Extended warranty

[Martin F]

Agreed, it's still possible to work on modern cars albeit you may need to invest in some code reader software and a dongle (<£50) and sometimes modern diagnostics can make things easier, i.e. they log when intermittent misfires occur and which cylinder.

However there does sometimes come a time with system faults when you need to diagnose through the process of elimination and that can become expensive.

 

[Ben01]

26 minutes ago, Martin F said:

elimination and that can become expensive

Exactly, and still could be no rocket science, only time consuming. And keep in mind all this code readers and on-board diagnostics are about to make manufacturing and maintenance faster and cheaper, but not exactly better or to replace oldschool basics. Last example: I have spent like 4 hours to review all accesible complex vacuum pipes and hoses in current GS, just looking for general harshness and issues, there were no any codes or error for MAF, throttle body, air ratio, etc. at ECU. It was the same job like 1990. I found three faults, engine is much happier now.

If anybody think any "modern" garage spent half a day chasing something "invisible" (because no codes on ECU) IMHO it's naive view, and it is does not matter if it's previous owner's of my GS trusted pakistani 30/hr garage or Lexus highly trained and equipped 120/hr garage. This is reason for last 15 years or so my motto is "if you want a thing done well, do it yourself". But for people with no skills nor will to dig into used cars extended warranty could be a good substitute.

[wharfhouse]

5 hours ago, 65mike said:

Hi all.

Alas the times have now gone when you could take the car to pieces i look under the bonnet now and close it quickly as all i see is wires and pieces off plastic so have no interest init i top up anything that needs it and have changed sidelight bulb but not indicator build garage done that for me at a cost🙄

The warranty to me is a god send and i hope i never need to use it again but is there as a insurance.🙂

Alas we all have premium cars so the manufacturer charges what he like's Lexus are not alone in this they all do it the only way to try and reduce cost is to get parts cheaper if you can places like eBay or a breakers yard or paten parts this is the only way i can see of reducing the cost and if you can do it yourself all the better.🙂

I will say this Lexus do seem reasonable on tyres before i purchased the is250 i needed 2 rear ones and there was no way the dealer would put 2 new ones on as the deal he gave me for my part exchange XK was a dream come true so i said to the sales manager can we split the cost and he agreed and the price i paid was a steel for the tyre i paid for.🙂

The brake pads and discs seem fairly good on cost seeing as they are supply and fit too and they should know what they are doing as they are trained by the manufacturer.🙂

65mike

Concur with you on tyres. Was going to go to a local tyre place that I know are about the best in price but thought I'd give Lexus a call and see what they would charge as they say they will be cheaper than anywhere local - they were in fact over £30 cheaper for the exact same two tyres so went to Lexus - have to say I was surprised.

[Ben01]

46 minutes ago, wharfhouse said:

cheaper for the exact same two tyres so went to Lexus - have to say I was surprised

BTW even if I DIY everything it is my common practice to ask dealer first for parts, especialy for elder cars (not near new and not super-old, you mean). I have not yet any score at lexus/toyota but I got this on fords or americans every second time; sometimes you ask and next laughin on the floor, like £200 for tiny strip over windscreen or £600 for common alternator, but another time you walk away with halfshaft or mechanical parts or headlight in solid OEM quality with very normal price tag (because discount, clearing old warehouse, not updated price, etc. - the best story was headlight for elder ford, regular dealer's price was plain ridiculous, I shrugged, clerk shrugged in retort, but manager was listening over the desk and asked how long this lamp for 1991 ford stays in stock. After some funny answer like 12 years, and small disussion, we discounted and have dealt like "used mint lamp plus some change").

In case of our first GS I reviewed some parts at local Toyota dealer, there were no big scores, but always worth to try. BTW BTW I needed a very few parts for 3 GSes last 4 years, compare to other old boats, indeed.

[doog442]

5 hours ago, wharfhouse said:

Concur with you on tyres. Was going to go to a local tyre place that I know are about the best in price but thought I'd give Lexus a call and see what they would charge as they say they will be cheaper than anywhere local - they were in fact over £30 cheaper for the exact same two tyres so went to Lexus - have to say I was surprised.

Yes its been widely reported on here over the last decade  that Lexus are competitive when it comes to tyres.

Its like some weird anomaly that they haven't cottoned onto yet   😉

[Ala Larj]

12 hours ago, doog442 said:

 

Its like some weird anomaly that they haven't cottoned onto yet   😉

Let's keep it to ourselves then!

[mpls]

On 7/21/2018 at 8:26 PM, ganzoom said:

 

£600 for a sensor, what was it made of pure gold??? 

DSC/TC system errors are usually due to faulty ABS sensors, ABS sensors sub £50 items, nearly all are simply clip in/out design, and access is usually about as hard as jacking up the car and taking a wheel off - 30 min job max. These kind of mad inflated repair/warranty claim costs is exactly why I hate main dealers, they are essentially robbing people blind. If I did my job the way some of these car dealers operate I would be up in court in no time and facing charges of either incompetence or fraud - probably both, but because 'they all do it' car dealers just get away with it........

I honestly don't understand why people just bend over and take it, BMW/Honda/Nissan/Lexus they are all at it, this also happens in other industries but for some reason its look upon in far worse light than car dealers. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartel

You just have to look at the profit margins of a group like Sytner, this is after running costs of lavish show rooms, schools of sales staff etc. Finding a breakdown of how much of the profit comes from the service/repair department seems impossible, but I would guess they probably generate at least 50% of their profit from aftersales department. 

https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/record-revenue-and-profits-for-sytner-group

 

Interesting you mention all that. As i recall  you have a Tesla right..

do you know how much it costs to fix a prang on a Tesla or have any work done on a Tesla.. I read they also cost an arm and a leg...

I believe Sytner  don't deal in Lexus cars anymore more and possibly nor any other Japanese marques.. The cynic in me beleive the Japanese cars are more reliable hence less potential profit margin after the initial sales.

[rayaans]

13 hours ago, mpls said:

Interesting you mention all that. As i recall  you have a Tesla right..

do you know how much it costs to fix a prang on a Tesla or have any work done on a Tesla.. I read they also cost an arm and a leg...

I believe Sytner  don't deal in Lexus cars anymore more and possibly nor any other Japanese marques.. The cynic in me beleive the Japanese cars are more reliable hence less potential profit margin after the initial sales.

Lexus Leicester is Sytner 

Sytner is a pile of dog poo anyway

[mpls]

6 hours ago, rayaans said:

Lexus Leicester is Sytner 

Sytner is a pile of dog poo anyway

 

No, it's been changed.. Inchape has taken over all the Sytner Lexus dealers I believe..

[ColinBarber]

45 minutes ago, mpls said:

 

No, it's been changed.. Inchape has taken over all the Sytner Lexus dealers I believe..

Is that any better?

[200h]

24 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

Is that any better?

that will depend if Inchcape have kept the sytner staff on or wether inchcape have brought their own staff to the dealership

when i had a mercedes years ago the Chester dealership was owned by Inchcape and the service was 2nd to none.

[mpls]

1 hour ago, ColinBarber said:

Is that any better?

As far as I can tell the same staff remain, and it's alway nice to see familiar faces  and to have that continuity. to be honest I was happy when the dealer was  under Sytner anyway. So maybe it really depends on the staff in the dealership and at the end of the day Lexus UK  (Toyota GB) surely maintains some sort of minimum standards anyway to deal in Lexus cars.. Anyway the person who sold me my current car is happy to be under Inchcape.

IMO, just by looking at the Sytner current web site, it now seems to haev an air of European snobbery about it..