Disappointed with first service

[Bounce75]

I took my car in for its first service on Friday, it has only done 3,700 miles from new, but it is now a year old so it needed to be done. 

All seemed fine when I picked it up, but I happened to have a friend stay for the weekend who works for Audi in Lincolnshire. We got talking & I told him I had just had the IS serviced, he went straight outside to my car & pulled out the pollen filter & said they have not changed that!!

 He then looked at the schedule & said yes it should have been changed, he then commented I wonder what else they haven’t done?

Long story short, I phoned the dealer who apologised & said it was the parts dept who hadn’t sent down the filter to the service technician. He said bring it back & we will change it while you wait.

I took it up today & they changed it, I asked to speak to the manager, but he was in a meeting & wasn’t free.

They gave me a screen wash/ice scraper kit as an apology.

Question is, do I take it further or accept it was a genuine mistake?

Opinions on this would help. 🙂

[VFR]

The offer of a screen wash/ice scraper says it all IMO

Pathetic and patronising and not a place that I would use again and Lexus UK should be made aware of this (again IMO)

[Las Palmas]

Seems as bad as service here.

[NemesisUK]

47 minutes ago, Bounce75 said:

I told him I had just had the IS serviced, he went straight outside to my car & pulled out the pollen filter & said they have not changed that!!

Why did he do this?

You've had it done, move on....

[Bounce75]

9 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

Why did he do this?

You've had it done, move on....

He said it's well know in the trade apparently on low milage cars, a lot of dealers save themselves a bit of money by not changing them.

Could add up to a lot of money if its done to quite a few cars a week do you not think?

[D Johnson]

I’d be interested to know if your Audi friend was able to check any other things that had/hadn’t been done and if so, what? 

[Boo]

Can confirm it is quite common at main dealers (dont know about Lexus though).

They do it especially towards the end to meet targets along with other immoral practices.

Unlikely to be missed off as the parts department will get an automated picking list of whatever the car needs for that particular service.

Technician will also have a similar thing when they collect the parts ready for the service plus they know if they are working on a car that is full service, a pollen will be included etc. Usually give it a couple of bangs or the airhose to dislodge larger particles. Easy to get away with.

[Bounce75]

49 minutes ago, D Johnson said:

I’d be interested to know if your Audi friend was able to check any other things that had/hadn’t been done and if so, what? 

He had a quick look for the oil filter, but couldn't see it. he did check the oil & said it looked clean, but couldn't honestly say if it had been changed.

[cadman2k]

Bad enough with a non executive car in a mainstream dealer but when you are paying premium service prices you expect a premium service. You would not have known this wasn't done unless your friend pointed it out. I know a number of lexus dealers are now providing videos as part of health and service checks which allows them the opportunity (for the tech) to tell you what they've done to your car. I recently got one from a Toyota dealer also when they carried out a major service and was well impressed when the tech outlined everything he had done aligning to the service schedule. Doesn't take a great deal of effort and should be mandated to provide clear evidence of work carried out. That's the type of suuggestion/feedback to lexus uk who should roll it out to the franchised network of dealers working on their vehicles. 

[route66]

3 hours ago, Bounce75 said:

He then looked at the schedule & said yes it should have been changed, he then commented I wonder what else they haven’t done?

But were you charged for it? If not, it didn't need to be changed unless those miles we're all covered at 1 MPH (as in, car running for LOTS of hours). If you were charged, then you should name & shame. Like others on here, I would find it very hard/impossible to believe their story.

Your friend could not tell if the oil filter was changed because it's the replaceable paper filter type - the visible filter body is not changed, just the insides. As for oil, my IS300H had an oil change 7,000 miles ago and the oil today looks as good as new. Thing is, they would get away with all this stuff with your level of driving with little fear of being caught. If I were a betting man (I'm not - I drive a Lexus!) then I'd say there's little chance that they did very much at all.

A friend who is also a mechanic worked in a VW garage in London in the 90's and he said there were certain colleagues who were all about making time. They would make a mess of any vaguely non-routinely work they may be assigned (e.g. rattles) that would attract an actual hourly rate and therefore get all the simple stuff that had manufacturer set hours like standard servicing or brake pads, etc. The parts often ended up either in the bin or in their bags to bring home for onward sale. But the hours - and parts - got charged to the customer...

If your friend didn't spot the old filter, do you think you'd have got a call from the garage when they discovered their mistake, telling you about their oversight and asking you to drop it in when convenient? No?

I'd report to Lexus, tell them you're not happy and then ask them to get you proof the service was done or your money back. 

 

[Malc]

don't take the stress ..  it's fixed ...  move on BUT next time maybe ask for the " usual " video of the service etc .  after all, you're paying summat like £190 an hour incl vat, labour charge at the Lexus Main Stealer 

Malc

[Bounce75]

I was charged for the cabin filter as I have taken out a 3 year service contract with this dealer.

They also sent me a video, but it was only under the car showing the brakes pads, tyres & suspension, no oil or oil filter etc.

I have been a Volvo owner for the last 10 years & they have always given me a breakdown of the work done on each service, I did not get this with Lexus just a quick tick sheet with green, yellow & red boxes. Is this normal for a Lexus service?

Interesting that there are a few different views on this issue, which is good to get peoples perspective on problems big or small.

[PCM]

1 hour ago, Malc said:

don't take the stress ..  it's fixed ...  move on BUT next time maybe ask for the " usual " video of the service etc .  after all, you're paying summat like £190 an hour incl vat, labour charge at the Lexus Main Stealer 

Malc

I tend to agree. When something like that happens to me, initially I feel angry/let down etc., but then... I just think, life's too short.

[paulrnx]

I would take the matter further to be honest. I wouldn’t be happy and I’d consider not using that dealership again too. But maybe they all do this?

[stepheneric]

Bring back the good old days when all parts that had been replaced where placed in a bag in the passenger footwell.

[08ISF]

The old pollen filter scam. I had this with my local stealer. Queried why it wasn't replaced at the 2 year service, answer was we do it at the  minor 1 year service which they probably didn't. The thing is it's supposed to be part of the 2 yearly service  and is included in the cost. They're not cheap , about £90 , so if they can scam you for this on top of charging £180/hr to do little more than look at things it's a nice little earner for them. As far as the video goes, that's nothing more than an opportunity for upselling on top of their already extortionate charges.  As you may guess I'm getting a jaundiced view of Lexus' business practices and I don't suppose they will be getting better any time soon. My car is due for the expensive 6 year service soon so I will be asking for all removed parts to be left in the car after.

I've always had a fairly relaxed attitude to servicing , regarding it as  a further bribe to keep the warranty intact but with the advent of the new  Relax warranty and all it's exclusions I'm going to have to be a bit more hard nosed.

Definitely raise your issue with the dealer principal and Lexus UK if necessary. You're paying premium prices you don't expect back street  practices.

[ikeja]

I think the issue of trust has been broken.

 

[Malc]

3 minutes ago, ikeja said:

I think the issue of trust has been broken.

probably about 10 years ago methinks ......  car dealers and mechanics at garages .....  I think the " trust " element largely vanished a while ago now sadly

If you've got a trusted and honourable mechanic then hang on to him like gold dust

Malc

[royoftherovers]

There is much to ponder here.  https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/car-buying-scams-and-frauds/

[cadman2k]

One final comment from me that you can feedback on.

In the words of their current campaign

"Experience Amazing" - you have not! 

One of the other comments on leaving the old parts of what they have done in the service.

I wouldn't want an old oil filter full of oil left anywhere in the car so one to be careful of in case their dummy came out and the instruction was taken literally. 

Finally, a lot of franchises are trying to digitally transform with limited paperwork so again, be good if the apps not only showed your car had been serviced but also provided full details as per the traditional tick sheet methods

 

[PaulWhitt20]

The pollen filter probably didn't need replacing, so for the sake of the environment it was good not to replace it.

However you should not be charged for it.

One disadvantage of paying up front for servicing is you loose the flexibility. 

[route66]

19 minutes ago, PaulWhitt20 said:

The pollen filter probably didn't need replacing, so for the sake of the environment it was good not to replace it.

However you should not be charged for it.

One disadvantage of paying up front for servicing is you loose the flexibility. 

Indeed.

I've just checked the official service schedule for the IS300H (attached) and - if I'm reading it correctly - it looks like it should be replaced every 15K miles in normal conditions, and every 7.5K miles in dusty conditions.

On a related note, I replaced this filter on my IS300H with an official part. When I removed the old pollen filter, there were arrows on the leading edge that pointed down. Alongside a message stating they should be facing up. According to the service record, it was last replaced by a Lexus dealer ...

Official IS service schedule.pdf

[Phil xxkr]

15 hours ago, Bounce75 said:

I took my car in for its first service on Friday, it has only done 3,700 miles from new, but it is now a year old so it needed to be done. 

All seemed fine when I picked it up, but I happened to have a friend stay for the weekend who works for Audi in Lincolnshire. We got talking & I told him I had just had the IS serviced, he went straight outside to my car & pulled out the pollen filter & said they have not changed that!!

 He then looked at the schedule & said yes it should have been changed, he then commented I wonder what else they haven’t done?

Long story short, I phoned the dealer who apologised & said it was the parts dept who hadn’t sent down the filter to the service technician. He said bring it back & we will change it while you wait.

I took it up today & they changed it, I asked to speak to the manager, but he was in a meeting & wasn’t free.

They gave me a screen wash/ice scraper kit as an apology.

Question is, do I take it further or accept it was a genuine mistake?

Opinions on this would help. 🙂

Steve, if you believe it was a genuine oversight then they have apologised and fixed the issue so my question is, in exact terms, what more would you want from them? Mistakes can and do happen we all make them. I sense however your audi friend has thrown doubt in your mind about other aspects of the service carried out. Personally, and to quell those doubts go and sit down with the service manager and express those doubts I am sure that this will settle your mind. 

If, however, as some people on here are intimating that it was deliberately left out then don't go to Lexus go to the Police because its fraud. How many people with strong views have/would do this? Not many I venture, talks cheap Steve, so I hope you can see the situation for what it actually is. 🥂

[Bounce75]

35 minutes ago, route66 said:

Indeed.

I've just checked the official service schedule for the IS300H (attached) and - if I'm reading it correctly - it looks like it should be replaced every 15K miles in normal conditions, and every 7.5K miles in dusty conditions.

On a related note, I replaced this filter on my IS300H with an official part. When I removed the old pollen filter, there were arrows on the leading edge that pointed down. Alongside a message stating they should be facing up. According to the service record, it was last replaced by a Lexus dealer ...

Official IS service schedule.pdf 44.14 kB · 2 downloads

The service schedule in my 2020 IS300h show the filter is replaced every 12 months or 10,000 miles, the dealer confirmed this yesterday when they replaced it. 

[Bounce75]

6 minutes ago, Phil xxkr said:

Steve, if you believe it was a genuine oversight then they have apologised and fixed the issue so my question is, in exact terms, what more would you want from them? Mistakes can and do happen we all make them. I sense however your audi friend has thrown doubt in your mind about other aspects of the service carried out. Personally, and to quell those doubts go and sit down with the service manager and express those doubts I am sure that this will settle your mind. 

If, however, as some people on here are intimating that it was deliberately left out then don't go to Lexus go to the Police because its fraud. How many people with strong views have/would do this? Not many I venture, talks cheap Steve, so I hope you can see the situation for what it actually is. 🥂

Hi Philip, you are correct I had just thought it was a genuine mistake, but my friend has put doubt in my mind as he told me it is a common scam as not many people would even know.

When he took it out it was surprisingly dirty with bits of leaves etc in it.

I have emailed the manager expressing my concerns this morning & I am waiting for a response. 

I really want to know why the service tech didn't contact the parts dep't & tell them the filter was missing, after all he services Lexus cars every day.