I wanted to alert everyone that if you are buying a new car from Lexus keep in mind that typically it may take over 4-5 months for Lexus to source the parts from Japan if you should ever need them. I have witnessed this first hand as an owner of a new 2007 Lexus GS450h, I was involved in an minor accident where my Lexus ran over a small bush and it created some damage to the front passenger side of the car. The body damage was minimal, but since most of the electrical work is located adjacent to the front passenger side, there were electrical components that needed full replacement since the car pinned the bush just behind the front bumper. This occurred in the beginning of June 2007 and as of this writing (16 October 2007) I am still waiting for Lexus to receive in the parts. In fact, even Lexus of Wilmington, DE cannot get a good date on when the parts will ship and be delivered to the auto body shop. I was given about 5 missed dates and deadlines from Lexus over the course of 4 months. What is even more embarrassing is that the part is relatively minor, but it seems to control the entire electrical nervous system!
Lexus has given me almost every excuse in the book as to why there are delays for sourcing parts, but I thought the best one was when the head of the parts department at the Wilmington DE store told me that it is because this is a new car and a new model, Lexus does not have any parts available around the world. The moral of this story is that, if you can, avoid any accident with a Lexus, but if you can't do that, then you should avoid buying a new Lexus as they will not have parts available to you should you need them.
Like many of you, this is my first experience with Lexus and I am quite disappointed with the service I received as it relates to this unusual problem. I have owned, and still own, many high end luxury sedans and I am somewhat turned off by this experience as I thought in unusual circumstances Lexus, out of any company, would excel. I was wrong. It is ashame, because my GS450h was a car that I easily would have traded-in for the new LS600h if all went well with my Lexus experience.
I am still waiting to see if the parts will come in this Friday (that is the new date I was given after they missed last weeks deadline because they forgot to execute the order). As you can imagine, I am also waiting to hear back from Lexus North America to see why this is occurring and get to the bottom of this as it does not bode well for the Lexus experience.
I will keep everyone posted on my pursuit to get my car back!