HPLouis

Here's my car:


And here's the wife's:

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

Looks good. I have a AWD and have a vibration under acceleration around certain speeds some with AWD reported is related to the transmission. I just dropped my car off to have the tranny fluid changed and it runs about $230 for the service with BG oil. I guess theres a huge difference in service costs between there and here. The diff oil they charge around $150 per axel I believe, but I will probably just do that myself.

HPLouis

I think I'm gonna finally buckle down and get these https://www.quickjack.com/

They would have paid for themselves with my recent services. I still have the Mustang and wife's car so it'll be a good investment either way. I already have tools and garage space so I need to stop being lazy. I wouldn't do the tranny, coolant or brake fluid flushes, but I could do the diff, oil change, air and cabin filters, PCV, spark plugs, tire rotations, wiper blades and brakes and rotors. It is more expensive over here so it's time to save some money and do it myself. Also, from what I've been reading, it's easier to work on these cars than BMW's

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

Yeah I had actually been looking at those too. Do you think they are fully safe? I have a phobia of getting under cars, looks like a good portable option just wonder if its as safe as a full lift.

UDel

Floor jacks or jack stands are a great investment, I got jackstands at Harbor Freight for about $16 on sale and have used them so many times for oil changes, tranny changes, tire rotations, brake jobs, etc. I have saved so much money with DIY. Only thing I did at the dealership in the past 7 or 8 years was the timing belt change which I did not want to tackle myself. You can do tranny drain and fills pretty easily, just drain into a clear jug and then just put the same exact amount back in. Coolant and brake flushes are not too hard but you rarely need to do them.

I did want a 5 series over my 2nd gen GS but BMW owners talked me out of a BMW if I wanted a reliable inexpensive to maintain daily driver.

HPLouis

I still love the 5 and even the 6 Gran Coupes but I can't deal with the maintenance and the expense and frequency of them. I can't recommend them unless you plan on leasing them only or, buying them as CPO and selling them before the warranty runs out. It's a risk to have one outside of warranty.

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

Agreed, just came from one to the GS.

bclexus

Your '13 GS 350 did not need the coolant, transmission and differential fluids replaced. It's not even recommended! It was a total waste of money. The car was obviously driven on the highway a good portion of the time with 58k miles on the odometer. If it makes you feel better, then that's an entirely different reason, but it was not needed.

Replacing the spark plugs at 60k miles is required under the terms of the Emission Control Warranty. The Iridium spark plugs will last over 200k miles with no diminish in fuel mileage or performance. Therefore, if you are not concerned with voiding the Emission Control Warranty, then there is no need to replace the spark plugs.

Will you really still own the car at 100k miles? Will you still own the car at 200k miles? Chances are - no, you won't! So, why waste your money 'as if' you will?

HPLouis

I definitely will. For the BMW's, I actually planned on keeping the cars for as long as possible. It's just that the newer BMW's aren't built that way. If there's one thing I hate is car payments. Whenever I pay off a car, it's like a got a raise. I can't tell you how great it felt to have an extra $600 or more dollars a month in my pocket. I fell rich!!! My wife's second car is a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder. She bought it new back in 2006. When we paid that car off in 2010, we were celebrating. We still have it and it's going strong. Regular coolant, differential, tranny flushes, etc. The cars are parked in driveways, we wash them every weekend, and they are all running strong. We even have the payoff dates for the Lexus' marked off on our calendar. We'll be celebrating that day.

My car before the BMW was a Pontiac Grand Am. It had over 200,000 miles (the odometer died at 198,XXX) and I drove it until it collapsed in my driveway. My parents have 2001 Saturn and a Honda Minivan, both with over 150,000 miles. My brother's Nissan has over 175,000 miles.

In my family, we hate car payments.

bclexus

Whatever makes you happy with the excessive maintenance.

I always pay cash for vehicles.

HPLouis

smart move

HPLouis

It can't hurt. Who knows, I might be able to squeeze out an extra couple of miles because of it. I won't know until 2035 or so when it's time to get rid of the car.

Longevite1

Since it is a used car, and nothing wrong to get all the maintenance taken care, even though little early, nobody know what previous owner did to the car.
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HPLouis

Exactly. Look at the below:

There is no 30K mile service. Only oil changes and one engine filter at 40K miles. Also, see the last service on 7/18/16 at 41K miles? I bought the car on 7/27/17, a year later, and 17,000 miles after. There is no service records for a year and all those miles? The prior owner was going to the dealer every few months and then just stopped? How do I know if the prior owner just stopped caring and drove the car without service? He/she might have said, "so what's it's a lease and I'm returning it" and just drove the hell out of it. They were doing 6,000 mile services until then.

That's another reason why I went to the dealer for the first service. I've never had a Lexus before (I don't really count the wife's car since it's hers and she has the maintenance plan). I can do simple things like brakes, oil changes, etc. but checking CV boots, AWD axles, etc. that's outside of my comfort zone and I'd rather let the experts (at least they should be) check the car out, fix any problems, and then give me the clean bill of health.

In my mind, it's better safe than sorry. I've never heard of a car failing due to excessive maintenance, but I've heard of stories of cars failing due to lack of maintenance.

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

Ditto, not having payments sure is nice.