That really blows. Isn't a special order a special build to your specs? It sounds like they never ordered one but were just hoping one might show up. I seriously doubt they will be able to source one from afar with MT and Nav as I just don't think they make many. In the TX region I think I've seen only 3 or 4 MT's, and I don't think any of them had Nav. I'd really think hard if you want to continue working with these dorks, they sound like they are incompetent. You've wasted all this time and have nothing to show for it. I'd go down there and ask to speak to the General Manager in person and have him explain what his staff have been doing during this whole fiasco. Make him squirm. It might not help get you your car but it might clear the air. Do you have a deposit on this car? If you do I'd get it back and go elsewhere for I don't think they will ever produce one for you.

 

Wow - this sucks!!!


So when are you going to call Lexus Corporate in Torrance about your situation..??

As we know, a special order will take approx 3 months from the 20th day of a month.. Thats is when orders are pulled in from Japan.

So if an order just got put it on 9/20.... if the allocation is available, the car will show up approx 12/20.

Not sure if you mentioned this... but which FL dealership is this??
also
Why can't they comprehend what a Special Order is??

Joe Z

 

I'm sorry to let you know, but that's what they told me also. The other sales manager apologized at the lack of communication and not being told that the car wouldn't be built till October even though I ordered it on June 14th. She even told me that the dealership didn't even bother to put the order in till July. They couldn't even bother to tell me that my order wasn't built in August or September even after all the emails and phone calls I made.

Don't put too much faith in them finding you a 250MT with Nav. That's the same one I was looking for since February and still no luck. They don't make those for a normal dealer allocation. 250MT just come in Base or at most Premium, not Nav. So after two fcked up special orders, I gave up and picked out the closest thing at our Port in Long Beach that was an AT. The two people I've dealt with prior to the one I bought the car from are going to get reamed on the survey. I can guarantee you that.

Good luck, but like I said before; do not put much faith in them finding you a MT with Nav at any other dealership around the nation. It just doesn't happen.

 

Sorry to hear about the run-around from the dealership. Shame on them!
Time to fire them and give Cindy (Internet Sales Mgr) at JM Lexus a call. My special order process was straight forward, no run-around (so far), and Cindy was upfront and professional.

My IS350 is due at the dealership tomorrow and I have an appointment to pick it up at 3pm on Sunday!!

 

See! I told you! Lexus special order system sucks. That's how I ended up with the 350 instead of 250MT w/nav. However, that bs about 'accident on the way here', I've heard too many times from Audi, when in fact there was no car to begin with. The nerve they have....

 

I went with Cindy at JM Lexus like DropTopGal, special ordered in June and I'll be receiving the car in a week. I couldn't ask for a more hassle free smooth process. It's important to pick a dealer that does special orders and understands the process and can get the cars. You almost have to interview the dealership before picking them to see if they're qualified for your special order business.

I had been through several dealers trying to special order and always got the runaround. No one seemed to be able to tell me anything about the process, how long it takes, and whether the car I wanted would be the car I ended up with. Sounds like that's what you're dealing with now BucBaby, and maybe it's time to cut ties with this dealership and move on to one that can get the car you want. If you really want a special order, I'd try a big dealer like JM. Ask them if you could get in the next allocation and you might have your car by Christmas.

Is it just me or does the manual transmission special orders seem to be the biggest problem? I just realized that a lot of the horror stories seem to come from those ordering the 250MT. Perhaps there's a reason for that.

 

I think you are right. I think most dealer's are afraid of getting stuck with a MT, especially if it has other options like NAV, that they don't want to get involved with special ordering. I suppose you can't blame them. There have been posters here who think nothing of walking away from a special order if they get a better deal before the car comes in. I've seen darn few MT's in dealer's stock. That tells you something.

 

You all are so good to me. I wish that you were my dealer.

I want to thank you for all of your help. I'm very suspect right now that my order was never put in, as many of you have thought all along. I've been making lots of calls to other dealerships and have been told that when an order is placed, they get back a confirmation. I need your help. Did you get a confirmation in writing when the order was placed? For those of you who used Cindy, did she give you one?

I'm going to call them and ask them for a copy of it. They way I figure it, if they don't have that then it didn't happen.

One dealer today told me that there are two kinds of orders dealers will put in, preferred and special. Preferred means if the factory happens to build a car like this, they have it sold and want it allocated to them. The other is special were they build it specifically for you. I'm wondering if my dealer did the preferred.

I'll let you know what I find out. Please tell me ASAP if you got the confirmation.

 

I just called and asked if I could have a copy of the confirmation that they received when they placed my special order. He said excuse me and I repeated the question. He said no. I then asked if he really placed a special order or if he just place a preference order. The manager then said, "I'm not sure of the terminology that you're using." I explained what both meant (like he didn't know already...but at least then he knew that I knew). He went on to say that's how they always do it. I said, then you didn't place a special order for us? And he said that he did it the way that he always did it.

I couldn't even say another word to him so I passed the phone on to my husband. He found our that they did a "I want I have" order. He also told my husband that if it doesn't work, in 5 days it turns into a special order (I wish that he had said that to me...then I would have asked for my confirmation...it's the preferred thing again) So, they have just been looking for a dealer exchange. My husband is going to give them until next Friday, when the guy who looks for cars returns from a meeting in Hawaii (is there a meeting of Lexus people in Hawaii right now? I don't believe . It looks like the best way to get a car at the price we have sooner. If it doesn't happen, we'll look at the next options.

Just to be sure people. make sure that you get in writing that it IS a special order (funny how my capitalizing is leads to IS) and ask for that confirmation at the beginning. If they don't give it to you they might be running the same scam.

As I was typing this, Cindy from JM returned my call. She was everything that you said. She and I are going to stay in contact and I'm going to work with her if this doesn't work out.

 

I'm going through the same thing right now. My dealer here keeps telling me to wait and it takes time. But now that I've been calling different dealers, It sounds like i'm on a prefered listing. I called another dealer and he said that since they know what cars are comming for the month of September and the one I want isn't one of them he would have placed the Special Order at this point. My current dealer hasn't said the word special order yet even though all the several other dealers I called said the car I want will be a special order. IS 250 RWD with ML and Luxury Package with XM radio and rear spoiler blk/blk. So, i'm going to go with the other dealer and get hard copies of all the business taking place. (Placing the order, the options I want, ect...)

Basically what i'm getting at is if you aren't hearing the words special order from your dealer you could be waiting forever, and you're probably just on a prefered car listing. Especially if it's something all dealers would call a rare car and "it will be a special order." I even called JM in Florida and THEY said they didn't have any and it was rare!!

 

I heard special order. I was told special order. Even up to the last time I called him I talked to him about special ordering the car. I was strung along.

Get more than talk and the contract for the options and the price. Demand a copy of the confirmation when it is accepted. It should happen as soon as they turn it in. I know that now...the hard way. Hopefully people who read here will learn from this and it won't happen to them.

 

Exactly, I agree with you. Just to let people know how fast the confirmation process should take I just got off the phone with my new dealer and he said he'll get the ball rolling Monday and I'll receive an e-mail with everything he ordered, price, time frame which he said December January (from his manager) ON MONDAY...

 

Amen! A contract written on the dealer letterhead doesn't mean much if they haven't submitted and CONFIRMED the order with Lexus Corporate. If they don't provide that, and then dance around the issue with 'trust us' and 'work with us' I'd be very suspicious. Very sorry you had to learn this over a period of time.

Get more than an email, you want a copy of the Lexus paperwork that they have submitted for your special order. Either have them fax it to you, or in a .pdf. Good luck.

 

Absolutely... thanks

 

BucBaby I was also confused by that terminology when I started looking for my car. I think the dealers don't make it clear that there is a preference order and a special order. Maybe that's intentional, maybe they are just that clueless. Since all the cars built in a particular region are essentially the same, if you are asking for something different options-wise I think the preference order is a complete waste of time. If a deal is going to get done, it will happen in the first 24-48 hours. After that they move on to customers more likely to buy right away.

I never received a confirmation with my special order. The only thing I ever saw was the order sheet listing model, year, colors, and options clearly spelled out. I was also told at that time that it would be mid to late September for the delivery of the car. When my special order was officially submitted in July the only thing I got was a phone call from Cindy saying that my order was in and that the car would be built in the next month. The next contact I had with them was in the first week of September. She emailed me the VIN of my car and said that it was on the boat and scheduled for delivery to the port on the 24th and that it would be 7-10 days before the car arrived at the dealership. As it turns out, the car arrived at the dealership on Thursday, and was shipped out to me this afternoon.

Cindy is good with all the details and was ahead of the game every step of the way thinking of things that I wasn't. She was good about overnighting paperwork to me ahead of time and making sure as soon as they got my car in that they could turn it around and have it shipped out as soon as possible. She even asked me about my cell phone and what model it was so she could include the Bluetooth pairing instructions in the car for me which is something I would never have thought of. As complicated as my situation was due to my distance from the dealership, she went the extra mile and was very reassuring given that I'm buying a $45,000 car over the internet sight unseen. I would definitely recommend her, and would use them again without giving it a second thought.