What Is Happening To Lexus?

[saracen]

I must admit in the last few months I have actually not spent much time on the forums, a combination of planning the "trip of lifetime" to Oz, losing my job, a month in Australia and spending a few months in a state trying to find a new job (which by the way I have now found). With the spell of warm weather we've been having my thoughts turned once again to the SC430 and if I had my time again I think I would have bought one instead of the IS250 but that is another story... Anyway I thought I'd have a brief look at LOC and see what others think of the SC.

I can only say I am shocked by the numbers of people disatisfied with their motors (IS250 and 220). Comments about rattles and squeeks abound, dealer ineffectiveness and I am finding it scary. So much so that I wonder if I would buy another Lexus... As I have previously mentioned the problems I have had are minor and usually down to my stupidity or others wanton vandalism and certainly don't compare with others (Jamboo, Eunos800 and digg spring to mind).

I suppose I wonder now would others recommend Lexus, would they buy a new car given the lottery that you might get a great car but equally you might get a real lemon. Should I now be looking at perhaps BMW for my next motor, although to be honest even this fills me with dread given my past experience with them. Are faults limited to the IS or does the GS range seem to suffer as many faults??

[digg]

Would i recommend lexus? I can only say that from now until whenever I will tell everyone who is thinking of this brand to avoid it.

Luckily I am on a lease and I know that my next car will not be a Lexus. I cannot believe the quality of this vehicle. I cannot believe that there is a known fault with this car and that the faulty part is not readily available.

I have already gotten through 6 company cars, and imagine that number will easily be 4* that during my working life. Lexus has lost a customer and potential future customers. What I do know is that I wished I had stuck with my previous company car brand.

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

I would say :

Don't buy a new model - I think Lexus tried too hard to get this car into the showroom - hard on the heels of BMW and before Audi and Merc launch their cars - so some of the initial quality is not Lexus like for some of the cars

Lexus has never sold that well here - so they launched a diesel, but without the resolve to stick an auto in, which would have taken away most if not all complaints of the gearing (IMHO) - especially when they make such good auto box's...avoid the diesel...

From a Value for money perspective, nothing beats a Lexus - they have all the gizmo's - so just that alone is great and they work out cheaper in the long run...

I drove the SC at the openroad event last year, and I was mightily impressed by the car. There is something very "California" about it - it does make you feel special...but like it or loath it a new generation Merc SL is far superior to drive, a much more accomplished performer lb for £ and makes you feel like a millionaire - but that's my view - many people wouldn't touch an SL with a barge pole because of it's hairdresser image!! I'm no hairdresser but I would buy one...they are awesome...

I would recommend Lexus, but tell people to buy with caution, as my experience is a mixed one. True the cars are OK (quality on mine aside), the dealers marginally better than the opposition, but all the stuff about best Cust Sat - ??? I think it's more to do with the owners and how they respond to the questionaires rather than the cars themselves...

[saracen]

many people wouldn't touch an SL with a barge pole because of it's hairdresser image!! I'm no hairdresser but I would buy one...they are awesome...

I don't know many hairdressers that can afford to drive an SL, perhaps an SLK...

[javadude]

I'd recommend Lexus. My car's been amazing and the dealers I've dealt with have usually been excellent with one recent appalling exception.

[Matus]

I am happy with my car and customer care

[IS300]

I have always been pleased with the service from Lexus & my local dealer over the last 5 years of owning many new cars, but I must admit since the beginning of this year I have noticed a few odd changes at my local dealership that has made me think that this is not their usual high level of standard (almost feel a sense of tightening their budgets) and some of the new cars coming through now (IS & GS) seem a tad unreliable. When you pay good money you want in return good reliability.

I am holding off replacing my car for the moment until I start to notice some improvements (I never thought I'd be saying this).

[bernie_the_bolt]

I can honestly say that I would recommend Lexus to anyone. I started off with an IS200 which I enjoyed for 3 yrs but then I wanted something with more 'poke', sold the IS200 to my father-in-law and bought a SAAB 93 Aero. If you want a car that is very fast but rattles like a snake, understeers like it's on ice, costs an arm and leg to service and customer care is not in a dealer's vocabulary ... buy a SAAB.

So after 2 and a half yrs of putting up with the SAAB I traded it for a 2nd hand (1yr old) IS250 Sport at the same dealers I bought my original Lexus from (same salesman aswell). Customer service is spot on (they even phoned me the other day to see if all was OK), car is quiet and runs like a dream (had 1 problem with the squeaky driver's seat, which was remedied while I waited). My original IS200 is still with my father-in-law, going strong and is as quiet as ever.

From what I've read on the forums, most of the (serious) problems are with the diesel, so I can't comment on those, but for me ... Lexus ...

[T7RY B]

The best quality cars I have driven that have been problem free are the LS400 and the RX300.

Jaguar,BMW and Mercedes models I have owned just cannot compare in my opinion

[stevet]

I would recommend Lexus everytime. This is my 6th Lexus. All my cars have been perfect from day one. No rattles, nothing ever gone wrong and the customer service is second to none.

[jonthebarber]

I am a hairdresser and i could afford a SL (just)

[J.T]

My hairdressers (well barber) has got a porsche 911 on a 53 plate and a 54 plate Cayenne (greedy ba :tsktsk: rd).

I starting to think iam in the wrong game!

[paul_k]

The SC is a great car go for it...

I have had 0 problems with mine and dealer service although variable is infinitly better than most I have dealt with.

Regarding Mercedes I nearly bought an SL instead of the SC, however a friend of mine with an E class has now had rust in almost every panel (after 4 years old) an Engine blow up just out of warranty and now his suspension just collapsed although at least Mercedes are going to fix it this time. Yes the SL is arguably a better looking car but reliability - forget it...and we worry about the odd squeak...

Paul

[lexus boy]

My hairdressers (well barber) has got a porsche 911 on a 53 plate and a 54 plate Cayenne (greedy ba :tsktsk: rd).

I starting to think iam in the wrong game!

no i think you're paying too much to have your hair cut.

[LexBoy]

My hairdressers (well barber) has got a porsche 911 on a 53 plate and a 54 plate Cayenne (greedy ba :tsktsk: rd).

I starting to think iam in the wrong game!

no i think you're paying too much to have your hair cut.

:D :D :D

[aido]

My hairdressers (well barber) has got a porsche 911 on a 53 plate and a 54 plate Cayenne (greedy ba :tsktsk: rd).

I starting to think iam in the wrong game!

no i think you're paying too much to have your hair cut.

Long time no see Thom, how are you doing?!

[Parthiban]

I've gotta say that I'm a little surprised by the QC on the new IS, but it does seem to be isolated to the very early models. I do think the behaviour of some dealers is appalling, but my dealer has always been excellent and this is something that will vary with every marque.

From the experience my brother has had with his Z4, I wouldn't touch a BMW (unless it was an M5 ) - it's had so many problems and broken down so many times that it just isn't worth it (and I mean actually broken down, as in it's been towed away on a flat bed 3 times in as many years......)

Plus it rattles from everywhere, so I'd take the rattly IS that I could rely on over the rattly unreliable BMW any day......having said that, all the new IS courtesy cars I've ever had have been totally silent so I've not experienced one of these problem ISs yet

[PQuist]

Mine is a GS300 and have had the car replaced and the wheels upgraded to 18 inches free of charge as a gesture of good will. I personally don't thing I will go for another Lexus. Looking at the E- class merc

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

Mine is a GS300 and have had the car replaced and the wheels upgraded to 18 inches free of charge as a gesture of good will. I personally don't thing I will go for another Lexus. Looking at the E- class merc

My dealer has been excellent, though we had a tetchy start, and mine goes in next Wednesday for a remedy of 3 things:

1) Corroded wheels - agreed to replace just the ones that need replacing (x2)

2) Drivers side front dash vent (passenger side was done a year ago)

3) Main dash rattle removal - remove the density foam and replace with whatever is needed to fix it all permanently - I've asked for it to be Factory standard fix as some cars such as mine didn't have the correct packing

This will be the 4th Rattle visit. It is too many for a car carrying such accolades for build quality. I haven't yet told LGB - but might do if it doesn't work....I am very worried now about how this car will fair once out of warranty. The plan is now to keep on at the dealership/LGB until the car is rattle free - thien I have a year and half or so for teh car to prove it's worth. If it still rattles when the warranty is out, then it'll be bye bye Lexus...

The 535d on the other hand hasn't been in once yet for anything - the car is rock solid and though dull and austere inside, it is constructed to a high standard. It's already done 10k!

Scuttle shake will make many Convertibles rattle, sooner or later. A fact of life for most of them. Dunno about the SC430, but I wouldn't expect them to rattle at all...

[mudzs]

It is strange that the older lexus models did not seem as unreliable as the newer models ,i have done 50,000 miles in mine and only replaced brake pads ,tyres ,and consumables .apart from the rad i have had no big problems and found the dealers very good apart from high prices and sometimes a snobby attitude towards my older car .perhaps it is the technology that lets them down .

[LexusIs200Sport]

I think it's becoming a case of quantity over quality

[RobNorm]

Slightly concerned to read some of these comments as I have just purchased an IS 250 SE-L.

How widespread are these faults? Is is just people who have had problems postings but the majority of vehicles are okay?

I have heard horror stories about Merc,BMW's and Audi there's no brand that has had zero problems.

Ford get good write ups for the Focus but just today I heard of a 6 week old one that needs a new engine.

[chandru]

like alot of people seem to mention..its seems to be the earlier models that have the rattle issues which is what nearly all have complained about...don't think you've got anything to worry about..there are alot of people i'm guessing also that have no problems with it...like u said no manufacturer is 100% on all of its models

[saracen]

Dunno about the SC430, but I wouldn't expect them to rattle at all...

No rattles here!

[saracen]

I started this thread because I was concerned with the numbers of complaints about the new IS that I seemed to be reading about after a brief absence from the forum. I should have mentioned that while I had my IS250 I had no rattles, mirror vibration (other than when playing music REALLY loudly) or other associated problems and mine was one of the early ones purchased in Dec 2005.

I know there are others out there with IS250 and 220s that are in the same boat who have cars that they are very pleased with. I think those that have had unsatisfactory cars have just been unlucky. I also think that with the output of Lexus increasing significantly that this has had a negative effect both on the quality of the car and to some extent on the dealerships (based purely on what other people are saying).

I was very pleased with both my IS and the dealer, in fact I bought my new SC from them, making the numbers of cars purchased from them now totalling three.

Just out of interest I was driving down the motorway today top down, windows down, music on very loud and doing slightly over the limit ( ) and there was zero vibration from the rear view mirror. This car is a dream!