calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

I won't enter the DIY vs. dealer debate here, because I don't think that's what this thread is about. It's about whether $800 is a good price for the work. There's a cost element to time and materials needed to DIY and there's a benefit to having the assurance that a dealership performed the work, whether it's assurance for you or assurance in the fact that you have work on the service history noted as performed at the dealer, which is always a good sign to potential buyers. These costs/benefits are less tangible and people can attribute their own value to them. Some people value dollars spent above all else and will DIY even if it takes a long time to learn how to do and acquire materials if it means they'll save dollars. Some people attribute a high value to the convenience of having a dealership do it. We shouldn't judge people based on the value they attribute to these intangibles.

Back to the topic at hand. I don't think $800 is crazy as far as dealership prices go. However I would recommend shopping around for more prices, especially from some independent shops. As far as car maintenance/repairs go, brakes are about the most common and straightforward thing after oil changes, so you should be able to find a bit more reasonable pricing. As far as wanting to have it done at a dealership so that it's noted as such on your service history, I think repair/recall/TSIB work is much more important to have done at a dealer as far as maintaining an attractive service history to potential buyers. I don't think regular maintenance items like brakes and oil changes are as important to have performed at a dealer in the eyes of potential buyers.

Implicitly you're arguing that having this work done at a dealership could potentially be more appealing to potential buyers, which would mean a higher sale price. But how much more in sale price would you expect from having a brake job done at a dealer? I personally wouldn't pay $200 more for a car that had a brake job done at a dealer vs a car that had its brakes done at an independent shop. Where that comes into play more for me is bigger repair/TSIB-type work.

Lastly, in my experience everywhere that does brakes will offer some form of warranty on their work, so I wouldn't use that as a differentiator.

aLexGS350

iTrader: (5)

Ya i say buy the part from swell and find someone to do it for you for cheaper. or DIY

Pnthrzrule

A few reasons that I get some work done at dealer.

1. If something goes wrong with a repair I would much rather discuss it with Lexus than ANY other dealer or independent shop. Lexus has the leverage to just say..."well we screwed up so we will just replace it no questions asked." While another smaller shop may suffer financially if they needed to fix an error...or they may not be willing to listen becaue you are just a dime a dozen customer in their eyes. Lexus has a rep to uphold and they don't want folks walking away unhappy.

2. Maybe...just maybe... there are some special considerations on certain repairs...even the simple ones. I would much rather have a Lexus tech do something safety related...(i.e. brakes) because they probably know the cars better than any other dealer or smaller shop (unless of course they specialize in Lexus models).

3. Lexus will probably take better care of my finish and interior than another dealer or smalltown shop because they understand you bought a luxury car to keep it a luxury car. They take special care not to ruin your vehicle when they are working on it...for the most part at least!

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

I actually would argue the exact opposite way. I have found dealers to be much more willing to treat customers as "dime a dozen" than independent shops, because dealers are usually much larger than independent shops in every single measure, including size of customer base. And dealers aren't the only ones with reputations to uphold. In fact, it's much more important for an independent shop to maintain its reputation. This is because when you open up a Lexus dealership, immediately you're blessed with the name, brand equity, and reputation that "Lexus" as a brand affords. You immediately have a certain reputation that's been built-up over the years by Lexus as a company and it's dealership network. There are always going to be people who see "Lexus dealer" and trust that, so they come to you. But when you open up "Joe's Auto Shop", you don't have a single shred of reputation. You have to start from the ground up to build a customer base and then, and most importantly, you have to serve those customers well so that they keep coming back and they refer you to others.

In addition, this whole question is moot if you check with the repair shop/dealer's warranty policy ahead of time. If both a dealer and an independent shop offer a 1 year warranty on their work and you have a problem with a repair, both should respond in exactly the same way - by fixing it. If either does not conform to their own policy, you have recourse both legal and otherwise.

Just because a person is a Lexus tech doesn't mean he or she has special or added knowledge about how to perform routine maintenance items. They very well could have more knowledge of Lexus-specific parts, quirks of Lexus models, common issues on Lexus models and their recommended fixes, etc, but with things like oil changes and brake work, there's virtually no specialized knowledge necessary. You can look up on CL the DIY threads for oil changes and brake work - there's nothing unique or special because it's a Lexus vs. any other manufacturer. Sure a reservoir or clamp might be in a slightly different place, but general auto service techs at independent shops know this and know what to look for.

Knowing a Lexus inside and out doesn't mean that you'll perform an oil change or a brake pad change on a Lexus any better than a person who knows a different kind of car or more kinds of car but in less detail.

Like I said above, independent shops have a much more salient need to maintain their reputations than dealerships, so I don't think this holds at all. If an independent shop started roughing up interiors and scratching paint, that would get around the community and would get written up on Yelp and Google Reviews and you can bet that shop would see its business decline.

b4k4kun

If you did a DIY, or independent shop.. Can you update your info on the lexusdrivers.com website and have that as your car's history report?

Aside from that, I'm with calvin on the convenience and lexus rep vs expense scale. I personally enjoy the convenience of the smaller shops' proximity to me, but they do give loaners at the dealership when you have other things to do...

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

That's another good point. Some people value the loaner service dealers offer while some prefer to wait for their cars, and they might value things like coffee, snacks, TVs in the waiting room, etc.

I'm curious about the above as well. Can only dealers update the service history report you get from Lexus.com or can independent shop work be reported as well? I would imagine your own DIY work cannot be added, since that would open it up to people lying ad nauseum and would make the history reports worthless, but I don't know whether the service history report Lexus offers is dealer-specific or not.

mong

iTrader: (4)

$800.. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sus...g-caliper.html

FYI.. I don't trust anyone to do work on my car. Case in point, my bro took his 2011' 4runner to get his free oil change(Toyota care program) yesterday and they didnt' even change his oil! all they did was tires rotation. He left his car there for 5 hrs. On the paper it put oil/filter changed but when my bro checked the oil.. what do you know.. it was still BLACK! they tried to lie and say they sent the wrong information to the mech. Instead of sending him 10k service, they sent him to do a 5k service. So my brother is at the dealer AGAIN. This time he get to watch them change his oil lol. I'm just saying..
This was at Claremont Toyota btw.

robertrios

iTrader: (11)

Well what ended up happening is I showed them the sewell price on rotors and brakes and they worked the price down a little (not alot) im not gonna have much time to do the work myself and they are providing me a loaner for 2 (maybe 3 days according to my tech) not just for the brake job but because they are also switching out my AUX port, doing the fuel sensor recall, and fixing something that has to do with a metal clanking noise when I start my car (not sure what it is but they had to re-create it). So I have a 2011 ES350 that Im going to use to go get all the soil and mulch I need for my home imporvement projects! LOL I kinda just decided to throw my service tech a bone this time since she was actually trying to get me a better deal and she has always been straight up with me (she even tried to get my front brakes free under the brake dust service bulliten).

Did I get ripped off...yea most likely but I need the loaner and its convenient. Next time im doing it on my own and ill be doing them on my SC430 as well (upgrading to Supra Rotors/calipers). If the car wasnt already there then I would have not done it there it was one of those types of things. Plus I have in my experience had no hassels with any repairs or warranty work with my cars at Lexus of Tampa Bay, all ive had to do is point something out and they have jumped to make it right.

509IS350

iTrader: (5)

What u should of done was buy the parts front sewell than ask them to install the stuff while they r gonna do the recalls. It would of been cheaper. I know Toyota does it cheaper that way.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

I haven't found this to be the case except when there's overlap in the jobs. For example, most dealers will give you a discount on spark plug replacement if you have it done at the same time as the fuel pressure sensor recall, because the recall requires the same pre-work and removal of parts as the spark plug replacement. If you're having them do an engine-related recall, they're not likely to give you a discount on doing brake work at the same time since they're totally unrelated and there's no overlap and therefore no time savings.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Found the answer by looking at my service history sheet from Lexus. It says at the top in bold letters:

"The Service History displayed contains only service information reported to Lexus by Lexus dealers. It does not contain any other information regarding any other service that may have been performed on the vehicle."

IOWNALEXUS

iTrader: (14)

Sounds to me like the standard dealer "upsell" to customers that dont know any better... I just did my brakes myself about 3 weeks ago... I ordered oem pads from toyota which were about $50 a set F&R, im still running the stock rotors on my car with 150k mi on it..... Id bet my paycheck u didnt need rotors but dealers love to make u spend money on parts u dont need to boost the mechanics hours in the shop that week (flat rate ftl) all in all u got raped but if it makes you feel warm and fuzzy at night because "Lexus" did it, but what if lexus is really a crazy glue sniffer... Next thing u know ur daughter is knocked up.....
I can take a crap in a box and put a guarentee on it but at the end of the day its just a guarenteed piece of crap... (tommy boy)

MashinA

iTrader: (20)

I got 4 is350 calipers 4 new drilled and slotted rotors, oem low dust pads and I had the calipers powder coated for a lil over $800

Rikg35

LOL! hell naw... do it yourself!! they gonna break you down like a shotgun.

chi123

iTrader: (12)

Local Pepboy's store offered to do all my brake pads for $295 when I brought my car in for their free brake inspection. It's best to do it yourself, I plan to change my own brakes. Stoptech or R1 Concepts Slotted/Drilled Rotors with pads are under $650 on eBay. All the brakes and rotors take under 2 hours to change out.