Newbie help On Purchashing This LS 400
10-23-09, 09:09 PM
#33
That is a beautiful car. I think you did good. By all means, develop a poker demeanor when dealing with salespeople . . .
My poor Lexus dealer salesman, Bob, lost his job because of my buying experience in 1996. Well, I am sorry, but he was all humid and schmoozy and oily sincere, and I was getting fried with his incessant chatty greasiness. I asked about how committed was Lexus to serve us current Mercedes customers who were thinking of jumping brands?
"Oh very," said salesman Bob.
"You mean if I found something wrong with this gorgeous LS400 on our test drive, Bob, you would take care of it before I came down to pick it up?"
"Oh absolutely," said salesman Bob, "I give you my word. I mean it."
"You understand that a condition of this sale, Bob, is that I have the factory manuals sitting on the new floormats, right Bob?"
"Of course."
"Bob, there *are* a few things that will need to be addressed before I pick it up. This car has only 77,000 miles and you want $19,900.00, and I think we both want a perfect car leaving your door, right Bob?"
"Yes, we believe Lexus is the very finest car being sold in America, and we want you to be fully satisfied."
"Thanks, Bob, when we pull into the service bay, I will need to speak with the service manager about the work that needs to be performed."
"You bet."
So, I got a new antenna, factory service manuals, a new driveshaft, and a new transmission/torque converter, two front upper control arms, a new key, and an A/C display, and poor Bob got a major talking to on his way out the door.
Colin
(I might have been the first used Lexus LS400 test drive to discover a weakness in these otherwise excellent transmissions where the torque converter lock-up hydraulic circuit was not applying enough force to prevent slippage in the clutch pack, it caused an almost imperceptible vibration at every heavy throttle application in OD. When the service manager first tried to tell me "ohhhhhh, that is NORmal", I did twist his arm to drive his personal LS400 . . . no vibration in his car! )
My poor Lexus dealer salesman, Bob, lost his job because of my buying experience in 1996. Well, I am sorry, but he was all humid and schmoozy and oily sincere, and I was getting fried with his incessant chatty greasiness. I asked about how committed was Lexus to serve us current Mercedes customers who were thinking of jumping brands?
"Oh very," said salesman Bob.
"You mean if I found something wrong with this gorgeous LS400 on our test drive, Bob, you would take care of it before I came down to pick it up?"
"Oh absolutely," said salesman Bob, "I give you my word. I mean it."
"You understand that a condition of this sale, Bob, is that I have the factory manuals sitting on the new floormats, right Bob?"
"Of course."
"Bob, there *are* a few things that will need to be addressed before I pick it up. This car has only 77,000 miles and you want $19,900.00, and I think we both want a perfect car leaving your door, right Bob?"
"Yes, we believe Lexus is the very finest car being sold in America, and we want you to be fully satisfied."
"Thanks, Bob, when we pull into the service bay, I will need to speak with the service manager about the work that needs to be performed."
"You bet."
So, I got a new antenna, factory service manuals, a new driveshaft, and a new transmission/torque converter, two front upper control arms, a new key, and an A/C display, and poor Bob got a major talking to on his way out the door.
Colin
(I might have been the first used Lexus LS400 test drive to discover a weakness in these otherwise excellent transmissions where the torque converter lock-up hydraulic circuit was not applying enough force to prevent slippage in the clutch pack, it caused an almost imperceptible vibration at every heavy throttle application in OD. When the service manager first tried to tell me "ohhhhhh, that is NORmal", I did twist his arm to drive his personal LS400 . . . no vibration in his car! )
Last edited by Amskeptic; 10-23-09 at 09:12 PM.
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