Notabot10

I called the dealer and asked for spark plugs and brake oil change for my 2016 IS300 and they quoted me $900 plus tax. Is this what I should expect to pay? They told me if i want to include other things in the 60k mile service is going to be $1,500 plus. First time I'm doing this service so want to get options. I usually change the oil myself but spark plugs seems to be more complicated and i dont wanna mess up anything.

arentz07

Spark plugs + brake fluid should not run you that much. Spark plugs themselves will likely be less than $15 apiece, so you should be able to get the parts for under $100 (excluding shipping). Brake fluid is cheap - I picked some Liqui Moly fluid up for $5 per 500 mL. So, $10 for the fluid total, on most cars.

But yeah let's just say that, on my GTI, I got all the above done, and more (new front rotors and pads, and a differential fluid change), for less than $900. I know the GTI has only four spark plugs to worry about, but other than that, I can't imagine it being that different. Brake fluid is pretty much universal, and spark plugs themselves don't vary too wildly in price if you are sticking to OE quality.

doodlebug

Find a reputable independent shop and have them do it.
I paid $800 for the 60K service (brake flush, rear diff fluid change & spark plugs) and this included an oil change (always expensive) because I don't change my own oil.

Notabot10

How many miles you have ?

Jazzrock

Seconded. Don't go to the dealer unless it's for warranty work.

NickCaesar

I have a 350. 95,000 km (about 60k mikes)

It’s a Rip off. Dealer charges book time which comically claims its 2.8 hours or so of labor just for spark plugs which I timed my mechanic doing in 47 minutes including hoisting car up and down, clean up and test drive.

Factory spark plugs in Canada were 25$ each from dealer plus about 100$ for labor from my independent mechanic. My understanding is they are about half that cost in the USA.

i paid $80 in labor to have front and rear diff fluid changed and about $60 for the Amsoil gear oil I bought. From an independent mechanic.

i pay about $40 for a premium synthetic oil on sale (Canada’s expensive) + 7$ for factory oil filter and $20 labor from an independent mechanic.
so about $70 for an oil change.

brake fluid I paid my independent mechanic about 80$ labor and about $10 for the brake fluid.

That’s under $600.
If it was a little Japanese man with 50 years experience on Toyota’s being flown in from overseas and he was doing the labor on my car then ok, I get the price...BUT
it’s some young dirt ball fresh off a cigarette break doing those jobs on your car (for the most part) and that warrants a $150 hourly rate??
Sadly dealerships are not regulated and they are allowed to defraud people with conduct like this. Charging people the highest labor rates in the country, then also charging book time and not factual time can not be justified. that simply does not make sense and should be illegal. I don’t get how charging someone 3 hours labor on a 1 hour job is not illegal.

You can get an independent to do everything they are for half.

swaangin

That's a potential down payment on a new Toyota Corolla / Honda Civic

Notabot10

Thanks for the comments. Yea I will definitely then go to a third party for this repairs. My initial concern was that if anything happens then the dealer can be made responsible for. For example if they messed up something while removing the engine and then the car has problems i can go back to them and make them responsible. Thoughts on that ?

babaijebu

Look up mechanics that mostly handles imported cars. You can probably find recommended mechanics around you from old posts on here. I found my current mechanic from recommendations on this site.

s3v3n

iTrader: (3)

Provided you have all the tools needed. If you DIY both of them, it will just cost you $200.

Spark plugs you can honestly DIY - you can easily get the tools needed from a local auto store.

Oil change is easy but since you have to jack the car up, I'd rather have a local shop do it - will probably cost you $100 (including oil and filter).

swaangin

There are some dealerships who do shoddy work (Lexus of Edison) and there are some excellent dealers (Lexus of Freehold). When you find a third party mechanic, try to find their Google reviews and sort it out for the negatives to have a worst case scenario. This car isn't that technologically advanced so it's not much different for mechanics working on something like a Camry.. the parts are just more expensive because "Lexus"

athanato

the only time you go to the stealership when when you get warranty work done or they are the only source for a part. their quote is beyond insane.

nallis

As stated before, you ONLY go to the dealership for warranty work or work on leased vehicles. Otherwise, you man up, learn a few basics and do it yourself or find an independent and reputable mech to do the work at a 1/3 the price. Almost every single maintenance item I do myself and in my garage. I stopped doing oil changes this year because it's incredibly cheap labor. I simply buy my own oil and filter and my mech does it in minutes. So cheap and quick it is that often he just says buy me non-alcoholic drink at the corner store and we call it even. He builds JDM cars for a living. So it's whatever to him.

Also, another reason you contact the dealer is to get a quote. That way you have an idea of how much they were willing to rob from you and go from there. Doesn't hurt also to get a quote from 2 deslerships depending on the level of work. Heck! You could even ask the Toyota dealership for a quote. At the end of the day, it's a higher priced Toyota. So who cares!

NickCaesar

Also always get part numbers and call both Lexus and Toyota dealers to compare...
I did my serpentine belt last week....Lexus dealer quoted 1 hour labor ($150) plus 95$ for the belt... I called a Toyota dealership got the belt for $60 and paid my mechanic $40 to do the labor.
There are also tons of online retailers that sell genuine Toyota/Lexus parts for cheap.

in Canada, or my city at least Toyota won’t work on Lexus vehicles...I believe in USA it’s different. Always do ur research, always get multiple quotes. Dealer really is for warranty work or very rare certain jobs. Doing spark plugs, belts, fluid changes etc there is a rip off, don’t throw your hard earned money away.

nallis

Yep!

Here in the states, the Toyota dealer tries to work on any freaking thing you bring to them. My good friend is a mech at Toyota. He sends me videos every week of all sort of cool cars that pull up for some sort of service. Just sent me a video of Demon they are doing some minor servicing on and last week it was RCF.