Where are we going to buy our cars if dealerships don't survive?

 

100 years from now it'll be straight from the factory for made-to-order cars.

For now, don't worry about the dealers. I get a good deal on my cars and then turn around and blow it on their overpriced service.

 

Overpriced service...

I personally don't mind going to the dealership for service because I could sit comfortably in an A/C lounge watching plasma screen, reading any magazine/newspaper there are, drinking bottled water/juice/coffee while surfing on the wireless network or playing with whatever new car they have when I wait while expecting Lexus certified technicians servicing my car with genuine Lexus original equipments. In addition, I can get a Lexus loaner if my car needs to stay there overnight without any charges.

It's all in perspective. Many of us would like to believe that our cars are worth whatever how much it is that we paid, and we should just leave it at that. Just because one pays more than another doesn't make him/her a "sucker."

Keep in mind that the whole reason behind negotiation is that the cars are not made-to-order, and that's why there are the overstocks available for discounts. If all cars are made-to-order, the increase in cost for the manufacturers would be directly reflected on the price of the car. The ball wouldn't be in my court if they give me everything I want.

We can already see that as of right now. I went in with the specific color combination and options I wanted. I know I could've gotten a better deal if I were to take one off the lot. I also know that I would've gotten a worse deal if I had to special order. That's just the way it is.

 

That may be true in some cases.... if your dealership is crooked. But that's bad for Lexus' image.

Here in so cal, I have never experienced different treatment while bringing in my car which I bought from another dealership. I even leave the dealership license plate frame on.
Money shows no prejudice.

 

I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one. I have worked for a few auto dealers and presently at a motorcycle dealership. When a sales customer drags the sales department thru the ringer to get a low ball deal and/or buys elsewhere the dealership GM/owner usually lets the service manager know about it. All the service manager's decisions with that customer are going to be friendly and fair, however they are not going to go out of their way at any time for that customer. Trust me on this.

 

you work for a crooked motorcycle dealership.


One call to lexus HQ, and the dealership will get their act together.

sometimes, you gotta buy elsewhere because a dealer doesn't have the specific car you're looking for. How do you differentiate then?

 

Nothing crooked at all about my dealership. We are better than most. My point is if you think being a total hard *** buyer or buying somewhere other than your servicing dealer isn't going to come back and bite you on the *** to some degree down the road, you are dreaming. If you don't want to understand the reality of this situation, that's your right. So you just keep on dreaming sir.

 

I agree. If there are two cars waiting at the same time, the one that was bought at the dealership will get in first. I think that is how it should be. If I pay a little more to stay local, then I want service. I worked at a dealership for 25 years and thats how it worked with us.

 

do you guys have a computer database where you flag all the lowball buyers and give them worse customer service?

When you type up the vin number of the vehicle, does the computer flash "LOWBALL ALERT! LOWBALL ALERT! BASTARD NEEDS TO BE MOVED TO THE END OF THE LINE!"

maybe my local dealership is an exception and isn't an *** about customer service. Sure, there are a few EXTRA features you get for buying at the local dealership, but butting in line isn't one of them. You still have to make an appointment and wait.

 

At the dealership where we bought our car, they give priority on service appointments to customers of the dealership. Same with loaner cars, customers first. Makes sense to me.

 

my local dealership is large. Everyone gets a Lexus loaner car by appointment.
They never ask where you bought the car. They give you an appt date, THEN ask your name.
No cheap rental car substitutes here....

 

My local dealership is large too. Each one operates differently, since they have different owners etc. The loaner car thing applies if they're getting booked up for the day.

 

Well, you should also know that most dealerships make money on service than new car sales. So, if this is the policy that they follow, they will end up biting themselves in the ***.

 

OK-Let me see if I can explain this for those of you who are not quite understanding. You are not going to get flagged with a "bastard alert" like Dunnojack sarcastically stated. When you dealer runs a history on your car when you bring it in to check for recalls and in-service dates the history shows which dealer you bought it from. Leaving the other dealer's license plate frame on is a dead give away of course. You are going to get treated good and fair just like the people that bought their cars right there at that dealership. If push comes to shove the customer who bought his vehicle there will generally get priority. Yes the service department make a good profit on all service customers and that's why you will be treated very well. Here are a couple hypothetical situations to think about:
(1) Your nav system stops working properly. You take your car to your servicing dealer which is not the dealer you bought from. The tech checks out your car and finds out that you did the nav hack/bypass that you learned about right here on this forum and cut into the vehicles wiring. You have modified the system and even if that didn't actually cause the failure it would be considered so by the manfacturer's warranty department. Read the fine print on your warranty. Factory defects only are covered. Abuse, misuse, lack of maintenence, acts of god, yada,yada, are not covered. If you didn't buy from this dealer it is unlikely that they would even consider a warranty repair for the failure. They have strict warranty guidelines to abide by and stepping out of the guidelines is a risk.
(2) Your car went out of warranty 6 months ago. Your driver's window regulator fails. You take your car to your servicing dealer and they tell you the regulator needs to be replaced and it will cost $500.00. You ask about Lexus doing a "good will" repair since you are only 6 months out of warranty. Your servicing dealer only has X amount of annual or monthly goodwill allotment. Is he going to use his goodwill on a customer that didn't buy from that dealer? Maybe-maybe not.

Those were just a couple examples. There are others. And don't get mad and call dealers that work with these kind of policies/guidelines crooks. They all do. Membership has it's privileges and that's a fact.

 

good examples. now i udnerstand better

I'll be sure to take my car to the original dealership when i Fk up something in my car.