Hey all,

Been posting here for awhile.. and I have absolutely no idea where to turn to. Anyway, a brief history of what happened..

Ordered an 09 IS350 back in August 09. They can't locate a car for me, so I told them I want my money back. They didn't bother to call me back for awhile and kept my money. When they did, they offered to special order a 2010 for me. I thought about it for a bit and decided to go for it. The order was placed in September. I signed my NEW contract 2 weeks ago.

I have a trade-in to give them. So I've been in touch with the salesman AND the manager about dropping my car off. They said they'd try to locate a loaner for me. Still haven't heard back. I was told they'd also get an ETA on the car...nothing on that either.

So basically, this is a dealer that doesn't follow through with their promises. To make matters worse, they seem almost unreachable. I need to initiate the contact each and every time. 90% of the time, I'm usually sent to their voicemail inbox.

This is getting ridiculous. I contacted Lexus directly and the best they can do is serve as the mediator..as the point of contact between the dealer and me. WHAT CAN I DO NOW? I want to know when my car is coming. Especially since I'm dropping my trade-in, I need to know how long I'll be without a car...

Alright...that's all.. I just needed to vent and need some advice

BTW...I was told the inventory manager sent an email to the factory, and they have no info for me... Do they have the ability to get more information than that? They gave me a range of anywhere from 3 weeks - 2 months. (Keep in mind, car was ordered in Sept.)

 

You're giving the dealer entirely too much power in this transaction.

1. Why would you give them a trade before the new car even arrives?

2. Why in the hell would you sign a contract for a car you haven't even seen yet?

FYI, it can take a few months for a special ordered vehicle to arrive. However, if the deal is essentially done, the dealer doesn't have much incentive to rush, do they?

 

You're right. BUt keep in mind, this is a special order, so I do need to sign something with them...

And yeah, I can see why they're in no rush to help me. But I guess that's just reality. Once they have your money, they do a 360 on you and leave you hanging.

I basically got them to agree to let me hang on to my car until it comes in. They're going to keep the appraised value.

I just need to get it in writing. You guys think email is a sufficient way to get that documented? I'm basically typing up an addendum to the agreement. Their email reply serves as confirmation of it. Would that be sufficient? I'm a skeptic since I don't trust these guys too much.

 

No you didn't. I special ordered mine and never even saw the guy I ordered it from in person till the day I picked it up (2.5 months later).

Everything was done via phone/email, no deposit, nothing signed.

 

I also special ordered - the only document I signed was stating that the specs of the car they were ordering were correct, and that I was giving them a $500 deposit that was fully refundable. I didn't negotiate the price of the car until it arrived, and it dropped quickly once I told them that I would walk if we couldn't agree on price, regardless of how "special" the order was.

 

There are special orders and there are 'special orders'. Often a dealer puts a request in to intercept an incoming vehicle on the boat that matches what a customer wants. This is NOT a special order although some clueless and lazy dealers will pass this off as such. It sounds like your dealer is going this route. A real special order is a request put in to the factory to special build the car to your specs. It is your car from the time it enters the production systrem (with VIN) until you get it in your hot little hands. You need to find out what your dealer is doing. If he isn't special ordering from the factory demand your money back and find a dealer who knows how to do it. Some dealers don't know how or just don't want to do it. It's really no big deal for them to special order a vehicle for you.

 

I dont get it! Why dont you just go to the dealership and speak to whoevers in charge and make them do your job. Forget everything they said and get everything straighten out before it lacks over time. Since they seem like they dont care, i would just get the deposit back and do business else where. Sucks to not get what you want when you're suppose to. Dont allow them to do this to you. Anywhere's seems better then they are!! GL bro

 

Most places I checked require a nonrefundable deposit for special orders. Yes they are sending the request directly to the factory. Let me ask them for the VIN # on Monday and I'll see what they say.

What they told me was this.. they sent the order in in September, at the beginning of the month. They made the cut @ the beginning of the month. Supposedly there's only two time to submit orders... once at the beginning and the other time is on the 15th. Now that's the info they gave me and that seems consistent with some threads I've researched.

As far as doing anything now.. I think the only thing and most I can do now is get on their tails or at least have their parent company do the communicating for me.

But I do want to confirm that once a car is in production, they can provide me with a VIN?

Thanks!

 

They like to tell people this to avoid the inconvenience of selling a car that was special ordered. The fact is that keeping your deposit without you taking delivery of the car is STEALING and ILLEGAL. If they tell you different, laugh in their faces and leave.

 

Sounds like a typical NYC stealership. Not all but most dealerships here like to play games...its so frustrating sometimes.

 

kl323, I'd demand the dealer check the status of your IS and get back to you ASAP. This is something they SHOULD have done a long time ago. It takes literally two seconds. From my dealer I have a printout of my special order with the approximate build date and ETA to dealer. I had this information within days of placing my special order with an order number (probably unique to the dealer). VIN is something you get when the car has been shipped. And it takes approximately thirty days to come from Japan.

IMO, the dealer is playing you and wasting your time to boot. Time to cancel and find someone else. There are plenty of dealers in the NYC area. Good luck.

 

Yeah I'm going to do that Monday for sure.


Would Lexus be able to do anything for me? From what I was told when I called their customer relations line, all they can do is serve as intermediates between the two sides.

 

I forget to mention.. if I want my money back. I'd probably need to fight hard for it. I don't know if I can do anything on the basis of technicality.

It does mention special orders are non refundables (deposits).

However, on the contract it says estimated date of delivery to be 9/28/09. Contract signed on 10/22/09. If they are still uncooperative, I'll definitely pursue this matter by filing complaints with the BBB, FTC, and Lexus. Not sure what this will do and I don't know what more I can do. Hope for the best

 

I'd ask the dealer to show you proof the car was special ordered, plain and simple. If they can't, well, I'd really question whether it happened at all. And there could be serious question as to whether the contract is binding because if they did not order the car, they did not fulfill their obligation, and the contract could technically be terminated/invalidated by their failure.

Before you file any complaints, give the dealer a call tomorrow and see what they have to say first. Hopefully they'll finally be able to give you an answer. Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

Yeah thanks for the support! I'll definitely be posting back here as soon as i get something.

I am suppose to be happy about getting a new car, but this is turning out to be rather stressful. I'm kinda disappointed with the quality of service that I'm getting with at a Lexus dealership. But then I guess I can't generalize..

Anyway, proof that the car was special order...what should I ask them for? I don't want to sound like I have no idea what I'm talking about.