Service plan worth it or not for a new RX?

PeterI · February 13, 2020

In a moment of late mid life crisis I've just placed an order for a new RX450h with Lexus Woodford (arriving mid march).

Is the dealer service plan worth it? Apart from the dealership being a bit of pain to get to from home (but better from work) and being tied to servicing with them I can't think of a reason not to.

Previously I've had LS400s (first and second gen) running the second gen until last year when it finally snapped the front suspension spring (replaced with a BMW X3 inherited from my dad), so it's been a while since I've used a main dealer.

olliesgrandad · February 14, 2020

Depends on your mile.

I've tried it in the past with Ford and because of my high mileage and changing car regularly I didn't get the full benefit.

Now I don't bother and my dealer in Cheltenham gives me 15% club discount which is great(saved £111)on my last (Big) service on my 2015 model.

Bet you will be poring over YouTube and the Lexus website until it arrives 👍👍

PeterI · February 14, 2020

4 hours ago, olliesgrandad said:

Bet you will be poring over YouTube and the Lexus website until it arrives 👍👍

Busted. At least the manuals are online and it's probably the only time I'll read them, although I'm wondering about a chopped pdf with just the features fitted to the car.

I got a useful 10% discount on purchase for bothering to use carwow. Quotes were between 11-13% off RRP but by the time you've added toys that you weren't sure about (HUD via Safety pack) the quotes aren't for the same spec and I'm not going to fight for the last percent or two.

olliesgrandad · February 14, 2020

2 hours ago, PeterI said:

I got a useful 10% discount on purchase for bothering to use carwow. Quotes were between 11-13% off RRP but by the time you've added toys that you weren't sure about (HUD via Safety pack) the quotes aren't for the same spec and I'm not going to fight for the last percent or two.

My car being a used premier has most of the gizmos and gadgets. Certainly I love the HUD.

Not sure what you get in the safety pack, but I have rear cross traffic alert and blind spot monitoring, together with 360% camera.

If I had to choose just between HUD or 360 % camera the camera would win hands down, as it makes parking really easy.

StGeorge · February 21, 2020

We collected our new 450 from the guys at Woodford in January and took the service plan, it worked out cheaper (on paper, at least), so seemed a no-brainer.

It’s a lovely motor by the way, the 2020 spec is great with apple Car Play and Android Auto, we are very pleased with it so far.

PeterI · February 23, 2020

Glad to hear you're enjoying the car, I'm currently like a kid waiting for christmas. Probably going to go for it on the service plan then.

Marc1 · June 16, 2020

I purchased my RX450H in early March from Woodford dealership and was due to collect on the 23rd, I get a phone call from the salesman the night before at 10pm advising me that they are going to close due to covid19 tomorrow and told me to come to the Dealership until further notice. My new RX was eventually delivered to me at the beginning of this month, and I have to commend all the people at Woodford Lexus and the car, simply put is "awesome". I'm also considering taking out the service plan.

royoftherovers · June 16, 2020

13 minutes ago, Marc1 said:

I purchased my RX450H in early March from Woodford dealership and was due to collect on the 23rd, I get a phone call from the salesman the night before at 10pm advising me that they are going to close due to covid19 tomorrow and told me to come to the Dealership until further notice. My new RX was eventually delivered to me at the beginning of this month, and I have to commend all the people at Woodford Lexus and the car, simply put is "awesome". I'm also considering taking out the service plan.

Hi Marc and welcome to the Forum.

I took out a service plan 7 years ago at a cost of £34 per month fixed. I`ve had all of my services carried out on schedule and not had to pay an additional penny.

It works for me and could work for you.

Have a good read of all the details provided to you by the Dealer and decide if is for you.

Let`s have some piccies of your RX please when you are ready.

PeterI · June 16, 2020

I've been surprised to see just how small the profit margins are for a car dealership (1-2%) so it's possible some won't survive post Covid-19, but you can say the same thing about lots of companies right now.

This leaves me slightly uneasy with service plans, on the other hand given the worst case loss is £300-350 i.e. if the dealer goes bust just before your annual service I would imagine a lot of RX owners would be upset but wouldn't exactly break the bank

Finally Marc1 pictures please.

royoftherovers · June 16, 2020

15 minutes ago, PeterI said:

I've been surprised to see just how small the profit margins are for a car dealership (1-2%) so it's possible some won't survive post Covid-19, but you can say the same thing about lots of companies right now.

This leaves me slightly uneasy with service plans, on the other hand given the worst case loss is £300-350 i.e. if the dealer goes bust just before your annual service I would imagine a lot of RX owners would be upset but wouldn't exactly break the bank

Finally Marc1 pictures please.

The Service Plan is not with the Dealership,it is with Lexus.

PeterI · June 16, 2020

2 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

The Service Plan is not with the Dealership,it is with Lexus.

This seems a little unclear to me my quotation says "Payments will be collected by Planmyservice LLP as an agent for XXX Group." with no actual mention of being able to use a different dealership, but the full paper work might be enlightening or at least asking the question of the dealer. There may of course be an official Lexus product that does offer a service plan but all I can see on the website is that a slightly vague talk to your dealer.

Herbie · June 16, 2020

The extended warranty (or in Peter's case, the original warranty) is a nationwide thing and is not dealer-specific. You can go anywhere for warranty work.

The service plans are dealer-group specific and can't be taken out of group.

For instance, I live in Preston and Lexus Preston is part of the Vantage Motor Group, so I could take the car to any of the Vantage dealerships to have the servicing done, but I couldn't take it to Lexus Bolton or Lexus Teeside who are, I believe, part of the RMB Group (may be wrong with that but you get the idea).

royoftherovers · June 17, 2020

9 hours ago, Herbie said:

The extended warranty (or in Peter's case, the original warranty) is a nationwide thing and is not dealer-specific. You can go anywhere for warranty work.

The service plans are dealer-group specific and can't be taken out of group.

For instance, I live in Preston and Lexus Preston is part of the Vantage Motor Group, so I could take the car to any of the Vantage dealerships to have the servicing done, but I couldn't take it to Lexus Bolton or Lexus Teeside who are, I believe, part of the RMB Group (may be wrong with that but you get the idea).

Thanks Herbie.

I must correct my earlier statement as having read my original agreement dated July 204, I find the agreement whilst sold under the Lexus umbrella is in my case, with Lexus Chester. I`m sorry for my earlier statement in which i said the agreement was with Lexus nationally.Apologies.

royoftherovers · June 17, 2020

11 hours ago, PeterI said:

This seems a little unclear to me my quotation says "Payments will be collected by Planmyservice LLP as an agent for XXX Group." with no actual mention of being able to use a different dealership, but the full paper work might be enlightening or at least asking the question of the dealer. There may of course be an official Lexus product that does offer a service plan but all I can see on the website is that a slightly vague talk to your dealer.

Peter, I have just checked my 2014 Service Plan and I was wrong.My Agreement is with Lexus Chester.I`m sorry for my error.

PeterI · June 17, 2020

1 hour ago, royoftherovers said:

Peter, I have just checked my 2014 Service Plan and I was wrong.My Agreement is with Lexus Chester.I`m sorry for my error.

Ah in many ways that's a shame as it would have been a really useful option all things considered. Thank you for checking again.

it's still an interesting question given that a third party is collecting the fees, not normally a question I'd care very much about but risks of financial troubles have gone up for nearly all of us.