Maintenance Costs Of Owning An Old Lexus?

[Longstory5]

Hi everyone

I need some help from you guys who have owned a lexus before. I understand its generally accepted that luxury euro cars like BMW Audi and Mercedes have relatively high maintenance costs, whereas the average Japanese cars have much less.

I would like to know how much is it to service a Lexus? This is an old Lexus 2006 I am talking about, has around 80000 KMs done.

-the average service costs if I rememeber correctly is around $200- $300 at a proper service place as opposed to Kmart or so. How much would this be for Lexus?

-the average insurance costs for a normal car would be around , say, $800-$1000 annually (comprehensive). How much would this be for Lexus?

-As for fuel costs, I understand it depends on a lot of things, your driving style,aggressive/gentle, etc etc. so I dont expect to see an answer here since the variables are too many, but would welcome any input here.

I guess that is all for now, I just want to get some rough idea on how much the maintenance cost would be owning a 2006 Lexus.

EDIT: Since the 90000KM is near, how much is it to replace the timing belt?

Thanks everyone

heres some answer to your questions

1.an average service at a non lexus dealer would cost around 200-300 6L oil around 20 for the filter and

get it done by lexus probably looking at double my average cost was around 400-500

2.Insurance may vary from garaged location but usually anwhere between 700-1300 not much different to other cars

3.Fuel wise you'll get around 500-600km depending on how u drive

Edited November 7, 2015 by ilv1004s

[Zerone]

I can't really give any input on maintenance costs yet (I've only owned mine for 6 months, but the 90k major service is coming up soon).

Compared to my last car, the Lexus seems like it is screwed together tightly, and seems like it is going to be pretty reliable.

I know the is350 uses timing chains (so no need for timing belt replacements). Not too sure about the 250 motor though.

In terms of insurance, you best bet is to get a couple of quotes.

You know how it is, an 18 year old P plater is going to have a completely different quote to a 50+ year old with a perfect driving history., car garaged, etc....

To give you an idea though, my last car was a modified late model 6l V8. All mods were declared with the insurance co, and it was around $900 a year. My stock my11 is350 is around $700 a year. (V8 had a market value of 15k, Lexus has 35k)

In terms of fuel, its a matter of opinion. My Lexus uses 2/3 less fuel than my V8 did on average, however this could be attributed to driving style. The. V8 did not encourage sedate fuel efficient driving, whereas the Lexus is more sedate, comfortable and quiet. Planting your foot in the lexus Doesn't give you that V8 growl, or throws you back in your seat like the V8 did, so you quickly get over the spirited driving thing, and become more relaxed driving the Lexus.

Most of this though is a matter if opinion (not factual data), so I would take this info with a grain of salt.

[I CU2]

The IS250 uses a timing chain too but the 90,000km service is still quite expensive ~$1.2k.

[Stef K]

as long as you do not go to Lexus to get the car serviced....you will not get change out of 1000 bucks :)

[Longstory5]

but is it necessary to service at lexus dealership ?or places like kmart is acceptable ?

[Zerone]

In defence of Toyota / Lexus, the 90,000Km service is a big one.

It includes Oil and filter change, Brake fluid flush and change, spark plugs change, Diff Oil change, Air filter change, cabin filter change, and Bolts / Nuts tighten (Dunno what this entails).

It also includes a lot of visible inspections of bits which will require wheels to be removed, vehcile up on a hoist, and other parts removed. (Which eats in to the time taken to service the vehicle).

Keep in mind places like KMart, Ultra Tune, Midas will peform a basic engine oil and oil filter change as a baisc service, using the Oils and filters that they will have on hand.

(They will typically only stock two oil grades, mineral based for the budget servicing, and a synthetic grade, all of which thy buy in bulk 100L drums to keep expenses down).

Whether the synthetic grade oil is optimal for the Lexus motor can be pot luck. (Most will hold something like 5W 40 synthetic, which is perfectly fine, but I have heard of places using cheaper 15W 50 synthetic oil)

They typically will not carry out all the inspections that Toyota / Lexus will carry out, (Things like park brake linings, transmission fluid, charcoal canister, suspension bushes, linkages etc), and any additional servicing out of the ordinary will require you to specifically request it at the time of booking. (Eg Spark plugs, brake pad change, Brake fluid flush Transmission and Diff oil change).

Also keep in mind that some places will refuse to perform some / most of these additional services. (Simply because they do not have the information / specifications on hand for the vehicle).

--

Your best bet for servicing is to take Rakddon's advice, and take the car to an MTA approved workshop, supplying the parts yourself (So as you know what is going in to the car),

and providing a list of what you want them to change / inspect as per the service schedule,

or

Perfrom the servicing yourself. (Which is what I have done with my previous cars)

On a side note, even MTA workshops can be a bit dodgy.

The previous owner of my Lexus had the 75,000Km servicing done at an MTA workshop. This included front brake pads.

My front brakes have a loud squeel when the brakes get warm.

I inspected the pads, and it turns out the workshop did not fit the anti squeel shims to the front passenger side brakes.

(I only noticed this as I inspected both sides to determine what the potential squeel could be).

I was quoted around $200 for new anti squeel shims from Toyota (Parts only), which would exceed the price the mechanic probably charged for the brake pad change in the first place.

[Zerone]

Also keep in mind where / how you perform servicing will affect the vehicles resale value.

My Previous car was serviced completely by myself. (I wouldnt trust a Holden dealership to change a tyre properly).

Even though I had receipts for everything, and the parts used either far exceeded genuine, or were genuine,

becuase the service book did not have any service stamps in it, it always became a negotiation point for potential buyers.

For my Lexus, although the 75,000Kms service had been performed by a corner mechanic (And luckily this was the only non lexus service), an additional 80,000Km service was performed by Lexus when the owner traded the car in.

This gave me some confidence that the vehicle had been serviced correctly by the previous owner.

My Lexus is now looming towards its 90,000Km service, and although I am competent enough to perform the service myself,

The thought of jeapodising the potential resale value of the vehicle is making me question the cost savings of performing this service myself.

(I.E. How much value will the car lose in 2 to 3 years time, compared to how much I would save in performing the service myself).

I estimate parts will cost around $300 - $400 (Synthetic Oil, filter, Diff Oil, Platinum / Iridium plugs, K&N Filter, carbon cabin filter, etc).

Labour will take me a day. (So calculate time that I could be spending earning money).

Just some food for thought....

[I CU2]

Lexus gives you a coffee, chocolates and if you're really nice to them a loaner for the day as well (although complementary for in-warranty vehicles).