Help! Headrest For My Ct

[Sarosh]

Hi all,

Stupidly enough when i collected my CT from the dealer last week as a pre-approved car I signed off on everything and made a fatal error by not meticulously looking the car over!

On my journey to work a few days later, I noticed the passenger side rear headrest was missing! Having gone back to the dealer, they have said as it was not noticed on the handover they can do nothing about it!

Parts centre said the headrest is 560GBP from lexus, however I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to where I can get one from? I have already gone online and enquired with numerous salvage and breaker yards but to no avail.

The headrest is the rear seat left side, in Ivory leather (think this is lexus's fancy word for cream leather?)

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Silversalmon]

Sorry to hear this Sarosh, i find this appalling, Lexus dealers were said to be the best around but more and more i do read about some poor reports. Best bet is still E bay Breakers, something will turn up but the dealer shpuld be named and shamed!

[Sarosh]

HI SS (abbreviated your id, hope thats cool!),

Thank you for your response.

Well when I pointed this out at the Lexus showroom the saleswoman who initially helped me with the car was very helpful, she went to her dealer principal and he made the "decision" to say no. They couldn't ascertain whether it was there and it "had gone walkies" in the few days before i pointed it out".

But they did say they would try and contact the previous owner to see if they have it, but I don't think that'll bear any fruit.

Unfortunate thing is, I actually enjoyed the whole experience of purchasing the car and the level of service I was given at that time.

Its just frustrating because now all i can look at when I'm sat in traffic through my rear mirror is that gap where the headrest should be! lol.

BTW, love the colour of your CT! that blue is so unique. Mine is black. lol fairly typical.

Will just keep on calling up the salvage breakers and checking eBay. fingers crossed.

Have a nice day.

[200h]

http://www.hills-motors.co.uk/

i know these have some ct's in stock i have seen black ones but maybe if you can buy the headrest then get it recovered that maybe the cheapest option.

i will have a look around for you and see if i find anything for you.

[Sarosh]

Hi 200h,

Will have a look at that website for sure. Even I had considered buying a different colour and then re-upholstering the headrest, but only problem is if i don't get the EXACT same colour and texture of the existing leather etc lol.

Other than this one small snag, I'm really happy with the car!

Still trying to get to grips with the balance of braking and driving at a more respectable speed to keep the fuel economy up!

[PaulWhitt20]

Are missing headrests an MOT failure? In which case the dealer has sold an unroadworthy car and you should be able to reject it.

[Sarosh]

Hey Paul,

As far as I am aware, it's not something they check on the MOT.

It's just frustrating that I cannot find one anywhere and if I was to order it from Lexus they want £560. The dealer wasn't very helpful and decided that even though it had only been like 2/3 days after getting the car that they were unable to do anything about it!

[PaulWhitt20]

A very surprising attitude for a lexus dealer. Have you tried taking it up with Lexus customer relations.

[Sarosh]

No I haven't, what do they do?

Surely the deal principal has the final say?

Even I was very shocked to be honest. After paying so much for a car I didn't think they would be that way. Maybe at some normal dealer then yes, but not at the main manufacturers showroom :-S

[PaulWhitt20]

Fortunately I have not had to use them but I think they are a team of people trying to sort out issues such as this if you can't get anywhere with the dealer. Worth an email.

http://blog.lexus.co.uk/contact-us/

[Sarosh]

Fair enough, worth a punt. The annoying thing is I was really impressed with their service. But like I said, shocked at this.

Will drop them a line now.

Thank you for your help. At least the LOC has helpful members!

[200h]

Are missing headrests an MOT failure? In which case the dealer has sold an unroadworthy car and you should be able to reject it.

i wouldn't know for certain but a correctly adjusted headrest is a safety aspect of a car as it will reduce the serverity of whiplash in the event of an accident,

head rests are something that never get removed from the vehicle the only time its touched is to adjust it ,your Lexus delaership is just being stubborn and

scrooge like by not wanting to help you.(typical lexus service ,it will become the norm for you soon)

[Sarosh]

Well I have just emailed their customer relations and said the same thing that it is a safety issue for passengers in the rear of the car. Dunno what their problem at the dealership was, surely the few hundred pounds it would cost them is better than someone breaking their neck? Or am I missing something here?

Either way we'll see what the customer relations people have to say, hopefully they will be able to help. Maybe i won't be visiting that dealer again, might just go to one abit further afield for my servicing. Seeing as they aren't willing to help in such a clear cut matter!

[wh05apk]

sorry to hear of your issue, it sounds relatively minor, but when you have spent a lot on what should be a "premium" brand which sells itself on its dealer service, it really takes the edge off your purchase. I have recently spent what for us is a small fortune on an is300h, but have now decided to probably get rid of it due to poor service, their attitude seems to be"we know best, you are wrong" and acceptable seems to be acceptable, to me acceptable is the minimum. My previous car, which fortunately we still have is a 9 year old hyundai, and their dealers are superb, and cannot be more helpful.

[PaulWhitt20]

Just a thought and you have probably already checked but have you looked for it under the front seats or in the boot where the spare wheel goes. Has the dealer removed it to take photos and not replaced it. Are there any photos of it there from when the dealer was trying to advertise it.

I hope you get a favourable response from lexus customer relations. Otherwise for a few hundred pounds the dealer and brand have lost a good customer. I am sure some of the car magazines would love to print a story knocking Lexus for poor customer care.

[Sarosh]

I know what you mean by taking the edge of it! What's the point of having glossy showrooms and gorgeous cars when your customer service is so bad? Maybe it's a case of now they have my money so they're not bothered? Seems so.

I also checked all over the car I couldn't find it anywhere. I do have a few pictures of which I took on the day i picked it up to show the wife as she was on holiday. But the worst is that I felt the dealer was somehow accusing me of taking it off and trying to get one out of them! What use do I have for a headrest? Perplexing.

[Sarosh]

Just found a picture of in an email I sent from autotrader to the wife of the cars advert on the website which showed the car on the forecourt of the dealer. View of the front of the car and there is no headrest. It's as clear as day.

[jamesm182]

IMO for a Lexus dealer to supply an 'approved used' Lexus with a front head rest missing is just plain wrong, although of course I suppose it would have to mention prior to buying. I would be kicking up a major fuss with customer relations over this though!

[Sarosh]

Hi James, it was the rear headrest but you're right, the principle is still the same. Just shocked at their response.

[jamesm182]

Hi James, it was the rear headrest but you're right, the principle is still the same. Just shocked at their response.

Apologies, just misread that!

Still not great though, it's a basic part of the car, and then to ask you to fork out £560 for one after just buying the car....

[Sarosh]

Well I just rang the customer relations and they said they will be calling the Lexus showroom where I purchased the car and will speak to the dealer principle, even the woman on the phone said it seemed unusual. I also mentioned that I have the picture from the forecourt whic was on autotrader in which you can clearly see no headrest!

Frustrating thing is if they speak to the dealer principal what exactly can he do? Since he was the one who said no in the first place! Lol. Looks like this will be a no go from the start. Great!

[jamesm182]

Well I just rang the customer relations and they said they will be calling the Lexus showroom where I purchased the car and will speak to the dealer principle, even the woman on the phone said it seemed unusual. I also mentioned that I have the picture from the forecourt whic was on autotrader in which you can clearly see no headrest!

Frustrating thing is if they speak to the dealer principal what exactly can he do? Since he was the one who said no in the first place! Lol. Looks like this will be a no go from the start. Great!

Lexus GB don't like it when dealers upset customers though so you never know...

[Sarosh]

Fair enough, will have to wait and see what happens. They said the dealer will either call me or someone from the customer relations will be calling.

Also have to take the car in tomorrow morning because one of the small panels near the passenger front door is jutting out. Think it's a broken pin or something so they'll fix that minor inexpensive issue, BUT, a matter or passenger safety they won't? Hmmmmm

[rayaans]

Fair enough, will have to wait and see what happens. They said the dealer will either call me or someone from the customer relations will be calling.

Also have to take the car in tomorrow morning because one of the small panels near the passenger front door is jutting out. Think it's a broken pin or something so they'll fix that minor inexpensive issue, BUT, a matter or passenger safety they won't? Hmmmmm

The Sale of Goods Act states the car must be “of a satisfactory quality”, “fit for purpose” and “as described”. The "as described" bit doesn't apply to private sales but this is from a main dealer so in this case it applies fully.

From what you have said, the car is not "as described". If it had a headrest missing, it should state that the rear headrest is missing. In which case, you can reject the car up to 6 months after it has been bought, but ONLY if the dealer is not playing ball. Ideally they should supply a headrest and thats the end of that.

You can also exchange the car up to 30 days after buying, they cant say anything.

[Sarosh]

You're right, I understand exactly what you're saying. Well let's just hope the people at their customer relations dept can somehow resolve it. Because if they can't, then I don't know who else to go to for it to be resolved. LOL