Minor service and unexpected suspension work

Mindthegap · September 20, 2020

On 9/17/2020 at 7:15 PM, Spacewagon52 said:

Out of interest, has anyone bought a Lexus or had dealings with BOSS Motor Company in Chesham?

They seem to get cars straight from Lexus dealers, some with full Lexus history. They do ask top dollar but are slightly cheaper than a franchise.

I wonder if the dealers get rid of dodgy ones (my caution when spending my hard earned cash!) or it might just be that at certain age a franchise would not wish to sell on their forecourt?

Any comments lads?

I spoke to them when I was looking for my RX and they seemed very genuine to me. The person I spoke to was definitely a fanatic of the RX and they prepare them to a very high level according to him. All alloys are refurbished, body work and interior prepped. They do charge towards lexus main dealers but the cars to look lovely.

I'm the end I bought from a main dealer and tbh glad I did as I have just had the brake actuator changed under warrantee which would have cost over 2k if I had to pay myself.

That said, I think the cars at Boss motors wild be well worth a look as looked very well preppped. Look on their website and they sell very high end cars all well presented

royoftherovers · September 20, 2020

8 minutes ago, Mindthegap said:

I spoke to them when I was looking for my RX and they seemed very genuine to me. The person I spoke to was definitely a fanatic of the RX and they prepare them to a very high level according to him. All alloys are refurbished, body work and interior prepped. They do charge towards lexus main dealers but the cars to look lovely.

I'm the end I bought from a main dealer and tbh glad I did as I have just had the brake actuator changed under warrantee which would have cost over 2k if I had to pay myself.

That said, I think the cars at Boss motors wild be well worth a look as looked very well preppped. Look on their website and they sell very high end cars all well presented

Website displays a very wide range of high end vehicles.They may know something about many, but cannot be specialists in all.

Reviews on website and Internet appear to be very good.

If prices are close to used Lexus Dealer prices, then it is a nonsense to buy from them rather than buy from Lexus.

Boss does not appear to warrants its vehicles,but instead uses a 3rd Party warranty eg, RAC. The small prints in such a warranty will include caveats which are not included in Lexus warranties and should therefore,in my opinion be avoided. Caveat Emptor.

Mindthegap · September 20, 2020

They sell a lot of Rxs so I am sure they have a mechanic they use that knows them well. Agree, I would rather have a Lexus warranty though.

Their cars look immaculately prepared though which is what drew me to them. Some of the cars I viewed at Lexus main dealers were very shabby.

29 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Website displays a very wide range of high end vehicles.They may know something about many, but cannot be specialists in all.

Reviews on website and Internet appear to be very good.

If prices are close to used Lexus Dealer prices, then it is a nonsense to buy from them rather than buy from Lexus.

Boss does not appear to warrants its vehicles,but instead uses a 3rd Party warranty eg, RAC. The small prints in such a warranty will include caveats which are not included in Lexus warranties and should therefore,in my opinion be avoided. Caveat Emptor.

On 9/17/2020 at 7:15 PM, Spacewagon52 said:

Out of interest, has anyone bought a Lexus or had dealings with BOSS Motor Company in Chesham?

They seem to get cars straight from Lexus dealers, some with full Lexus history. They do ask top dollar but are slightly cheaper than a franchise.

I wonder if the dealers get rid of dodgy ones (my caution when spending my hard earned cash!) or it might just be that at certain age a franchise would not wish to sell on their forecourt?

Any comments lads?

I spoke to them when I was looking for my RX and they seemed very genuine to me. The person I spoke to was definitely a fanatic of the RX and they prepare them to a very high level according to him. All alloys are refurbished, body work and interior prepped. They do charge towards lexus main dealers but the cars to look lovely.

I'm the end I bought from a main dealer and tbh glad I did as I have just had the brake actuator changed under warrantee which would have cost over 2k if I had to pay myself.

That said, I think the cars at Boss motors wild be well worth a look as looked very well preppped. Look on their website and they sell very high end cars all well presented

PCM · September 20, 2020

Can't beat a Lexus Warranty!

royoftherovers · September 20, 2020

1 minute ago, PCM said:

Can't beat a Lexus Warranty!

My point exactly, Piers.

Barry14UK · September 20, 2020

Unfortunately, Lexus Cheltenham tell me that the parts went in the waste bin the same day which was collected and no prospect of receiving but they will support my request to Lexus Customer Services for Goodwill. Apparently, top mounts were needed and charged for as well as the struts which were worn and come as a complete unit. So I now await a response following discussions between Customer Services and Cheltenham. I can confirm the car has not been used off road during my ownership and I doubt the original lady owner did so. I should of course have asked for the parts to be set aside but the call came while we were lunching and I overlooked doing so until it was too late. Go to school on my oversight folks!

I will report outcome.

I am inclined to opt for the 2 year extended warranty, as it seems to me that although the cars are among the most reliable, some parts can and sometimes do fail earlier than expected and in such circumstances the cost of some are high when the labour element is added.

royoftherovers · September 20, 2020

12 minutes ago, Barry14UK said:

Unfortunately, Lexus Cheltenham tell me that the parts went in the waste bin the same day which was collected and no prospect of receiving but they will support my request to Lexus Customer Services for Goodwill. Apparently, top mounts were needed and charged for as well as the struts which were worn and come as a complete unit. So I now await a response following discussions between Customer Services and Cheltenham. I can confirm the car has not been used off road during my ownership and I doubt the original lady owner did so. I should of course have asked for the parts to be set aside but the call came while we were lunching and I overlooked doing so until it was too late. Go to school on my oversight folks!

I will report outcome.

I am inclined to opt for the 2 year extended warranty, as it seems to me that although the cars are among the most reliable, some parts can and sometimes do fail earlier than expected and in such circumstances the cost of some are high when the labour element is added.

Thanks Barry, the update is much appreciated.

No real surprise that the original cannot be produced. Hopefully Cheltenham will play its full part in the application for a Goodwill contribution.

I am pleased that you have decided to apply for the Extended Warranty.

Mine goes into Chester at noon tomorrow to have the secondary bonnet catch replaced under Extended Warranty. I will ask how much that would have cost me had I had to pay and will report back for completeness.

royoftherovers · September 21, 2020

On 9/20/2020 at 2:40 PM, royoftherovers said:

Mine goes into Chester at noon tomorrow to have the secondary bonnet catch replaced under Extended Warranty. I will ask how much that would have cost me had I had to pay and will report back for completeness.

Secondary Bonnet Catch replaced at noon on my 10 year old GS under Lexus Extended Warranty. Would have cost £113 I was told.

Barry14UK · September 24, 2020

Update.

In brief, Lexus Customer Relations declined my request for some 'Goodwill' on the low mileage struts as I don't have an extended covered by extended warranty. They said they thought the discount on replacements offered by Lexus Cheltenham was a fair result. I have replied that I have no complaint against Cheltenham but reiterated that the struts should not have failed so early on a 'quality' car. LCR also said that I had declined an offer to take out an extended warranty but I was told if I did so it would not cover the existing claim, so would not be relevant to current claim. In fact I did not decline taking out the extended warranty but was given 30 days to make a decision on this and I told Cheltenham that I would respond within this time frame one way or the other.

I made a couple of further points and have asked LCR to reconsider but I am not optimistic about getting any Goodwill from them.

I do like the car but it is concerning that without an extended warranty, I might have to pay out heavily for another premature failure. Furthermore, the warranty is only for two years so it becomes necessary to pay for another in two years time and so on. Another option would be to sell and go for a Kia Sorrento which has a 7 year, 100,000 mile warranty, gives about the same mpg and is very inexpensive to service with reliability close to that of an RX according to some surveys. My daughter has one and I have been on quite a number of comfortable journeys in it. Of course being a diesel it does rattle at low revs, particularly when idling and hers is not as nice inside as the RX, although they have since been considerably upgraded on newer versions.

I will update after further response from Lexus and perhaps taking a closer look at some later Kia's, Covid restrictions permitting.

PCM · September 24, 2020

Hmmm.

How long have you owned you car?

royoftherovers · September 24, 2020

2 minutes ago, Barry14UK said:

Update.

In brief, Lexus Customer Relations declined my request for some 'Goodwill' on the low mileage struts as I don't have an extended covered by extended warranty. They said they thought the discount on replacements offered by Lexus Cheltenham was a fair result. I have replied that I have no complaint against Cheltenham but reiterated that the struts should not have failed so early on a 'quality' car. LCR also said that I had declined an offer to take out an extended warranty but I was told if I did so it would not cover the existing claim, so would not be relevant to current claim. In fact I did not decline taking out the extended warranty but was given 30 days to make a decision on this and I told Cheltenham that I would respond within this time frame one way or the other.

I made a couple of further points and have asked LCR to reconsider but I am not optimistic about getting any Goodwill from them.

I do like the car but it is concerning that without an extended warranty, I might have to pay out heavily for another premature failure. Furthermore, the warranty is only for two years so it becomes necessary to pay for another in two years time and so on. Another option would be to sell and go for a Kia Sorrento which has a 7 year, 100,000 mile warranty, gives about the same mpg and is very inexpensive to service with reliability close to that of an RX according to some surveys. My daughter has one and I have been on quite a number of comfortable journeys in it. Of course being a diesel it does rattle at low revs, particularly when idling and hers is not as nice inside as the RX, although they have since been considerably upgraded on newer versions.

I will update after further response from Lexus and perhaps taking a closer look at some later Kia's, Covid restrictions permitting.

Disappointing news Barry. but `twas far better to have loved and lost, than not tried at all.

Let`s hope they reconsider positively.

Some observations if I may;

The Lexus Extended Warranty is cheap at £45 per month over each two year period .The price is fixed, interest free and can be paid monthly over 12 months. It covers all Electrical and Mechanical failures. It provides Breakdown cover for YOU when travelling in another vehicle!

Unless I am very much mistaken, the Kia Warranty is not all it implies. It is a reducing warranty, so everything that is covered initially diminishes over time. Do read the small print as I have not.

Please do keep us all updated.

Lager shandy · September 24, 2020

Send them an invoice for the cost of replacing your second hand air strut units which were still road worthy units that they gave away without you being able to inspect or your permission and being such a expensive item very fool hardy on them .

Barry14UK · September 25, 2020

14 hours ago, PCM said:

Hmmm.

How long have you owned you car?

Took delivery of car on 30th October 2018 showing 34,369 miles. It had previously last been serviced by Cheltenham on 10th May 2018 at 31,652 miles and correct intervals before that. Serviced 23rd May 2019 at 37,688 miles. New Cross Climates fitted by Cheltenham at my expense as Dunlops serviceable but stepped and noisy on 27th Sep 2019 (they did match best price I could get elsewhere) at 39,150 miles. Serviced 14th Sep 2020 at 41,202 miles when replacement struts and top mounts fitted. I have done few miles in the car for various reasons, mainly due to isolating. So that the history.

Barry14UK · September 25, 2020

9 hours ago, Lager shandy said:

Send them an invoice for the cost of replacing your second hand air strut units which were still road worthy units that they gave away without you being able to inspect or your permission and being such a expensive item very fool hardy on them .

Interesting thought but I don't think they would buy that and would argue I did not mention retaining parts in sufficient time.(I was at lunch and failed to request retention). They did provide the parts at cost and were helpful to get car ready so I could drive home. I think this would only serve to sour relations and worn out parts are of no use to me. Furthermore, CRL are not questioning the fact that the struts were worn, they just say this happens some times so an owner needs a warranty, so made no difference whether or not I had the parts on this occasion.

PCM · September 25, 2020

Personally, I would move on, put it behind you, take out a warranty, and most importantly, enjoy your car.

Lager shandy · September 25, 2020

I think it's a bad show on lexus in your case luckily you could absorb the cost .we should have a section here on what to do when your lexus dealer says hi lexus here you need to replace this or this with a pressurised phone call catching the best guys of guard .

royoftherovers · September 25, 2020

1 hour ago, Lager shandy said:

I think it's a bad show on lexus in your case luckily you could absorb the cost .we should have a section here on what to do when your lexus dealer says hi lexus here you need to replace this or this with a pressurised phone call catching the best guys of guard .

If anyone finds themselves as Barry did-between a rock and a hard place- and knows that they have maintained their car as per the Manufacturers requirements--as Barry did, they should demand that the Dealership commit in writing immediately its views, with reasons "that the car should not be driven " and hand over the parts that have been replaced, before one leaves the premises.

Such action would concentrate the mind of a Dealership seeking to take advantage.

1 hour ago, Lager shandy said:

Barry14UK · September 28, 2020

Lexus have now offered £200 'Goodwill' provided it is put towards the cost of a Lexus Dealer service or a Lexus extended warranty. I will opting for the latter immediately. I don't want any major surprises in future.

It's not a great amount but I was not entitled to anything, so it was worth me sending a second email to Lexus CR which rather put them on the defensive. I can now afford to pay my formerly free TV licence LOL!

royoftherovers · September 28, 2020

6 minutes ago, Barry14UK said:

Lexus have now offered £200 'Goodwill' provided it is put towards the cost of a Lexus Dealer service or a Lexus extended warranty. I will opting for the latter immediately. I don't want any major surprises in future.

It's not a great amount but I was not entitled to anything, so it was worth me sending a second email to Lexus CR which rather put them on the defensive. I can now afford to pay my formerly free TV licence LOL!

Better than we might have hoped for Barry. Congratulations both on that and your decision re the Extended Warranty.

JBPRX400h · September 28, 2020

Don't forget that the extended warranty also includes UK breakdown recovery, European breakdown recovery and, I believe, MOT tests which when taken into account makes the £900ish for the two years a bit more of a bargain!

JBP

Barry14UK · September 28, 2020

17 minutes ago, JBPRX400h said:

Don't forget that the extended warranty also includes UK breakdown recovery, European breakdown recovery and, I believe, MOT tests which when taken into account makes the £900ish for the two years a bit more of a bargain!

JBP

Yes and I have NEW front struts and mounts so these should last last that much longer now.

Thanks to all that have commentated,