Delivery Time Frame for Special Order

[Steve77]

I ordered a ES350 from Lexus of Dayton OH on 13 January 2016.  Was told by the salesman that delivery would be 10 to 12 weeks.  After 10 weeks he calls me and tells me the car just came up in their system with a Status Code of A (Dealer Allocation).  He now tell me that I should expect delivery sometime in May.  Needless to say I was not too happy.  Looks like it will take 4 months from the date of order to get this car.  That to me is unacceptable.  I noticed in the Lexus Forum an individual ordered a ES350 on 4 February.  His order was filled with a February dealer allocation and he took delivery this week.  I am of the opinion Lexus of Dayton did not fill my order with either of their February or March allocations.  I would like to know what delivery times others have experienced when they have ordered a 2016 Lexus ES350. 

[1990LS400]

Are you certain you are comparing apples with apples?  There are two distinct ways to special order a vehicle for a customer through the Toyota/Lexus "Dealer Daily" on-line systems.

1) Place a brand new order.
2) Modify an existing order.

Modifying an existing order can mean much faster delivery but a dealer might not want to do that for a variety of reasons or not even think of doing it.  The delivery time on my special order Sienna, built in Princeton, Indiana instead of in Georgetown, Kentucky where the ES is built, was going to take about three months until I asked if the dealer could modify an existing order to speed it up.  The dealer did that and delivery time was cut to exactly four weeks.

So ... I'm guessing that your Lexus dealer did not modify an existing order.  Maybe he couldn't do that because all existing orders were pre-sold and/or the dealership wanted specific model variations in their inventory.  Yeah, it's a bummer but I'm reading that the wait time is a lot worse for a special order Lexus RX built in Ontario.

[Steve77]

I would have thought the dealership would have automatically went in and modified an existing order since they had a guaranteed sale.  If they did not want to do that then why give me a delivery time frame of 10 to 12 weeks.  I think I was deliberately mislead on the delivery time frame.  The dealership has lost a customer because I will never buy another car from this dealership.  Since this is the only dealership within a reasonable drive from my home this will be my first Lexus and it will be my last.

[pj8708]

Hi Steve and welcome to the Club.

I feel your pain. A dealer not ordering a new car is like not getting a pay check. In November of 2013, I ordered a new ES 350. Because I wanted to have the interior done in leather not the synthetic. The dealer placed the order the first of the month after checkig with other dealers and the Lexus port of entry where Lexus has a facility to install some accessories. There was nothing available. The order could only be fulfilled by ordering from Japan. By some stroke of luck, the car came in just after Christmas.

A dealer when placing your order does so with their money until you pay them. In the case of the RX it has been the most popular of all Lexus models. The ES is almost as popular.I can't speak for the dealer but they wouldn't be the only dealer that is behind on their account with Lexus.

I agree that 10-12 weeks is  crazy. At this point there probably isn't much you can change. The Lexus cars are the best I've ever owned. It is also rated as the most reliable brand on the market. I hope after having your new ES, you'll be glad you made the decision.

Paul

[1990LS400]

2 hours ago, Steve77 said:

I would have thought the dealership would have automatically went in and modified an existing order since they had a guaranteed sale.  If they did not want to do that then why give me a delivery time frame of 10 to 12 weeks.  I think I was deliberately mislead on the delivery time frame.  The dealership has lost a customer because I will never buy another car from this dealership.  Since this is the only dealership within a reasonable drive from my home this will be my first Lexus and it will be my last.

Forecasting a delivery date is not an exact science.  The delivery date of a lavishly equipped Acura MDX SH-AWD that I ordered in February 2014 slipped by a several months due to a supply shortage of a particular component ... something to do with the trailer hitch option that not many people ordered.  The delivery date slipped so badly that I cancelled the order and then scrambled to find an acceptable vehicle I could get quickly.

A special order is never considered by a car dealer to be a guaranteed sale.  My wife wouldn't be driving the most ridiculously highly equipped 2012 Prius on earth (retail $40,000+) if someone had not special ordered it and then backed out of the purchase.  We happened to be looking for the most highly optioned Prius variation and wanted it only in a specific extra cost color.  The Toyota dealer sales manager was probably thrilled that we took it off his hands at a deep discount and we were happy to get all the extra stuff for almost free.

Car dealers do not normally modify existing orders unless it is on a slow selling model already in the pipeline that they are obligated to accept as part of their allocation.  Most vehicles that dealers order for their inventories are usually what are considered to be the easiest to sell which is why it is unusual to find very high specification vehicles in dealer inventory.

And really, some dealer sales people don't even understand how their dealership business office works.  The Toyota dealer "sales-child" who took the order of my Sienna van through the Costco Auto Program had no idea that an existing order could be modified to cut the delivery time.  I waited to see how the order would be handled by the dealership business office and asked if an existing order could be modified after I was told they would submit a new order.

I feel odd defending a Lexus dealer since I am not at all fond of mine, but it sounds like your Lexus dealer acted reasonably and did what most car dealerships would do when a customer orders a vehicle instead of buying one out of inventory.

After cancelling the order of the Acura due to the trailer hitch issue, something "funny" happened with my special order Sienna.  Shortly after ordering it, I got a call from the Toyota dealership telling me that Toyota had put a "stop sale" on factory installed trailer hitches.  Although I was extremely perturbed, this time I told the dealer that I would accept the Sienna without a trailer hitch ... which turned out great since I installed a much nicer hitch at 25% of the price of the Toyota factory installed hitch.

[Steve77]

I have ordered 5 cars prior to the Lexus in my lifetime and all 5 times the dealership replaced an order in the system to accommodate me.  As I mentioned in my original post. a member in the Lexus forum ordered his car on 4 February (three weeks after I ordered mine) and his dealership obviously modified an existing order to accommodate him since he got delivery in April.  My brother ordered a Camaro the week before I placed my order for the Lexus and the Chevy dealership also replaced an existing order with his order.  He got the car in 8 weeks.  It is obvious to me at this point that the Lexus dealership did not go out of their way to do me any special favors which is why I will never buy another car from this dealership.  I also have other issues with this dealership.  Once I pick up the car I intend to send an e-mail to Lexus Headquarters outlining all the problems I have encountered with this dealership and inform them that no way would I ever buy another Lexus. 

I did an Internet search on this dealership and there are numerous negative reviews on this dealership from people complaining about the crappy service they received when buying or leasing a Lexus.  I just hope I get better service from their service department when I have to take my car in for any type of service.  If their service department is no better than their sales department I guess my only option is to take the car to my local independent garage for service or see if I can get it serviced at the Toyota dealership where I was a previous customer.   I previously owned a Toyota Avalon and always got great service from them.

[1990LS400]

50 minutes ago, Steve77 said:

I have ordered 5 cars prior to the Lexus in my lifetime and all 5 times the dealership replaced an order in the system to accommodate me.  As I mentioned in my original post. a member in the Lexus forum ordered his car on 4 February (three weeks after I ordered mine) and his dealership obviously modified an existing order to accommodate him since he got delivery in April.  My brother ordered a Camaro the week before I placed my order for the Lexus and the Chevy dealership also replaced an existing order with his order.  He got the car in 8 weeks.  It is obvious to me at this point that the Lexus dealership did not go out of their way to do me any special favors which is why I will never buy another car from this dealership.  I also have other issues with this dealership.  Once I pick up the car I intend to send an e-mail to Lexus Headquarters outlining all the problems I have encountered with this dealership and inform them that no way would I ever buy another Lexus. 

I did an Internet search on this dealership and there are numerous negative reviews on this dealership from people complaining about the crappy service they received when buying or leasing a Lexus.  I just hope I get better service from their service department when I have to take my car in for any type of service.  If their service department is no better than their sales department I guess my only option is to take the car to my local independent garage for service or see if I can get it serviced at the Toyota dealership where I was a previous customer.   I previously owned a Toyota Avalon and always got great service from them.

I've given you what I think is reliable information on how it works based on information gained through 31 years (retired) with a well known provider of financial services to franchised auto dealers.   You can take it or leave it.

I think it is wonderful that a person can special order a Toyota-made vehicle at all - that is really possible only for vehicles assembled in North America.  Try special ordering an LS460 from Japan and see how it goes.  My sister's former employer once special ordered a Mercedes S-class and his wait was just under one year ... and he was a Unimog dealer and they didn't cut him any slack.  My information may be outdated, but my understanding is the only way most European cars can be truly special ordered is to 100% pre-pay for them and often to pick them up on a European delivery plan - something I'm investigating due to age restrictions for renting cars in Europe.  I'm not ready to get on a tour bus!

For vehicles not made in North America, most special orders are really dealer trades.  My first Lexus, a 1990 LS400, was about to be loaded on a truck bound for Phoenix in a dealer trade when I bought it.  The 1998 Camry my wife drove for many years was diverted to Kansas City from the dealer in Wisconsin (IIRC) who originally ordered it. 

Don't bother emailing Lexus corporate about your perceived problems.  You would only be wasting time and energy and you won't be taken seriously.