Jcp90ls400

Just bought my 2004 LS 430 yesterday. She has 65K miles on her.

Brought her to Lexus dealer today and found out the good news!

All maintenance has been done on schedule since new by original owner at Keyes Lexus in Van Nuys California.

Bad news is. I now feel obligated to keep that up and pay the crazy pricing at the dealer.

I want to know your opinion, should I keep up Dealer Service? or not?

Does it matter?

If not, Does anyone know a great tech in Southern California for maintenance?

Jabberwock

If you do not have OEM or CPO Lexus warranty in effect, and you can find a good qualified independent shop to work on your car, I would not hesitate to take it elsewhere especially for routine maint items. I personally would still use Lexus for something major like the timing belt just because they do a lot of them and I want them to do it and stand behind it. You can still log in service on your own directly into your car's service history on the Lexus web site. And of course keep all receipts and records for when you are ready to sell it some day. Just make sure the independent is skilled and qualified - its an expensive car to repair when some amateur screws it up.

AlexusAnja

There won't be much maintenance of anything with this car. Timing belt is another 35K away and there is nothing outstanding about it. A good trust shop in town can handle that. Spark plugs are rated also for 100K, so do same time as timing belt. Oil change is easiest on the planet. Brakes are a joke, literally one pin out and you change the pads, then put pin back in. If you're any bit a DIY person, you'll find this car very easy to maintain. If you have to bring to shop, a good shop can do almost anything.

The transmission is sealed and "never" needs fluid changes.

Enjoy the car... it'll last a long long time.

jimbosr1

if you are able,diy very easy to do anything.rhino ramps and floor jack and stands.pays for itself in 1 or 2 uses.if you must have someone work on your car any machanic worth a grain of salt can do it.enjoy your new car.

sojah

iTrader: (1)

independent tech from here on out unless you plan on selling in the next 6-12 months.

warminwisc

Try a Toyota dealer, they often have Lexus techs for less

Marklouis

I work on my own cars, but our 05' LS430 we bought 2 weeks ago has all the maintanance records from Lexus also - so I feel your dilema. My 95' LS430 timing belt change and other maintanance items were a breeze, however I think I will save it in the bank to let Lexus do the big 90/100K belt and plug change - I am very confident from looking at the repair manual I can do it no sweat, but I just want that stamp of approval in the records. know what I mean?

this is the #1 reason why I invested in these cars as a part time mechanic, eeeeasy cars to work on. for example, my good friends 2002 Chevy Venture w 108k on the ODO was smoking bad and throwing code for misfire in #1 cylinder. so I thought ok simple we will just check #1 cylinder's compression. not so simple. here is the order of requirements jest to get to the spark plugs basically resting on the firewall....

loosen left altenator bolt
remove fan shroud
use floor jack on rear of the trannypan
remove front engine mounts
jack rear of motor up away from the firewall
remove altenator rear bolts and altenator and belt

only then I was able to remove the spark plug and check the compression - (60psi) so my thought to be 10 minute job turned out to be 1 1/2 hour debacle.. .after cursing the Chevy engineers for thier mutant creation from the pit of spare parts. now I am glad to work on my Lexus when I get the chance, only problem is....these freakin' cars dont break down!

Jcp90ls400

Thanks for all the input!