Lexus Purchase Experience In Seattle

[BillH2]

I have been around new car dealerships for over 30 years and I have no illusions about how they operate. Anyone who thinks that they are in business for any reason but to make as much profit as possible is kidding themselves. I had been researching the GS-430 Lexus since September of 2004. I did the usual, decide on what I had to have, would like to have and could do without. I really wanted a Cinnabar color with a black interior, but I have never seen one advertised. Could do without NAV but wanted one with a Mark Levinson sound system. In the middle of March, I put together a list of cars I wanted to look at in Seattle and made the trip from Central Washington. One car listed was at Lee Johnson Chevrolet in Kirkland. Of all things, they had the exact car. Cinnabar, Black leather, no nav, ML stereo. In looking the car over, I noticed that it had different brand tires, but I wasn’t too concerned. We made the deal and I drove it home where I discovered that the tires not only were different brand, but they were different sizes. (215’s front, 235’s rear) That wouldn’t have been a deal breaker had I noticed it earlier, it just meant that I couldn’t rotate them. It was my own fault for not looking closer.

About ten days after getting the car home, I got a form letter from the dealership wanting to know if I was 100% happy with the car. Since they asked, I called them and related the tire issue. The woman I talked to noted my concerns and said someone would get back to me. In due course, I got a call from Tommy Thoensen, we talked and he asked what would make me happy. Since a date with Hailey Berry was out of the question, (I may be old, but I’m not dead) I said that replacing the front tires on my Lexus with a couple to match the rears would be fine. To my surprise, he said “Have a couple installed and send us the bill, we’ll send you a check” I ordered a couple of Potenza RE-030’s, had them put on the car and mailed the bill, pretty close to $500.00. Got the check today.

I was astounded. The people at Lee Johnson Chevrolet in Kirkland did not have to do this. From my experiences being around dealerships I can say with all honesty that what they did was a rare occurrence. Thinking back about the overall transaction, they couldn’t have been better in every respect. I would have no problem buying car from them in the future.

Bill

[cruznroadking]

Not all dealers are bad like some people on this board may think. I've had both good & bad experiences. I found a good one & stick with them.

[BillH2]

Not all dealers are bad like some people on this board may think.  I've had both good & bad experiences.  I found a good one & stick with them.

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That's what made this experience so unique. Having been around dealerships for so many years, I have a LOT of horror stories. The Lee Johnson guys are definately good people.