So i bring my 07 LS in for a oil change and inquire about a rear diff oil change and the service advisor says let me go back and ask. She comes back and quotes me an hour and 45 minutes and $269 bucks... Im like nah just do the oil change.......

 

Oh...
I thought you were aware that the rear end of the car needed to be held up by two different Lexus techs while the diff drains and then they ever so slowly fill the diff with a fluid that has miniature platelets of gold and platinum within it's consistency.
It is then topped off with a fabled unicorn dust that has been occasionally mentioned here in the LS 460 threads...
its quite an ordeal..
As a matter of fact, $269 must be with a coupon!
You should have taken them up on the deal!


My local Toyota shop charges $89.95.
I have yet to do it, but I understand the DIY route is cheaper than that...
All you can do is politely decline shake your head...

 

"Rear end held up by two different Lexus techs....fluid that has miniature platelets of gold and platinum.....topped off with a fabled unicorn dust". Hahahahahehehehe!! That's a good one.

I'm not thrilled about taking my LS to the Lexus dealership because it's expensive and I know the feeling.

 

I plan on using my trusted foreign car independent mechanic for maintenance and non-warranty repairs. Except for the first free oil change, I'll limit the Lexus dealership to warranty-covered work. I don't know if there are non-warranty repairs that an independent cannot perform or would charge more for on the LS460.

 

With the sized socket (some just used the 3/8" ratchet end with no socket) the diff is easier to change then engine oil.
Open the fill drain first, then the drain plug second. Close the drain plug after old fluid evacuation and fill the diff until it dribbles out.

 

Today, I bought 2 quarts of Mobil synthetic gear oil for $24 and plan to change it tomorrow - this is one of the easiest maintenance procedures on this car, even an old guy like me can do it in less than a half hour. Makes you wonder how much the are over charging for other work. They must think we are wealthy idiots.

 

I did the exact same thing, took me ten minutes to do. And the Mobil 1 is easy to buy.

 

I did a DIY with photos on this job not long ago. It's an easy job even for a noob.

here's the link to the DIY: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...iy-w-pics.html

I used Toyota's Diff Fluid which cost about the same as other brands out there.

 

They don't build those Lexus palaces by charging $29.99 for an oil change.

 

Why do people continue to take their cars to the Lexus dealer and complain because its expensive? Yes...the dealer is very expensive. We all know that...why does it continue to be a surprise?

If you want to pay less...take it somewhere cheaper. It like walking into a Ritz Carlton and being surprised the room costs more than the Holiday Inn.

 

I only take my LS to the dealership if it's covered under my extended warranty. I had a problem with my trunk closing and the Toyota dealership suggested I take my LS back to Lexus. If the Toyota dealership isn't comfortable doing certain repairs I will definitely go back to Lexus. Otherwise for routine maintenance I go to the Toyota dealership and save some money.

 

Being expensive is one thing, but lying to you about how long it takes to do the job, perhaps to justify the price, is another. Dealerships that behave like this will hopefully go out of business in a free market place.

 

They're not lying to you. Lexus publishes a book of pricing, how many hours that they bill for to do a certain job and that's "how long it takes". Every dealership operates this way as do most mechanic shops. It's just that other shops charge less per hour.

They don't care if you use them or not, and they're not going out of business. Plenty of customers willing to pay. Free market economy at work.

If you don't want to pay, go elsewhere. I'm just wondering why we're still surprised by high dealer prices.

 

Besides labor rate, I believe parts pricing can be higher when the dealer orders the part. One example: I wanted to replace the front center console lid because the leather was bobbling and the surface felt rough. The dealer priced the part $100 higher than the same Lexus OEM part I found on the web. I showed the service manager this, and he worked withe parts manager so that the part they ordered was around $20 higher than I would have paid ordering it myself.

I was willing to pay a small premium for them to order the part so that it would be their problem if there was an issue with the part. I doubt they would even use customer-ordered parts (just a guess). I'm not even sure if it would be possible to do this kind of negotiation in the future.

I believe I was charged the half-hour of labor for this procedure, even though the dealer mechanic spent much more time than that because no one there had done the procedure before, and because they couldn't get the slide-forward-when closed function to work properly. That's a tale in itself I'll spare you from.

The point is that I'd always check the price of the genuine Lexus part to see how close it was to what the dealer stated.

 

I posted this originally to be humorous. I know exactly what to expect from a dealership. This isnt my first rodeo. I'm an aircraft pilot/mechanic with over 31 year's experience. I have the capability of completing the task with minimal effort. Like I stated before I posted in jest.