New Lexus owner Disappointed so far

[mbenza]

So, here is how it goes.
We buy a new GX in October 2007 from Ray Catena Lexus in Larchmont, NY. During the delivery of the vehicle, we notate to the salesman that the 3rd seat middle headrest is missing. He says he'll take care of it. I call 3x in the next 3 weeks, every time I am asked to look in some other part of the vehicle for it, even in cubby holes the headrest couldn't possibly fit in.

Fast forward to November 2007, the steering column locks up rendering the car unable to steer and run. I am 54 miles from the nearest dealer which is Prestige Lexus. The tow truck comes and takes it leaving me stranded and to find my own way there.

I call Prestige to find out if they got my car and they have no idea who I am. After a lot of time on the phone with Prestige, I find out my car was towed in under another name as the owner. Prestige tells me that I must be the second owner and I bought it used. I explain to them it had 10 miles on it and I bought it brand new. They showed it as being sold on 8/31/07 to a S. Bernstein. I purchased it on 10/9/07. After that was figured out, I was offered a loaner. The car was in service for a week and required an entirely new steering column.
I go to pick up the GX when they called. They ask me for my keys and take about 30 minutes to reprogram both sets of keys. After that, they tell me "your car is out there somewhere". I find it on the service drive completely covered in snow and ice. (It had not snowed in 3 days). I open the door, my light tan interior is filthy and grease stained, the radio is tuned to a religious cult station (not that there is anything wrong with that) instead of my stations. Since I was late already to get to my appointment, I left and started driving on the highway. I started accumulating some road mist from the melting snow on the highway and I went to turn on my wipers and they would not work. I pulled over and got out and found my wipers to be buried in 3" of ice. I had to chip the ice out at the base of the windshield. I turned on the wipers and they moved to the up position and stopped. They refused to work and now the windshield was completely smeared. I found a Dunkin Donuts napkin and cleaned a spot out so I could see. I proceeded to my appointment 70 miles away and it took a few additional napkins to make it there. I also during the trip found out all my power windows were inoperative from the driver control panel.

I complained, in writing, to the Lexus website customer service in detail as I have laid out here. I also mentioned my reasons for buying a Lexus was the fact that my friends were happy with the service and the treatment they have received when they have needed it. One friend, in particular, told me the Greenwich, CT dealer even replaced the floor mats when they were stained for no charge. In mid December, I finally received a return phone call from the Lexus customer service and was told they would look into it with both dealers and get back to me. As of this date, I still have not heard back.

This month, January 2008, my battery went dead from the automatic headlamps not turning off after they were supposed to. Now I cannot use the Auto Lamp feature as it will kill the battery. Yesterday, the key fell apart and lost the middle section that holds the buttons. I believe the dealer must not of properly tightened the screw that holds the key together.

Needless to say, i am extremely disappointed with the supposed "Lexus Experience" and the lack of quality that seems to be apparent with my GX. BTW, as of this writing, it has 3900 miles on it.

I own a Chevy and a Mercedes and have been treated far better by my Chevy dealer and even my Mercedes dealer. I despise the Mercedes dealer but feel they try. I hold both dealers in higher regard than either Lexus dealers at this point. My whole reason for going to Lexus was based on the "reputation" that is alleged.

Anyone else have similar problems with their Lexus (or is Lexii?) and dealers?

Thanks for listening, it is extremely frustrating to be going through this.




_____________________________

[beachwolverine]

Sad story - I hope you get resolution and reimbursement.

[lexusmech]

Frankly, I hope you get a survey in the mail so you can slam them pretty hard. It sounds like but the service drive and the mechanic really messed up. The only small thing is to give more time before picking up your vehicle so you know the staff isn't rushed...i.e. de icing your car.

I've worked at two Lexus dealerships and not verifying everything worked was a big no no on the mechanics part. He really rushed that job. Thats one of the down sides of working flat rate. You get paid only so much to fix a car. Sure you may get 1.5 hrs. to replace the column, but not the half hour to clear codes, and make sure everthing is in working order. And sometimes it really can take that long. Finding the scan tool, clearing the codes, testing everything...etc etc...I'm not making excuses, just trying to give you the other side of the coin.

As for the steering column, I can't give you any feedback on that....but as for the product I think you're enjoy it if you give it a chance, but as for the dealer, there's not much I positive I can say on that.

[WhiteRabbit]

wow, total bummer. i feel for you.

[AmanO]

Either this is a repost/update or I am having very serious deja vu.

I would not let this discourage you from staying with toyota. The problem is where you live. US. Toyota might employ better people than others, but they still come from the same stock. The dealers at Toyota might be selling better cars but they are still car dealers.

[Christian87N]

Originally Posted by AmanO

Either this is a repost/update or I am having very serious deja vu.

u and me both.

[2k4CamThrilla]

Very odd to hear that about Ray Catena's dealership..

[-SCWEET1-]

So sad, but I wonder what the conclusion was since 4 months have passed.