RX400h Expenses!

[steve2006]

Prices below are for genuine Lexus parts from Amayama.

16041-20354  £384.00

04438-48100 £55.30

48520-49895 £175.67

48068-48020 £82.61

48069-48020 £82.61

48818-48021 £2.50 (Each)

17801-20050 £31.84

Total £817.03 but then add import VAT at £20.00 £980.44 plus shipping.

Probably work out around the same price as ECP but these are for genuine parts!

Talk about UK rip off prices the bushes!

Another possible cheaper solution is to give Lexus Birmingham a call, they sell many parts online and may offer a decent discount.

 

[steve2006]

Just noticed the prices you quoted are from Lexus.

From that I would go aftermarket on the radiator, buy the strut from Lexus at £91.00 (bargain price!) then buy the lower arms and bushes from Amayama (big difference between £200.00 + VAT each and 82.61 + VAT +Shipping and £2.50 for the bushes) then go aftermarket with the air filter, maybe Blueprint brand or similar.

Maybe £300.00 labour at a good independent to fit everything, sort the brakes (if needed) later.

As for the “warranty” seeing as you bought it over the phone you should have 14 days to change your mind and receive a full refund....this would almost pay for the repairs!

[Gliderpilot]

On 8/24/2018 at 8:14 PM, Parrot of Doom said:

Another ripoff.  Just replace the shocks with compatible units, any garage can easily do this, it's a common job.  The lower control arm bushes - I bet they're quoting for new arms.  You can either get a garage you trust to source new bushings and install on the existing units, or you can buy whole new arms yourself and have a local garage install them (don't buy cheap Chinese rubbish from Ebay).  Either option is way cheaper than their quote.

If you look in the workshop manuals for the procedure to do this job the first line say remove engine and transmission. Having done mine recently I can understand why, I just about managed to remove the bottom engine supports by jacking up the engine on either side, and after much wrenching and cursing I managed to do it. The 300 may be different though as the engine bay will be less cluttered than the 400h.

[julian1969]

I had my exhaust sleeved and a new radiator fitted for around £500 by a local garage (57 400h) the bill from lexus would have been in excess of £3k.

My philosophy with these cars is - if it's the electrics or hybrid system then bite the bullet and take it to Lexus initially if it's to do with the ICE or other mechanicals then any competent, trusted mechanic will be able to handle it.

Unless of course you are still under warranty - then it's probably in your best interests to get lexus to do the job.

 

[DanD]

If you decide to go to an independent, or to do some of the work yourself, I'd suggest that you check whether this is likely to invalidate the warranty. You can then decide whether or not to get a refund on it - assuming this is possible - and use the money elsewhere.

With regards to the radiator, it will not be covered by the warranty if it is leaking as the result of a stone impact. In the same way as you would not expect a warranty to cover your mobile phone after you've dropped it and cracked the screen!

[Rutlandlex]

56 minutes ago, DanD said:

If you decide to go to an independent, or to do some of the work yourself, I'd suggest that you check whether this is likely to invalidate the warranty. You can then decide whether or not to get a refund on it - assuming this is possible - and use the money elsewhere.

It is not possible to invalidate a warranty by getting work done yourself/at an independent garage.  The only thing that can happen is that the warranty company refuses to cover any non-genuine parts that you have fitted yourself or they refuse to pay out if any subsequent damage is done.

For example, if you were to change the radio head unit for an aftermarket one then the warranty company is well within their rights to not cover it if it were to fail.  They could also refuse to pay out for blown speakers if it is suspected to be the new head unit that caused them to blow.  They can't however refuse to pay out for a failed fuel pump because you changed the stereo because it's got nothing to do with it.

As for getting a refund on the warranty then I think that that would be a good idea since the most likely failures are due to wear and tear which aren't covered by the warranty anyway.  I did read an article somewhere which rated the RX400h as the most reliable 10 year old car you can buy so £1k on a warranty does seem unnecessary.  Mine doesn't have one and I sleep easy at night. 

[RgrWynne]

1 hour ago, Rutlandlex said:

It is not possible to invalidate a warranty by getting work done yourself/at an independent garage.  The only thing that can happen is that the warranty company refuses to cover any non-genuine parts that you have fitted yourself or they refuse to pay out if any subsequent damage is done.

For example, if you were to change the radio head unit for an aftermarket one then the warranty company is well within their rights to not cover it if it were to fail.  They could also refuse to pay out for blown speakers if it is suspected to be the new head unit that caused them to blow.  They can't however refuse to pay out for a failed fuel pump because you changed the stereo because it's got nothing to do with it.

As for getting a refund on the warranty then I think that that would be a good idea since the most likely failures are due to wear and tear which aren't covered by the warranty anyway.  I did read an article somewhere which rated the RX400h as the most reliable 10 year old car you can buy so £1k on a warranty does seem unnecessary.  Mine doesn't have one and I sleep easy at night. 

This has all been covered before on this forum. The extended warranty is not the same as a new car warranty and does require the vehicle to be serviced by Lexus. It is all in the t & c’s.