Prepaid Maintenance

One more note - the dealership where I purchased my GX had a draft service schedule and cost sheet that I was allowed to look at briefly. I added up the first 75k mile services in my head and it was a bit over $9,000 so that checks out. This is why I went ahead with the pre-paid maintenance plan at $3795.

Also note that these ballpark prices are all in 2024 dollars. The two service advisors I spoke with didn't want to quote actual numbers because the cost of each service will be going up (they sure as hell won't be going down). I'm not going to need a major 30k service ($1900 currently for the GX460) for another 2 years so the quoted ballpark price of $1900 for the GX460 is low. The only price that one advisor did hard-quote me is $180 for just an oil change on its own (which I plan to pay for at 5,000 miles).
 
killy said:
I’d be a lot more scared of an oil change that costs less than $180 lol
Click to expand...
I’ve done my own from the beginning of time so I guess it’s a matter of perspective. I’m also retired and have a lift in my shop.
 
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The prepaid maintenance at our dealer ended up saving 10% on today's prices, but when you add in price increases, which supposedly they had 2 last year, would save you more. It is a great deal for the dealer. They get your money in advance and basically force you to come in to them for service, while pocketing the $$ for any service you miss.
 
Geez - at these costs, I'll drive the Tesla more. Of these maintenance items, only had to pay for tire rotation at $65ea (or less at a 3rd party shop) and a cabin filter at $74 every couple years.

And $0.01-0.015/mi for electric instead of $0.21/mi for premium gas.

Even out of warranty repairs have totaled under $600 in 5.5yr, except for when people have hit me..
 
The pre-paid/dealer maintenance program is a double-edged sword for sure. If you use the dealer exclusively for maintenance then you are paying ridiculous prices for things like tire rotation and "inspections". We all know the inspections are a 5 or 10 minute check under the hood. Just like all the Certified Pre-Owned programs with their 1,000-point inspection lists that make it sound like Master Service Technicians come from near and far and spend a month pouring over your particular vehicle to make sure it is the cream of the crop. Yeah right, a grunt gets a clipboard and a greasy pencil stub and completes the checklist 5 minutes before his lunch break. At any rate, I'm choosing to use the dealer for maintenance so I have no questions asked if/when it comes to warranty items. Sure I can change my own oil and used to do it on past vehicles but A) I don't really have the time, B) I don't want to buy supplies and then deal with the spent oil disposal, and C) I don't want to have to prove to the dealer that it's been done properly by me (or Jiffy Lube) to keep my warranty in place. $180 for an oil change is no big deal in the grand scheme of things.
 
IF dealer prices bother you, don't use the dealers. These are toyotas, they aren't mercedes or BMW's or Range rovers. Lots of people fix them, they are made to be fixed. I had an audi that a headlight went out on. It was $1200 to replace. Luckily an aftermarket was available for $900.
 
Bluegill said:
The pre-paid/dealer maintenance program is a double-edged sword for sure. If you use the dealer exclusively for maintenance then you are paying ridiculous prices for things like tire rotation and "inspections". We all know the inspections are a 5 or 10 minute check under the hood. Just like all the Certified Pre-Owned programs with their 1,000-point inspection lists that make it sound like Master Service Technicians come from near and far and spend a month pouring over your particular vehicle to make sure it is the cream of the crop. Yeah right, a grunt gets a clipboard and a greasy pencil stub and completes the checklist 5 minutes before his lunch break. At any rate, I'm choosing to use the dealer for maintenance so I have no questions asked if/when it comes to warranty items. Sure I can change my own oil and used to do it on past vehicles but A) I don't really have the time, B) I don't want to buy supplies and then deal with the spent oil disposal, and C) I don't want to have to prove to the dealer that it's been done properly by me (or Jiffy Lube) to keep my warranty in place. $180 for an oil change is no big deal in the grand scheme of things.
Click to expand...
Yes, it certainly makes it easier if you develop a relationship with your dealer.
 
I just picked up a Luxury+ today and the dealer offered the 5year/90,000 for $3,695. I thought that was a very good deal so I bought it. FYI - my 2020 GMC Yukon XL has 115,000 miles on it, I drive a lot.
 
It comes with a 4 year 50k so you got an extended 1 year and 40k warranty? Or are you talking about full service?
 
I think the pre-paid maintenance plan is more of a no-brainer than the extended warranty. You know for a fact that you are going to be paying for the maintenance at specific mileage or time intervals. You can pre-pay the maintenance at about a third of what will be the actual out-of-pocket costs. The downside is that you pay it today, the upside is that you pay it at today's cost.

With the extended warranty, we all hope that we never need to use it, in that we hope the vehicle quality is so stellar that we never need warranty work. Of course we all know that parts like power steering pumps, water pumps, ac compressors, etc. wear out and it has no bearing on vehicle quality. I'm willing to take a $2600 bet that an extra 3 years or 50,000 miles of extended warranty will pay for itself. In all seriousness, what do you think Lexus will charge you in 2029 or 2030 for parts and labor to replace a power steering pump or ac compressor? It's going to be $1,000+ if it's a dollar. And God forbid computers or sensors or the giant bling touchscreen start to fail. You're in the 5-figures very quickly with those items.
 
Not quite sure where you get 1/3 of the out of pocket costs. At our dealership, they take 10% off the cost of the inclueded services. The biggest advantage is you are paying all at todays prices. So you save 10% off today's prices and if the cost of the services go up you save that too. I would definitely not think it is 1/3 the cost, you might end up saving 1/3 of the total cost, if that is what you mean.
 
If I follow the recommended service interval plan (every 5,000 miles) and I take it to the dealer and pay dealer prices for all services, I would pay over $9,000 for all of the services through 75,000 miles. That's at today's approximate prices.

I paid $3,795 up front for all service through 75,000 miles. This amount is 42% of $9,000 so not quite "a third" but close.
 
Bluegill said:
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.

MileageMonthsYearsServiceCost
5,000​
6​
0.5​
Rotate tires, basic inspectionfree
10,000​
12​
1​
Rotate tires, basic inspection, oil & filterfree
15,000​
18​
1.5​
Rotate tires, extra inspection, prop shaft lube & tighten, smart key battery$750
20,000​
24​
2​
Rotate tires, basic inspection, oil & filter$500
25,000​
30​
2.5​
Rotate tires, basic inspection$250
30,000​
36​
3​
Rotate tires, extra inspection, oil & filter, prop shaft lube & tighten, cabin filter, engine air filter, smart key battery, brake fluid, 4x4 service differentials$2,000
35,000​
42​
3.5​
Rotate tires, basic inspection$250
40,000​
48​
4​
Rotate tires, basic inspection, oil & filter, spark plugs$750
45,000​
54​
4.5​
Rotate tires, extra inspection, prop shaft lube & tighten, smart key battery$750
50,000​
60​
5​
Rotate tires, basic inspection, oil & filter$500
55,000​
66​
5.5​
Rotate tires, basic inspection$250
60,000​
72​
6​
Rotate tires, extra inspection, oil & filter, prop shaft lube & tighten, cabin filter, engine air filter, smart key battery, brake fluid, 4x4 service differentials$2,000
65,000​
78​
6.5​
Rotate tires, basic inspection$250
70,000​
84​
7​
Rotate tires, basic inspection, oil & filter$500
75,000​
90​
7.5​
FINAL PRE-PAID MAINT SERVICE: Rotate tires, extra inspection, prop shaft lube & tighten, smart key battery$750
SUBTOTAL:$9,500
Click to expand...

Thank you for putting together this super useful table!
 
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