I Trust My Lexus.....but I Don't Trust My Any Lexus Dealerships

[Lexus GS430 Guzzler]

I have a 2006 Lexus GS430 with 40k miles now. It's been a great and dependable car. I haven't any of the issues people seemed to be having here in the GS board.

- I read about a lot of people having uneven inside tire wear. I don't have that at all. I use Yokohamas on the original Lexus wheels.

- I read about the reverse tilt mirror motors going out, but I haven't had that problem.

- No mystery rattling or noises that some people have.

My problem has been squarely with Lexus dealerships.

1.) The threw my MOP unit door off-track when installing a new cabin air-filter and later refused to fix it under warranty. It took weeks for me to scream at them until finally they fixed it only if I did my 30k maintenance with them.

2.) After having my 30k maintenance, I got my car back with numerous deep scratches in the leather. The Lexus technicians/mechanics scratched by my seats bad while performing work on the car. They had to have a leather repair guy come and fix it, but this drove me nuts.

3.) They always grossly overfill oil when I get an oil change with them.

I guess I don't feel too angry about the poor services from the above dealership. They let me borrow a RX350 for 1 week, and I took it off roading. I had it climbing all sorts of pits, gravel, and rocks, but wow - smoothest off-roading experience I ever had. I had fun in it.

I don't like the prices Lexus wants for oil changes. 55 dollars for a regular oil change, and over double when I wanted synthetic.....

I just took my car to my friend's autoshop and I got to see him do everything. I brought my own Synthetic oil and filter, and it cost me $30. He did all sorts of checks and measurements and gave me solid numbers in inches and millimeters, so I could look up exactly how far down my rotars and brakes were worn down.

I don't get that with Lexus dealerships. I pay good money, and I wouldn't mind the high price tag if they actually did an exemplary job......but it hasn't been the case. I think the only reason to go to these guys is for warranty work and for sensitive work you want them to back up if they mess up. Tires, brakes, rotors, oil, fluid, go somewhere else - a trusted mechanic if you can find one.

[jcrome04]

Did you ever call Lexus corp. ?

Complaining to someone that cares, and/or has the ability to do something about things, helps.

[Lexus GS430 Guzzler]

Did you ever call Lexus corp. ?

Complaining to someone that cares, and/or has the ability to do something about things, helps.

They're worthless.

I called and the same rep would always be too busy, they'd call back and not understand my problem I just spent hours with the last rep talking about and generally just p!ssed me the hell off. I don't trust the morons who run Lexus in the United States. Good marketing department.

The Lexus guys I think are exemplary are the Japanese technicians and engineers who put my car together. I think all the Americans involved are morons. Most work I have my own mechanic do.

[nc211]

https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/...o.toyota.com%2F

You need to spend the $15 and a few hours downloading the entire repair manual (including all the updates "TSB's") for your car man. This will be a HUGE help to you in the future. Even if you don't do the repairs yourself, the ability to print off the specific repair that you want done and hand it to the mechanic says "I know what I'm doing, don't screw around with me, I'll be watching." I had a serious problem with the repair shop at Johnson Lexus in Raleigh with my old LS, until I called BS on them, insisted only the senior tech do the work "and met with him directly", and made damn sure I had two copies of what I though the repair was (one left in the passenger seat for him to see, one for the service writer to have too). After that, I had nothing but beyond the call of duty service from them.

The problem is, and I mean this with no disrespect man, you're taking the car in for really basic stuff, like the air filter. They see you as a guy with money to burn, and they also see you as someone who doesn't understand the car, the type that says "it's broke, you fix it". In their mind, you're two things to them (1) A cashcow, and (2) the guy who's car is being used for the new kids who are clueless to gain experience with. I promise you, that if you email the pdf of the repair you wanted to the manager, ask him "how can this proceedure produce these kinds of results I got from your shop?", you'll make them look so stupid and embarrassed, they'll have no choice but to fix your car. At which point, you say "I want the most senior guy you've got working on my car, and I want to meet him face to face to show him what's wrong, no more service writers only".

[Lexus GS430 Guzzler]

https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/...o.toyota.com%2F

You need to spend the $15 and a few hours downloading the entire repair manual (including all the updates "TSB's") for your car man. This will be a HUGE help to you in the future. Even if you don't do the repairs yourself, the ability to print off the specific repair that you want done and hand it to the mechanic says "I know what I'm doing, don't screw around with me, I'll be watching." I had a serious problem with the repair shop at Johnson Lexus in Raleigh with my old LS, until I called BS on them, insisted only the senior tech do the work "and met with him directly", and made damn sure I had two copies of what I though the repair was (one left in the passenger seat for him to see, one for the service writer to have too). After that, I had nothing but beyond the call of duty service from them.

The problem is, and I mean this with no disrespect man, you're taking the car in for really basic stuff, like the air filter. They see you as a guy with money to burn, and they also see you as someone who doesn't understand the car, the type that says "it's broke, you fix it". In their mind, you're two things to them (1) A cashcow, and (2) the guy who's car is being used for the new kids who are clueless to gain experience with. I promise you, that if you email the pdf of the repair you wanted to the manager, ask him "how can this proceedure produce these kinds of results I got from your shop?", you'll make them look so stupid and embarrassed, they'll have no choice but to fix your car. At which point, you say "I want the most senior guy you've got working on my car, and I want to meet him face to face to show him what's wrong, no more service writers only".

Dude, that's awesome. Thanks!

Edit:

Also, I actually did replace the engine air filter myself. The Cabin Air filter was serviced by Longo Lexus in El Monte. They messed it up and wouldn't fix it. They claimed that there wasn't any way of telling that I wasn't the one who broke it - which is bullcrap. I had to threaten them with small claims before they'd finally do something about it.

[SW03ES]

Have you used more than one Lexus dealership? You say "Any Lexus dealerships" but you also say "Problems I had with the above dealership".

Lexus dealerships are independently owned. I've used good ones and bad ones. Lexus of Rockville, who I used until last year when I found my independent mechanic is an excellent dealer and I've never recieved anything but excellent service from them, as was my experience with Lexus of Annapolis and Lexus of Alexandria. Lexus of Silver Spring and Pohanka Lexus in Chantilly I wasn't as impressed with...