Which Service?

Matthew Ayres · July 8, 2020

My NX300h is 4 years old but has only 19,500 miles on the clock. It’s due an MOT and the dealer is sending me service reminders but since I have only driven about 3,000 miles since the last one I’m not so sure I want to spend that much money, I think my options are:

1. MOT only - £55

2. Full 40,000/4yr service as recommended + MOT - £520!

3. Repeat the 30,000/3yr interim service + MOT - £335?

thoughts?

ColinBarber · July 8, 2020

The vehicle is meant to be serviced every 10,000 miles or 12 month - whichever comes first.

If you have any warranty then you need to adhere to the schedule otherwise it is obviously your choice. Remember though that some items degrade with time as well as mileage.

Have you thought about not going to Lexus? An independent would probably do a full 40k service and MOT for £300.

Matthew Ayres · July 8, 2020

I hadn’t considered independents as I wasn’t sure they could handle the hybrid bits a good idea, I’ll see what’s around in my area. Thanks

NemesisUK · July 8, 2020

Would a Toyota service centre be any cheaper? Obviously they would have experience with the hybrid system

sheri1 · July 8, 2020

Have you considered a service plan with your local Lexus dealer? They provide them interest free and spread the cost over the term of the agreement. I pay around £30 a month for three years, and this includes all service and parts costs plus my first MOT, which will be due next year as mine is 2 years old. I've had these for each of the four Lexus I have owned and would highly recommend.

royoftherovers · July 8, 2020

3 hours ago, Matthew Ayres said:

My NX300h is 4 years old but has only 19,500 miles on the clock. It’s due an MOT and the dealer is sending me service reminders but since I have only driven about 3,000 miles since the last one I’m not so sure I want to spend that much money, I think my options are:

1. MOT only - £55

2. Full 40,000/4yr service as recommended + MOT - £520!

3. Repeat the 30,000/3yr interim service + MOT - £335?

thoughts?

Would you buy another house and not maintain it ?

Would you buy your Wife/Partner a £30,000 plus ring and not keep it safe and secure ?

There is an Indie in Surrey ,see attached.

Lexus Indie Garages.docx

ColinBarber · July 8, 2020

2 hours ago, Matthew Ayres said:

I hadn’t considered independents as I wasn’t sure they could handle the hybrid bits a good idea,

Outside of the hybrid health check (which you can get a dealer to do on its own for £59), nothing on the hybrid system gets touched at servicing until 100k miles (inverter coolant replacement).

There are some special procedures needed to change brake fluid, so you need an independent with access to manuals and correct equipment, but no special knowledge on the hybrid system is needed for general maintenance.

Matthew Ayres · July 8, 2020

2 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

Outside of the hybrid health check (which you can get a dealer to do on its own for £59), nothing on the hybrid system gets touched at servicing until 100k miles (inverter coolant replacement).

There are some special procedures needed to change brake fluid, so you need an independent with access to manuals and correct equipment, but no special knowledge on the hybrid system is needed for general maintenance.

That’s reassuring, thanks

wharfhouse · July 8, 2020

5 hours ago, Matthew Ayres said:

My NX300h is 4 years old but has only 19,500 miles on the clock. It’s due an MOT and the dealer is sending me service reminders but since I have only driven about 3,000 miles since the last one I’m not so sure I want to spend that much money, I think my options are:

1. MOT only - £55

2. Full 40,000/4yr service as recommended + MOT - £520!

3. Repeat the 30,000/3yr interim service + MOT - £335?

thoughts?

When the car is over 5 years old and you can use the Lexus Essentials servicing which saves about one-third of the full service price and still includes the hybrid health check. You may have to bite the bullet on one more full price service though before you get to that. If you want peace of mind you can also have Lexus Extended Warranty along with the Lexus Essentials servicing too.

jak8 · July 8, 2020

3 hours ago, wharfhouse said:

When the car is over 5 years old and you can use the Lexus Essentials servicing which saves about one-third of the full service price and still includes the hybrid health check. You may have to bite the bullet on one more full price service though before you get to that. If you want peace of mind you can also have Lexus Extended Warranty along with the Lexus Essentials servicing too.

Are you implying that the Lexus Essentials servicing cannot be purchased at any stage? I purchased an IS300H about a year ago and took up the option of the 'Extended Warranty' but failed to appreciate the potential benefits of the servicing package. I now need a service undertaken and had hoped I would be able to purchase the service package for the next 2 years but I think you are implying I will need to have and pay for - what will be a major - service and then post the service enter into an agreement. Not convinced on the merits of such an option. Finnancially it does n't seem to stack up.

wharfhouse · July 8, 2020

57 minutes ago, jak8 said:

Are you implying that the Lexus Essentials servicing cannot be purchased at any stage? I purchased an IS300H about a year ago and took up the option of the 'Extended Warranty' but failed to appreciate the potential benefits of the servicing package. I now need a service undertaken and had hoped I would be able to purchase the service package for the next 2 years but I think you are implying I will need to have and pay for - what will be a major - service and then post the service enter into an agreement. Not convinced on the merits of such an option. Finnancially it does n't seem to stack up.

No not at all - a Lexus Essentials service can be purchased at any time, paid for on the day of the service or put into a 2 years service plan - but only if the car is over 5 years old. For an Extended Warranty to be valid the car must be serviced by Lexus every 10k/12 months interval. If the car is under 5 years old then the service will be the "full price" Lexus servicing but once the car is 5 years old any subsequent service at 10k/12 months interval can be the Lexus Essentials service (which has a minor/major service price) which is some 30%+ cheaper than the "full price" schedule and the Extended Warranty will still be valid. My comment about "You may have to bite the bullet on one more full price service" to the OP was because it looked like his car was only 4 years old and so if he had Extended Warranty he possibly wouldn't be able to use the cheaper Essentials service until the car was 5 years old. Your car is a 2014 (like mine) and so you will be able to take out the 2 years Essentials service plan no problem and this will maintain your Extended Warranty too.

jak8 · July 8, 2020

Thanks Phil, I have contacted Lexus and they are sending me a 'quote' tomorrow but I got the impression from my conversation that it would be impacted upon by my proposed 6 year service - which has been delayed somewhat because of the lockdown and my need to isolate. I had hoped that I could include this in the 24 month package as a major service but it seems this may not be possible.

Edited July 8, 2020 by jak8
spelling

wharfhouse · July 8, 2020

22 minutes ago, jak8 said:

Thanks Phil, I have contacted Lexus and they are sending me a 'quote' tomorrow but I got the impression from my conversation that it would be impacted upon by my proposed 6 year service - which has been delayed somewhat because of the lockdown and my need to isolate. I had hoped that I could include this in the 24 month package as a major service but it seems this may not be possible.

The 6year / 60k service is generally an expensive one as spark plugs are replaced.

CT200h-TL · July 8, 2020

I am interested to know the Lexus Essential Care Service (major and minor) prices for the NX300h. Lexus UK official website has not updated the essential service price list to include the NX. I've just been to Lexus Cheltenham yesterday but they do not have the prices available for the NX.

wharfhouse · July 9, 2020

12 hours ago, CT200h-TL said:

I am interested to know the Lexus Essential Care Service (major and minor) prices for the NX300h. Lexus UK official website has not updated the essential service price list to include the NX. I've just been to Lexus Cheltenham yesterday but they do not have the prices available for the NX.

The Essentials servicing pricing for the IS300h isn't on the website either - they seem to have stopped putting models on there recently as they reach the 5 year mark... However, when I took the Essentials service plan for my 2014 IS300h the price was just a few pounds more than the IS250 (I assume last gen) that is listed on there. As the "full price" service costs for the NX300h are similar to the IS300h I would expect that the Essentials services for the NX300h will be similar to my IS300h, so just a tad more than the IS250 shown on the Essentials list. Probably best to call Lexus and get a quote - I have a service plan for Essentials for three services (so 30k miles worth) over 2 years.

ColinBarber · July 9, 2020

On 7/9/2020 at 9:18 AM, wharfhouse said:

The Essentials servicing pricing for the IS300h isn't on the website either - they seem to have stopped putting models on there recently as they reach the 5 year mark..

They have the 200t which came out at the same time as the 300h so I'd assume that pricing. The person updating the website probably assumed the IS 300h was already covered by the IS 300 - the website has been full of errors like that over the years.

They don't seem to add vehicles to essentials until around 6 years old - they seem to assume you would get the 5th service done before it is 5 years old and you don't need another for 12 months.

jak8 · July 11, 2020

On 7/8/2020 at 8:19 PM, wharfhouse said:

The 6year / 60k service is generally an expensive one as spark plugs are replaced.

It transpires my IS300H had a major service just before I purchased it the next service is a secondary. I asked for a qoute for the Lexus Extended Service contract but Motorline, the local Lexus dealer, have replied quoting 'their own' 3 year offer which in effect provides a discount of just under 10% !!!!! An offer, in my opinion, I can certainly well afford to ignore. Lexus on-line example represents a saving of the order of 35%. Quite how Motorline can whittle this away to less than 10% is beyond me.

I have requested a quote for the official 2 year Lexus Extended Service but I have a suspicion Motorline are not going to comply with my request.

wharfhouse · July 11, 2020

20 minutes ago, jak8 said:

It transpires my IS300H had a major service just before I purchased it the next service is a secondary. I asked for a qoute for the Lexus Extended Service contract but Motorline, the local Lexus dealer, have replied quoting 'their own' 3 year offer which in effect provides a discount of just under 10% !!!!! An offer, in my opinion, I can certainly well afford to ignore. Lexus on-line example represents a saving of the order of 35%. Quite how Motorline can whittle this away to less than 10% is beyond me.

I have requested a quote for the official 2 year Lexus Extended Service but I have a suspicion Motorline are not going to comply with my request.

Not sure what to say - as you note the Essentials servicing is about 35% less than full service cost for cars over 5 years old with details on the Lexus website. When I came to renew my service plan and the car was over the 5 years old Essentials was offered without me even asking about it so I assumed this was the norm across Lexus dealerships - mine was with Jemca.

royoftherovers · July 11, 2020

42 minutes ago, jak8 said:

It transpires my IS300H had a major service just before I purchased it the next service is a secondary. I asked for a qoute for the Lexus Extended Service contract but Motorline, the local Lexus dealer, have replied quoting 'their own' 3 year offer which in effect provides a discount of just under 10% !!!!! An offer, in my opinion, I can certainly well afford to ignore. Lexus on-line example represents a saving of the order of 35%. Quite how Motorline can whittle this away to less than 10% is beyond me.

I have requested a quote for the official 2 year Lexus Extended Service but I have a suspicion Motorline are not going to comply with my request.

If Motorline do not comply then inform Lexus U.K. The Motorline Group is not famous for its 100% customer service. They cannot afford to lose the franchise.