How my "60,000 Mile Service" cost $7,500 (and counting)

3 pages and not one suggestion to LS swap it.

120 people paid $119k for the car below that a pristine example is now only worth $18k.  Nope.

ouch.

nutherjrfan said:

In reply to dean1484 :Isn't this more your style? don't know if it's legit.

Dam!!!  Those are hard to find. Yes that is on my want list for sure!!!!  

High end cars cost money to own.  The big “but” is if you are willing to work on them your self. Most are no more complicated than any other modern car. Carful shopping can make parts not that bad either. But like all cars there are good years and bad years. And there are good drive lines and bad drive lines. Do your homework and you can get some dam good luxury cars on the cheep. Be an idiot and by it with out doing your homework and you will pay. Also understand that you don’t get jaguar or Mercedes cars and expect Toyota maintenance . There are few high end cars with high end car needs. I see it over and over people getting a VAG product or a Mercedes or even a BMW and complain about maintenance costs. Theses are usually the people that are reaching beyond there means when they get one of these cars. They get a used high end car when they should be getting a Honda or a Toyota.  The sad fact is that with few exceptions you have to pay to play with the big boys.  It is just how it is.  Getting one of these cars expecting Toyota reliability and Toyota maintenance is being a fool. They are not Toyota’s. 

In reply to dean1484 :

I dunno, based on my experience the last year with my GX470 aka Toyota Prado at 11 years and 112-125k miles I'd say Toyota maintenance isn't exactly just oil changes and fuel.  I put a lot of sweat equity and parts at that truck and finally had enough and sold it.  While it didn't need much up to that point, everything wore out at the same time.

At least on my VAG products they were consistent with intervals and didn't hammer me all at once.

Pretty much any car will be needy maintenance-wise if you're trying to keep it in great shape and you actively go looking for worn bushings and other parts.  The Toyota reliability thing comes from how well a lot of people can get away with ignoring all of that kind of stuff when they're using it as an appliance and not very in tune with how it drives. 

As an example, drive a Camry with worn control arm bushings up front.  It'll just be a little sloppier than normal.  Now do the same on a BMW with their dual pivot strut setup up front.  The worn thrust arm bushings will make themselves known with a serious case of the shakes around 55 mph. 

rslifkin said:

Pretty much any car will be needy maintenance-wise if you're trying to keep it in great shape and you actively go looking for worn bushings and other parts.  The Toyota reliability thing comes from how well a lot of people can get away with ignoring all of that kind of stuff when they're using it as an appliance and not very in tune with how it drives. 

As an example, drive a Camry with worn control arm bushings up front.  It'll just be a little sloppier than normal.  Now do the same on a BMW with their dual pivot strut setup up front.  The worn thrust arm bushings will make themselves known with a serious case of the shakes around 55 mph. 

Well said,  now add ignorance and exclusivity to that mix.  Many people buy upscale but know little about the mechanical aspects. They blithely trust the dealership and have no reference as to the costs of things involved.  Mechanical work is beneath them so they pay whatever is asked.   Then complain about the costs involved, never realizing that they are paying for their ignorance and arrogance.  Oh they may question fellow owners who reply “ That’s just the cost of ownership.  

In reply to frenchyd :

Then there are the unscrupulous dealers that prey on that ignorance.  A local VW dealer tried that crap with my wife once.  

In reply to rslifkin :

All the stuff I had to replace was replace it or the truck stops working.  Like axles, alternator, radiator, etc, etc.