Lexus or Indy mechanic ? Where are you servicing yours

[Colinb623]

As the title . I'm just wondering where you are getting is IS serviced?

Lexus main dealer or a good Independent 

[steveo1973]

As Lexus are issuing a years warranty every time you service your car with them until it reaches either 10 years old or 100k, I'm using Lexus until mine reaches end of criteria.

[Herbie]

I always liked to support the indy guys and have always been very happy with both their work and the amount they charge. However, given that we now get a 'free' warranty with every service (which would have to be done anyway, just usually cheaper than at Lexus dealers), I'm sticking with Lexus for the time being.

[VFR]

Same as the rest as it’s a no brainer with the warranty as part of the deal, without that then a good Indy every time.

[LenT]

1 hour ago, Colinb623 said:

As the title . I'm just wondering where you are getting is IS serviced?

Lexus main dealer or a good Independent 

I have always had it serviced by Lexus MK, from whom I bought it.  I paid for a three year service plan at the same time and have kept that going.  But I did that knowing that Lexus has a good reputation for the quality of servicing - and I have had no cause for complaint so far.

I had the same arrangement with my previous Honda, for the same reason.  Of course the decision is made easier because I don’t actually know any Independents - good or otherwise!

[Las Palmas]

Our car turn 5 years October and so far with Lexus.

But they are stupidly expensive, slow and having no courtesy car so maybe next service (September) will be the last there.

Mind still needs to be made up.

[agent_dess]

Same sticking with lexus until warranty expires then continue hybrid check for another 5 years.

[westo3]

Slightly off piste here, but how much for a normal service ( not the big one) in UK? I paid €199 for my 300GS in France, main dealer that included the warranty which I thought quite cheap

[ColinBarber]

15 minutes ago, westo3 said:

Slightly off piste here, but how much for a normal service ( not the big one) in UK? I paid €199 for my 300GS in France, main dealer that included the warranty which I thought quite cheap

Yes that's a great price. Rip off pricing here in the UK - a minor 10k oil change service is £285 and a standard 20k/40k/80k service is £475 for a GS300h. More for the larger 60k and 100k services.

[Linas.P]

4 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

Yes that's a great price. Rip off pricing here in the UK - a minor 10k oil change service is £285 and a standard 20k/40k/80k service is £475 for a GS300h. More for the larger 60k and 100k services.

Unless it is over 5 years old and you can get essential care, which seems to have been discontinued now, but still offered at dealer discretion. Other option is to get service plan for 2 or 3 years, which in my experience will always have some discount offered. 

[Las Palmas]

5 hours ago, westo3 said:

Slightly off piste here, but how much for a normal service ( not the big one) in UK? I paid €199 for my 300GS in France, main dealer that included the warranty which I thought quite cheap

Paid close to 600€ for 70K km service for a CT.

Think that is rather expensive.

Next up is 80K. In a couple of months.

[ganzoom]

On 6/25/2022 at 6:55 PM, VFR said:

Same as the rest as it’s a no brainer with the warranty as part of the deal, without that then a good Indy every time.

As a current Tesla owner, previous BMW owner I find the thought of having any kind of extended warranty on our IS300H to be quite amusing.

Our IS300H is going to be 8 years old at the next service/MOT. Apart from tires and air filter, it's literally not needed any thing repairing or replacing. It's still on its original 12V Battery and I've started to only get an oil change every 2 years as its not ever needed a single drop of oil adding outside of the oil changes.........the Tesla and my old BMW on the otherhand, even the official manufacturer extended warranties have 'get out' clauses written into them longer than Shakespeares complete works :).

The realibily of our IS300H is simply beyond belief.

[Mikey B]

Thats also my experience - Mine had 160K on it when I got it and full main dealer history. When I looked through all the receipts and on line history the only things outside of servicing were a auto wiper sensor (replaced under warranty) and a bonnet catch.  Since then I have done another 65K and the only thing I have replaced outside of servicing is a DRL which broke after someone hit the car and drive off in a supermarket car park

[Spock66]

So the Relax scheme is really a win-win.

Obviously good for us as the customer as we get a free extended warranty, ok doesn't cover everything but way better than anything the competition has to offer.

For Lexus (& Toyota) won't cost them a fortune in warranty claims due to inherent build quality and reliability (imagine the costs if JLR offered such a scheme), locks the customer into dealer servicing as attested by several on this thread so keeps dealers happy with after sales revenue.

Ok so we may ending up paying a bit more for servicing, but Lexus service costs do seem comparable with other premium marques, ie rip off prices for a basic oil change but that is the industry norm.

[Bluemarlin]

Same reason for me. I use Lexus for servicing as I have the 10yr+ extended warranty.

I also use a local garage for stuff outside of the annual service.

[Shada]

Well mine was wrote off when I bought it and I service it myself, hope it never sees a dealer again! They are that relayable the warranty isnt an issue so the independent servicing wouldn't be so bad if you prefer savings.

[Tony1452]

On 6/25/2022 at 7:12 PM, LenT said:

I have always had it serviced by Lexus MK, from whom I bought it.  I paid for a three year service plan at the same time and have kept that going.  But I did that knowing that Lexus has a good reputation for the quality of servicing - and I have had no cause for complaint so far.

I had the same arrangement with my previous Honda, for the same reason.  Of course the decision is made easier because I don’t actually know any Independents - good or otherwise!

I think that the service deal is the right way to go with these cars. My package is costing me just £41 a month. If you are going to own one of these, for myself personally, what’s £41 a month? Plus the warranty for 12 months is a massive bonus. Mind…Lexus know their product and are confident that the car is highly unlikely for a well serviced car to break down. 
I bought mine last August and was given a free breakdown cover in the deal. Come August, the dealership will send over a driver to pick it up. You can’t beat Lexus, in my brief experience, for quality of service. I had them fit their dashcam, last December. A driver collected and returned it the same day. Great people to do business with.

 

 

[royoftherovers]

On 6/25/2022 at 8:32 PM, Las Palmas said:

Our car turn 5 years October and so far with Lexus.

But they are stupidly expensive, slow and having no courtesy car so maybe next service (September) will be the last there.

Mind still needs to be made up.

Do you not have the RELAX WARRANTY offered to you John?

[Las Palmas]

1 hour ago, royoftherovers said:

Do you not have the RELAX WARRANTY offered to you John?

Lexus here has nothing of the kind. They are good only writing big bills. Did not clean filter to hybrid Battery last service when giving the Battery one more year warranty.

Next service September may be last with them. They cannot get rubber refills to wind-shield wipers only complete with metal and I find it stupid to put perfectly good metal out as landfill. I know they want to make as much as possible, but should take a bit care of the environment.

I thought Mercedes service here was bad, but now have seen that Lexus is no better. 15 years ago there was Japanese management here and service was extraordinary; had a MR2 Spyder then. Now it is no longer taken care of same way. The CT is great and will probably last a while so will keep it till problems come with it, but think next car will be Korean. Have heard that their service here on the island should be fantastic. Both Hyundai and KIA.

[Colinb623]

Went with my Indy this time around for a 90k mile service.  Oil change , air filter  , oil filter , pollen filter and hoover of the car for €150 euros all in.

The main dealer just wasn't an option this time round as we have 2 cars in the driveway and both required services 😞

anyways I will go back to Lexus for the 100k mile service as its a big one I believe .....

[Shada]

2 hours ago, Colinb623 said:

Went with my Indy this time around for a 90k mile service.  Oil change , air filter  , oil filter , pollen filter and hoover of the car for €150 euros all in.

The main dealer just wasn't an option this time round as we have 2 cars in the driveway and both required services 😞

anyways I will go back to Lexus for the 100k mile service as its a big one I believe .....

You'd get far better value sticking with your indy now it doesn't have a full dealer history. He just needs to check the gear oil fan belt and clean and grease the brake slides next time. That's the only extra bits needed 

[Barry14UK]

Relax is a clever idea because it is 'free', whereas Lexus increased their service charges to cover potential costs this warranty brought about and by scrapping essential service, as most dealerships.  Relax is not as comprehensive as the extended warranty but it has meant the dealers have found a way of keeping some of their customers who were contemplating using a garage other than a Lexus one.

Of course there are a number of things that can affect the sale price of a car but the advantage of having had a full Lexus service history must be one of them so another reason to stay with official dealership while the car has some reasonable value.

   

[ganzoom]

5 hours ago, Barry14UK said:

Of course there are a number of things that can affect the sale price of a car but the advantage of having had a full Lexus service history must be one of them so another reason to stay with official dealership while the car has some reasonable value.

   

I honestly don't think having main dealer service makes any difference to cars getting on 10 years old!

WBAC is still offering £15.5k for our 7.5 year old IS300H, even with a dent in the door. So that roughly 45% residual value at nearly 8 years old. 

Intheory it's a great reason to sell up and get a newer car, but the cost to change to say a Model 3 is currently £35k, so pretty much the same as what it cost to buy our IS in the first place.

Given the crazy reliability of the IS, cheap independent servicing costs, us not doing much miles, keeping the IS is a no brainer, so resale value is almost irrelevant.

Unless you really wanted a new car for the sake of new, I can see very little reason to swap out of any IS300H.

 

[Colinb623]

To be honest when I bought the car earlier this year it had 2 previous services from non main dealer garages so the main dealer service history was broken already.  Regardless I just didn't have the time nor finances to go the main dealer route this time round. 

The only thing the indu service lacked I guess was the hybrid health check and warranty . To be honest I'm not too concerned about this for now . The car is flawless and from what I gather , these hybrid systems don't go wrong...

 

In 10k miles I will drop the car into lexus and get the 100k mile service done through them 

[DBIZO]

On 6/25/2022 at 5:55 PM, steveo1973 said:

As Lexus are issuing a years warranty every time you service your car with them until it reaches either 10 years old or 100k, I'm using Lexus until mine reaches end of criteria.

+1 only dealer, Hedge End in my case, and even bought tyres and get them fitted, try to avoid everything else, I've got serious trust issues.

I also believe that mechanic shops, car hand washes, tyre shops, anything to do with cars really, must be the shadiest businesses on this side of the law. Every time I end up in one, either out of a poor decision or necessity (puncture), I feel like I'm entering an underground world I mostly see in movies.