could not be. I know for a fact that I have way more distractions now then before. But the insurance says I am safer since some person entered my info into a computer program...Boy, I feel safe and my discount proves it! Another example, an 18-year old guy pays more then a 22-year old person. Hmm, never mind that the 22 year old is over 21, get the hint; but, the 18 yo pays more…unreal. "You simply look at the stats - which is why insurance companies have whole teams of actuaries.".. Just because they have teams does not make them 100% correct either. My city I live in has team meetings and nothing comes out of it except when the budget is negative. I called my advisor (PHD) at school who contracts for many things including accidents since I needed to talk about upcoming class yet again. I told him what were talking about and he laughed. HE said when I come in for all bring any statistics/w data you want and 100 to 1 I can make them work in my favor. He also said I never got a discount for all his degrees. I told him you are getting screwed and need to watch a video. I have known him a long time and if there is a math way, he will find it. We both laughed. You stated, " Again, one doesn't need to understand WHY something is true. " If that were true, which it can’t be, there would be no cars, no space program, no airplanes. hence no math since we do not need to know what is true and false, even no computers etc....I like things that can be proven. I guess you like someone guessing and it costs you money in the end. Again stats are not facts. It is not 100%, could be very close but not 100%. You are paying for no deviation. All I will say is outsource the insurance companies, period. My wife worked for a major one in CT for over 8 years and she quit! I did go to work with her on some weekend’s if she needed to play catch up and boy, waste of money and it falls on the customers back. She showed me what she did and her department since she was the head super (king of nothing) and boy, no wonder insurance is high. I will not get into it, but when you have 3 people entering manual date into computers several times (for same outcome), translator problems, sending over 20K letters and no one checks address in the computer to make sure & over 3K letters come back (like last time), then figuring out where the people (3K) are and why…it goes on and on. Again their overhead budget affects your policy balance. They are there to help you all the time as they state. Oh, did I say only 1 claim every so many years or up to a certain limit since we don’t help you that much………….. To close do what you need to to save YOU the most money, not them. It is like house insurance. They call you at home and ask you questions on your home which affects your policy. Boy, what a way to run a business. Ask the customer if he wants to screw himself or not...hmmm, that is a hard question.

You are correct but at what price? Mine, yours etc. I agree with some but the school and the video is a total joke. I guess that is corporate America for ya. There profit goes up and so does our bills. Amazing. I can’t wait till they outsource the insurance business overseas or they go belly up. You can sign up to watch a movie, fall asleep and you get money back. How can you beat this? You can be good in school but suck at driving and get a discount. No wonder people want to come to America. So books in school mean better driving, I did not know that. To date after 4 insurance companies, Step 9 driver, 14 years no one has ever asked if I was good in school or did they care; but that is the wonderful state of Mass. But the new kid trying to do good and is a very diligent in driving gets, well, screwed…nice. Yes it is “subsidizing bad drivers “ but on “there” backs for no reason. Based on where people live, drive, car etc. If that is not a scam I do not know what is. Again after taking math classes this is guessing, not proof. Statistics are not 100% but the insurance people bill you as such. I should stay statistical the check is in the mail and let the CS rep figure that out. Police should get lower since they go through more training them the average person. A nurse gets a low rate, so what does a understaker get, FREE insurance? God, I hate insurance people.

BINGO! Guess a lot of people are still scared about oil changes.....We can put a man on the moon back in the 60's but we still do 1960 oil changes....ummmm Do what makes you happy that is all that matter....just keep ths "slips" to prove you were happy :D :D :D This gets WAY to serious here....

I think it is a good debate or FYI on insurance.......Makes work time go by.....

You don't have to be concerned about "what ifs" like that because oil gelling will not occur if the oil is changed at least every 5000 miles or 6 months. There isn't a single owner report of gelling on this forum or any other the other 10 Toyota forums I monitor when the owner changed the oil every 3000-5000 miles and owned the car since it was new. There have been a couple bogus reports - owners who claimed they changed the oil on time and still got gelling, but these same owners went and hid in the closet when asked to post photos of their oil change receipts. Could be right but that is not spelled out in the Lexus Gelling Documents (Letters) or in their (your) car manual. Mine do not even give a milage to adhere to, to prevent anything....Nevermind that 3K is 60% less then what Lexus reccomands in their manuals...if that means anything. Again do what makes gives you are a "warm and fuzzy". Outof 3.3 million cars only around 3,300 have had the problem so far. That is less the 1% of cars are/were effected.

Been here........... done that. Some say you need slips (receipts) for "some oi and filter items" you purchesed at a "store", some say slips from the recycle station because you brought some "fluid" to get recycled. Some say you must bring it in to dealer...The list goes on and on... To close see my website since I have yet to find out what you the cusomter needs from Lexus in the form of Legal Binding Documents ...It is in the Bermuda Triangle or with Santa Clause. :D

My point here is lets say some person X is accident-prone. While these are not there faults at all, as noted on police reports. Why should that person insurance go up when they are not there fault? Again I do not go by statistics since I have taken class on how to basically make the results in your favor. To easy to lie on them. As you stated, “ Have an accident, speed, get caught driving drunk, have a criminal conviction, etc. That's just the way insurance works (and the way it's supposed to work).” I disagree since why should something someone did, criminal conviction for example, 25 years ago affect there driving record now? It is nothing more then money-maker. Never-mind home owners insurance. That is even worse. So you could have a straight A student and get a discount when the person sucks as a driver? The head of my high school class was straight A’s but was on heroin also (spent 4 years in lockup for it), so I guess he should get a discount??? hmmmm…….Also I never knew grades (education) correlates to driving habits at all. I am not trying to start an insurance war but watching a video gives some a “warm and fuzzy feeling” and I guess some discounts are given; but this should not be awards a discount. Do cops, fire fighters, professional driver get one, nope on the cops? My father is a Ma state cop and get gets zero for that. I guess they should watch a video.

yes sir..very easy. If you have never done it just do some "homework" online and it is not hard at all. Just need a jack, jack stands, I think like 12 or 14 mm for caliper and like 7/8 for lug nuts. I am not 100% of the sockets so do not "take it to the bank". Also make sure they are 6-pt sockets, 1/2" drive for caliper and you will need a 3/4 drive for lug nut drive. It is very easy so do not worry. Oh, also need a clamp to push piston back and something to hold calpier up so it does not put tention on brake lines. Also remember to losen the brake fluid cap on the res so you can push the piston back... And some anti-seeze type compund for rotor mater surface and lug nuts. Makes it much easier to remove down the road and then re-torque to the specified torque (I do 74) on the snapper wrench (snap-on)...in proper pattern.

My lx 5.0 mustang had them warp after 10K miles and my wifes ML420 had the same thing afer 18K miles.....never buy again.Maybe the new drilled and slotted are better. Ok, we are taking pads and rotors right? The rotors for my 98 ES300 are $77 E and change from my buddies garage (retail) . Pads are like $40 E and change (retail) . My in-laws are about the same in CT. Wholesale is about 30 to 35% off....$500+ dollars..what am I missing????...These are not even drums here. Even I can do rotors and pads. Just take your time and do it yourself.plus save 200+ dollars...

I would never buy Brembo. I have in the past (not drilled or slotted) and they are poor quality. Typical dealer..... Two hours for brakes, what a joke. You can do it within an hour and that is including "2 cold ones".

That depends. I've been insured with State Farm for close to 30 years - as has the rest of my family. We've NEVER had a problem getting prompt payment. To top it off, the last time I checked, we were even paying 10% less than I'd be paying GEICO for the same coverage. Depends on what promptly payments means. I use Metlife and it would take about 1.25 to 2 weeks plus the dreaded car rental etc. That is not prompt in my eyes but maybe for some. My parents have a local guy and have payment within 2 – 3 days from walking in their door and about 20 minutes less on the phone selecting 1 for english, 2 for spanish, 3 for home, 4 if you are on fire etc. Now that is prompt service. Plus they get the same person and you can understand them. I do not have State Farm but have heard good things. Sometimes large has advantages and sometimes not. Also sometimes the RMV’s has separate line for these larger companies since it takes longer to do things. Only seen this in CT so far. Oh, the anti-theft alarms etc are a joke, but if it saves you money get them. If they want the car they will take it. As I noted many companies supply you with a % off when you add your home, motorcycles and even tractors. So also ask them about these. Lastly, the only problem with insurance adjusters is sometimes their payment changes like the wind. Plus it depends on what shop you are at and if they know the person working there etc. I have a friend in the auto shop business and my in-laws own garages and the stores about insurance is great to listen too. Insurance companies primary job is to make money and you come second. Nevermind too many claims will get you kicked off their company or a higher rate