"we Don't Work On Lexus"

[MNJack]

After reading about "Express Lube" service on the Toyota website I thought it would be a good way for me to get an oil change with Toyota parts on my 1997 ES300 (120,000 miles). So I drive to the dealer and pull into the service garage. A service guy directs me to a service writer at one of several windows. The service writer asks, "Is that a Lexus?" Me: "Yes, it's an ES300" Service Writer: "We don't work on Lexus".. Me: "I just need an oil change" Service Writer: "We don't work on Lexus"... Me: "Express Lube" Service Writer: "We don't work on Lexus", Me: "It's the same car...." flustered, flabergasted... Service Writer: "We don't work on Lexus"

So, I guess they don't work on Lexus. I just wish I had known that before wasting my time driving over there! It didn't occur to me to ask. I did call and ask if I needed an appointment (no) and how much it cost. ($26.95) .

[amf1932]

That's the kind of fools that you have to deal with today. :chairshot:

[SW03ES]

Some Toyota dealerships don't...

[Lexusfreak]

Did the people you were dealing with give you ANY specific answers as to why they would not perform a basic oil change on your ES? Or did they answer you again with "we don't work on Lexus"? That's totally unacceptable for the dealer to say that to a customer IMO. :chairshot:

[SKperformance]

most won;t work on a lexus but should change the oil as it is usually a distance reason not a price ,sort of.

[JPI]

Here is another funny story at our shop. Last monday morning, client came into our shop for an oil change. He has a 2001 honda accord. So I said " Sir, we don't work on honda. Only lexus and toyota", Then he said " They are japanese cars right? " I said "Yes sir, but we only work on lexus and toyota", He said "Can you do it anyway?" I said " We don't have honda parts here". The guy was upset and left hehehe. We have the $10 oil change for first time client so that is probably why he bring his accord in lol. :whistles:

JPI

[amf1932]

Here is another funny story at our shop.  Last monday morning, client came into our shop for an oil change.  He has a 2001 honda accord.   So I said "  Sir, we don't work on honda.  Only lexus and toyota", Then he said "  They are japanese cars right? "  I said  "Yes sir, but we only work on lexus and toyota", He said "Can you do it anyway?"  I said " We don't have honda parts here".  The guy was upset and left hehehe.  We have the $10 oil change for first time client so that is probably why he bring his accord in lol. :whistles:

               JPI

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I don't think that's so funny. That seems to be the attitude of many service people today.......they don't want to accomodate the poor soul that wants a seemingly simple job. Tell me....what's so hard about getting an oil filter to fit a Honda, and what's so different about the oil that a Toyota uses as compared to the oil that a Honda uses. :chairshot:

[JPI]

Here is another funny story at our shop.  Last monday morning, client came into our shop for an oil change.  He has a 2001 honda accord.   So I said "  Sir, we don't work on honda.  Only lexus and toyota", Then he said "  They are japanese cars right? "  I said  "Yes sir, but we only work on lexus and toyota", He said "Can you do it anyway?"  I said " We don't have honda parts here".  The guy was upset and left hehehe.  We have the $10 oil change for first time client so that is probably why he bring his accord in lol. :whistles:

               JPI

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I don't think that's so funny. That seems to be the attitude of many service people today.......they don't want to accomodate the poor soul that wants a seemingly simple job. Tell me....what's so hard about getting an oil filter to fit a Honda, and what's so different about the oil that a Toyota uses as compared to the oil that a Honda uses.:chairshot:

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I don't think you understand. We are an exclusive lexus/toyota independent shop. We wouldn't touch anything else. My sister in law drive a honda and I wouldn't allow her car in the shop during business hrs.

JPI

[amf1932]

Wow......you certainly are "independent" Phew!!!!!

[chuckb]

my local sucky toyota dealer does oil changes on my es but I would never let them touch my gs430. The last time they spilled oil all over and didn't even attempt to wipe off. I called and #itched and they said next time free.

aLSO, THEY HAVE A 30 MIN OR LESS OR NEXT ONE'S FREE BUT THEY WON'T HONOR THAT ON MY LEXUS

[ArmyofOne]

most won;t work on a lexus but should change the oil as it is usually a distance reason not a price ,sort of.

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man, i had no idea...that cant be the way it is...if i can get an INFINITY/CHRYSLER dealer, to change my timing belt ON A FORD CONTOUR, i damned sure better be able to get a toyota dealer to do an oil change on my lexus...if i EVER got the reply beginning with "We Dont Work On": i would be so *BLEEP*ed they would be very unhappy when i left. i would out there at the entrance to their property telling ever customer coming into the service department about it...thats totall bull*BLEEP*.

^that only goes if its not posted or politely stated. if they say it politely, i may not liek it, but at least i'll understand.

and JP's shop is a different scenario, because he doesnt sell the cars, he is ONLY a service center.

any car dealer that has a used car lot, better have mechanics on hand that can repair any car on that lot, weather its a hyundai, nessian, toyota or ford. it doesnt matter.

BTW, dealers that dont have the parts for a certian make of car, will order the parts from either said car manufacurers warehouse or dealer. thats what they did on my contour. Grubbs Infinty/Nissan/Chrlsyer/Jeep had no problem doing Water pump, Timing belt, IAC valve and a few otehr things on my 1995 Ford Contour. they just called up Sam Packs Five Star Ford and orderd parts from them, had them sent over via courier and they installed them...simple.

now with something as simple as an oil change...(IMO, if you cant do an oil change yourself (except in the cases where oil filters are an SOB to get at, then you dont belong behind the wheel of a car.) if you really have to do it and dont have time/skills to do it yourself, take ti to a freakin Speedy Lube or something...they service every make, model and freaking year on the face of the planet. a basic oil change will include all fluid levels checked and the interior vaccumed and windows cleaned for $29.99. QUITCHERBITCHIN LOL. do what it takes, but dont !Removed! because a dealer wont do an oil change on a car they dont have a part for, take it to your dealer if its in the service. (that only goes for dealers thatdont sell that make of car...im sorry, but deep down, the lexus is still a toyota, and things liek oil filters should be interchangeable, so theres no excuse. i could see it if its a SC400/430 or an LS400/430, but eve the SUV's share the paltform with Toyota SUV's and i know for a fact that the ES series uses the same platform as the Camry. if they are a toyota dealership, and they dont have an oil filter for a camry, then they have bigger problems than picky customers.)

/rant

[jragosta]

most won;t work on a lexus but should change the oil as it is usually a distance reason not a price ,sort of.

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man, i had no idea...that cant be the way it is...if i can get an INFINITY/CHRYSLER dealer, to change my timing belt ON A FORD CONTOUR, i damned sure better be able to get a toyota dealer to do an oil change on my lexus...if i EVER got the reply beginning with "We Dont Work On": i would be so *BLEEP*ed they would be very unhappy when i left. i would out there at the entrance to their property telling ever customer coming into the service department about it...thats totall bull*BLEEP*.

/rant

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That's rather a silly attitude. You don't have any idea why the dealer does what he does.

The dealer chooses which cars he wants to work on. If he wants to train people to only work on one type of car, that's his choice. He may have many reasons:

Liability if someone screws up.

Doesn't want to mess around with locating parts (For a $20 oil change, how much running around do you expect him to do and still make money?)

Agreement with other dealers locally to refer customers to the 'right' dealer

Or any number of other reasons

If you don't like a dealer's terms, shop elsewhere. I'd much rather have a dealer who says "we're going offer the best service in the area on the cars we work on but don't work on cars where we can't offer world class service" than a dealer who says "bring in any car you want and we'll figure it out eventually". I realize that lots of dealers take the latter approach, but that doesn't make it a good approach.

BTW, in north Jersey, there's a car dealer every block or so. It's undoubtedly no more than a few minutes to a dealer who will change the oil.

[SW03ES]

The simple fact is this Toyota dealer and JPI are INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES like jrag said. They can choose what they want to work on and don't. A Lexus dealer wouldn't change the oil in a Honda Accord so why would JPI? He's selected a concentration for his business, Toyota and Lexus vehicles. If he accepts ONE Honda then not only does he run the risk of his techs, being trained in Toyota and Lexus doing something wrong but then he has to worry about working on this guy's Honda in the future, including any referrals. All of a sudden he doesn't have a Toyota/Lexus service shop anymore does he? Who knows why the dealership chooses not to work on Lexuses, maybe they've found the owners are more difficult etc. BUT thats life and you have to respect their decision. Nobody HAS to do anything for you. Just because they own a shop doesn't mean they're compelled to change your oil.

I detail cars for clients on the side, 2-3 a month probably. I don't accept anything thats not a luxury car because thats what I want to work on and what is usually in the better condition, and I only agree to do a car when I've personally examined it. Its made some people a little irritated that have wanted me to detail their 1990 Chevy Corsica, but its my business and my decision.

[pstraussman]

I get all my oil changes at a Toyota dealership and any maintenace I can't handle myself as well. I had no idea some Toyota dealerships refuse to work on an ES300 - souped up Camry?

[SKperformance]

it is a camry and basic maintnceis the EXACT SAME

oil to water pumps timing belts and brakes their is no difference.

themajotr problem is the owner of a toyota dealer owning a lexus dealership also so they are taking their own buisness with a higher profit margin.

Buy toyota emblems and badge it as a toyota windom ,then what can they say they don;t work on jdm cars,lmao

I don;t blame jpi either i wouldn;t work on another car if i had a specialty shop with a name

I love the shops who say they specialized in japanese european and domestics as well as brakes and so and and so on.

Then what the hell don;t you so called "speacialize in"

I don;t work on koreans or domestics either

[chrispiss]

that's kinda weird...dealerships around here work on all cars. My dad has taken his civic to get the oil changed at the local ford dealer for years...

[Lexusfreak]

If I ever encounter a dealership that has the 'reguar brand' (let's say Toyota) & the 'Luxury brand' that has models very close to them (Lexus of course) & they would do regular maintenance on my wife's car (Toyota) & not mine.......I'll fire a very well written letter off to the dealer principal, service manager of the dealership & head office of both divisions (in Canada that's the same building 10 mins from me) & Newspapers... telling them how much business they have lost from my wife & I, friends & family.......future children & down the line we go (I could go for about another hour with examples but you get the idea) :P This would be over a lousy oil & filter change of all things!! :chairshot: Oh yeah.......I'd have the service advisor's job too & tell him very calmly that.......you don't work on Toyota or Lexus anymore period! They probobly would have wished they changed my oil then huh? :P ;)

[mxl4729]

After reading about "Express Lube" service on the Toyota website I thought it would be a good way for me to get an oil change with Toyota parts on my 1997 ES300 (120,000 miles).  So I drive to the dealer and pull into the service garage.  A service guy directs me to a service writer at one of several windows.  The service writer asks, "Is that a Lexus?"    Me: "Yes, it's an ES300"  Service Writer:  "We don't work on Lexus"..  Me: "I just need an oil change"  Service Writer:  "We don't work on Lexus"...  Me: "Express Lube"  Service Writer:  "We don't work on Lexus",  Me: "It's the same car...."  flustered, flabergasted...    Service Writer: "We don't work on Lexus"

So, I guess they don't work on Lexus.  I just wish I had known that before wasting my time driving over there!  It didn't occur to me to ask.  I did call and ask if I needed an appointment (no) and how much it cost. ($26.95) .

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MNJack,

i am in rivervale, NJ only about 30 miles from you. so if you ever need help doing anything to your car send me a message and I will be happy to help

[vcv10guy]

Roughly a year ago the Toyota dealership I take my Camry to for services advertised they worked on Lexus cars, but when I asked them about that a month ago they said they're "not supposed" to because they don't have the equipment to do it. I even asked if they could work on a '92 ES300 and they said no they couldn't either. I wish they still did though. Oh well.

[SKperformance]

your 92 definatly has no different equipment needed or installed than a camry

[Lexusfreak]

Major service might be one thing (even though most main mechanicals are the same as the Camry), but when they refuse to do a simple oil change?? I think that's shameful! :chairshot:

[bartkat]

Geesh. It's only an oil change. I use Toyota filters. The hillbilly guy down at Bill's Express lube does my oil changes, has Toyota filters in stock and there's no waiting.

[Lexusfreak]

Exactly! But the so called 'factory trained tech's" at a this Toyota dealer can't do perform a basic oil change on a Lexus! :whistles: Whatever. One of the stupidist things I've heard in weeks.

[bartkat]

Exactly!  But the so called 'factory trained tech's" at a this Toyota dealer can't do perform a basic oil change on a Lexus!  :whistles:      Whatever.  One of the stupidist things I've heard in weeks. 

 

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Yep. Once Bill and the boys figured out how to the the filter out from under the hood on my IS, they rememberd, so they know just what to do every time I pull in. Self trained.

[Lexusfreak]

I can't help but think how much business this Toyota dealer is loosing with their attitude towards Lexus for simple maintenance Not to mention the bad taste it leaves in the mouths of customers......because word of mouth spreads like wildfire! :whistles: Sound like this dealer is operated by a bunch of "Gilligan's" & "Stumblebum's" :chairshot: