Just wondering, do you people with older ESs still take your car to the dealer for rountine maintenance?

My car has been dealer serviced since it was new 10 years ago, but for the last few years it seems as if the service department does not care about doing a quality job on my car anymore. I talked to some others with older ES/LS/SC cars and they said the same. I've started taking my car to an independant Toyota specialist now, and the service is much better.

 

I've had my '96 ES ever since it was new 6 years ago. Actually, my mom primarily drove and kept the car for the first 4 years. I don't believe she ever took the car out for one maintenance check-up. So when the car finally fell into my hands, I knew right then that it needed some tuning up. Obviously, the 60k appt was missed when I got to around 90k last year, so I ended up combining both the 60k and 90k tune-ups at the dealership. Man, it was definitely a wallet-buster, about $2,200 in parts and labor, which of course included changing the essential timing belt. From my experience, the dealership was very nice to all L's, both old and new, and the service people there would go beyond the call of duty to make sure the customer is content with his/her needs (e.g. showing and explaining problems in front of customers' cars). Honestly, I think it's very hard to find that kind of customer satisfaction these days.

As a side note, after the 90k maintenance, the dealership ensured me that the car would last well past 150k. Right now, I'm nearing 118k and still runs great

 

I wouldnt take my 96 to the dealer if my life depended on it. I dont feel like trying to get sold on a newer model by the sales personel......Basically your getting ripped off having lexus do ANY work...Dont bother..

 

My dad takes the car to the dealer because I am too young to check out a loaner (he does it for me ).

It's a 95, serviced by the dealer since DAY 1. Nearly flawless mechanical condition. Dealer is costly but they know the car best. Free paint touchups, wash, coffee/snacks, loaners, organized/scheduled maintaince...can't beat it.

That' the part about owning any luxury car whether...Lexus...BMW...Mercedes....Rolls...Audi...Acura. The car may be expensive, but so is everything else that goes along with it.


---the one time i took the car to the dealer myself, the salesperson, low 20's in age, a really cool guy. He complimented the car, said he was happy to see someone modding an ES. He gave me some tips and hooked me up with some people he knows in the bodywork/rims area. Great experience.

 

For that amount of money, they should be nice to you.

 

wrote by blux:
I wouldnt take my 96 to the dealer if my life depended on it. I dont feel like trying to get sold on a newer model by the sales personel......Basically your getting ripped off having lexus do ANY work...Dont bother..



I understand what you are going through and I think you need to give Lexus another chance

 

dealer is good to me, mostly. i don't like that i cant get a loaner cause of my age, but they still come pick me up and drop me off, they just dont leave the car with me....

 

i don't mind taking it to the dealer, but only for the more MAJOR problems. like bodywork, fluid flushes, air filter changes, oil change, oik filter changes, tire balancing and rotation, etc. the not TOO major problems i take to other places, but the more major problems like the now appearing burning oil smell, engine mounts dying, etc. i take to the dealer because they know the car best. i have a feeling the dealer has always been treating my family pretty well since we have3 Lexus' under one name. so everytime we go there, they ask for the name, and when it's pulled up, 3 lexus' shows up. so i think they take that in as well.

 

Just out of curiosity, what is the minimum age to take out a Lexus loaner?

 

25

 

25? Are you sure? I thought it was 18. Hell, they gave me a loaner and I'm 18.


Edit: Maybe b/c my dad was w/ me they gave me the loaner? They knew I was going to drive it though, since it was my car being serviced.

Also, what's the minimum age for test driving? The same dealer let me test drive some cars when I was still 17.....

 

I'm 16, can I test drive a car if I tell the salesman I'm interested in buying it?

 

no, the age is at least 21, if not 25. the dealer told me that they can not allow my dad to get a car for me either. you also have to be 25 just to go rent a car somewhere.... i have got away with it, because they know my dad, and they thought they were bringing the car to him. but when they got there, i got the keys, ha ha. but they are not allowed to let anyone under 25 drive the loaners, for insurance reasons... as long as you have a licence you can test drive a car just fine. or even a permit, but you have to have your parents with you if you are under 18... i test drove a few cars when i still had my permit..

oh and nabeel, i think they must have not known that you were going to drive it. your dad bought the car right? not you... so the car is in his name, so they may have thought he would be using it to drive you around or something. not just you having control of the car..

 

My dad bought the car when it was new 10 years ago....at that time I was eight years old, lol. Eventually I got the car many years later. Guys at the dealership know its my car now, hell they even watched me drive off in the loaner, my dad had come there separately in his car to give me a ride in case they did not give me a loaner. Maybe they were just trying to be friendly w/ my dad there, after all we did purchase the car there new, and the car had been serviced there all its life. Perhaps the age in which they give loaner cars is the individual dealer's discretion. Its likewise with renting a car, some places rent to 18 year olds, some only to 21+. Never heard of a place around here renting to only 25+. Also, I was able to test drive the cars without my parents at 17. My dealer seems to be quite lenient. They better be, because the bastards have charged so much for service the last 10 years!

 

damn, the must just me more strict there. my dad has bought 9 or 10 cars from our dealer, new. but they don't let me drive any loaners. except that once when they didn't know. but then again, i've never tried to get one with my dad there either, only by myself i've tried. i guess you can test drive cars as long as you have a licence, not til 18 like i said. that would make more sense.