raytseng

yep, completely agre with you sw10es. My only 2cents was that occasional service will also net you goodwill as being exclusive with the dealer.

ECL

Because of the different tire sizes on the front and rear, Lexus does not recommend tire rotation on the F-Sport. I use an independent shop, all mechanics Lexus certified, that charges about half what the dealer does.

SW17LS

This is correct, but I don't have an F-Sport.

Sounds similar to my shop, he was a Lexus master tech for 16 years.

e39ng

For all my previous cars and this one too, I did myself the oil change and then go to the dealer for the 30K and 60K service etc...This way at least I could have a thorough check up and keep my dealer happy.

Vasili

It's more than that. They top off all fluids, check the brakes, rotate the tires and other stuff that an independent mechanic wouldn't be obligated to do, because an independent doesn't give a crap about my warranty. Hopefully, the dealership does.


Again, it's more than visual inspection, but you're right it doesn't include an oil change.

Absolutely. An independent service cost would not include some of the Lexus service that we have known to love and respect.

Considering the fact that some people are paying $240, the $120 cost is pretty reasonable.

bob4256

iTrader: (17)

You have a good point sir

If you decide to take your car to independent shops, most of them offer these visual inspections and topping off the fluids as well.

You can even do these things yourself: topping off fluids and checking your brakes. Theyre not hard to do

Tire rotation should be done as needed and still isnt worth the "premium price" that Lexus charges. You can even go to a Toyota dealer and get everything done cheaper

Outrage

I'd prefer to have my vehicle serviced where the entire staff has worked on over 50 2013 Lexus GS 350 similar to mine, as you would find at a dealership. An independent shop will often "make due" with what manuals or tools they have available. There are some vehicle-specific techniques and tools out there. Will an independent shop invest in these things if they are only working on one 2013 Lexus GS 350? It is unlikely.

bob4256

iTrader: (17)

You make it sound like the GS is a rare car that requires super special tools for an oil change or tire rotation lol

The point Im trying to make is that you can do some of the simple maintenance yourself. I cant speak for everyone, but it makes me feel good when I do simple stuff like this. Plus I get to save some money while doing it

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

True and there's no guarantee you'll get a great mechanic just because it's Lexus.Most likely an A mechanic isn't going to do a 15K service.The lower grade mechanic will do that in most dealerships.

Bill_GS3

In my dealer all the techs do everything. We never found it to be benificial to have graded technicians, one calls out you can be in a bad spot.

SW17LS

It depends on the independent shop. You have to look around, get referrals and find a really good one. Mine does everything included on the Lexus "inspections" for free with any service simply as a courtesy.

My independent even changes the battery in my key as per the Lexus service schedule.

There is nothing special about a 2013 GS350. In any event, what are they going to be doing in the first 50k miles? Changing the oil? Rotating the tires? Replacing the cabin air filter? Topping off fluids? Maybe replacing brake pads? I mean...anybody can do those things DIY with simply basic tools, and certainly any certified mechanic can. Its a mainstream, mass produced Lexus, not a one off custom roadster. Anything needing more specific knowledge is going to go back to the dealer as warranty work. It may make you feel special to think that its some special car and that it requires "special tools" but its not. You could have the thing serviced at an Exxon station...you can service it yourself with no training in your own driveway. There are no "GS specific" tools. To me thats one of the beautiful things about a Lexus vs an Audi or Mercedes or BMW, because they do have some specific type things, a Lexus does not.

When the car gets older and needs to be diagnosed, I have found that independents are better at that than Lexus dealers because they see more older cars where the Lexus dealer does mostly scheduled maintenance on new or newer cars. Lexus dealers have a "replace first, and keep replacing until it solves the problem" mentality which is fine when Lexus is footing the bill for warranty work, but when you are paying that coupled with the high labor rate and huge markup on parts means huge cost to you. For instance my old 2003 ES needed new lower control arms. Lexus dealer? $3,500. My independent? $1,200....all original parts done by a 16 year Lexus master tech. How can you not recognize that savings, especially on a vehicle with 145,000 miles?

There's no logical reason to use the dealer. If it makes you feel better to, or you enjoy using the dealer, or its more convenient go for it, but don't try and rationalize it and insinuate that those of us who don't are somehow doing our vehicles a disservice. You are paying a premium for an experience at the dealer, nothing more.

bob4256

iTrader: (17)

You said it much better than I did lol

If you really want to have your car to be "serviced" at a dealer, at least go to Toyota.

LexFather

And you make good points, and the member that said take the car in for major service and so the small ones yourself is onto something, that is good advice.

Independent dealers are hit or miss in my book and I honestly rarely see the value, in my experience. No joke I used to take my wife's old Nissan Altima (before she was converted ) to Hennessy Lexus of Gwinnett as they started to work on other brands. Well the Nissan price was actually HIGHER than their price and if you saw that Nissan dealership, you would cry

I used to be a huge DIY guy, I have a few write-ups here on basic things but I guess my priorities changed and I'd rather just pay to have it done.

I remember visiting Longo Lexus in Cali, this huge dealership and they actually offer tow trucks and will pick up customer cars, do the service, and tow the car back. That to me is luxury and making life a bit easier.

Finally maybe I just got tired of breaking/losing all those small plastic clips , it takes like an hour just to take off the underbody

SW17LS

Eh, I've used Toyota dealers both for the Lexus and for our old Prius and I personally think the independent is cheaper, and does a much better job. I really think the decision here is between Lexus dealer and independent...you don't get that huge a savings at Toyota vs Lexus either.

I assume you mean independent mechanics? You have to find the right one. Once you do, its a beautiful thing. I can call up my guy and just ask him a question, and I get him, the master tech and owner, not some service advisor who isn't a tech. He knows me, he knows my cars, and he knows what I want him to just do, what I want him to ask me about first. I don't have to worry about him f@ucking up my wheels when he rotates or balances them, I don't have to worry about him running my cars into anything, or swirling them up by washing them when I say not to. I can take a car to him and trust him that if he tells me it needs brakes, it needs brakes its not just that the guidelines say replace the brakes here. I refer him to people I know both professionally and personally and that reflects back beautifully on me. Its a very valuable relationship IMHO.

All that stuff is cool, but you pay a huge premium for it, and thats the "experience" I'm talking about. I can stop by my independent mechanic, give him the car, walk down the street and have lunch, come back 45 minutes later and its done, at 25%-40% the cost of the dealer. The dealer would put me in a loaner, but they would need all day to get it done and it would cost me a ton more.

Outrage

One could argue some are trying to rationalize their desire to save a few bucks servicing their $60,000 vehicles at the cheapest service shop they can find.

If an independent service shop does a lousy job repairing your vehicle, they lose one customer, big deal. If a dealership service shop does a lousy job repairing your vehicle, they lose one customer, lose a future potential sale, and may have issues with the vehicle manufacturer. That's a bigger deal. When the stakes are higher, performance is typically improved.

Experience working on a specific vehicle is a valuable skill. If this weren't the case, why would some independent service shops specialize in certain vehicle types?