$1149$ Oil change price

OppositeLock said:

I dropped my Emira off for some warranty work when it had 1,000ish miles on it and since breakin was done, I asked the dealer to change oil and brake fluid while they had the car. I didn't even consider asking the price, because to me, this was always a negligible cost. I was appalled to get a bill for roughly $1,400 for the "first year service". Next time, I'm doing it myself

These high prices aren't for the parts or the oil, it's just the premium of paying a dealer for their labor, and my particular dealer works on some very fancy cars in addition to Lotus. I guess paying 5x a reasonable oil change price lets you ogle a Lambo in the showroom.

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Sorry to hear about Robbery at Dealer.

Fasttoys said:

What frustrates me the most it’s a Toyota motor with a super charger & the parts like the oil filter should be the same as a Toyota ? Am I missing something?

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The Toyota OEM filter works just fine, at least for the V6. Others on the Forum have said the Lotus OEM filter is just a repackaged Toyota filter.

$750 at my local lotus dealer

OppositeLock said:

I dropped my Emira off for some warranty work when it had 1,000ish miles on it and since breakin was done, I asked the dealer to change oil and brake fluid while they had the car. I didn't even consider asking the price, because to me, this was always a negligible cost. I was appalled to get a bill for roughly $1,400 for the "first year service". Next time, I'm doing it myself

These high prices aren't for the parts or the oil, it's just the premium of paying a dealer for their labor, and my particular dealer works on some very fancy cars in addition to Lotus. I guess paying 5x a reasonable oil change price lets you ogle a Lambo in the showroom.

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OMG I would be so Pissed at that price, a Ferrari 458 is less than that price.

Fasttoys said:

What frustrates me the most it’s a Toyota motor with a super charger & the parts like the oil filter should be the same as a Toyota ? Am I missing something?

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There are a lot more bolts to remove than on a Toyota. However, I think this is just dealers charging what they think they can get away with. Changing it yourself isn’t difficult. That’s what I’d recommend even if you aren’t mechanically inclined. Follow the guides that forum members have put together on here.

Even if you arent mechanically minded, an Oil change is very basic piece of work, any independent can do and will charge a lot less for
In the UK we are lucky to have numerous Independents, that specialise in Lotus Cars, these can save 100s per visit in comparison to a main dealer. Surely something similar is an option in the US. Just keep the receipts, as you would if you had done it yourself

Eagle7 said:

$300 an hour?? To change oil and a filter?? Man alive, I might have to come out of retirement and start doing oil changes. I'll give everybody a break; I'll do it in 2 hours at half the price.

No it won't void your warranty if you do your own oil changes. Just keep your receipts to document what you used, and when. There's videos on the forum how to do it.

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Hey Eagle, I know you have service done at the same dealer as me, was just quoted $900 for an oil change. Reviewing posts tonight on cost, seems 2x excessive. Really?

Last ICE said:

Hey Eagle, I know you have service done at the same dealer as me, was just quoted $900 for an oil change. Reviewing posts tonight on cost, seems 2x excessive. Really?

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That is absolutely ridiculous. Even if you have to buy the tools, the filter wrench and a drain pan, including the oil and filter you can do the whole thing for less than $100. The most time-consuming part is removing and reinstalling the under tray pan below the oil filter area. I have a Quickjack so it's easy to get under the car, but you might be able to find someplace that will let you rent access to a lift for an hour. Even if it costs you $50 to rent a lift, plus the cost of everything else, it'll still save you over $700. I believe either @Porter or @Dragoon have videos and/or photos showing how to do the change, plus the filter number.

Eagle7 said:

That is absolutely ridiculous. Even if you have to buy the tools, the filter wrench and a drain pan, including the oil and filter you can do the whole thing for less than $100. The most time-consuming part is removing and reinstalling the under tray pan below the oil filter area. I have a Quickjack so it's easy to get under the car, but you might be able to find someplace that will let you rent access to a lift for an hour. Even if it costs you $50 to rent a lift, plus the cost of everything else, it'll still save you over $700. I believe either @Porter or @Dragoon have videos and/or photos showing how to do the change, plus the filter number.

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I’d seen the video - lack of a lift caused my inquiry. The quote is crazy town.

On rails said:

To my shock, my car recently was towed from KC to St. Louis for issues related to the car not starting consistently. It keep getting worse and finally throwing a code I shipped it to Holman Lotus. Since it was already there I decided to have the oil flushed. So I asked my service advisor to give me a price quote. To my shock I thought she had put an extra 1 in front of the 1149. I reminded her that this was a Toyota engine not Ferrari, but she clearly stated that she was correct and they charge 300hr.

Has anyone else experienced this price for an oil change?? How would it take 3 hours to perform an oil change? Considering I live in KC and the dealership is 3hrs away I have no intention to take it back there for the yearly scheduled service with 300hr. Will it effect my warranty if I do my oil changes myself.

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It's too easy not to it do yourself anyway. Some folks have the impression it's a dealer must do service however there's lots of us that can prove that wrong. I know you were just asking them to quote the work... just sharing why I don't even ask.

Wow, I get my Porsche serviced at an indie place, because I think Porsche's $165/hr service rate is too high. Thanks for the tip on checking Lotus dealer prices first. Besides, the dealer is a 90 minute drive away, unless there is something that is warranty, or absolutely needs to be done by a dealer, I have little motivation to go there.

Last ICE said:

I’d seen the video - lack of a lift caused my inquiry. The quote is crazy town.

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If you don't want to do it yourself, you might try taking to a Toyota dealer. The only real difference is the under tray pan. It's a Toyota engine; same filter. If you want to buy the oil and filter yourself, see if they can just do the change. Any independent shop might do it if you supply the oil and filter.

Get this filter (you can get it on Amazon):


7 qts of this oil (though the manual says 6 liters, that's actually 6.2 qts).


Go to the Toyota parts dept. and get this oil pan drain washer : A120E6461S to replace the one when you remove the drain plug to drain the oil.

You can get the filter wrench from Amazon for $8



You'll need a drain pan and funnel which you can get at any auto parts store. I got a metal funnel with a flexible spout, because otherwise it's difficult to pour the oil into the engine. It helps to have a long spout if you're also going to change the trans oil at some point in time. Amazon has the one I got for $17.



The Amazon links are below the images. For some reason the site won't let the Amazon links show the images.