ScKcBc

iTrader: (2)

First of all, when I was going to buy my is350 and I was searching, I had called this dealer and they said they had 2 leftover 09 is350's in silver. They said I had to get there quick (they're 40 mins from me) because it was the last day of the month yada yada. I verified with the salesmen at least 5 times, specifically saying "These are IS350's not 250's right?" and He was like "Yes, they are last 2 Is350's we have". I had a friend interested in one too so i was using that to work a deal on both cars.

I get there... And I see the 2 cars backed in right in front of the main door. Both have 17" wheels though. I look at the trunks on each car and... Yea, exactly.



Fast forward to this past monday. I ended up buying a used 07 SGM is350 sport from PA with 28k on it. Since I bought it, Everything has been perfect except for a few small issues:

The cig lighter stopped working a few months ago (noticed my phone charger only worked in the rear port).

I let the car sit for awhile and the battery died so I replaced it with an optima red top and then the auto sunroof feature didn't work anymore.

I put 2010 is350 convertible wheels on it and never swapped my sensors in so I have the TPMS light.



So Since I still have bumper to bumper warranty, I figured I'd get this stuff taken care of (and possibly even pay a 1/2 hour labor for the TPMS to be hooked up) I had a friend from massapequa invite me to visit her on weds so I figured I'd drop my car off while I was hanging out with her and then grab it on the way back.

Monday I call Massapequa Lexus service and speak to a guy named Steve. He was real nice and said everything would be covered. Scheduled me for weds at 7:00am. Also said a loaner would be no problem as long as I showed up on time.

Show up weds at 7am, go over everything with Steve and ask him again: "Everything is covered under warranty, right?" "Yes" he says. Ok cool. I leave with a 2010 is250 awd.

I get a call from him at 2:40pm. Here's how it goes:
(my name is Steve as well)

him: "Hey Steve, few issues here. Did you change you're battery?
me: "Yes, my car sat for awhile and it was dead so I upgraded it.
him: "Oh, well it's covered under warranty, and since you changed it on your own, I cant resynchronize your sunroof under warranty. If you had let us change your battery, I could have done it.
me:"Wait, so basically I saved Lexus money by changing my own battery, and now they won't pay you to re-synchronize my sunroof?
him: "Umm, yea. So it will just be 1/2 hour labor for that.
me:"Ok, forget that then. What else.
him: "Did you change the wheels on your car?
me:"Yes, those are OEM 2010 IS350 convertible wheels/tires with OEM TPMS sensors in them. Same as what comes in my car.
him: "Well, since those are not the factory 4 door IS350 sensors, we cannot warranty the recalibration. And to be honest, We'd have to remove each tire from each wheel and inspect the condition of them before we could connect them anyway so that would be 2 hours labor.
me:"Yea but it's the exact same process as hooking up the OEM tpms sensors. Those are lexus sensors which every single vehicle uses the same ones.
him: "No, they are not designed for the 4 door, only the convertible so they are not OEM. We'd have to inspect the condition of them.
me:"Steve, they have under 5k on them. My car has 30k, If anything they're in better shape then my stock ones.
him:"I Dont know what to tell you, sorry.
me:"Uhhh, Ok, nevermind. I have a friend at toyota that can do them for free for me, so I'll just have him do it.
him: "OK, well you just owe us 1/2 labor for figuring that out
me:"Huh? It took 30 mins to visually look at the car with the wheels on it and determine they from an is350 convertible? Did you plug anything into my car? Because I know that if your tech had plugged in the scan tool for the sensors, they would have popped up and he could have just hooked them up.
him:"No, we did not plug anything in, but it still took time to figure out what kind of car they were from
me:"You're a lexus dealer, you see all of these cars on a daily basis. There is no way it took 30 mins to figure that out. The wheels have lexus centercaps on them and you have is350 convertibles IN STOCK on you're lot.
him:"OK, we'll waive that. Regarding the cigarette lighter, it's most likely a fuse but we haven't figured it out yet. Fuses aren't covered so we'll just need 1/2 labor for that.
me:"Steve, I can't justify paying $58 for a fuse that costs under $1. If it's a fuse, leave it and I will just do it myself.
him:"OK then, so basically you dont expect to pay anything?
me:"Yea Steve, my car is under bumper to bumper warranty and I verified with you that I would not have to pay anything both on the phone and in person.
him:"Ok, and one last thing, By law I have to make you aware that you're brakes are extremely low and It's not safe to drive home.
me:"Ok Steve, I'll take my chances and leave the car in my driveway and drive one of my other cars until I decide to do the brakes.
him:"You really should not drive this car the way it sits.
me:"It's ok Steve, I've have many cars and done brakes and felt worn brakes many times. I'll definitely make it home.
him:"Ok, well I'll wash the car and put it out front, Come get it at 3:30


I pickup my car which was poorly washed, but whatever. I drive home and on the highway, I check my sunroof and it works perfectly, LOL.



The kicker about this is when i googled them before I went there, heres what came up on the first page:


Beware...
http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums...howtopic=40373

Read 2nd and 3rd posts...
http://www.insiderpages.com/b/152408...assapequa-park






In conclusion, They didn't screw me big time or anything, but they definitely will never get another chance at my business again.

Lexus@17

iTrader: (3)

lol wow amazing!!! i would of been a **** just like you because clearly you had all the right too!

myLexRX

I've serviced my cars there many times but I only deal with one service guy - Everett. Very nice and knowledgeable person.

shadowman

iTrader: (2)

Don't worry... being in CA, I'm VERY FAR away

Thanks for the heads up tho. I hate dealership that scams.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Haha wow that's quite a story. Sucks when issues like this from dealers really hurts a brands image. That said non are perfect

QMDJ

i know what you mean. i had some troubles with the modesto service deparment and they dont want to do anything if they dont get paid for it. I feel you.

516IS

iTrader: (12)

Damn, this is the 3rd closest Dealer to me, and the one at Rockville Center sucks... I guess I will be taking mine exclusively to the Rally Lexus.

Imnutz4jdm

hahaha thank you i got 2 dealers near me lexus of greenwich and lexus of westport

Evitzee

Did you have the serial numbers for the sensors? If I remember correctly the only way they can sync them is to remove the tires from the wheels to retrieve the numbers. That's why it is important to have the numbers BEFORE you put the tires on the wheels.

kl323

Strange.. I went there when I was looking for a 2009 IS 350 back in July of last year.

They had none. I asked them about the 2010. They said they wouldn't get any....

Didn't even wanna do business with me.... hmm...

khoab88

iTrader: (5)

in CA, a pro tire shop just have to use like a hand-held device, point it near the plugs to pick up signal from the TPMS from each tire, then connect it to the computer near the brake pedal. 5 minutes -> done. They charged me $25. Last 2 weeks, driving on highway and TPMS light came on, next day I check there was a nail hit tire's side wall. But it tells me they did a great job.

kuuqi

...lol...

if i were you, i'd call into Lexus and complain to corporate about your experience. You can have them send you to a different dealer and have them take care of you. But if I were you, I'd do it out of a just cause of letting corporate deal with this particular dealer. They're not upholding the basic fundamentals of the brand and quite frankly are screwing people over which isn't right.

I have no problem with companies overcharging but they should definitely be honest. As a representative, I would of explained it in this manner (if I worked there anyway).

"Hey Sir, unfortunately we are unable to perform the services you've requested under warranty. The warranty covers for any of the original items on the vehicle to be fixed or recalibrated per in the case of your TPMS sensors. Unfortunately, these are not the same ones as the one purchased with the vehicle and you still have those. Fortunately, these ARE programmable and will be the following cost: $xx.xx.

Now also your 12v port not working, it's most likely caused by a fuse which will run you approximately $x.xx to replace the fuse if you want us to do that.

Lastly, while we ran diagnostics on your vehicle, we noticed your brakes are running dangerously worn out and I'd advise you to change them ASAP. I've looked through and noted all the parts needed and the labor needed. If you want to do that, I can do that as well."

Customer: "I'm alright with that I'll take my vehicle as is."

Me: "Okay well I've printed out a list of all the parts and labor costs for you so if you wish to perform any of it, you can find the costs and call me with any questions. Feel free to pick up your vehicle anytime today after 3:30. It'll be washed and ready for you! Thank you and see you soon!"

Just my 2 cents...

ScKcBc

iTrader: (2)

supposedly ralleye is good

Fizzboy7

I am not surprised. Most dealers love to get technical like that, in the name of making money. If anything is not stock, even if it's Lexus parts, they have a cow. Usually though, they'll waive things if you plead with them, just like he did with you. Honestly, what you wrote really wasn't that bad. Most dealers I've been to have similar policies.

SC3coupe

iTrader: (4)

So what is it about the sunroof?
You can't even change your battery on these cars without going to do some dealer computer work?