Curious - servicing

aidanjaye · June 30, 2016

So its that time of year again, servicing.

Its been just over 12 months since last service. Car has been serviced every year of its life, BUT.....

I do very little mileage, so should I service yearly or go by mileage?

What do you guys reckon?

Also Lexus main dealer for a 58 plate car or time to look at Independant (would actually be Infiniti Glasgow).

Samui10 · June 30, 2016

I do 4-5k miles a year, service every two years now.... i was thinking of K Brown eng in hillington, very near the Infiniti retailer if its the one at Braehead, who has a has a few good reports on here previously for other Lexus work, front alignment comes to mind.

Interestingly...just had aircon serviced/re-gased and the garage that did that it advised it wasn't worth having the wifes merc serviced as oil etc was still very clean... she does about 1k per year... as the new iiil wouldnt be any cleaner then whats coming out. (its convertible and we don't see too much sun in glasgow lol !!) so...if your mileage is really low... id go for bi annual. My rx350 has been fine over last four years with two services, lexus Glasgow didn't gripe when i told them what i was doing.

I guess it depends whether anything particular is due..ie plugs at 60K etc..

aidanjaye · June 30, 2016

Its had a big "plug" service so would only be a minor oil service.

Yep - Infiniti near Braehead. Used the previously and rate them.

GibletPH · June 30, 2016

Yearly is my view. Mine is on around 36.5k at the moment and has been serviced annualy by the previous owners.

mrfunex · July 1, 2016

At the very least, I'd get an oil change done. Any garage should be able to do this for you and it won't cost much at all.

Every year here though.... I pay £30/month into a service plan to spread the cost. If that's what general maintenance costs on a car with this level of tech/performance, it'll be one of the cheapest cars I've ever owned!

Stuno1 · July 1, 2016

It's a performance car and for me a yearly service not only ensures appropriate fluids are changed but the car also gets a good look over.

bobmc · July 1, 2016

might also have an influence on resale value down the road?

aidanjaye · July 1, 2016

Resale value is the swinging factor.

Will price it up and see.

Stuno1 · July 1, 2016

1 hour ago, aidanjaye said:

Resale value is the swinging factor.

Will price it up and see.

Totally agree. Buyer thought process below...

1. Ooooo lovely car.

2. Tissues out for play time while looking at car.

3. Oh **** no annual servicing? Wtf?!? It's a performance car.

4. What else have they skimped on then?

5. Tissues away and move on with search.

GibletPH · July 1, 2016

Like Mr Funex I also pay into a service plan. £1296.45 for 3 services so I'm covered until summer 2018. Split across 27 months and includes MOTs and 1 air con service.

DAW · July 1, 2016

I'm only doing about 2k a year, but I am having it serviced yearly because that's the service interval required by Lexus.

It makes sense to me from a resale perpective, as discussed above, and because I have the extended warranty. I also have a service plan which includes free MOT's so makes sense to get them both done at the same time in case there are any issues (unlikely I know!!).

Linas.P · July 1, 2016

As for 2008 car you can get Lexus essential service for car over 5 years, which would be much cheaper than regular service, but still do the standard stuff like, oild and filters + good and comprehensive check on all other parts.

DT_Racing · July 1, 2016

I'd suggest that with cars like our wonderful machines you need to go by the book. I would kick myself if I had a failure of any kind that might have been prevented had it only been for a service once a year. As it goes I do so many miles it will be in for its second service this year in about a month, might even manage 3 this year :-)

Peter P18 · July 1, 2016

I'm with the majority on this one. You need to get an annual service done regardless of mileage.

Keep in mind these are high performance cars at the end of the day. Fluids will degrade over time irrespective of the amount of miles you do.

My car missed one service for this very reason under the previous owner. Whilst it doesn't appear to have caused any harm, I do hate looking at the missing stamp in my service book!

Re-sale will be affected if you don't do it I reckon.

Just be grateful it's only once a year!

Look at the GTR servicing costs and frequency! Now that would be expensive!

I actually find Lexus servicing costs pretty reasonable. Again, only needing one per annum means I can save up between them to make sure I have the cash put to one side.

There was very little saving for me in taking out the service plan. Will stick with saving and paying for each one I think.

dr_rick · July 1, 2016

2 hours ago, GibletPH said:

Like Mr Funex I also pay into a service plan. £1296.45 for 3 services so I'm covered until summer 2018. Split across 27 months and includes MOTs and 1 air con service.

Without going to the webpage, how does this work? Is it time, mileage or number of services based? My reasoning being that if you do 5k a year and it's yearly you will get a services each year for 3 years having covered 15k miles. My side of things could be 15k a year, so does it work on the same 3 services (once a year for 3yrs), or will it be a service every 10k miles? In which case I'll get one service in yr 1, and 2 in year 2.

Peter P18 · July 1, 2016

Hey Rick.

They will calculate it all for you at the dealership, but it won't be more than 3 services in total.

You get 3 over 3yrs or 30K miles whichever comes first.

GibletPH · July 1, 2016

21 minutes ago, dr_rick said:

Without going to the webpage, how does this work? Is it time, mileage or number of services based? My reasoning being that if you do 5k a year and it's yearly you will get a services each year for 3 years having covered 15k miles. My side of things could be 15k a year, so does it work on the same 3 services (once a year for 3yrs), or will it be a service every 10k miles? In which case I'll get one service in yr 1, and 2 in year 2.

It's time and or mileage. When I purchased the service pack I was asked to provide the current odometer reading and an estimate of my annual mileage. I think the intervals are around 10k/1 year, will double check.

gumball3000 · July 1, 2016

Quick question , if the oil supposedly degrades over time no matter the mileage, why is the gearbox oil not given a service interval ?

I know its a different type of oil , but it is still going through a heat cycle every time the car is used.

mrfunex · July 1, 2016

1 hour ago, gumball3000 said:

Quick question , if the oil supposedly degrades over time no matter the mileage, why is the gearbox oil not given a service interval ?

I know its a different type of oil , but it is still going through a heat cycle every time the car is used.

Every 50k miles and the auto box gets an oil change here. Whether its the manufacturer's guidelines or not, it really crisps up the shifts.

aidanjaye · July 1, 2016

Will no doubt get it booked in. A previous RS4 and a Porsche were on 2 yearly servicing (as low miles) - something that Lexus dont do.

The Castrol oil our beasties take is a very decent oil - that after a year and 4000 miles is as new. I asked what else was included (in a oil change service) and basically its a look over!! Asked the service peep about whats due and they go by the book, stating it needs diff oil - which was changed 12000 miles ago??? But it was done early but doesn't register with Lexus planned scheduled - go figure.

Having had many performance cars - pretty sure "my" look over is better than Lexus, hence I might go Independant. 300 quid for a 60 quid oil change isn't to be sniffed at....even a minor service on the RS4 was only 180 quid (howver dont mention Porsche price...GULP)

But saying all that....I will get it booked in

gumball3000 · July 2, 2016

22 hours ago, aidanjaye said:

Will no doubt get it booked in. A previous RS4 and a Porsche were on 2 yearly servicing (as low miles) - something that Lexus dont do.

The Castrol oil our beasties take is a very decent oil - that after a year and 4000 miles is as new. I asked what else was included (in a oil change service) and basically its a look over!! Asked the service peep about whats due and they go by the book, stating it needs diff oil - which was changed 12000 miles ago??? But it was done early but doesn't register with Lexus planned scheduled - go figure.

Having had many performance cars - pretty sure "my" look over is better than Lexus, hence I might go Independant. 300 quid for a 60 quid oil change isn't to be sniffed at....even a minor service on the RS4 was only 180 quid (howver dont mention Porsche price...GULP)

But saying all that....I will get it booked in

Agreed , if Lexus wernt so greedy i would use them , but £300 for an oil and filter change and a 'look' over is robbery.

I trust my friend/local garage to change the oil and filter, after all they have looked after all my cars of late that include Merc E63, VXR Monaro, Audi RS4 , Lotus Carlton, Audi S6 v10 u get the idea.

ColinBarber · July 2, 2016

On 1 July 2016 at 5:40 PM, gumball3000 said:

Quick question , if the oil supposedly degrades over time no matter the mileage, why is the gearbox oil not given a service interval ?

I know its a different type of oil , but it is still going through a heat cycle every time the car is used.

Engine oil get contaminated with moisture and combustion remnants, is subjected to much higher temperatures and is in contact with a constant supply of fresh air which cause oxidation. A transmission is a closed system so change intervals are less and with modern fluids the interval is so long the manufacturers state lifetime.

AlanS · July 3, 2016

On the subject of transmission oil, has anyone successfully changed their ATF as i read somewhere that the fluid have to be at a certain temperature to set the correct level?

mrfunex · July 3, 2016

1 hour ago, AlanS said:

On the subject of transmission oil, has anyone successfully changed their ATF as i read somewhere that the fluid have to be at a certain temperature to set the correct level?

For what it's worth, my main dealer (Hedge End) did an auto fluid change for £120.

I could probably have tackled it myself, but the complexities involved made getting the dealer to do the job a no-brainier for me!

As an aside, a previous car (SL500 Mercedes) had a 'sealed for life' gearbox. What this meant was that after 100,000 miles they generally fell to bits. It was widely known that an ATF change every 50,000 miles (frowned upon by MB!) would see the thing last until the end of time. Any independent specialist would do it, but main dealers around me would not. I quite liked this logic - how on earth can gearbox oil last for 10,15 or even 20 years and still perform well? If I still have my ISF as it approaches 6 figures, ill get the gearbox fluid done again.

ColinBarber · July 3, 2016

1 hour ago, AlanS said:

On the subject of transmission oil, has anyone successfully changed their ATF as i read somewhere that the fluid have to be at a certain temperature to set the correct level?

It should be at operating temperature and the level checked with the engine running, having first shifted through all the gears to make sure the fluid has filled the valve body of the transmission.