Avoid Mcgrath Lexus In Chicago...

l3xu5 · July 24, 2008

I just sent a letter to McGrath Lexus in Chicago (www.mcgrathlexusofchicago.com on Division St. and Elston Ave.) about their crappy service and how they made a habit of ripping me off time-after-time, and how I was stupid enough to let them. I've e-mailed them and sent a letter before, but never heard anything (actually I did receive a mass mailing from them once that said they would like to hear any comments about the service and they pay special attention to everyone - yeah right!). After this last experience, I decided I would write one final letter and be done with them.

I've copied and pasted the letter I sent below so that maybe if someone has a choice between the Lexus dealerships to go to in Chicago, they don't choose McGrath of Chicago (or Westmont, since that's owned by McGrath as well).

Customer Relations Department

McGrath Lexus of Chicago

1250 W. Division St.

Chicago, IL 60622-9857

To Customer Relations Representative:

On 7/12, I called to schedule a service appointment for my vehicle on 7/19 at 8:00am, explained the issues I was having with the vehicle and requested that a loaner be made available. On 7/19, I arrived at 8:00am, had my information taken down, and explained the issues I was having with my vehicle in greater detail to my service representative. I had also asked about my loaner, which I specifically asked for, and he said that there might not be one available, and hopefully someone will cancel due to the weather. I subsequently went to the lounge to wait to hear about my vehicle.

Over an hour later, at approximately 9:15am, my service representative finally came to speak with me about my vehicle (which seems to be the norm for me). He began to list off item after item of things that needed to be replaced on my vehicle. I did not request a full vehicle inspection, but I was obviously ignored and that’s what happened. What I had brought my vehicle in for was an oil change, a rear lamp to be replaced, a noise from the front passenger tire, and the check engine light (which I already knew had to do with the emissions system since I scanned the on-board computer myself). After he rattled off the list of items that needed to be fixed totaling $1,990, I asked for my loaner vehicle, and he said he would go see if there was one available. He came back and said he was able to get me one and then I left the dealership.

On 7/22, I received a call from my service representative telling me that my vehicle was ready for pickup. At approximately 4:30pm I went to the cashier requesting to pickup my vehicle and my total came to over $2,400, which was 20% more than I was originally told! I immediately requested to have my service representative go over the invoice with me. He was paged, and as we went over the bill, I starting pointing out items that seemed incorrect. He agreed and went to revise the bill. After his revisions, the total was $2181, over $200 less than my original total, but still way too much in my opinion. I do not appreciate being overcharged because of "mistakes" on the invoice.

Once I paid the cashier, I was told that my car was parked just outside the garage entrance. After going outside and looking, I did not see it. I went back in to the garage thinking it was being washed, and was told by one of the cashiers that it was outside and to go look for it, as if I wasn’t welcome anymore after paying my bill. I went to search some more and I finally saw it, not by the garage entrance, but by the showroom entrance, parked under a tree.

The first thing I immediately noticed about my car was that it was completely covered by some kind of dust or pollen. So much for my car being cleaned when I picked it up, especially after being swindled to the tune of nearly $2,200. After entering my vehicle, no more than 30 seconds passed before I heard a noise coming from my car that was not there before. I immediately drove it back into the garage and told my service representative and he heard the noise too, saying it might be a "loose heat shield". He said the mechanic wasn’t there and to bring it back the next day, and he’d see about getting me a loaner, if needed. He also commented about the dust on my car and said, “I’ll also give the car a wash.”

As I was driving my car home, what did I hear coming from my front passenger tire? The same noise that I had originally heard, and one of the reasons I brought my vehicle in to be serviced! I don’t know what kind of worthless mechanic worked on my vehicle, but on top of paying the ridiculous amount I did, I get a mechanic who can’t even fix my car.

The next day I brought my vehicle in and told my service representative that I continued to hear the noise and he drove my vehicle to the lift and the mechanic raised it off the ground. After banging on the underside of my vehicle for a few minutes, the mechanic told me the exhaust pipe was rusted and that was the reason for the noise. I said the noise wasn’t there when I brought it in and he said that we didn’t touch the exhaust. How convenient to deny the problem and when I asked how much it would be to fix the problem, I was told it was going to be a measly $1,200.

Then the mechanic tried to find the noise from the tire that I continued to hear. He couldn’t figure it out, and finally decided to take it on a test drive. Once again, I was sent to the lounge to wait. My service representative came back saying that the brake pads just needed to be shimmed, whatever that means. So after I paid $2,200 to have my rotors removed and resurfaced, tires rotated and aligned (among other things), the problem was nothing more than a simple shim of the brake pad. It’s nice how your dealership first squeezed every dollar they could from me, fixing things that weren’t even an issue until I brought it in, and then tells me the original fix to my problem was just a simple fix at no charge.

If you’ve read the above, I’m sure you’ve probably already figured out that I am never coming back to your dealership. This was the last time that I was going to be treated like some leper who would get attention only after everyone else was taken care of. I’ve sent comments about your service before, but never received any response, and I don’t expect that this time will be any different.

And I wanted to mention that being treated as a second-class customer is something that has become especially apparent to me from visiting your dealership. As I pull into the garage, or sit in the lounge, it seems like everyone else there is being treated like they’re old buddies with everyone at the dealership. They joke around and have fun, but when it comes to me, after coming for 2 years, I’m asked, “Is this your first time visiting us?”

Time after time when I visit your dealership, I never get any worth wile attention, I am kept waiting in the lounge for a minimum of an hour (even for a simple oil change when I’m the first one to pull in), and then I am told that I need hundreds (or in this case, thousands) of dollars of repairs, even when I don’t ask for any check-up. There is absolutely no reason for me to ever come back to your dealership and waste any more of my money. Not only that, I will never again recommend your dealership to my friends or relatives, which I mistakenly did once. And when I ask my cousin and her husband about the service from their leased RX350, they have this disappointed look on their face and tell me, “It’s hit or miss.”

I hope you enjoy that $2,200 you scammed from me because I’ll never be spending another dollar at your dealership again. I’ll be taking my car to Glenview for any service from now on. It’s a shame too, considering how close your dealership was to my home, but I’d rather drive the extra distance and get treated properly.

And about that carwash I was promised when I brought my car back in – it never happened.

The above experience is courtesy of the crappy service you receive at McGrath Lexus in Chicago when you're not buddies with one of the service reps or salespeople.