tex2670

Seems to me the basic issue was the dealer charging for something they acknowledged was faulty. It doesn't matter if it's $12 or $120--why should you have to pay them anything? If it was a defective tire, you wouldn't pay for it, even if they gave you a cheap price. If the remote was a couple of years old, and the battery just wore out, ok, then you need to decide if you want to pay $12, or hunt around for a "battery specialty store" (I had no idea these existed) to save $10 bucks.

Evitzee

The dealer would have no way to determine if the battery was defective or not. How often do you get a defective dry cell battery? Answer, never. In all likelihood it just wore out, plain and simple. Perhaps the battery was not as fresh when it was put in service, maybe the remote was stored in a hot area causing the battery to discharge, maybe the remote was used more than average. There would be lots of reasons why the battery would die an early death. The dealer could have handled it smoother, and maybe even replaced it for free, but they didn't. Most Lexus owners aren't going to hunt down this somewhat rare battery, they are just going to go to Lexus and get it replaced. It will be no big deal for them, just the cost of owning a Lexus.

There is no reason any reader of this thread should get caught out with a dead remote battery in the future. They are easily available online, I just ordered five for $1.20 each. Yet most people will not take preventive action and lay in a few of these batteries for the eventual dieing of the ones in your remote. In that case don't complain when the local friendly Lexus dealer charges you for the replacement of the battery.

Koz

Talk about a stupid Stealer. They are willing to lose a customer/s over a $2 battery! You have every right to expect the Stealer to replace the battery at 6 months, regardless (at least one time). Maybe there is a problem with the FOB, you may want to use the second FOB to see if it’s the problem. I would think the owner of that Stealership would love to know he lost customers over this.

Koz

sirkfc

People always threaten never to buy another car or service from a particular dealer. How many actually follow through on that, I wonder? Even if they do, how many cars do people realistically purchase over the course of a salesman's time at a particular dealership?

In the end, the place that offers the lowest price in a close vicinity still ends up getting the deal... If I owned a dealership, I'd treat most threats from one-time customers never to buy from them again as idle...

imranb

I don't even want to know what the price would be to get said battery replaced from my local stealership in the UK.

danis

$12 sounds like a bargain to me. My Atlanta dealership wanted $16. I wasn't happy either and thought the price was ridiculous - ended up going to a specialty battery store. My trust of the stealership is even lower than before.

tex2670

And let's not forget this point. Go back and look at the original post. The service tech stated the battery was "probably faulty" and shouldn't have gone after 6 months.

I'm not saying the dealer should always replace your remote battery for free. My last car, admittedly with just the standard remote key fob, lasted 7 years (both remotes) and did not need replacement. 6 months--whatever the reason, the dealer should have done it as a courtesy. Period.

tex2670

Maybe so--but the more damaging factor is word of mouth. If you blow off enough customers, they will spread the word how crappy the dealership is. Maybe you win some back low-balling on sales price, but isn't it always said that the dealer makes it money on service?

Evitzee

Yep, 100% correct. The dealer made $12 on this service. He turned a $1 battery into a $12 sale. You gotta' love capitalism. If his customer base were upset at this they would stop buying Lexus's, or go somewhere else for the battery. That's not happening.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Why wouldn't they charge a lot for the battery? I would if I were the dealer. I'd rather not stock them, so if you show up and need one, I'm going to quote you a price to discourage you from buying another one at my store.

There was only one fault here - the parts guy said the word "defective." Other than that, it was a simple business transaction. And no, it probably wasn't defective, it probably sat in someone's pocket with a button pushed for quite some time and the remote did what is expected - it transmitted until the battery died. My Genie garage door opener does the same thing, except it burns out the LED before the battery is completely dead and I have to solder a new LED into it or throw it away and spend another $30 for a new one.

Since genius boy behind the counter said "defective," he should have replaced the battery gratis. Bad move on his part.

Bichon

I beg to differ on this point. For the cost of that plate of scones in the waiting room, the dealer can buy enough stock to replace their customer's dead fob batteries for months. The idea is that it's a cheap way to build "good will"; to get customers thinking that when I need something for my Lexus, I'll just head over to the dealer where they'll treat me right. If just one of those customers buys a new set of tires from the dealer instead of a tire shop, they've made back their investment with interest.

On another point, I wonder if the OP may have alienated the dealer employee with his attitude. To quote from his post, he said "bro, the battery died in 6 months, what kind of products are you selling"? Contrast with my approach. I walked over to the parts counter, greeted the man with a smile, and asked him if he had a replacement battery for my fob in stock. When he brought it over, I thanked him profusely and explained how I'd been to every drugstore and jeweler in the area looking for one. When I asked what I owed, he replied "did you buy your car here?" When I said "yes", he said "no charge", "have a nice day". It usually pays to be nice.

danis

Since genius boy behind the counter said "defective," he should have replaced the battery gratis. Bad move on his part.

-Great. The guy behind the counter told the truth and is now "genius boy" for doing so.

-The fact is these batteries are not readily available. They can be found. If I were a dealer, I would stock and keep them at the coffee counter at a market price as a customer service. This is an easy act for customer good-will and every Lexus owner will eventually need one. I understand a premium for Lexus service but not for a standard battery - stupid move by dealer. $16for a watch battery is getting ripped off and I don't care if it is by Wal-Mart or a Lexus dealer. Getting ripped off, to me, is simply not acceptable and I will not do business with one who seeks to rip me off. If you can't trust someone on a small item - should you on a larger item?

tex2670

Probably the best explanation in this post so far.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

But this is a business model problem. I would not choose to stock batteries if I had a choice. Just my preference. I port cylinder heads from time to time for very specific reasons. If anyone asks out of the blue what it costs, I tell them it starts at $3k. I don't want to do it for money, so I set a price that discourages most people. Again, just my business model.

Well said! It ALWAYS pays to be nice.

The guy behind the counter made a stupid baseless remark. He can't tell if the battery was defective, and he is just plain stupid for saying this to a customer. I work in technical sales. I would NEVER say my product is defective to a customer unless I had a way to validate it is. Since there is no way he could determine this by looking at it, the BEST thing to say is: "I'm sorry it isn't working, we don't normally see failures this early, let me..." and go into problem resolution. Uttering the word "defective" to a customer immediately implies there will be a warranted fix. That's where he earned "genius boy" because he completely botched customer service 101. He is a representative of Lexus through the dealership. His assessment and his comments carry weight because of this relationship. It was stupid on his part to make this comment.

gwong

Let me chime in on this thread. Yes the $12.00 for the battery is correct. The battery they were selling to you is most likely the battery they buy from Lexus as this battery is somewhat new and nobody seems to carry right now other than ebay. The suggested selling price is $10.80 plus tax. If the 1632 was more readily available from other sources, we would buy them for resale and use the factory batteries for warranty as they would most likely be cheaper than factory, but they are not available.
Should they have covered it under warranty? Yes, but that is not for the parts dept to determine, you should have gone to the service dept.