e-man

Believe me, they do remember it.

Say hi to Mark for me. He doesn't know me by e-man, but if you tell him I work out in Oak Brook, he'll know who I am.

koolaidman

will do. ......

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

lexus dealers do tend to charge too much thats why i just shop online unless i need something immediately

pianovt

My Lexus dealer charges about twice the list price for less expensive parts (those under $10), and about 15-20% over list for the rest.

This doesn't bother me at all, as they have nothing in stock; I made six visits for a total of about 20 parts since buying the car and they didn't have a single one in stock.

Oddly, they stock Toyota brand engine oil (?), filters and some engine belts, Lexus mugs, they even have a K-Mart style "$1 sale item" table with toy tools like scredrivers hammers, etc. Everybody is polite, but the parts counter really is of no use. Similarly, the service department people have been trained to be polite, but the work quality doesn't meet my standards.

I think I have finally figured out how that business works. The manufacturers really seem to be obsessed with winning the J.D. Powers and Consumer Reports ratings because that heavily influences new car sales. To do that, they give free loaner cars, car washes, roses to women on Valentine's day, they spend money on the waiting room furniture, etc. Keep in mind that 99% of Lexus owners wouldn't be able to recognize an oil filter. They can only judge the dealer by the marketing fluff experience.

The main comfort I derive from owning a Lexus is that once I take care of the little problems the car has, it will hopefully run forever without any significant need for new parts. I am somewhat stuck having to visit the dealer for specialty work like programming the computerized features. The rest, like the timing belt when it comes due for replacement some day, I will gladly do myself. I will mail order the parts from one of the reasonably priced places that actually earn their money by stocking the parts.

Again, the important thing to remember is that people on this forum are not typical Lexus owners.

gs4rocks

My dealer also charges about double of what lexus-parts sells for with most parts.
I was quoted $11 for a lug nut and something like $2 for that small platic push **** which they probably get it for 5 cents.

What's really bad is that they also charge for stuff they never performed or they shouldn't.
I used to get oil change at the dealer for about $60, and one day I checked the invoice and saw something like $10 for car wash. BTW, they didn't even wash the car, over filled my radiator, and didn't put quite enough oil. Another time, they charged sales tax for alignment job with no parts. When I confronted them with this, the rep told me that their system auto calculate sales tax and he cannot remove it. Well, I had him remove it.

It's a free market, but Lexus should realize that this kind of service at dealers can affect their future sales.

parula

gs4 thks for the tax tip! On rainy days here I don't get a credit for the "free" wash with the $70 oil change, last time I don't think they gave me credit for the oil as I bring my own synthetic. Really the service could be much more consumer-oriented imo.

Benjamin T

iTrader: (2)

my lexus dealership is literally just across the street from a toyota one in an automall.

a few months back i needed a TPS sensor for my GS400. i went to the lexus dealer first and got a huge price, and 3 days to order from the east coast warehouse. i came back here online and someone gave me the part number for it and told me to go to toyota instead. so i went back to the toyota dealer across from lexus with that part number and they had it in stock (same as camry) for 30% less than what lexus was charging!

jag_600

I've had great success with Carson Toyota-Lexus for parts. With shipping they are cheaper than getting my parts locally.

RGW LLC

iTrader: (50)

we get all new parts at COST from GM or DODGE or LEXUS.....so doesn't matter what's the list or what discount......i guess really depends on how much business do you do with them, i mean when we buying over $20k in parts from dodge mopar every month...i think we deserve the COST price on everything....good luck

pianovt

R&J,

To us end-consumers, the "cost" price is not available. Would you tell us how the cost price compares to the manufacturer's suggested price ("list price")? I would expect that "cost" is about half of list on most parts. If that is true, a Lexus dealer who doubles the _list_ price is marking up the price four times over his cost.

I know, I know ... somebody will post next saying that the list price is not twice the cost, but that's my best guess from seeing how the industry works. That's fine, as long as the market is free enough for us to find a cheaper source, mail order or otherwise.

Now, let's look at the picture this way:

A factory makes the part and sells it to the manufacturer (Lexus) for $100. Lexus marks it up by about a factor of two and sells it to the dealer for $200. If the dealer charges "list price", he will probably sell the part for $400. If he goes over list, he may charge $500-$800 for example.

So we have a Lexus dealer who charged $200-$600 for his effort to order the part which he doesn't stock. We also have the company that made the part and actually did most of the work, and they got $100 for making it. Obviously, being a parts dealer at the very end of the chain is by far the most profitable part of the deal. I wouldn't want to be making parts for the car industry, that's for sure.

I will always look for a stocking parts source like Carson or Sewell, or perhaps one of the many others who are not tied to Lexus. I think they do very good business without being obscenely greedy. The local Lexus dealer is at the end of my list of part sources - highest prices, nothing in stock.

pianovt

I recommend this for a good reading on the subject:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums...howtopic=28035

Posts No. 3 and 4 are very revealing!

V8_Fan

Yep, I order Toyota parts over the web...paid $3.05 for the V8 oil filters. I'm starting to buy my synthetic gear oil in bulk, too (5 gallon pails...LX uses lots of gear oil :-) ).

Pheonix

Parts cost inflation???
hah
hahaha



bawahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha


Lexus service bays nearly universally charges 150-700% for parts, and 150-200% labor.

Most money at any type of dealer comes from their service bays.