LSUFanMan

Got a call from the Atlanta,GA dealership who has exact IS350 coming in that I've been looking for. I live in Charlotte, NC. If I buy from the Atlanta, GA dealer, should I be concerned about the level of service I will get (or might not get) in the future from the dealer in Charlotte, NC since I did not buy the IS350 from them?

Please advise! Thanks in advance for your help!

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Not at all. Dealerships make more money with their Service Department than their Sales Department. So, being a regular for their Service Department will actually bring them more profit than selling you a car once. Just tell them the situation and they will take care of you well...

kensteele

^^^exactly they will be more than happy to help service the car you purchased elsewhere.

LSUFanMan

I left out on thing above...will the Charlotte, NC dealer be cool with anything that might need to be serviced under the warranty. I think you're going to say "yes.. warranty work is also desirable for them because they are reimbursed for it by Lexus corporate." Is that correct? Thanks again!

Langdell

Here's a little anecdote. I originally placed a special order for an IS350 with my local dealer. Not content with waiting 3-4 months, I e-mailed dealers all over Texas and found a car to my specifications incoming in an out-of-town dealer's allocation. (Took delivery this past Saturday!) When I told my local salesman that I was leaning to buying the car from the other dealer if he couldn't find me one sooner, he fed me a line about how I would not get the same treatment in the service department if I bought my car elsewhere.

Well, I called the service manager and asked if this was true. He was incensed that the salesman told me that and assured me that his department treats all Lexus owners equally. He said that the only thing is that local buyers would have first dibs on Lexus loaner cars (vs. a free non-Lexus rental), but I would be given one if it was available. Fine with me as long as I have wheels. (No Lexus is a substitute for my own baby!) Also, I miss out on the 4 free oil changes offered by my out-of-town dealer, unless I take the 200-mile drive to get them to do it. Again, no biggie,

All this makes sense considering that (1) dealers make most of their money off the service department and (2) people can move after buying their cars locally and need to get service in their new town. Related anecdote: I bought my previous car (a Mazda) from one local dealership but got most of the service done at the other dealership in town. No one there cared--they were happy to be getting my business.

Generally, dealerships love doing warranty service. They get paid by the automaker, and they're not going to have a customer who is concerned with the cost.

Bichon

My dealer only gives Lexus loaners to their own customers. People who bought cars from other dealers get rental cars from Enterprise. If this would be a concern to you, I'd suggest you check with your local dealership about their policy.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

That's odd; check with your dealer. I purchased my IS from another place, but my local Lexus dealership lends out either an RX or ES complimentary, if the service takes more than two hours to complete.

Some dealerships are good, and some need a little more work...

Dabigman

Sorry but that is assinine. I guess that since they lost my business on the IS due to their unwillingness to deal they want to make sure I never buy a car from them. Brilliant!!

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

local BMW dealer did that to my dad since it was purchased at a different dealer, he ran into a tire on this car and it caused over 10k in damage and they wouldnt even give him a loaner car, had to go rent a POS pontiac grand am, just terrible they are getting 13k in business and wont even spot a loaner

Foxberry

Bichon, I'm curious...who is your dealer?

kensteele

So I'm pretty sure but I could be wrong, it's not the policy, it's probably the custom. Do you see a sign posted in the shop that says "Lexus loaners are only available to people who purchased their car from us." Probably not. If the scheduler prefers Lexus loaners to certain people, nothing wrong with that. If a stranger comes in and they immediately offer him an Enterprise rental, nothing wrong with that either. But policy? Doubtful. If it is, that's sad because if Enterprise is down to the bottom of their cars and I get one and the guy behind me brings in his IS300 and he gets a ES330, there might be problems.

Bichon

Ray Catena in Oakhurst. Last time I was in the shop, I heard a customer who bought from Lawrence Lexus arguing with the service advisor about this. They offered to pay for an Enterprise rental, but wouldn't budge on giving him a Lexus loaner.

STIG

I am driving a RX330 loner from oakland lexus while my car is in service for some warranty works and i bought my car from Mission Veijo lexus.

I think it depends on where you go.

GreyHound

iTrader: (1)

Hey LSUfanman:
Referencing the charlotte dealership, 'Hendrick Lexus' , How would you rate them?
Can you recommend them? Reason I ask, is I may have to re-order since I haven't heard anything about my special order . Cause I think the dealer is afraid to tell me the car fell off the ship.
Let me know what you think about Hendrick.

LSUFanMan

GreyHound,
Man I wish I could help you more here. While I have had 2 different ES300's serviced there for years, I have not actually ordered or bought a car from Hendricks Lexus. And that is really what you need to know about.

In my dealings with them they have been "typically Lexus excellent" at servicing my ES's, but certainly not the cheapest services in town (also typically Lexus huh?). While looking at the new GS's and then the IS's they have been very professional. They've given me all the help I needed without being obnoxious, have let me test drive all the versions (some of them twice) without ever making me feel I owed them anything, ect. Also, they just moved into huge, beautiful new facility about a year ago, and you can see the managers and employees are working hard to make it a first class Lexus dealership. That, I think, is key and might answer your questions or concerns about them right there.

From all this I cannot imagine you having a problem with a special order, or them not bending over backwards to "find" or trade with another dealer for exactly what you want if they are able to. Rick Hendrick (NASCAR owner, Jeff Gordon's boss, ect) owns multiple major dealerships in Charlotte and I know Lexus is his #1 or #2 dealership.

I was just calling dealerships Monday hoping for that one unspoken for Black-on-Black IS350 with Premium Pkg. & Nav that may have slipped through the cracks and be on a boat somewhere. Jim Hennesy, who has 2 dealerships in the Atlanta area, was close (no Nav). Hennesy is in a major market with 2 dealerships, so you can bet the number of IS's he's allocated each month is far more than Hendrick Lexus in a comparitively small Charlotte market. I may take my chances "preferencing" exactly what I want with Hendrick Lexus here in Charlotte and hope it comes in sometime soon? (I am patient and can wait).

Hope this helps man? Can't fully recommend them, but I know I would not and will not hesitate to order with Hendrick. I would be surprised and shocked if they dropped any "*****" on an order or jerked me around. Seems too classey a dealership with everyone paying attention to the "customer satisfaction" details for that I think!