Sales events

[Dippo]

On 6/10/2022 at 11:12 AM, imgo said:

 as of today I am now paying £4,500 less than the current list price. By the time I get my car, possibly 2023 at this rate, I suspect there will be at least one more price increase (maybe another £1,500?) so on paper I would be paying c. £6,000 less than list price when I take delivery,  so very happy with my timely choice.

 

So are you looking forward to more delays so that you can tell yourself you've saved even more money?

[krisdeb]

7 hours ago, imgo said:

I would hope that Lexus UK, and the main dealer (part of the inchcape group) would honour my order contract and not cancel / vary it etc. I paid the standard £500 to secure the order, at the order price, no matter how many other price increases may come along.

Michael 

Is your car in the production queue? Because if not, the price can change anytime, according to Lexus:

"Important Notice. Pricing and specifications shown are for model year 2022 UK vehicles, and subject to vehicle production lead times, the model ordered may be built according to model year 2023 specification, that may result in a different price. It is anticipated that your Lexus Centre will advise you of the exact On The Road price once your ordered vehicle goes into production (at the latest), at which point you have the right to accept such changes, or cancel your order and have any deposit returned to you."

[Harrier Man]

Kris, that is indeed what the website shows now but this wasn't the case back in February when Michael (and myself) ordered our vehicles. I hope and believe that Lexus would honour their commitment at the time the order was placed to hold the price. New customers can see the new deal on the website (as you show above) and I would hope dealers will explain the new situation to new customers.

I don't work for Lexus so my comments are my thoughts on the situation. I can understand why Lexus has had to change things.

[imgo]

I was told by the dealer that my purchase price is fixed, as on the order form. I have no reason to doubt that it will remain the case. Time will tell as they say.

[Sybaris]

So I went along and despite the sales e-mail promising riches and discounts of up to £5000, I was told there were no discounts available as demand had exceeded supply and hey they can charge what they like and the prices will be going up by £2K next month.  To me thats more than the depreciation.  Also I am told there is a 12 month wait on new orders and that my part ex would be re-evaluated when the car arrives.  

So basically, stick that.  Rather than negotiate and get a sale, they would prefer to get no sale as they can probably sell it at full price to the next person, though I don't know too many people who would want to place an order for a car that is just a figment of someone's imagination at the moment.

However, they were busy.

So I left without placing an order and will wait and see what happens next.

[steve2006]

So did you thank them for sending out completely misleading emails and effectively wasting your time and money attending.

If demand is outstripping supply why the need for this event, surely it should happen if they need to sell surplus stock.

Sounds like a case for the ASA to investigate their unsubstantiated claims and false promises.

[Sybaris]

So I went along and despite the sales e-mail promising riches and discounts of up to £5000, I was told there were no discounts available as demand had exceeded supply and hey they can charge what they like and the prices will be going up by £2K next month.  To me thats more than the depreciation.  Also I am told there is a 12 month wait on new orders and that my part ex would be re-evaluated when the car arrives.  

So basically, stick that.  Rather than negotiate and get a sale, they would prefer to get no sale as they can probably sell it at full price to the next person, though I don't know too many people who would want to place an order for a car that is just a figment of someone's imagination at the moment.

However, they were busy.

So I left without placing an order and will wait and see what happens next.

[Sybaris]

Like any business, they word the sales literature very carefully so as to keep within the boundaries and not break any rules but that didn't stop people coming in.  It was "heaving".  I was listening to one couple making a purchase who probably in their retirement years, were making every mistake in the book when it came to buying.  I used it as a learning experience though I was disappointed that there is nothing in stock.  

[Phil xxkr]

9 hours ago, imgo said:

I was told by the dealer that my purchase price is fixed, as on the order form. I have no reason to doubt that it will remain the case. Time will tell as they say.

Does the "fix" work both ways, ie if the price decreases do you get the lower one? The other interesting aspect is one of model year. If the car cannot be delivered until 2023 and therefore has a different spec apart from price what are the possible implications? With economies tanking around the world one may see a big slow down in sales. To compensate, typically a firm could lower prices or significantly enhance it's product offering, either way this will depress 2022 model values. We are hearing of workforce cuts of 10 - 15% from people like Tesla and Cazoo who clearly forecast "bad times just around the corner", manufacturers like pre-orders it helps the planning process. So maybe, right now, lexus do have enough orders in hand to fulfil 2022 schedules. 

[LenT]

1 hour ago, Sybaris said:

So I went along and despite the sales e-mail promising riches and discounts of up to £5000, I was told there were no discounts available as demand had exceeded supply and hey they can charge what they like and the prices will be going up by £2K next month.  To me thats more than the depreciation.  Also I am told there is a 12 month wait on new orders and that my part ex would be re-evaluated when the car arrives.  

So basically, stick that.  Rather than negotiate and get a sale, they would prefer to get no sale as they can probably sell it at full price to the next person, though I don't know too many people who would want to place an order for a car that is just a figment of someone's imagination at the moment.

However, they were busy.

So I left without placing an order and will wait and see what happens next.

I think the fact that you repeated your previous Sales Event post eight hours after the first time is a good indication how irritated you are!  ☹️  And rightly so.

Clearly you were mislead.  Was the Dealer’s attitude model specific or across the range?  After all, at least one sale was being negotiated while you were there.

But if a lot of potential buyers turned up and were equally disgruntled then that doesn’t bode well for future customer relations.

Your options are as you describe if you’re still keen.  But you could also send a recorded delivery letter to the Dealer Principal expressing your disappointment at being so mislead by them.  That may prompt a change of attitude.

You could contact other Lexus Dealers explaining that you had gone to this Sales Event because you were interested in a specific model (ie you weren’t just an idle tyre kicker) and did they have the same somewhat dismissive attitude to potential customers at invited Events?

After all, they may all sell the same marque but they’re not all  chums!!

Or you could have a look at another make.  I’ve had a couple of excellent Hondas.  Do they make a similar car?

[Malc]

20 hours ago, Malc said:

I hope that they don't arbitrarily come along and just say ..  sorry, the car you ordered cannot now be delivered.  ...........  and your prior order effectively cancelled ..... OR have you paid a " holding deposit " maybe ??   Might be prudent to do so, especially with the  " security "  of a big name Main Dealer 

I'm not sure this is happening yet with the motor industry BUT it is quite widespread in others

DID I set summat off just then .............

Malc

[RXtoNX]

IIRC these sales events are never model specific, they just state savings of up to £k.
Although I must admit it is so long since I really looked at the blurb to see what the small print says, I usually just ditch the circular straight away without even glancing at it.

Regarding the NX, maybe Lexus have realised that they can’t do anything to increase production if the bottleneck is parts shortages from 3rd parties so the only way they can reduce lead times is to “force” the market to reduce demand.
Not entirely poor customer service as long as potential customers are aware of the conditions of purchase and those conditions are locked in at the point the order is placed

[Malc]

50 minutes ago, RXtoNX said:

are aware of the conditions of purchase and those conditions are locked in at the point the order is placed

Ts&Cs are monstrous in viurtually ALL situations and never ever err in the customer's favour .......  and if, as a legitimate business, one doesn't have such Ts&Cs then one is totally castigated by the Govt Fair Trade people and lawyers for not having such incomprehensible stuff ....... for both customer and business seemingly,   protection ........  from whatever one needs protecting from .........  customer simply nees to read the Ts&Cs each time to know what they are eh !

Common sense rarely seems to prevail these days sadly ...................  or is even allowed to !  by Law !

Malc

[Phil xxkr]

7 hours ago, RXtoNX said:

IIRC these sales events are never model specific, they just state savings of up to £k.
Although I must admit it is so long since I really looked at the blurb to see what the small print says, I usually just ditch the circular straight away without even glancing at it.

Regarding the NX, maybe Lexus have realised that they can’t do anything to increase production if the bottleneck is parts shortages from 3rd parties so the only way they can reduce lead times is to “force” the market to reduce demand.
Not entirely poor customer service as long as potential customers are aware of the conditions of purchase and those conditions are locked in at the point the order is placed

Totally agree 

[Sybaris]

Ok so yes I was a bit annoyed.  I went in good faith to strike a reasonable deal for a new car but was annoyed mostly at the supply situation more than the dealer's enticements to get me through the door and the guy I spoke to was professional and he knew his stuff. What I refuse to do is buy a car that won't be here until next July, that is just mad.

What I have worked out is that if I wait a bit longer then the depreciation will be less than the price increase and hopefully there will be more stock around by then and I will be in a better bargaining position.  As I was always told growing up, "patience is a virtue".