So, here is how it goes.
We buy a new GX in October 2007 from Ray Catena Lexus in Larchmont, NY. During the delivery of the vehicle, we notate to the salesman that the 3rd seat middle headrest is missing. He says he'll take care of it. I call 3x in the next 3 weeks, every time I am asked to look in some other part of the vehicle for it, even in cubby holes the headrest couldn't possibly fit in.

Fast forward to November 2007, the steering column locks up rendering the car unable to steer and run. I am 54 miles from the nearest dealer which is Prestige Lexus. The tow truck comes and takes it leaving me stranded and to find my own way there.

I call Prestige to find out if they got my car and they have no idea who I am. After a lot of time on the phone with Prestige, I find out my car was towed in under another name as the owner. Prestige tells me that I must be the second owner and I bought it used. I explain to them it had 10 miles on it and I bought it brand new. They showed it as being sold on 8/31/07 to a S. Bernstein. I purchased it on 10/9/07. After that was figured out, I was offered a loaner. The car was in service for a week and required an entirely new steering column.
I go to pick up the GX when they called. They ask me for my keys and take about 30 minutes to reprogram both sets of keys. After that, they tell me "your car is out there somewhere". I find it on the service drive completely covered in snow and ice. (It had not snowed in 3 days). I open the door, my light tan interior is filthy and grease stained, the radio is tuned to a religious cult station (not that there is anything wrong with that) instead of my stations. Since I was late already to get to my appointment, I left and started driving on the highway. I started accumulating some road mist from the melting snow on the highway and I went to turn on my wipers and they would not work. I pulled over and got out and found my wipers to be buried in 3" of ice. I had to chip the ice out at the base of the windshield. I turned on the wipers and they moved to the up position and stopped. They refused to work and now the windshield was completely smeared. I found a Dunkin Donuts napkin and cleaned a spot out so I could see. I proceeded to my appointment 70 miles away and it took a few additional napkins to make it there. I also during the trip found out all my power windows were inoperative from the driver control panel.

I complained, in writing, to the Lexus website customer service in detail as I have laid out here. I also mentioned my reasons for buying a Lexus was the fact that my friends were happy with the service and the treatment they have received when they have needed it. One friend, in particular, told me the Greenwich, CT dealer even replaced the floor mats when they were stained for no charge. In mid December, I finally received a return phone call from the Lexus customer service and was told they would look into it with both dealers and get back to me. As of this date, I still have not heard back.

This month, January 2008, my battery went dead from the automatic headlamps not turning off after they were supposed to. Now I cannot use the Auto Lamp feature as it will kill the battery. Yesterday, the key fell apart and lost the middle section that holds the buttons. I believe the dealer must not of properly tightened the screw that holds the key together.

Needless to say, i am extremely disappointed with the supposed "Lexus Experience" and the lack of quality that seems to be apparent with my GX. BTW, as of this writing, it has 3900 miles on it.

I own a Chevy and a Mercedes and have been treated far better by my Chevy dealer and even my Mercedes dealer. I despise the Mercedes dealer but feel they try. I hold both dealers in higher regard than either Lexus dealers at this point. My whole reason for going to Lexus was based on the "reputation" that is alleged.

Anyone else have similar problems with their Lexus (or is Lexii?) and dealers?

Thanks for listening, it is extremely frustrating to be going through this.




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Sorry to hear that your experience was less than par. It happens to the best of us. Sometimes you get a bad tech, salesman, or service advisor (or a combination of all) and it lays the groundwork for a disheartening experience. I have had my share of attempted games at dealers, even Lexus. It is always best to mainatian a calm demeanor and thoroughly explain to the head of service, your position. I am sure you will be provided a solution that will make up for this.

 

hmm...the windows not working etc is because they unplugged the battery and it erased all the settings. but they should have fixed it.

as for the headlights not turning off...i dont see that happening unless you left a door open. the headlights automatically turn off if you dont touch the car after 30 seconds.

i have to say im treated like royalty at my lexus dealer, and hope you dont shy away from lexus because of this. you should definately call lexus corporate and complain instead of using an online writing suggestions box.

lexus is really big on customer service, their entire empire has been built on it, so if you complain by phone, the dealers will be penalized.

try a different dealer next time!

 

seems more like the dealer and not the car, also, it seems like you had the problems after you left the dealer, the gx is a great car, so either you got a lemon, or your dealership is a piece of crap

 

Wow, sorry for you misfortune. Geez, I would have went off on the dealer for sure, I wouldn't have taken the car until they lived up to the Lexus moto. Hope they get back with you with a rememdy. Good Luck

 

hard to believe based on my years of experience with Lexus..............

 

When I lived in NY I purchased 2 Lexus vehicles (93 SC400, 96 LS400) from Ray Catena in Larchmont and they were an excellent dealer for sales and service. I also have brought my current GX470 (purchased elsewhere) to Prestige Lexus for the 1st free service and the clunk TSIB back in May 07 and it was a pleasure dealing with the service department. They didn't care where I purchased the GX. They were glad to do the service and warranty work.

Now that I have moved out here, if needed, I guess I will try Lexus of Oxnard or Lexus of Monterey Peninsula.

 

Bob.....

Try Lexus of Thousand Oaks, they are great !!

~ Cap

 

Ouch...sorry to hear what happened.

I to think its just the dealers fault because it seems just clumsy and unprofessional for all this to happen at one time.

Glad to hear your in CA now. I have heard Oxnard is a great Lexus dealer. Havn't heard too much about Lexus of MP though.

Goodluck to you in the future. I hope CA's Lexus dealers can redeem the Lexus name for you.

 

Yikes, sounds like you've got a lemon of a vehicle and/or a dealer. My dealer has always treated me like a king so it's amazing to read a story like this. The only thing I dislike about my dealer is they always call me to ask how happy I am after every visit, very annoying. Good luck getting your issues resolved, things can only get better (hopefully).

 

I am suprised at the response you got from both Ray Catena and Prestige Lexus. I have bought 3 Lexus's from Prestige and have found them to be the best. My sister in law, has leased cars from Ray Catena and found them to be excellent. It seems you had a bad salesman & service rep. I would right the GM of both dealerships, give them the names and explain your issues.

Thaks
Bobby

 

Lexus of Oxnard is Excellent ! I've had over 14 years experience with them and they have always been top notch. I have never left the dealership unhappy.

 

This series of events sounds too un-Lexuslike to be true... Wow! I wish you luck in getting the problems resolved and perhaps some compensation.

I've purchased 4 vehicles from Prestige, and I'm always treated very well up there. I can't fathom how all of this could have happened.

 

I agree with Yaro1. Of course I sympathized with "mbenza" for the frustrating situation but my to-date experience with Lexus headquarters and local elite dealership is significantly different. Let me share my experience so far. I am currently waiting for my special ordered delivery of loaded 2008 GX470 with KDSS but not with the whole sports package. Though it was a special order, they fully agreed to my purchase negotiation terms that include almost 5.5K off of MSRP and free loaner car whenever I need it to go out of town till the delivery. I have been getting the loaner car so far including my holiday vacation trip to Colorado. Since Lexus doesn't have track order system for customers like BMW upon my request Lexus Headquarters Customer Service was so responsive (they called me back within 48 hours) and even assigned a customer care personnel to update my order on a bi-weekly basis. My brother in Bloomington, Indiana who owns a GX470 also had sweet experience so far from his dealership in Indianapolis. They even send a loaner every time all the way to Bloomington (54 miles) and pick up his vehicle for service and return back to him in Bloomington.

Also I am not sure why "mbenza" accepted the delivery when something was missing in the vehicle? Also to the best of my knowledge all Lexus Dealership just like other luxury dealership service offers a free car-wash every time after in-dealership service. So at least in our area here one should get cleaned-up vehicle back. Am I missing something from the initial thread?

 

Sorry to hear. I purchased my GX from Ray Catena, and hands down it was the best experience I have ever had at a dealership. You most likely you had a bad sales person.