Lexus Dealer Forum

[Pauly C]

What are forum members' thoughts on having a forum dedicated to Lexus owners experiences with main dealers?  I'm sure plenty of us have had experiences with main dealers - good and bad - that perhaps they'd like to post for all to see.

Thoughts?

[Linas.P]

There are a lot of information about that already, separating it into separate forum would become basically a "name and shame" game and it seems LOC isn't in favour of that.

Nobody stops you from starting a thread in "general discussion"... (as you did) and ask that question.

I can start with saying that I always had mediocre experience with all Lexus dealers I have dealt with in UK, the experience is purely transactional - the more you spend (or they can make on top of that), the better experience you get. This contrasts heavily with Lexus dealers in say US, where it feels more like a cult and people working there are "true believers" in customer satisfaction e.g. you come from the street and you right away are treated to same high standard. That does not happen in UK, you will be mostly ignored, but if you flash a Rolex and say you may be interested in buying brand new higher class car (RX/LC) then you suddenly are treated very well. Likewise, when you bring 150k miles 10 years old Lexus, you are treated like trash, but when you bring 2 years old 40k miles Lexus for service and you indicated you may be looking for upgrade, then you are suddenly called in to drink coffee with principal, test drive LC and discuss your upgrade plans.

Generally, in comparison with other makes - Lexus still has better dealer experience, I had horrible experiences with most German brands - BMW, Audi and MB, also bad experience with Volvo. Good experiences with Mazda. Lexus is probably still the best, but I can't shake off the knowledge that it could be much better when you open your wallet (or they hope you will do it).

Talking about specific dealers:

Gatwick (Steven Eagell) - mostly positive, bought old used car (6 years old just over 100k miles) from them and handover was decent, not like new car, but car was cleaned, parked in front of the entrance, serviced (book not stamped), full inspection sheet before pick-up, paperwork ready (they clearly were prepared for time of appointment and waiting for me), no mechanical issues after pick-up or in the many years after.

Reading (Jemca) - bad experience, used car (only 2 years old, 40k miles) was in poor condition, dealer lied about condition, promised to rectify the issues, but failed to fix them, took long time to prepare the car, promised to inspect the car but ultimately failed to do it (and paid dearly for it when it turned out they sold me car without any brake pads to speak off), promised to pick me up from local station on day of delivery failed to arrive and told me to book a taxi, car was dirty on day of delivery, just thrown into the corner of the car lot (seems like it wasn't even moved for weeks after test drive), issues where just partially resolved (e.g. A-pillar cover still had burns/scratches on it and they simply posted it to me a month later to fit it myself, stone chips which they said that they will ask detailer to rectify were simply covered in some mud that you can wipe off with finger, somebody botched the seat bolster repair etc.). Also as part of sale I had 2 years service plan thrown in, servicing was nothing special, second service they forgotten they included it free and tried to charge me, but after some back and forward they covered it in "goodwill". Also going back to brakes, on inspection after test drive I mentioned that brakes were squealing and visually looked like discs are deeply grooved and had a lip. I joked that "if I bring the car to service like that you would advise to replace discs", to which they answered "the car was inspected when it was PX 2 months ago and remaining brake discs/pads are within spec." To which I told "because it was 2 months ago, I would like you to do new inspection now before I agree to buy it". They promised to do it, I asked on the day on pick-up if they did it and they said "yes brakes are fine all passed". Good for me was that before sending the deposit over I sent them summary of all things that they promised to include with sale and they have acknowledged it to me. As such when 9 month and barely 2700 miles later I took the car in for warranty job and another Lexus dealer advised me that I literally have no brakes in the rear and have maybe 1mm of pads left in the front, they could not wiggle themselves out of replacing ALL brakes, pads and callipers FOC, for something like £2000. 

Woodford and Hainault (Hills Motors) - mediocre, used to service cars with them, but the works is always half done, had breakdown few miles away from service (literally 7 miles, on the way home), overall quality hit and miss, service is hit an miss, several times they forgotten to reserve courtesy car, once offered a taxi as apology, but forgotten to mention I will pay for it (thanks for £40 "goodwill" ride that I had to pay for myself), seems to like to upsell some services, also seems to like to charge for parts that should be included in service. But that was on old Lexus, yet when I was servicing my new car (relatively speaking) they were very pleasant. Also their sales were always very pleasant when they hope to sell new RC and LC for me (that is where I get my 24h or weekend test drives), in other hand there were several times where they forgotten about appointments and when I arrived at reception they had no clue who I am, why I am there and person who meant to have appointment with me wasn't even working that day. That said they really gone out of their way to do warranty job for me, even put up with Lexus Reading shenanigans as swaps of courtesy cars, also I drove their courtesy NX for 3 weeks during warranty job (perhaps they made killing out of £4200 bill for seat motor fix).

Lexus Southend (Steven Eagell) - not really much experience, but I had reserved test drive with them and they called me on the day of appointment to advise me they no longer have a car. I guess that happens... but seemed little bit last minute. Had same in Sidcup (Jemca) and Sheffield (don't even know who owns it, maybe even independent). Again - not much one can make of that, seems like fairly common with any dealer, Sheffield was probably worst, because I specifically travelled and stayed with family just to see the car next day and next day they told me they don't have it, meaning whole trip was waste. Sidcup was also bad in other way - I actually arrived and only then they realised they don't have the car, so offered me to test drive different car (all cool except I have driven many RC300h and my interest was not so much in general, but about particular car).

As you can see there is no particular theme, Steven Eagell seems to be largest and probably best franchise, but there is plenty of issues with them as well. Jemca really feels to me like the "Toyota" dealer that sells Lexus on the side, they haven't grown-up to sell Lexus, their staff does not know much about the cars, for them it is just Toyota with different badge. Hills seems to put more effort in to sales, but aftersales are not great. All in all, I would not trust them further than I can throw them, used cars sales are razor thin margin and cut-throat business, servicing they do because they have to (it is choir for them), however they will snap your hand for warranty work, also they like new car sales. So all the same rules applies - inspect the car, have everything in writing, expect issues, expect to deal with them, just know where you stand and hold your ground, there is nothing magical, it just feels misleadingly "safe", but you always on thin ice there. Lexus still has best dealer experience, but not because they are that amazing, but rather because everyone else are so horrible. I know it sounds quite depressing, but that is my experience with UK dealer network. I have had Lexus in other countries and it was different. Also it seems in the past it was different, but as Lexus became more established player in the market the magic and fairy dust kind of disappeared. 

[ColinBarber]

2 hours ago, Pauly C said:

What are forum members' thoughts on having a forum dedicated to Lexus owners experiences with main dealers?  I'm sure plenty of us have had experiences with main dealers - good and bad - that perhaps they'd like to post for all to see.

Thoughts?

There is the General Reviews forum where there are some dealer reviews already. There have also been several threads on the subject over the years - this one for example:

 

[Pauly C]

1 hour ago, Linas.P said:

There are a lot of information about that already, separating it into separate forum would become basically a "name and shame" game and it seems LOC isn't in favour of that.

Nobody stops you from starting a thread in "general discussion"... (as you did) and ask that question.

I can start with saying that I always had mediocre experience with all Lexus dealers I have dealt with in UK, the experience is purely transactional - the more you spend (or they can make on top of that), the better experience you get. This contrasts heavily with Lexus dealers in say US, where it feels more like a cult and people working there are "true believers" in customer satisfaction e.g. you come from the street and you right away are treated to same high standard. That does not happen in UK, you will be mostly ignored, but if you flash a Rolex and say you may be interested in buying brand new higher class car (RX/LC) then you suddenly are treated very well. Likewise, when you bring 150k miles 10 years old Lexus, you are treated like trash, but when you bring 2 years old 40k miles Lexus for service and you indicated you may be looking for upgrade, then you are suddenly called in to drink coffee with principal, test drive LC and discuss your upgrade plans.

Generally, in comparison with other makes - Lexus still has better dealer experience, I had horrible experiences with most German brands - BMW, Audi and MB, also bad experience with Volvo. Good experiences with Mazda. Lexus is probably still the best, but I can't shake off the knowledge that it could be much better when you open your wallet (or they hope you will do it).

Talking about specific dealers:

Gatwick (Steven Eagell) - mostly positive, bought old used car (6 years old just over 100k miles) from them and handover was decent, not like new car, but car was cleaned, parked in front of the entrance, serviced (book not stamped), full inspection sheet before pick-up, paperwork ready (they clearly were prepared for time of appointment and waiting for me), no mechanical issues after pick-up or in the many years after.

Reading (Jemca) - bad experience, used car (only 2 years old, 40k miles) was in poor condition, dealer lied about condition, promised to rectify the issues, but failed to fix them, took long time to prepare the car, promised to inspect the car but ultimately failed to do it (and paid dearly for it when it turned out they sold me car without any brake pads to speak off), promised to pick me up from local station on day of delivery failed to arrive and told me to book a taxi, car was dirty on day of delivery, just thrown into the corner of the car lot (seems like it wasn't even moved for weeks after test drive), issues where just partially resolved (e.g. A-pillar cover still had burns/scratches on it and they simply posted it to me a month later to fit it myself, stone chips which they said that they will ask detailer to rectify were simply covered in some mud that you can wipe off with finger, somebody botched the seat bolster repair etc.). Also as part of sale I had 2 years service plan thrown in, servicing was nothing special, second service they forgotten they included it free and tried to charge me, but after some back and forward they covered it in "goodwill". Also going back to brakes, on inspection after test drive I mentioned that brakes were squealing and visually looked like discs are deeply grooved and had a lip. I joked that "if I bring the car to service like that you would advise to replace discs", to which they answered "the car was inspected when it was PX 2 months ago and remaining brake discs/pads are within spec." To which I told "because it was 2 months ago, I would like you to do new inspection now before I agree to buy it". They promised to do it, I asked on the day on pick-up if they did it and they said "yes brakes are fine all passed". Good for me was that before sending the deposit over I sent them summary of all things that they promised to include with sale and they have acknowledged it to me. As such when 9 month and barely 2700 miles later I took the car in for warranty job and another Lexus dealer advised me that I literally have no brakes in the rear and have maybe 1mm of pads left in the front, they could not wiggle themselves out of replacing ALL brakes, pads and callipers FOC, for something like £2000. 

Woodford and Hainault (Hills Motors) - mediocre, used to service cars with them, but the works is always half done, had breakdown few miles away from service (literally 7 miles, on the way home), overall quality hit and miss, service is hit an miss, several times they forgotten to reserve courtesy car, once offered a taxi as apology, but forgotten to mention I will pay for it (thanks for £40 "goodwill" ride that I had to pay for myself), seems to like to upsell some services, also seems to like to charge for parts that should be included in service. But that was on old Lexus, yet when I was servicing my new car (relatively speaking) they were very pleasant. Also their sales were always very pleasant when they hope to sell new RC and LC for me (that is where I get my 24h or weekend test drives), in other hand there were several times where they forgotten about appointments and when I arrived at reception they had no clue who I am, why I am there and person who meant to have appointment with me wasn't even working that day. That said they really gone out of their way to do warranty job for me, even put up with Lexus Reading shenanigans as swaps of courtesy cars, also I drove their courtesy NX for 3 weeks during warranty job (perhaps they made killing out of £4200 bill for seat motor fix).

Lexus Southend (Steven Eagell) - not really much experience, but I had reserved test drive with them and they called me on the day of appointment to advise me they no longer have a car. I guess that happens... but seemed little bit last minute. Had same in Sidcup (Jemca) and Sheffield (don't even know who owns it, maybe even independent). Again - not much one can make of that, seems like fairly common with any dealer, Sheffield was probably worst, because I specifically travelled and stayed with family just to see the car next day and next day they told me they don't have it, meaning whole trip was waste. Sidcup was also bad in other way - I actually arrived and only then they realised they don't have the car, so offered me to test drive different car (all cool except I have driven many RC300h and my interest was not so much in general, but about particular car).

As you can see there is no particular theme, Steven Eagell seems to be largest and probably best franchise, but there is plenty of issues with them as well. Jemca really feels to me like the "Toyota" dealer that sells Lexus on the side, they haven't grown-up to sell Lexus, their staff does not know much about the cars, for them it is just Toyota with different badge. Hills seems to put more effort in to sales, but aftersales are not great. All in all, I would not trust them further than I can throw them, used cars sales are razor thin margin and cut-throat business, servicing they do because they have to (it is choir for them), however they will snap your hand for warranty work, also they like new car sales. So all the same rules applies - inspect the car, have everything in writing, expect issues, expect to deal with them, just know where you stand and hold your ground, there is nothing magical, it just feels misleadingly "safe", but you always on thin ice there. Lexus still has best dealer experience, but not because they are that amazing, but rather because everyone else are so horrible. I know it sounds quite depressing, but that is my experience with UK dealer network. I have had Lexus in other countries and it was different. Also it seems in the past it was different, but as Lexus became more established player in the market the magic and fairy dust kind of disappeared. 

Very interesting read there Linus.  Long story short - I was taking my new (secondhand) Lexus to my 'local' dealer today - a 5+ hour round trip as it turned out - to get a couple of hopefully minor issues sorted out.  I got there, they weren't expecting me, no courtesy car available for the 3+ hour drive home.  All of what I was expecting was evidenced in an E Mail to me from the Sales Manager, telling me what they were going to do, and when, and that I would get a courtesy car to get home, whilst I left my car with them to get fixed.  The worst part of it?  2 other Lexus sales/admin staff were cc'd on the E Mail the sales manager sent me....and one of them was at the dealership when I arrived...although this person acknowledged me and said hello, they didn't come over and explain the situation...just left it to a junior salesman that I felt sorry for.  I could've kicked off in the showroom, but that's not me.  I've compiled a complaint for the dealer principal that he'll get tomorrow.  They've promised me the cost of a tank of fuel but, at the very least, I'd want that and my car's issues fixed at no cost to me whatsoever (including a new driver door mirror...which is another story). My wife walked out whilst we were there...she was more annoyed than I was.  Certainly not what I expect of a Lexus main dealer....so the dealer principal will get both barrels for sure😡

[LenT]

14 hours ago, Pauly C said:

I'm sure plenty of us have had experiences with main dealers - good and bad - that perhaps they'd like to post for all to see.

Unfortunately, my only experience of Lexus main dealers is with Lexus Milton Keynes, so I’ve no idea if it’s typical.  But ever since I bought the car from them when it was less than three years old, they have been nothing less than excellent! 

The car’s rarely been back for anything other than a regular service and MoT, which is always organised very efficiently - and sometimes I’ve used their Collect Service.  Everyone I’ve met has been welcoming and a pleasure to deal with.  Lately the Services have been accompanied by a video walkthrough by the Service Mechanic to highlight anything of particular interest

I get regular emails from the original sales guy to check if I’m still happy with the car - and ‘special invitations’ to sales events.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a better Lexus for me than the one I already have.

So if anything, I’m a bit of a disappointment to them!

[wharfhouse]

18 hours ago, Linas.P said:

Likewise, when you bring 150k miles 10 years old Lexus, you are treated like trash, but when you bring 2 years old 40k miles Lexus for service and you indicated you may be looking for upgrade, then you are suddenly called in to drink coffee with principal, test drive LC and discuss your upgrade plans.

I have just taken my nearly 10 year old 150k mile IS 300h in for its service. I was treated very well, offered coffee and biscuits, looked after and everything was done to make my stay as pleasant as possible. I was offered an option to discuss buying a new car whilst I was there (emailed me beforehand) which I politely declined. There were older cars than mine there too being serviced. I think all comments are very dealer and circumstances dependant. In many cases one person has a bad experience and another good at the same place. 

[Linas.P]

7 hours ago, LenT said:

and ‘special invitations’ to sales events.

Have you ever tried attending them? I tried twice and was greatly disappointed, the "special invitation by Lexus UK" seemed like only the Lexus UK knew about it, on the day the dealer was clueless of any event and it seemed like normal day for them "with some idiots talking about some special event". Then I was asked to wait for some salesman to come back from test drive or something... and I am not joking I was sitting there for over 2 hours. And this was appointment for specific time - basically Lexus UK called me, told me it is special event, asked me what would interest me, I said RC-F, they booked me for RC-F "discovery" session and "guided tour", asked me when I am available and specifically booked me for 11AM on Saturday. My expectation was it will be "semi-closed" event with some comfortable number of attendees, considering the size of the dealer maybe 40-60 people. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations, but I been in such even with other makes and I have seen some of these events in US... and I was expecting light refreshments (canapés and glass of champagne maybe). So I arrived 15 min to 11, spent 10 minutes trying to find where to park because lost was literally rammed with cars... 5 minutes to 11 I finally got in and found queue by the reception (just normal people there for service and such), about 20 past 11 I finally got to speak with receptionist and told her I am "here for some special sales event, invited by Lexus UK"... and she was like please take a seat I will check... another 20 minutes later she came by and said "really sorry about that, but nobody knows about any event and the sales managers with whom you have appointment does not work today, but there is another sales manager who will be able to speak with you once he is done with client"... At this point I am checking my invitation and e-mail because I thought for myself that maybe I have arrived on the wrong Saturday or something. 2 hours later (fair to say receptionist did check on me maybe twice and asked if I am ok and if I want coffee), the sales manager came and asked me "so what you are looking for again?! No we don't have RC-F, the one outside is clients one (or maybe was just sold)".

I can only assume MK Lexus is better than one local to me. 

2 hours ago, wharfhouse said:

I have just taken my nearly 10 year old 150k mile IS 300h in for its service. I was treated very well, offered coffee and biscuits, looked after and everything was done to make my stay as pleasant as possible. I was offered an option to discuss buying a new car whilst I was there (emailed me beforehand) which I politely declined. There were older cars than mine there too being serviced. I think all comments are very dealer and circumstances dependant. In many cases one person has a bad experience and another good at the same place. 

Never said they all bad, hence I mentioned the ones I used and the service I got. Obviously, it is limited to only those I have mentioned. 

Also - cookies and coffee is always available and receptionists are always lovely in any institution you go to. So this isn't where I mark them up or down. However if you come down for service that was booked with courtesy car and they say they forgotten/missed that you need one... then you kind of stuffed. And when they offer to book you a taxi as apology you don't think they just offering to literally book it for you, but you will pay.

Or for example when you ask them not to wash the car and they not only wash it (take it to nearest hand scratchers), but then also parks it under the tree, so you find it covered by sap, bird droppings, leaves and branches (it was kind of exceptional circumstances with heavy storm passing by, but one would think they look at the car being in completely shocking state and would wash it again before handling it over to customer) - after their wash I literally had to machine polish entire car and detail it all over again, apply ceramic coating etc. It was that bad. This is Woodford by the way - don't ever allow them to was your car, because they not even washing it themselves, but takes it to local £2 handwash which just destroys the paint and any coating, first we clearly too harsh chemicals (also bleached some plastics and rusted the brakes... too much caustic and acidic cleaners), but also just goes to town with dirty rags and swirls everything. Reading have their own washing bay with their own staff doing the washing, the only problem is that their "qualified detailer" is literally the same guy that cleans dealership floors (this is not joke, I don't use literally out of context).... and I watched with pain when he used same MF from wiping the spilled coffee to wipe the dust of the cars in showroom, leaving deep scratches that I could see 10 meters away from where I was sitting. "Very please don't let that guy touch my car".  Also I feel sorry for the guy, it is not his fault, he is minimum wage cleaner and that is what he does, that Reading upsells him as "qualified detailer" it is not his fault. 

[LenT]

17 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Have you ever tried attending them?

No Linas, I haven’t!  As I say, the accompanying invitation details all the current and relevant Lexus models to which the ‘Event’ applies - none of which appears to offer me any benefit over my current car.

I could go just to do the usual tyre kicking and wheel twiddling and indulge in a bit of pampering by the Sales Staff.  On the other hand, I might have encountered the same appalling behaviour that you’ve detailed here!

Clearly, these ‘Events’ are organised centrally by Stephen Eagell but they are personalised to the extent that they claim an exclusive ‘Manager’s Offer’ that will only be revealed upon my attendance.  I’m always surprised that it doesn’t require presentation of Birth Certificate and/or Passport as well!

But all this faux image of exclusivity is damagingly counterproductive if incompetent administrators haven’t organised the local Dealers involved!

I had just such an Invitation quite recently, which I simply binned.  But now I’m tempted to accept the next one just to see how the experience compares.  What deters me is that selling cars is not the easiest of ways to make a living and I would feel guilty taking up Sales Staff time.  
 

49 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Or for example when you ask them not to wash the car and they not only wash it (take it to nearest hand scratchers)

When I first bought the car, Lexus MK used to do a full complimentary valeting with the service - and a very good job they made of it too!  They have their own car wash on the premises.  But then I had it Detailed and to protect the ceramic finish that was a no-go area.

That meant that it came back with only the interior done - which was fine by me.  Until…a couple of service’s ago when I reiterated the No Car Wash request when the car was collected from me.  Later in the day I had a very concerned call from the Service Manager explaining that the message hadn’t got to the Car Wash Executive in time who had proceeded to do their stuff.  He asked that I checked the car specifically for any marking on its return and they would undertake to rectify it.

Firstly, I was impressed that he made the call.  If there was no marking then how would I have known?  To then accept responsibility in advance was equally impressive.  Now how this compares with other Lexus Dealers, I have no idea.  It’s all so dependent on the attitudes of individuals  -  and your experience suggests  that even Lexus has a way to go in this regard.

[Eggie]

I can only comment on my experiences with RRG Lexus Bolton over the last 8 yrs. i have found both sales and service departments exemplary. My latest experience was for the latest recall for software update for front camera 2 weeks ago.

a loan car was made available and on collection of my own vehicle it had been washed AND filled up with fuel. So no complaints here.

[wharfhouse]

3 hours ago, Linas.P said:

Have you ever tried attending them? I tried twice and was greatly disappointed, the "special invitation by Lexus UK" seemed like only the Lexus UK knew about it, on the day the dealer was clueless of any event and it seemed like normal day for them "with some idiots talking about some special event". Then I was asked to wait for some salesman to come back from test drive or something... and I am not joking I was sitting there for over 2 hours. And this was appointment for specific time - basically Lexus UK called me, told me it is special event, asked me what would interest me, I said RC-F, they booked me for RC-F "discovery" session and "guided tour", asked me when I am available and specifically booked me for 11AM on Saturday. My expectation was it will be "semi-closed" event with some comfortable number of attendees, considering the size of the dealer maybe 40-60 people. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations, but I been in such even with other makes and I have seen some of these events in US... and I was expecting light refreshments (canapés and glass of champagne maybe). So I arrived 15 min to 11, spent 10 minutes trying to find where to park because lost was literally rammed with cars... 5 minutes to 11 I finally got in and found queue by the reception (just normal people there for service and such), about 20 past 11 I finally got to speak with receptionist and told her I am "here for some special sales event, invited by Lexus UK"... and she was like please take a seat I will check... another 20 minutes later she came by and said "really sorry about that, but nobody knows about any event and the sales managers with whom you have appointment does not work today, but there is another sales manager who will be able to speak with you once he is done with client"... At this point I am checking my invitation and e-mail because I thought for myself that maybe I have arrived on the wrong Saturday or something. 2 hours later (fair to say receptionist did check on me maybe twice and asked if I am ok and if I want coffee), the sales manager came and asked me "so what you are looking for again?! No we don't have RC-F, the one outside is clients one (or maybe was just sold)".

I can only assume MK Lexus is better than one local to me. 

Never said they all bad, hence I mentioned the ones I used and the service I got. Obviously, it is limited to only those I have mentioned. 

Also - cookies and coffee is always available and receptionists are always lovely in any institution you go to. So this isn't where I mark them up or down. However if you come down for service that was booked with courtesy car and they say they forgotten/missed that you need one... then you kind of stuffed. And when they offer to book you a taxi as apology you don't think they just offering to literally book it for you, but you will pay.

Or for example when you ask them not to wash the car and they not only wash it (take it to nearest hand scratchers), but then also parks it under the tree, so you find it covered by sap, bird droppings, leaves and branches (it was kind of exceptional circumstances with heavy storm passing by, but one would think they look at the car being in completely shocking state and would wash it again before handling it over to customer) - after their wash I literally had to machine polish entire car and detail it all over again, apply ceramic coating etc. It was that bad. This is Woodford by the way - don't ever allow them to was your car, because they not even washing it themselves, but takes it to local £2 handwash which just destroys the paint and any coating, first we clearly too harsh chemicals (also bleached some plastics and rusted the brakes... too much caustic and acidic cleaners), but also just goes to town with dirty rags and swirls everything. Reading have their own washing bay with their own staff doing the washing, the only problem is that their "qualified detailer" is literally the same guy that cleans dealership floors (this is not joke, I don't use literally out of context).... and I watched with pain when he used same MF from wiping the spilled coffee to wipe the dust of the cars in showroom, leaving deep scratches that I could see 10 meters away from where I was sitting. "Very please don't let that guy touch my car".  Also I feel sorry for the guy, it is not his fault, he is minimum wage cleaner and that is what he does, that Reading upsells him as "qualified detailer" it is not his fault. 

I agree I wouldn't be happy with the problems you mentioned, but for me all I can add is my personal experience to balance out views - I bought my car from Lexus Reading (Jemca) 8 years ago and since then had everything it's needed done by Lexus Reading - so 11 services, MoTs, tyres and some repairs (mainly warranty) and a body shop repair (undertaken at the Jemca bodyshop in Bracknell). I have only ever been treated in the best possible way. Never pushy for more work and in fact advised against needing some work when I asked them to check some things for me, and also not charging me for some investigations I asked for. They wash the car each time it's in and the paintwork is in surprisingly good condition for its age. I've watched them washing cars and they use a foam lance. We also bought a new Toyota 5 years from Jemca Toyota next door and again been very happy with the way we have been treated there too. 

In previous marques dealers I moved multiple times because of problems and so I wouldn't hesitate to move on if I felt poorly treated. 

I hope you have some better experiences I the future as I know how frustrating it can be when dealers don't treat you as a valued customer, whatever you need from a spare part to a new car. 

[Pauly C]

11 hours ago, LenT said:

Unfortunately, my only experience of Lexus main dealers is with Lexus Milton Keynes, so I’ve no idea if it’s typical.  But ever since I bought the car from them when it was less than three years old, they have been nothing less than excellent! 

The car’s rarely been back for anything other than a regular service and MoT, which is always organised very efficiently - and sometimes I’ve used their Collect Service.  Everyone I’ve met has been welcoming and a pleasure to deal with.  Lately the Services have been accompanied by a video walkthrough by the Service Mechanic to highlight anything of particular interest

I get regular emails from the original sales guy to check if I’m still happy with the car - and ‘special invitations’ to sales events.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a better Lexus for me than the one I already have.

So if anything, I’m a bit of a disappointment to them!

Well, that's good to hear Len.  My complaint has gone off to the dealer general manager earlier today. My experience with them yesterday was pretty shocking.  Well over 5 hours driving in my car and had to return home in it, as they weren't expecting me (further details above in an earlier post).  Now it looks like I will have to put another 200 miles on my car to deliver it and then pick it up once they've finished with it.  I'll take the tank of fuel they've offered, and I'll take a new wing mirror and the fixing of any faults found...and I will leave it to the general manager to work out what price he might put on my time - taken, and yet to come - and the total inconvenience of all this.  The total lack of communication between them all at their end beggars belief.  'Nuff said, but I will come back to report how this all plays out for sure😡

[VSR]

Woodford (Hills)- felt when selling  car not very knowledgable, their Toyota arm does not honour warranty and loves to upsell (know this from a close relative) guessing lexus is the same then. 

Hatfield- Ok so far, but do try upsell complete garbage like air con bacterial cleanse for 180 quid. Worse thing about Hatfield is that they always beg for 10 star rating when lexus phones later, which I think is unfair because the service quality is more a 6-7 for the money we spend not a 10.  They aren't going above and beyond. I remember when we part x our old car for our NX, the sales rep (TT) made a huge hoohah about how our car hadn't been serviced for 10 years even though they were only giving 500-1500 quid px, won't give exact figure to prevent tracing, ruined our new car pick up experience even though wbac price around 650 anyways and we purchased a new car for 36-42k range won't say figure.

my advice: buy lexus then service elsewhere relax aint worth the paper its written on. 

 

they aren't bad but they aren't excellent

[Pauly C]

On 8/25/2024 at 7:56 PM, VSR said:

Woodford (Hills)- felt when selling  car not very knowledgable, their Toyota arm does not honour warranty and loves to upsell (know this from a close relative) guessing lexus is the same then. 

Hatfield- Ok so far, but do try upsell complete garbage like air con bacterial cleanse for 180 quid. Worse thing about Hatfield is that they always beg for 10 star rating when lexus phones later, which I think is unfair because the service quality is more a 6-7 for the money we spend not a 10.  They aren't going above and beyond. I remember when we part x our old car for our NX, the sales rep (TT) made a huge hoohah about how our car hadn't been serviced for 10 years even though they were only giving 500-1500 quid px, won't give exact figure to prevent tracing, ruined our new car pick up experience even though wbac price around 650 anyways and we purchased a new car for 36-42k range won't say figure.

my advice: buy lexus then service elsewhere relax aint worth the paper its written on. 

 

they aren't bad but they aren't excellent

I’m still mulling over whether to keep the annual service (and therefore the 10 yr/100,000 warranty) going.  I have a local independent garage I know and trust, that say they can service my UX.  However, I’ll make the journey for the next service with Mrs C to my nearest Lexus centre (2 hours one way) and make a day of it with the courtesy car and see how it goes.  I have a Toyota dealer 10 mins from me, but they appear to not be wanting to service the UX….however, their tune may change if I told them such servicing has nothing to do with keeping the 10 yr/100,000 warranty valid.

[Malc1]

From all that we're reading and understanding nobody would believe that Lexus is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota !  ..  it's as if Lexus is from another planet 🤢

 

Malc

[Spock66]

49 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

From all that we're reading and understanding nobody would believe that Lexus is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota !

So the whole concept of Lexus was a differentiated luxury brand and after sales support is a key element of that, so I think it's a logical approach and would appear was the case in the early days, but now seems to be very much erroded.

[Boomer54]

On 8/25/2024 at 3:17 PM, LenT said:

No Linas, I haven’t!  As I say, the accompanying invitation details all the current and relevant Lexus models to which the ‘Event’ applies - none of which appears to offer me any benefit over my current car.

I could go just to do the usual tyre kicking and wheel twiddling and indulge in a bit of pampering by the Sales Staff.  On the other hand, I might have encountered the same appalling behaviour that you’ve detailed here!

Clearly, these ‘Events’ are organised centrally by Stephen Eagell but they are personalised to the extent that they claim an exclusive ‘Manager’s Offer’ that will only be revealed upon my attendance.  I’m always surprised that it doesn’t require presentation of Birth Certificate and/or Passport as well!

But all this faux image of exclusivity is damagingly counterproductive if incompetent administrators haven’t organised the local Dealers involved!

I had just such an Invitation quite recently, which I simply binned.  But now I’m tempted to accept the next one just to see how the experience compares.  What deters me is that selling cars is not the easiest of ways to make a living and I would feel guilty taking up Sales Staff time.  
 

When I first bought the car, Lexus MK used to do a full complimentary valeting with the service - and a very good job they made of it too!  They have their own car wash on the premises.  But then I had it Detailed and to protect the ceramic finish that was a no-go area.

That meant that it came back with only the interior done - which was fine by me.  Until…a couple of service’s ago when I reiterated the No Car Wash request when the car was collected from me.  Later in the day I had a very concerned call from the Service Manager explaining that the message hadn’t got to the Car Wash Executive in time who had proceeded to do their stuff.  He asked that I checked the car specifically for any marking on its return and they would undertake to rectify it.

Firstly, I was impressed that he made the call.  If there was no marking then how would I have known?  To then accept responsibility in advance was equally impressive.  Now how this compares with other Lexus Dealers, I have no idea.  It’s all so dependent on the attitudes of individuals  -  and your experience suggests  that even Lexus has a way to go in this regard.

I have rarely chastised anyone for making a mistake being a believer in the 'to err is to be human'. For me the test is having made a mistake what do you then do about it? Do you own it and without further ado try to rectify it?  I liked your Lexus story ,because of the latter.

[Linas.P]

19 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

I have rarely chastised anyone for making a mistake being a believer in the 'to err is to be human'. For me the test is having made a mistake what do you then do about it? Do you own it and without further ado try to rectify it?  I liked your Lexus story ,because of the latter.

I also believe that everyone make mistakes and I generally quite lenient for the mistakes themselves, but as you said what I care for is how people resolve them, how they react, how the compensate for their mistake. And in Lexus case, they have always been rather ignorant, not sure how to best describe it. I guess it could be called transactional or cynical. Basically, if it is just the case of losing trust, respect, loyalty and reputation... they are happy to take it. "You not going to use as anymore - fine, we can deal with that!"

They only respond in purely transactional manner - "can you sue us... if yes then we will pay exactly the amount we owe, can you prove in writing that we promised something and didn't deliver it (again legal/contractual) liability... okey then we will deliver exactly what we failed to deliver and not a penny more... if we messed-up ruined your plans, made it inconvenient, delayed you, forgotten to check something of book something, but not to the point of legal liability, then we simply going to politely to say 'sorry/fck-off' and if that means you won't use us gain... all the better, because we like losers who don't even notice, nor complain about all the things we do wrong."

Going back to my example where they forgotten courtesy car (they also did it twice)... and they offered to book taxi and I had to pay for it (whereas they specifically had option "service via taxi")... So they made mistake, how did they own it? I paid for the taxi! Then when I raised it with them again, they didn't own it and said it is on me that I misunderstood that they only offered taxi "maybe to the nearest station" (they literally said that) and not all the way to the city. And this comes from the company that just charged me £680 for service and with whom I just bought 2 years service plan for another £800... and they can't even honour £40 taxi ride that they offered themselves. Obviously, when they asked where I am going they have not mentioned anything like "ohh sorry, this is like 12 miles away and in this case you will need to pay for it yourself, we can only cover the cost to the station which is 500 yards away"... At which point I would have said "no thank you, I just book it myself or just walk 500 yards"... or just book Uber for £15 and not Adison Lee for £40.

How they owned the situation when they sold me the car without brakes? Without doing the requested, promised and agree inspection? They instantly blamed me for it - they said maybe I drove car "too hard"... and according to them it was completely reasonable for brake pads to wear from whatever they consider "reasonable/passing" thickness, to literally metal on metal in the rear and less than 1mm in the front in just 2700 miles. I asked for second opinion from different dealer and they said "well... maybe if you were taking car on racing track of something completely unreasonable, but otherwise NO... it is impossible". And remember Lexus are serviced with 10,000 miles intervals in mind. So anything that is estimated not to last 10,000 miles should be replaced or at least marked as "recommended". And this was the only catch... I said - "okey, show me the inspection sheet before sale", they sent me one from September, I bought car in end of November and it said if memory serves 3-4mm Front and 2mm Rear on September inspection. Which as you may know would normally be marked MAJOR on their inspection sheet, yet when they sold me the car they said simply it "passed the inspection". Now lucky for me - I had it in writing, where I said that I am sending deposit conditionally, on the basis of the list of things they need to resolve... one of which was to do new pre-sales inspection. I sent copy of that e-mail and said - "have you done it as agreed in December" (the purchase was like 21 Nov, pick-up 12 Dec). He said that they didn't, but even then didn't offer to address the issue. Only later when I called Lexus UK and copied their CS e-mail and said I will sue the dealer for "miss-selling", they finally said - "okey we will replace brakes 'as good will gesture' if you bring the car to us, but under no circumstances we will pay another Lexus Dealer for work required". Then I said - "how you imagine I would do that, cars has no MOT now and importantly it has no brakes and you want me to drive like 100 miles to you to deliver it to you, or pay for recovery or what"... at that point they finally agreed to pick-up the car from other dealer themselves taking liability of of whatever happens to the car without brakes upon themselves. They also delivered the car back to me, but again - they didn't even bothered to put fuel in it, nor wash it. They did refuelled it at some point, because it was like 200 miles drive and 200 miles was almost total range of RC200t (and they were so tight as not to use trailer and instead drove car under dealer plates without MOT and knowingly without brakes), they picked-up car with ~60% of the tank, the delivered it back with like 40%... so it wasn't empty, but they didn't even bothered to spare like £30 to actually deliver the car on full tank... for which I would definitely commend them and consider it as "going extra mile"... no - they just don't go extra mile, they did absolutelly minimum possible not to get sued. 

Same story with another dealer where on my way home A/C compressor exploded and locked-up the engine. Arguably no their fault, but still very awkward when the car which was just serviced for £600+ FULL service brakes down 7 miles away from dealer on 9 miles trip back home. What would dealer that goes "above and beyond" would do in such situation, maybe they would offer to to bring the car for complimentary safety inspection (which they by the way supposedly did during the service), maybe they would offer some discount towards the parts and labour? Maybe courtesy car whilst my car off the road and being fixed... no - none of that! By the way I didn't even complain to them, but they called me next day asking me how was the service and if they can leave good review for them... to which I have answered - "to be fair I had issue on the way back, I understand it may not be your fault, but car broken down and had to be recovered as engine was stalling"... there was a little pause, lady said "sorry about that, I will speak with service manager and call you back". She did call me back next day after that and said "sorry about that, but there is nothing we can do, during our inspection it seemed all good and A/C system is not something we inspect (which is kind of true)"... and I kind you not it was followed by the sentence "could you leave us good feedback now?!".... 😁 

[Andy B]

I have dealt with many different car manufacturer dealerships over the years, ranging from Porsche to Kia and can honestly say that I haven't noticed any real difference in customer service (good or bad) between any of them - and that includes Lexus. My partner and her daughter both own Kias so I have the "pleasure" of taking each one to Kia for their annual service and I can't say that the service or welcome that I get when I take my car to Lexus is any better than what I experience at Kia. Sure, the waiting areas and the coffee is better at my Lexus dealership but the politeness, knowledge and overall dedication to service from the staff I encounter is the same at Kia (at least for me). My Lexus dealer has never let me down or given me shoddy service but I have never come out of the dealership thinking "Wow! What a difference that was compared to other manufacturers".

If Lexus dealerships really do want to stand out from the rest then I think it's the little things that make a difference (and maybe this is what they aspired to in the past, but sadly seem to no longer). For example, I recently had to take my NX to my dealers for a safety recall (so obviously not something that I could decline doing) - with the obvious inconvenience. When I enquired about whether a courtesy car was available I was told there was but I would have to pay a £15 insurance fee. Choosing not to pay this would have resulted in me being liable for a £2,000 insurance excess should the car be involved in an accident whilst in my possession. In light of this, I declined to take the courtesy car and instead chose to walk home after dropping the car off (a 30 minute walk back home and then again to collect it later in the day). I realise that £15 is not a lot of money but it's the principle. Surely for situations such as recalls Lexus could waive this £15 fee. Wouldn't that go some way to "Experience Amazing"? And I can only dream about ever getting a full tank of fuel in situations like this like other owners seem to have received.

[Jgtcracer]

3 hours ago, Andy B said:

I have dealt with many different car manufacturer dealerships over the years, ranging from Porsche to Kia and can honestly say that I haven't noticed any real difference in customer service (good or bad) between any of them - and that includes Lexus. My partner and her daughter both own Kias so I have the "pleasure" of taking each one to Kia for their annual service and I can't say that the service or welcome that I get when I take my car to Lexus is any better than what I experience at Kia. Sure, the waiting areas and the coffee is better at my Lexus dealership but the politeness, knowledge and overall dedication to service from the staff I encounter is the same at Kia (at least for me). My Lexus dealer has never let me down or given me shoddy service but I have never come out of the dealership thinking "Wow! What a difference that was compared to other manufacturers".

If Lexus dealerships really do want to stand out from the rest then I think it's the little things that make a difference (and maybe this is what they aspired to in the past, but sadly seem to no longer). For example, I recently had to take my NX to my dealers for a safety recall (so obviously not something that I could decline doing) - with the obvious inconvenience. When I enquired about whether a courtesy car was available I was told there was but I would have to pay a £15 insurance fee. Choosing not to pay this would have resulted in me being liable for a £2,000 insurance excess should the car be involved in an accident whilst in my possession. In light of this, I declined to take the courtesy car and instead chose to walk home after dropping the car off (a 30 minute walk back home and then again to collect it later in the day). I realise that £15 is not a lot of money but it's the principle. Surely for situations such as recalls Lexus could waive this £15 fee. Wouldn't that go some way to "Experience Amazing"? And I can only dream about ever getting a full tank of fuel in situations like this like other owners seem to have received.

That’s interesting, when I had my RC in for a safety recall I didn’t pay the £15 and got fuel too.  Seems it depends on the dealer.

 My experience of Lexus Newcastle has been the best I have encountered.  No problems to report whatsoever.  

Call me cynical but the only time I’m in any dealership is as current/prospective customer and so am a walking profit margin.  As such people will tend to be nice…...

[fourbanks]

I just use Gatwick Lexus because the staff overall are OK. Especially the lead service engineer, who is a master and knows everything about Lexus cars. 

Having said that, this does depend on you, your background, and how you fit with your personality into the business model 

[wharfhouse]

6 hours ago, Andy B said:

I have dealt with many different car manufacturer dealerships over the years, ranging from Porsche to Kia and can honestly say that I haven't noticed any real difference in customer service (good or bad) between any of them - and that includes Lexus. My partner and her daughter both own Kias so I have the "pleasure" of taking each one to Kia for their annual service and I can't say that the service or welcome that I get when I take my car to Lexus is any better than what I experience at Kia. Sure, the waiting areas and the coffee is better at my Lexus dealership but the politeness, knowledge and overall dedication to service from the staff I encounter is the same at Kia (at least for me). My Lexus dealer has never let me down or given me shoddy service but I have never come out of the dealership thinking "Wow! What a difference that was compared to other manufacturers".

If Lexus dealerships really do want to stand out from the rest then I think it's the little things that make a difference (and maybe this is what they aspired to in the past, but sadly seem to no longer). For example, I recently had to take my NX to my dealers for a safety recall (so obviously not something that I could decline doing) - with the obvious inconvenience. When I enquired about whether a courtesy car was available I was told there was but I would have to pay a £15 insurance fee. Choosing not to pay this would have resulted in me being liable for a £2,000 insurance excess should the car be involved in an accident whilst in my possession. In light of this, I declined to take the courtesy car and instead chose to walk home after dropping the car off (a 30 minute walk back home and then again to collect it later in the day). I realise that £15 is not a lot of money but it's the principle. Surely for situations such as recalls Lexus could waive this £15 fee. Wouldn't that go some way to "Experience Amazing"? And I can only dream about ever getting a full tank of fuel in situations like this like other owners seem to have received.

When I've had a courtesy car due to a recall or warranty issue then the dealer has waived the £15 insurance excess fee. Also they have waived it for other reasons too as their own goodwill - so it is very dealer dependant whether they choose to actually charge this or not. 

[ColinBarber]

I've never paid the extra insurance cover when it was a recall - the dealer gets money from Lexus to cover the cost (and additional money for extra petrol). Any dealer charging you has made a mistake, has a member of staff in need of training or is taking advantage of the situation.

[Andy B]

2 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

I've never paid the extra insurance cover when it was a recall - the dealer gets money from Lexus to cover the cost (and additional money for extra petrol). Any dealer charging you has made a mistake, has a member of staff in need of training or is taking advantage of the situation.

Thanks for the heads-up on that Colin. I will bear that in mind for the future. 

I did challenge the £15 charge when booking my car in but the person I spoke to was adamant that I would have to pay it. 

C'est la vie. 

[Gary H]

I've dealt with a number of dealers from different manufacturers over the years. Both professionally and privately. However, for the sake of time and to keep it on topic, I'll discuss my experiences with two different Lexus dealers. 

The difference between them have been not quite 'chalk and cheese' but the difference in service is very noticeable. Obviously for the sake of the people who work there, I'd rather not name either of them. 

Dealer One - Where my UX250h was purchased from in 2020. The dealership itself wasn't anything special. In an older, smaller showroom but spotlessly clean. A perfectly pleasant salesperson dealt with me and was active in looking for options within their network to locate a car for me. Sadly none could be found, but I took the car they had in the showroom as it was literally everything I wanted including the option packs. The only downside is that it wasn't my first choice in colour - but hey-ho.

I could have ordered one from scratch - again basically the same car with the same options in a different exterior colour. However, it would have taken roughly sixteen weeks. I was quite happy to take the showroom car and the whole process from ordering to handover took about two weeks. I could have brought it forward a few days but due to work commitments I couldn't - but I could have had the car comfortably inside a fortnight had things worked out better at my end. Very good indeed.

Handover was first class and in the handover room with all the fancy lighting. Fast, efficient and perfectly pleasant. Not the best handover experience I've ever had (Audi still retains that title on two separate counts), but would still come in a very respectable third.

Service of the UX250h - Dealer one wasn't my nearest/local dealer, so I ended up taking the car to my nearest dealer when it came to servicing and it's first MOT. No real complaints. All services carried out efficiently and I found the staff friendly. The only negative mark I could give them was on it's third service - when they didn't reset the service indicator in the car. Just an oversight which can happen anywhere I suppose. 

Dealer Two - Already well documented on here if you want to go back over my earlier posts on this forum for the full story. Given the decent overall experience I had with the servicing I had on the UX, I decided that my second and current Lexus, the NX350h, would be ordered from my local dealer. At this time, dealer one was still in touch with me and were happy to do another deal with me. I should have taken it.

Okay, I'll give you the positives over the ordering. A friendly and clearly knowledgeable salesperson. A painless experience in ordering and I was told it would take up to a year in terms of getting the car. Absolutely fine - I ordered well in advance knowing this fact. I was told I would receive semi-regular updates as to where we were up to with my order and to keep on checking my app. Again, no problem at all. 

This is where it all goes terribly wrong and I'll try and keep it brief. It took the full twelve months (almost to the day) before the dealer made their first contact with me - which didn't involve me contacting them first. It actually took an official complaint in order for them to do something...anything. In short, they still hadn't a clue when my car was going to be built. Also at this point, my app wasn't even showing I had this new car on order. Two months later I was basically "told off" by the salesperson because I'd been in touch with Lexus head office to try and find out an update on my car - when the said salesperson was clearly avoiding me who I tried contacting first.

In the end it took 16 months to get the car (of which many fellow NX owners were getting theirs several months earlier having ordered at the same time, if not later than myself...). The app never shown my order, it being built, leaving Japan, arriving in the country, arriving at the dealer...nothing whatsoever. The dealer wouldn't tell me anything and Lexus head office just kept pointing me back to the dealer despite me telling them I was getting nowhere with them. I only got to find out the car was 'in production' when it was basically already at sea and the next thing I knew it was at the dealers. I was very much kept out of the loop unlike many other customers at the time who were having information back from their own dealers and were getting updates on their app. 

The handover experience? Well, given the non-existent service I had in the ordering process I didn't expect much and indeed, it wasn't. The car was left in the car park. No handover room and all the paperwork was done in the salesperson's office. It was very much like buying a used car despite handing them over £50k. 

I've had the car just over a year now and I'm still waiting for any customer survey form asking me about my car or dealer experience. Am I surprised? No. 

Actually - tell a lie. I actually received a form for a car I didn't own (it was another NX) about three months ago which I posted back to say this isn't my car to which I got a letter back about a fortnight later to basically tell me they have my correct information, it was a mistake at their end and no data protection rules have been broken. Did I subsequently receive the correct form? Nope. Nothing. 

A few weeks ago it went in for it's first service which I was absolutely dreading, but trusted it would be fine given the service side of the dealer was generally fine. I had the car collected and brought back to me because I have no intentions of ever setting foot in that place again. Fortunately it came back fine, although it took my app close to a week for it to acknowledge the car had actually been serviced...