There’s a reason why a Lexus dealer’s repair shop can afford to be generous.
I had a Nissan 4x4 that had the O2 sensor go on right as the odometer rolled over to 30K. I just happened to be looking at the odometer/dash as that happened. Hmmm? The truck would not be smogged (California) with the light on. I got a diagram of the wiring and traced the O2 sensor wiring. I opened an access port and found a tag that said reset sensor at 30K and disconnect at 60K. I discoed the connection and was smogged ok and went on my way.
Toyota, Lexus, Land Rover and Volvo support LGBT and use LGBT public relations firms.
I read somewhere that a 7 series BMW total cost of ownership was 20% higher than the equivalent Lexus model.
I don’t own either, but I know which way I would go.
My wife did the same thing with her new 2000 Buick Park Avenue.....regular oil changes, rotated the tires at the dealer.....everything that was done to the car was done by the dealer.
It is still in top-notch shape.
Do dealers charge more than a mom-and-pop auto shop somewhere? Of course!
Every time we had to let the car at the dealer overnight we got a loaner.
Dealers are the way to go.
I got my Dad’s LS400 when he passed. Best car ever! A total hot rod! Very fast! Handled like a race car. It was a ‘91, and when repairs got too expensive, I traded it in on a Highlander. 130+ between Chatanooga and Nashville.
I have NEVER been in a dealership . 210,000 on my first Mitsubishi engine. It’s still driving around town. Now, 160 on an isuzu trooper and never been in a dealership. A strip of black electrical tape takes care of the “check engine” light.
Although, I would love to have a new Lexus. I just won’t be buying one any time soon.
This sounds like good service but I do not trust any car dealership no matter what brand they sell. Other than a couple alignments and some warranty work on a Mustang that kept blowing head gaskets, I have always done all my own work on every car that I have owned. After having custom wheels messed up I even started mounting and balancing my own tires.
For less than $20 you can now get a Bluetooth OBD II reader that not only allows you to wirelessly read your codes but more importantly monitor any sensor in the vehicle on your Android phone or tablet while you are driving down the road. I guess this creates a whole new category of distracted driver.
I like to work on older cars also; we are currently restoring a 1942 Cadillac. The funny thing is that many mechanics accustomed to working on modern cars have lost much of their troubleshooting abilities. Newer cars often indicate exactly what the problem is and if you drive them around while watching suspect sensors the problem can often be confirmed without any real reasoning involved.
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Dealerships, no matter what the brand, don’t waste their best mechanics on oil changes.
They also know after a while which ones are the screw-ups.
Just sayin’...
He likes to start paragraphs with “so.”
I have a 13 vw golf. where would I get extended warrenty protection? 40K milage
My Lexus GS350 has been mechanically perfect for nine years. And I always laugh when I see my 5,000 mile service bills compared to those for my wife’s Mercedes. I just don’t think the German cars are worth the additional cost of ownership.
01 Ranger here, 4.0 liter 5 speed. Check engine light has been on for 7 years or more. Dumped over $400 bucks into resolving it, gas caps and vacuum leaks, and gave up years ago.
Shines like new, even though I’m miles up a dirt road, and only 135K miles on her. Has a gas gauge, temp gauge, tach and oil pressure as well. Those are enough for me. I’ll drive her till she quits.
Check engine light ... we used to call them idiot lights.
Paragraph 2 confused me:
“The man will sometimes go entire years without setting foot in a car dealer. . . . He drives 6,000 miles a year and religiously maintains his vehicles at the dealership, documenting every service, every oil change....”
Does he “go entire years” without oil changes?
Or, does he just go entire years without maintaining them “at the dealership”?
In either case, it doesn’t sound like “religiously” is the appropriate word.
Keep in mind that a common cause of O2 sensor related check engine lights is a loose or broken gas cap.
So, if thats what the issue really was, for the cost of a $10 cap (or a mechanic’s time to tighten it) and telling your Dad they were “replacing” the $400 O2 sensor for free, he’s going to spend tens of thousands of dollars with them on a new car.
Now Toyota made cars (and Lexus is Toyota’s luxury brand) are just as top notch as they get. My family has owned Toyotas almost exclusively for years, because of their high reliability and low cost of ownership. They’re the first car I’d recommend to anyone.
But caveat emptor still applies. As others have said, get an OBDII scanner, use it to pull the codes and then research what’s being thrown before engaging with any sort of mechanic (dealer or otherwise) for a fix.