New Member UX

Pjonesf1 · May 9, 2021

I have purchased a 69 plate UX with 3096 miles on the clock. It has the tech and safety pack in titanium silver with light grey seats. First impressions it is superb.

Before making the decision I had reservations about the size of the boot for our Border Collie but she has adapted very well.

Once the dealerships reopened I made appointments to test a Hyundai PHEV, Lexus, Mercedes PHEV and Toyota. Hyundai told me that the model I wanted to try wasn't available and gave me a hybrid covered in bird poo. Toyota only had a 1.8 not the 2.0 litre requested and to make me feel special the front bumper was broken and the tyre pressure monitor was illuminated. Mercedes was OK but the chancellor didn't like the dash and finally Lexus Maidstone was so professional, Michael the salesman made the whole experience a delight.

I hope that in the next few years the UX will be as good as the three Honda Civics I have owned since 2006.

Philip Jones

ColinBarber · May 9, 2021

Welcome Philip, enjoy your new vehicle 🙂

ALAW · May 9, 2021

Welcome Philip to the LOC. Ive just clocked 3000 miles on mine bought from new very happy.

paulrnx · May 10, 2021

18 hours ago, Pjonesf1 said:

I have purchased a 69 plate UX with 3096 miles on the clock. It has the tech and safety pack in titanium silver with light grey seats. First impressions it is superb.

Before making the decision I had reservations about the size of the boot for our Border Collie but she has adapted very well.

Once the dealerships reopened I made appointments to test a Hyundai PHEV, Lexus, Mercedes PHEV and Toyota. Hyundai told me that the model I wanted to try wasn't available and gave me a hybrid covered in bird poo. Toyota only had a 1.8 not the 2.0 litre requested and to make me feel special the front bumper was broken and the tyre pressure monitor was illuminated. Mercedes was OK but the chancellor didn't like the dash and finally Lexus Maidstone was so professional, Michael the salesman made the whole experience a delight.

I hope that in the next few years the UX will be as good as the three Honda Civics I have owned since 2006.

Philip Jones

Welcome. What’s with the f1 part of your name? Just curious nothing more 😀

Navnan2 · May 10, 2021

Hi Philip, happy times!

Nick W858 · May 12, 2021

Great buy well done.

C Mclean · May 17, 2021

Wow, atrocious customer service from Hyundai and Toyota. Mercedes not quite as bad but still poor. Think I’d be sending a gorillagram to Hyundai and Toyota congratulating them on how to loose potential customers.

Navnan2 · May 19, 2021

What happened Colin?

C Mclean · May 19, 2021

Just voicing my opinion on Philip’s post about dealership attitude.

LenT · May 19, 2021

On 5/9/2021 at 2:16 PM, Pjonesf1 said:

Lexus Maidstone was so professional, Michael the salesman made the whole experience a delight.

Philip Jones

Your experience is one of the built-in sales features of the Lexus. My buying experience pretty much mirrors yours. I came to Lexus from a Prelude and an Accord - both from new - and had received excellent service from Honda MK.

The Accord was written off on the M25 and I was all set to buy a replacement…when I discovered it had been discontinued in the UK. So I decided I’d spend a day touring the ‘usual suspects’. My first call was to the Lexus dealer - but only because it was the first off the bypass.

The sales guy (person) was - and indeed still is - a delightful chap (person) who, on being told I wanted to replace an Accord, said ‘we have just the one’. And he was right first time. The test drive confirmed it, but I felt I should still do the Tour. After all, who buys the first car they see!!

So I went to MB, where the lad on reception finally acknowledged me and, on learning I wanted to replace an Accord, suggested I had a look around the showroom and see if anything interested me. Audi, BMW and Volvo were not that bad but still didn’t compare favourably with Lexus.

When I got home I found a detailed email from the Lexus rep. together with a personalised video tour round the car.

Frankly all that was left was to arrange to take my Wife to see it and complete the formalities. Unlike some other dealers - my Wife’s Suzuki, for example - the same level of interest has been maintained after selling the car. Vishal still greets me by name when I bring it in for its annual service, and keeps in regular contact hoping to sell me a new Lexus.

Unfortunately he did too good a job the first time!

I’m sure your Lexus experience will be as rewarding as mine has been. Of course if you’re a dealer, then having a product to sell that’s renowned for its reliability, comfort and longevity is very reassuring. But the basics of Customer Service are not difficult to master. And they do make the difference.

royoftherovers · May 19, 2021

Which Lexus Dealership are you praising Len ?

LenT · May 19, 2021

38 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Which Lexus Dealership are you praising Len ?

Milton Keynes, John.

It may be tempting fate, but in nearly 60 years of car ownership I would rate them the best I’ve experienced. Probably closely followed by Honda MK and Toyota in Leicester, when I had an MR2.

NB Other Dealers are available…I expect.

royoftherovers · May 19, 2021

Thanks Len.

First_Lexus · May 25, 2021

On 5/19/2021 at 5:44 PM, LenT said:

Milton Keynes, John.

It may be tempting fate, but in nearly 60 years of car ownership I would rate them the best I’ve experienced. Probably closely followed by Honda MK and Toyota in Leicester, when I had an MR2.

NB Other Dealers are available…I expect.

^^ My experience with Lexus Swindon is the same. I always had great service from Aylesbury Honda, but Lexus have taken it to another level. In comparison, VW were shocking at both Aylesbury and Milton Keynes - once the car was sold I simply felt like an inconvenience.

LenT · May 26, 2021

22 hours ago, First_Lexus said:

^^ My experience with Lexus Swindon is the same. I always had great service from Aylesbury Honda, but Lexus have taken it to another level. In comparison, VW were shocking at both Aylesbury and Milton Keynes - once the car was sold I simply felt like an inconvenience.

And yet there’s no reason why every dealer shouldn’t be equally competent. Whether you’re dealing with customers or clients, selling a product or a service, the basics of the relationship remain the same. It maybe that the smaller selling marques attract a more interested seller and a more interesting buyer. No doubt the footfall through a VW dealership is far greater than a Lexus one. So the ‘We Try Harder’ effect becomes a factor.

When we bought a Suzuki SX4 four-wheel drive from a Northampton dealer, the sales people couldn’t do enough. When it came to the first service, they could barely be bothered to do anything at all!

A shortsighted view as we moved to another Suzuki dealer - who provided excellent service for a number of years.

22 hours ago, First_Lexus said:

^…once the car was sold I simply felt like an inconvenience.

I’ve had that feeling as a potential Buyer!

I rather fancied a Ford Probe - a two seater coupe launched in the early 1990s to compete - I believe - with the Honda Prelude and Toyota Celica. So I went into a large local Ford main dealer that had one on display. Apart from myself, the only other living creature was a girl tucked away behind a Reception desk.

After some ostentatious mooching around the Probe, I approached her and asked if there was someone who’d like to sell me one. She kindly offered to go and find out. Some moments later she returned and said “He’ll be up when he’s finished his cup of tea”.

I told her to go back and tell him not to rush on my account, because I was sure there was another Ford dealer nearby who might be more interested!

When even the Sales side regard customers as an irritant, what hope for future Service?

First_Lexus · May 26, 2021

@LenT

My ‘favourite’ part of the VW experience was this. I swear it’s true!

I had a LOT of problems with my Tiguan, owned from new. The main issue was the terrible DSG gearbox, which was hesitant to the point of danger from new (“…they all do that Sir”) and eventually exploded on the M1 and was replaced under warranty. In addition there were paintwork issues, touchscreen failure, a blown wiper motor, failed electric window motor, failed transfer box, and prematurely worn front seats and carpets - and I look after my cars! All that was within the first three years and fewer than 40k miles. It was a total disaster, and reinforced the myth of the ‘quality’ VW brand. It was mostly sorted under warranty.

As the warranty came to an end I - unsurprisingly - decided to move it on. I didn’t want another VW but foolishly thought I might get a contribution to make up for all the issues. Instead, the sales team offered me BELOW market value because “…we know about all the problems with it, so will have to trade it through auction. We certainly won’t be able to offer it as an ‘approved used’ vehicle.”

I went straight to Honda, and told them the story. They offered a good price and I was a happy Honda owner for many years through an Accord and two CR-Vs. VW won’t care of course, but dealers should realise that stories like that get told many times over! My extended family had previously owned Skoda, VW and Audi. Not one of them does any more. Instead they have Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Range Rover and Fiat (hmmmm).