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What you need is a thorough inspection by a knowledgeable and honest mechanic
Quote:
Originally Posted by kanhawk
While at the Chevy dealership for a maintenance issue they recommended I come back for a 60,000 mile servicing they charge $525. Here are the items they listed on the service sheet they gave me for 60K miles:
I have a 2004 RX330 that currently has ~53K miles (yes 53K not 153K). This last time when I took it to Lexus for maintenance they started pushing all kinds of replacement items on me (including the timing belt). Of course I told them that was ridiculous given the low mileage and the service guy laughed (b/c he knows it is ridiculous) and said he had to offer these recommendations (understandably given his job). The total cost of all the recommendations was something like $2,700.
Admittedly, I am craving the technology of a newer vehicle so I don't want to pump a ton of money into my car right now especially given it has no mechanical problems (knock on wood), but my car has been paid off for eight years and I like not having a car payment.
So for those who are more familiar, do you base maintenance on your car (assuming low mileage) by miles? Or by age? What types of things are more dependent on age?
Scheduled service, per the Owners Manual, is to change the timing belt at 90,000 miles - not 60,000. Pretty much everything else they're telling you is a lie as well.
53k is almost no miles at all, on a modern vehicle.
All you need to do on this vehicle is maintenance & repairs as they become necessary. I would strongly recommend that you find a good independent mechanic, and never go to that Lexus dealership again.
I'm a certified/factory trained Motorcycle mechanic... you know, those toys that sit around a lot and don't collect many miles? Age is a major killer of components and there is a Very specific reason why ALL service items have Both a mileage and an age related time/use limit. I've had rubber brake lines on a vehicle with under 10k miles, rupture with the first hard use after several years idle (bleeding the brakes in the shop, thankfully, and not out on the road), I've replaced timing belts in garage queens that crumbled to the touch despite only having a couple thousand miles on them. Age can Really play havoc with soft parts (rubber and gaskets), if you want another decade of good service out of your paid-for Lexus, investing the money in getting those age-related items brought up to date would be in your best interest.
At least IMHO.... seems like most other users here don't agree with me most of the time.
This is so true. Last year we bought a really clean 2001 Ford Excursion with only 93k miles, well I've been replacing all kinds of stupid things that i don't think would have needed to be replaced if it was used regularly.
Look at boats, the longer they sit the more things that need to be worked on.
This is so true. Last year we bought a really clean 2001 Ford Excursion with only 93k miles, well I've been replacing all kinds of stupid things that i don't think would have needed to be replaced if it was used regularly.
Look at boats, the longer they sit the more things that need to be worked on.
I should be good to go with a Chevy I just bought then. It's an 09 with 100,000 FWD Impala police vehicle in really good shape. It has a 3.9 liter motor. I got it for the winter with four snows already on it.
As for safety, I agree anti-lock brakes with side curtain airbags...I don't want to die on a deserted cold winter road.
Lately I have been hearing that you should replace your tires at five years of age even if there is a lot of good tread left. For years we have been told to change our oil every three thousand even though the manufacturers say anywhere between 5 and 7 thousand miles. It sounds like the tire makers have seen how well the oil changers have done over the years. I do believe that age is important, I'm just not sure I need to replace five year old tires with 20,000 miles of tread still left
If its in good shape, IMO 2700 beats a new car payment. I follow the recommended manufacturers maintenance schedule on ALL my vehicles
2000 ford 156k runs like a top
1999 chevy 198k runs like a top
2004 SUV 51k runs like a top
1989 GMC 360k runs great old truck gave it to a nephew. Drives it to school every day. Original motor never been cracked open.
Follow the scheduled maintenance. I would do the timing belt simply because if it breaks its probably a interference motor which means motor will need to be rebuilt or replaced if you break the timing belt.
I have a 93 Chevy truck with 4.3 V6 and 5sp. (American auto makers no longer offer manual trans in their full-sized trucks or I would have bought a new one) Mine has a whopping 105K on it. I haven't had a car note in 15 years and full coverage ins here in overpriced MD is $1K a year.
Schedule? I change the oil every 3 months - never let the monkeys do it. The only thing I let a garage do is AC recharging and tire rotation. Tranny fluid is pretty much sealed as is the rear. I check the brake fluid, power steering and clutch fluid when I change oil. Same with tire air pressure.
One thing you have to watch for are the cheap replacement parts that you find anywhere you go to buy them. Not much is made in the USA anymore and most originate in China, India or Mexico. I have a problem with replacement engine mounts so had to fabricate my own. I do most maintenance and what I can't do on my own a mechanic friend of mine helps with as he has a fully outfitted garage.
Plugs, wires and distributor cap are big ones to watch for me; to be done this fall. I buy the best tires I can from tirerack but can attest to them getting hard or revulcanizing over years and not gripping like they should, even with 20K miles left on them. Change them because it isn't worth it. Brakes are to be done this fall as well and new front calipers are going on. Brakes are too easy.
I hate chasing electrical problems in any car regardless of age.
I have a 93 Chevy truck with 4.3 V6 Tranny fluid is pretty much sealed as is the rear. .
I ha a gmc with 4.3. I took off the trans pan and brazed a drain plug. It is a " sealed" trans but I still requires fluid changes, I did mine on all my trucks once a year or every 15k but once a year in January was the normal fluid changes. The rear diff same thing. Once a year all fluids got changed. Oil was every 5 k. 3 k is way too soon.
Worked well for me
Age does mean something in the wear on a car. From the day the car is made things start to age and break down. You could take a zero mile car, put it in a garage for 10 years, and some things would be getting to the point of maybe needing replacement already. Rubber and plastic are most notable examples, as are fluids.
We drive our hot rods a very limited number of miles every year, I drive mine more than my Son's drive theirs. But just sitting in the shop we find things that have gotten hard from time, or from the effects of things like ethanol gas being run through them.
I bought a 50,000 mile 1984 Ford from the proverbial little old lady a few years ago, the car was mint, but I needed to replace all the hoses, belts, tires, and the fuel tank because they had aged. The valve springs were also weak from sitting under the pressure of the rocker arms for so long, and the fuel system needed a complete cleaning, as did the cooling system. Conversely, I have had cars that had 150,000 miles on them where everything was still good, just because the car wasn't as old.
Don
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