Prepaid Maintenance

I most probably won't buy a prepaid maintenance plan but just curious what is considered a good price for 50K mile/5 year plan, any idea? This would be 8 visits after the complimentary service. Thanks!

CCTX said:

I most probably won't buy a prepaid maintenance plan but just curious what is considered a good price for 50K mile/5 year plan, any idea? This would be 8 visits after the complimentary service. Thanks!

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It’s just more convenient pay once and forget it then if there are price increases your safe

1 due said:

It’s just more convenient pay once and forget it then if there are price increases your safe

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True but I wasn’t sure what others may have paid for the same. Dealers try to get as much profit with these plans and sometimes are more than what you would have actually paid by visit, which they claim the opposite. I have no clue for example what a regular and a major (like 30k mile) service is typical for Lexus to do the math.

I skipped this add in along with all other protection items and extended warranties

Hey GXers. I was wondering the same thing, did the math, and if the dealer offers anything less than $3K, you're saving money. These plans typically cover oil changes, spark plugs, filters, tire rotations, free loaner, etc.

You have to make sure you are going to own the car for 5 years. Then you have to make sure you aren’t going to move. Then you have to decide you aren’t going to switch dealers. A lot of question marks before you figure in the time value of money vs inflation.

Mainelexus said:

You have to make sure you are going to own the car for 5 years. Then you have to make sure you aren’t going to move. Then you have to decide you aren’t going to switch dealers. A lot of question marks before you figure in the time value of money vs inflation.

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I prepaid maintenance for 6 years or 75,000 miles. My reasoning was partly to pay it now and not worry about it as time goes by but mainly to pay 2024 pricing for service into the year 2030. Pricing for Lexus dealership service isn't going to go down over the years.

To address your comments above:

The prepaid maintenance plan is fully transferable to a new owner.

The plan is good at any dealership. For example, I bought my GX way across town at the dealer in Peoria, AZ because they had a GX available. I'll be doing all the service at the Scottsdale dealership a couple miles from my house.

Bluegill said:

I prepaid maintenance for 6 years or 75,000 miles. My reasoning was partly to pay it now and not worry about it as time goes by but mainly to pay 2024 pricing for service into the year 2030. Pricing for Lexus dealership service isn't going to go down over the years.

To address your comments above:

The prepaid maintenance plan is fully transferable to a new owner.

The plan is good at any dealership. For example, I bought my GX way across town at the dealer in Peoria, AZ because they had a GX available. I'll be doing all the service at the Scottsdale dealership a couple miles from my house.

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May be transferable, but you will be very unlikely to get your money back on it if you sell. If you are going to keep it and you plan on always using your dealer for service it probably isn't a bad deal if you get it cheap enough.

This is the only add on I got at dealership. Still a little confused on what it includes.
Is there a maintenance schedule i should be following? Dealer just said bring it in every 5k miles

I personally think that prepaid maintenance is a good deal. I did it for my Audi, my wife's RAV4 and my GX Overtrail.

I still have some time before my GX comes in, but the only add on I'm considering is the prepaid maintenance. The fact that Lexus has valet service pickup with loaner drop off means I'll be happy to use the dealership for service even though they're 46 miles away. I will, of course, do my own 500 mile and 2500 miles oil change (since those aren't part of a service plan - in fact Lexus scheduled maintenance for the GX doesn't include an oil change until 10,000 miles / 12 months which is ridiculous).

I did the 4yr/50k maint plan for $3300. One service appt was $1300+ (fluids) and another $1700+ (plugs), plus I tow, which typically has a more aggressive maint schedule. So, I figured it will be at worst no loss after inflation. Tires, brakes and wipers extra of course.

Now, I'm less likely to put it off because I don't have to think about paying for it. Will see.

My thoughts on the warranty is it is all fear, uncertainty and doubt. I'm already paying a ton more upfront for Toyota reliability.

The prepaid maintenance is a no-brainer. I paid for 6 years or 75,000 miles, whichever comes first. I know I'll drive over 12,500 miles per year (75,000 divided by 6) so I'll get my mileage out of the prepaid maintenance program. The scheduled 5k maintenance interval services add up to about $9,000 so, like I said, it's a no-brainer. I think I paid about $4,000.

I also paid $2,605 for an extra 3 years or 50,000 miles of full Lexus Platinum warranty. After driving Land Rovers for the past 25 years, I want warranty, warranty, warranty. If your infotainment system goes out in year 5, you'll be thinking of ways to make the truck disappear.

Bluegill said:

The prepaid maintenance is a no-brainer. I paid for 6 years or 75,000 miles, whichever comes first. I know I'll drive over 12,500 miles per year (75,000 divided by 6) so I'll get my mileage out of the prepaid maintenance program. The scheduled 5k maintenance interval services add up to about $9,000 so, like I said, it's a no-brainer. I think I paid about $4,000.

I also paid $2,605 for an extra 3 years or 50,000 miles of full Lexus Platinum warranty. After driving Land Rovers for the past 25 years, I want warranty, warranty, warranty. If your infotainment system goes out in year 5, you'll be thinking of ways to make the truck disappear.

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Tough to compare Range Rover and Lexus with regards to quality or longevity

You don't think a Lexus out-of-warranty repair will be expensive, or do you think it will just never happen?

No I think range rovers long term reliability and quality are legendarily bad. Vs lexus Toyota best in the industry. I also think rr part and service cost are industry leading high, vs Toyota/ Lexus relatively reasonable. So if I was idiotic enough to ever get a rr again and had any thought of keeping it out of warranty I would do as you did and buy extended warranty’s to cover everything. Vs Lexus which while any car can break down is a very safe bet to be reliable, which leads to the question of is it a good bet that the extended warranty will be a good investment or not.

Like all forms of Insurance/warranty, comes down to one’s peace of mind. Last truck (Honda Ridgeline) I took the $ cost for Honda’s extended warranty and had my broker put it in a set-aside investment. Just gave the truck to my younger son with 90k miles on it and my investment is going towards my Overtrail which is scheduled to arrive at my dealer next week. Better to be lucky than good, as they say! Will probably do the same with the Lexus and hope it is as reliable or even better than the Honda was.

Martyt said:

I skipped this add in along with all other protection items and extended warranties

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Same. I didn’t like that Lexus offered a “10-pack” because the regularly scheduled maintenance probably wouldn’t add up. Also the 1st 2 interval checks are free. Also

Mainelexus said:

No I think range rovers long term reliability and quality are legendarily bad. Vs lexus Toyota best in the industry. I also think rr part and service cost are industry leading high, vs Toyota/ Lexus relatively reasonable. So if I was idiotic enough to ever get a rr again and had any thought of keeping it out of warranty I would do as you did and buy extended warranty’s to cover everything. Vs Lexus which while any car can break down is a very safe bet to be reliable, which leads to the question of is it a good bet that the extended warranty will be a good investment or not.

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Well, all Land Rover products have the repair & maintenance issues, not just the Range Rover model. And they are legendarily bad with good cause.

For $2,605 in 2024 dollars, I'll be 100% covered for repairs in the years 2028, 2029, and 2030. Now that these vehicles have "infotainment systems" that cost $10,000+ to replace, and computers involved in just about every system, with absolutely zero options for self-repair, I think $2605 is a worthwhile investment. If one computer or sensor or digital display goes out, you'll be looking at $1,000 easily....especially 5, 6, or 7 years from now.

I just wasted far too much time delving into the GX550 maintenance schedule and associated costs and creating a spreadsheet. I found an 82-page warranty and services guide online at this link:

2024 GX 550 Warranty and Services Guide

I boiled the 82-page guide down to just the 24-page Scheduled Maintenance Log portion of the overall guide and it's attached to this post.

I spoke with service advisors at two local dealerships regarding pricing. They gave me their best estimates for the various scheduled maintenance pricing (neither dealership has even done the first 5,000 service on a new GX550 yet).

The most basic service, which is the first 5,000-mile service where they just rotate your tires and perform a basic inspection, top up fluids, etc. will cost about $250. The first 5,000-mile service is free.

Then the next most basic service is the 10,000-mile service with rotating tires, basic inspection, fluid top-up, and change the oil & filter. This service will cost about $500. The first 10,000-mile service is free.

Then there are various other service items that kick in such as prop shaft lube & tighten, extra inspection, and smart key battery replacement at 15k miles, 45k miles, and 75k miles. Spark plugs get replaced along with the basic oil service at 40,000 miles. Ballpark cost is about $750 for these services.

The major service intervals are the 30k-mile services which include rotating tires, extra inspection, oil & filter change, prop shaft lube & tighten, cabin filter, engine air filter, smart key battery change, brake fluid flush, and what they call the 4x4 service which includes changing the differential fluids including the center diff or transfer case. They don't have a cost for this set yet but one service advisor quoted the GX460 service cost of about $1900.

Here's how I broke it down for what I expect to see for the first 75k miles or 6 years (assuming 12,500 miles per year). I'm looking at these numbers because I paid $3,795 for pre-paid maintenance up to 75k miles or 6 years. Right now I'm averaging more like 15k miles per year but I'm planning on buying another car to share daily driving duties.