But there may be some costs that are higher than normal :"Maintenance & RepairsSurprisingly, maintenance and car repairs account for only fourpercent of the cost of ownership, Weathers said. The maintenance andrepair cost figures used in Consumer Reports' cost of ownershipcomparison were based on information gleaned from more than a millionrespondents in its annual Car Reliability Survey.One notable conclusion reached in the Consumer Reports study is thatLexus models have relatively high maintenance and repair costs --primarily due to maintenance alone, even though Lexus owners reportedexcellent reliability. The Lexus ES350 racks up an average of $2,300in maintenance and repair in the first five years. Meanwhile, ownersof a comparable Lincoln MKZ can expect to pay only half that much."My 06 LS430 Ultra has had about $9000 worth of warranty work done onit in addition to the incredible $175 oil changes, etc. Oh - by theway - they do NOT include 4 wheel alignments in that $175 oil change.My tires are watched by Lexus - fortunately I looked at them today,couple of weeks after my last oil change - noted the balding strips onthe sides of the tires and the broken knives in the tread. Went overto see my tire guy and at 25,300 miles have to replace all four of thetires. Glad I checked before I got on the road Thursday and had ablowout where the tire disintegrated!Ah well ... and on we go!

Comparable is in the eye of the beholder...So, you're shocked that a 4000 lb car with 278 hp needs tires at25,000 miles? And you believe it's your dealer's responsibility totell you?Worn tires are somewhat different than valve clearances - you don'tneed to be a mechanic to know when you need to replace them. And25,000 miles out of a set of tires for that car isn't bad.You're clearly very unhappy with that car - why not replace it withsomething more to your tastes?

Psssst - Hey mister - wanna buy a Lexus?

Apr 22, 2008 24 Replies

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mcbrue 18 years ago

Ah ... an historian! Thank you for the history, but I fear that you left out Al Gore's invention of the internet. And I hadn't heard that spam was invented by a pair of people. I wonder if you could expand on that a bit.

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St. John Smythe 18 years ago

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johngdole 18 years ago

I thought Bridgestone/Firestones were bad!

However Michelins and Pirellis are considered premium tires. I'm surprised Toyota didn't use them on their Lexus. Cost too much I guess.

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Graybeard 18 years ago

When I bought our Lexus ES350 (with the piston-slap engine last year), the dealer said that the cars come in with different tires at different times. Some have Michelins. Ours has Bridgestone Taranza tires. Our Toyota Avalon had Michelins. Graybeard

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DaveW 18 years ago

I asked a simple question. He's been unhappy with that car as long as he's owned it. Why would he keep it?

Nobody is keeping me here, and as it is an open forum, nobody is preventing me from asking a perfectly logical question, either. If you have some kind of problem with that, I suggest you ignore me, as you do every time I ask you what model car you drive.

So I'm on Toyota's payroll if I wonder why someone who can afford to drive any car they please chooses to keep a Lexus that makes them unhappy? That seems a stretch, doesn't it?

Tell us again what you think of the MacPherson Struts on the GS models

- maybe nobody will point out this time that they never had them. No reason for that to stop you from telling us they don't work well, is it?

Also, what Lexus model is built on the Corolla - or was that some other ignoramus posting in your name?

So, john, what do you drive?

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