Ripped Off By Carlisle Lexus Cumbria

Dawn30 · June 19, 2014

Hello

I am new to this forum but I would like to know if anyone else has been ripped off for work that was not required at Carlisle Lexus. Mine is a longish story but to cut the story short Carlisle tried to charge me, in 2013, £3000 for MOT and timing belt change and asked if I would prefer to change my car! When questioned they quickly reduced it to £1700 for MOT alone. I removed my car and took to local garage where it cost £50 to pass its MOT. Have just had another MOT this year at Lexus Bolton (who are fantastic) and cost only £50 again for MOT.

Carlisle said I needed new suspension and all 4 callipers! Since Carlisle's assessment I have never needed suspension and only required 1 calliper.

I have reported Carlisle to Lexus Customer service - but there is little they can do....

Carlisle were very rude and said Lexus UK could do nothing as they were a franchise.

Please let me know if you have had similar problems

thanks

Dawn

Lexmanic · June 19, 2014

Hello

I am new to this forum but I would like to know if anyone else has been ripped off for work that was not required at Carlisle Lexus. Mine is a longish story but to cut the story short Carlisle tried to charge me, in 2013, £3000 for MOT and timing belt change and asked if I would prefer to change my car! When questioned they quickly reduced it to £1700 for MOT alone. I removed my car and took to local garage where it cost £50 to pass its MOT. Have just had another MOT this year at Lexus Bolton (who are fantastic) and cost only £50 again for MOT.

Carlisle said I needed new suspension and all 4 callipers! Since Carlisle's assessment I have never needed suspension and only required 1 calliper.

I have reported Carlisle to Lexus Customer service - but there is little they can do....

Carlisle were very rude and said Lexus UK could do nothing as they were a franchise.

Please let me know if you have had similar problems

thanks

Dawn

All main dealer garages are franchises so Lexus Customer Service are talking rubbish Tell them you want satisfaction and if they won't give it you'll be going to Trading Standards amongst others in the motoring media

aly-g · June 19, 2014

That's what we need , more dealers named and shamed, rip off dealers should be investigated by the manufacturer, I've had problems in the past with a Honda motorcycle dealer , when I wrote to Honda they where not interested ,their loss , but you really would expect more from Lexus or would you? It's not the first bad Lexus dealer I heard of, it does put you off going to main dealers though considering the prices they charge...

Allan

Dawn30 · June 20, 2014

Thanks for your supportive replies.

Carlisle are just not interested in addressing this issue.

Last week they even phoned me to say that the extended Lexus Warranty I had bought in 2013 through another fantastic Lexus dealer (after a full inspection) was not valid as I had somehow got a Lexus warranty fraudulently knowing my car was faulty!

I have not even had to use the warranty as my car is in such good condition.

They even accused me for not paying a 2013 £54 bill, presumably for the failed MOT - for which they gave me no paper work or bill. I have never been accused of not paying bills and offered to pay right away - they refused payment - that's because there was never a bill!

I think they hope that their bullying phone calls will make me go away.

I am taking advice from trading standards. I just wish I had reported them to the police at the time as I understand you can do that.

My advise is don't use Carlisle Lexus as it might save you thousands!!!!

aly-g · June 20, 2014

This all sounds like a living nightmare , I would take this further as it's bordering on being slander, don't let them get away with this.......

Allan

Lexmanic · June 20, 2014

This all sounds like a living nightmare , I would take this further as it's bordering on being slander, don't let them get away with this.......

Allan

To accuse someone of a crime knowing it to be false is 'criminal slander' & can attract a prison sentence if convicted

Lexmanic · June 20, 2014

PS I should report their remarks to Lexus Customer Care & that way they cannot deny not knowing just what Lexus Carlisle are like and may be forced to take some action against them

Lexmanic · June 20, 2014

Also before taking out an extended warranty isn't the supplier supposed to ensure there are no existing faults when granting the warranty? & if not why not?

June 20, 2014

Hello Dawn,

I have just had a visit to Lexus Carlisle. My sills were bubbling so I had them painted. They bubbled out again very quickly so I had them looked at and it appears that my sills are rotting from the inside out. The body guy advised me to check my warranty for anti corrosion and it is 12 years. My car is 10. The man that saw me simply told me I was wasting my time Lexus will not cover it due to me painting it. Surely I was preventing further rot by painting. Furthermore the level of corrosion inside the sill is to such a level that outer surface penetration of water could not have caused it unless there was a gaping hole in my sill. I have also been spoken to rudely when I requested a price for a clutch. He said "how do you know you need a clutch?" I explained and made him aware that I am familiar with vehicle mechanics as I do all of my own. He said the car needs booked in to check it! I only asked for a price quote not for him to question my diagnostic ability.

I spoke to the same person again who spoke to me about my sills. He was much more helpful and approachable this time. Maybe he was having an off day on the clutch question. He was still very quick to dismiss the rotting of the inside of my sills.

chances are Ill have to replace the sills myself :(

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ryedw4uouxghfzo/AABxFfnE1nAqxQJz06bI-aO-a

Dawn30 · June 20, 2014

Hi Stefan

Yes, it was Mr Denny who was very rude to me and accused me of not paying a bill and getting a dubious Lexus warranty.

Perhaps Mr Denny could do with some customer relations training!

I will certainly pass on your comments to Lexus Customer relations if that is OK.

My car was only 8 years old when I took it to Carlisle and I was told many times by the mechanic and Mr Denny that they were not use to seeing such old cars and never with so many miles (only 99k, which is a baby to me!) - which I found very insulting.

Perhaps that's why they try and charge you so much - to frighten you into buying a new car from them?

June 20, 2014

I no longer wish to be part of this issue. I am a happy customer.

Bluesman · June 20, 2014

Certainly that's no problem Dawn. He most certainly is lacking in the customer relations department. Yup he made me feel ashamed of having an older car! Saying a car of that age we don't see much of. But I'm glad I have a car Hiromu Naruse worked on :)

"Saying a car of that age we don't see much of"

Something the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar etc cant say.

Dawn30 · June 28, 2014

Hello Stefan

I passed on your comments to Lexus customer care - they have said that they cannot act on it as it did not come directly from you. The two people who are dealing with my complaint are Samantha Betts and Lee Blake. If you have time to give them a call about your problems at Carlisle Lexus they would be happy to hear from you.

Thanks

Dawn

Dawn30 · June 28, 2014

.

harrylime · June 28, 2014

It may not be PC to say this, but I try to make sure that if any of our cars need work, it is me that takes it in and not my wife. I would not be surprised if some garages take advantage of the ladies, assuming that they are less tech savvy than mens. Some of our experiences bear this out (other experiences disprove it, as my wife has received very fair treatment from some local, small garages). just a thought

July 16, 2014

Hello Dawn,

And update to my situation.

Mr Denny has been busy sorting me out. The regional manager has organised an inspection on my car thankfully. I am wondering if we might be taking Mr Denny the wrong way. It might be possible that he is simply telling us the naked truth of how a situation looks to a third party. Which is an understandable approach had we not been in the situation of being unhappy customers. So I'm very much softening towards him now as I sit and imaging the prospect of his job serving unhappy customers.

On the sills front I can no longer complain. I would still like the car inspected sooner so I can mitigate any further corrosion ASAP. However at least I have a date. And the offer of a lift to work isn't as appetising as the freedom of a courtesy car.

daddypatches · July 16, 2014

I've been a Lexus owner for the past 15months; I must admit to being more and more pi55ed off with Lexus franchise garages.

I bought my first Lexus for a number of reasons - I loved the toys but I was aware of something called Lexus customer care/service so I was hooked, what could go wrong. I must admit my experience of the latter is shocking. Within the first 2 months of ownership, I had the dreaded 5th injector issue - Lexus Exeter told me I needed 3 new injectors - £1600 plus. This would solve the problem, but this was only after cleaning the EGR valve and charging me £150 plus.

I contacted the garage I bought it from who accepted responsibility and following a conversation they had with Lexus Exeter decided to fix the problem by replacing 1 injector only at a 3rd of the price - I'm pleased to say this fixed the problem but I'm still perplexed as to why they wanted to charge me £1600 for 3 new injectors.

Ultimately I'm nothing but disappointed in Lexus alleged customer service, quite frankly its crap! Their objective is to get the most money out of their customers. Where on earth does this 'legendary' customer service come from? I am at a loss as to the benefit of a Lexus service stamp; quite frankly I get better service and quality from Halfords - honestly. Lexus are a bunch of charlatans.

Don't get me wrong, I love my car- but Lexus garages? No thanks!!!

aly-g · July 16, 2014

I get so annoyed when reading posts like this, one of the reasons we buy Lexus is the reputation they have as a manufacture , seems they are no different to the other luxury car makers , they just rip us off all the time, this topic has totally put me off ever going to Lexus for any repairs !!!.... Lucky enough I do know how to repair most things on my car but I'm of an age where I don't want to get out and under the car, if only these dealers could get there act together I'm sure they would get more business .. More profit without the rip off ?....

Allan

nelmo · July 21, 2014

Where on earth does this 'legendary' customer service come from?

I think it was from the early days when they were selling only a few cars and they had time to be more personal.

I bought an IS200 in 1999 when they were brand new and I had amazing service - I got a stone caught in the brake disc once, for example, and I called the dealer. They got a mechanic to drive 30 miles to get me, in a LS400 (luxury at the time), which they gave me to continue my journey home, while they took my car back to the garage to be sorted out.

At it's 3 year service, about a month after the warranty had run out, they replaced all 4 brake discs under warranty.

Unfortunately, they are now a victim of their own success and have become just like any other large volume manufacturer, trying to squeeze out every drop of profit they can. 'Service' thus suffers...

If you want that sort of service now, buy an Infiniti (Nissan's equivalent of Lexus) - they are at the point now that Lexus were 15 years ago - selling low volume, quality cars with a new service network trying to prove itself.

Dawn30 · May 13, 2015

Lexus Carlisle Ripped Off Update

Just thought I would post an update one year on.

My Lexus RX has just passed its MOT again for £52!!!! Non of the work that Carlisle said it required - all £3000 pounds worth was needed again.

I did report Lexus Carlisle to Lexus UK - Lexus UK asked what I would like as an outcome and all I asked for was an apology from Carlisle Lexus - which I never received.

Anyone considering taking their car to Carlisle Lexus for an MOT needs to be very very careful indeed as they seem to be all to keen to charge you for unnecessary work and be incredibly rude in the process when I quite rightly challenged them about their assessment of my car.

And on a final note Carlisle Lexus have had the cheek again this year to phone and write to me offering to service and MOT my RX - I would not take a dinky toy to them - it was criminal that they tried to charge me so much for unnecessary work.

Stay away from Carlisle Lexus and you will save thousands!!

Yes as you can see I am still very angry that garages can get away with this sort of behaviour in todays world.

steve2006 · May 13, 2015

Is that the one located at the side of the M6/M74 near to Stobarts depot?

rayaans · May 13, 2015

Im by no means diminishing the issues you guys have had but isn't it, dare I say it, stupid to put your "crap customer service" blanket on all the Lexus dealers?

From what I have read it appears Carlisle and Exeter are the bad ones and I realise you were quoted prices for things that didnt need doing but its equally likely that 100 people are happy with the service and 2 aren't.

I for one have had no problems with the dealers I have been to including all of the RRG group (Stockport, Bradford, Manchester and Bolton) and the Jardine Leeds group. All the prices for me have been great and I suspect its the relationship you have with the dealers in the first place. There needs to be a certain rapport with your sales/service guy to get the best service. I paid Lexus £50 for 4 tyres fitting including balancing, I also got a free MOT with them after my service. No doubt if the wipers need replacing, which I think they do, Ill get them to put them on for free too.

The problem is too many people come on forums to complain (in your case, rightly so) but not enough come to praise so its always skewed

Dawn30 · May 16, 2015

Hi again

Just a quick reply to Rayaan.

I think it is unfair about your 'stupid' comment about the Lexus crap customer service. I have been very specific about the fact that it was Lexus Carlisle who were rude and my opinion dishonest about their assessment of my car. This is backed up by the fact that my car continues to pass it MOT without the need for the majority of work they told me it had to have to pass.

I can say I had dealings with Nottingham Lexus when I bought my car and they were very helpful and I have used RRG Bolton Lexus who are fantastic and know how to treat their customers well.

Forums like these hopefully will improve customer service at garages where customer service is lacking and hopefully shame those that overcharge for work that is not required as Carlisle did to me.