Fizzboy7

Today I took my IS to a local SoCal Lexus dealer for an oil change. Since I had an hour to kill, I took a walk down the street to Audi. The place was a madhouse. The showroom had two dozen people inside, the parking lot was overflowing, and new cars were constantly pulling in and out. Got back to Lexus and the same two cars were in the parking area and the showroom was devoid of people. Service department was also dead. And they only had five new IS's on their lot.

In light of the recent earthquake shortage and previous threads about it, I didn't expect it to be this bad. Maybe part of the reason was I was not at a volume dealer, but the Audi dealer I saw was also not a volume dealer. Hopefully today's display was just a fluke.

Anyone else notice things slow at their dealer?

DaSyce

iTrader: (3)

I hope that's the case for my local dealer, I'd love to see some nice promotions so I can trade in my IS.

caddyowner

I think Lexus has eschewed the Turkish Bazaar style of auto sales in the belief that their target customers don't want that type car buying experience. I agree with them. I enjoy visiting a quiet dealership with salespersons in suits behaving as mature business people. IMO, most Lexus salespersons should be out in the community, at business group meetings, golf outings, etc. rather than parked at the dealership waiting for "ups". When a contact they made at the local hospital's golf outing calls about a car, they can present the car at the person's home, office, or by appointment at the dealership - not under sale tent beside the giant inflatable gorilla.

LexusChris

iTrader: (1)

I was checking out the Audi Q5, Lexus RX, and BMW X3 two days ago, and among the dealerships, I must say the Lexus dealer did have the least traffic, but could it be because it was just 9:30 AM? when they just opened, and the BMW was the 2nd busiest, alot checking out the BMW X3 and 5-Series but gee no hi or nothing while walking around, with Audi 2nd least busy, friendly staff similar to Lexus but boy the salesperson was bashing the BMW and Lexus like crazy , and the back up camera failed on my Audi Q5 test drive and the salesperson couldn't explain why. Ended up though with a Nissan Murano after all the search.

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

Well, service is where you get your car repair and maintained

Go to the benz dealer and their service is a madhouse-a zoo. After dropping your car at the service and waiting for your loaner, you need to roam around so it can be ready. That does create a busy atmoshpere

chuang

When you have to fix a lots of new cars, there are going to be more consumers around especially true for BMW and Audi.

I8ABMR

I would think they are busy because their line up is fresh and exciting. The Lexus line up has added 2 hybrids and a convertible that is to small and over priced in the last year

scgt652

Last month I went with my brother to pick up his new Panamera at an Porsche/Audi dealer in CT. The place was empty. We were the only customers there. The salesmen were all standing around by the coffee machine and fraternizing.

madmax2k1

Observing traffic in one Lexus dealership is hardly an indicator of how sales are going.

And who the hell waste their time with floor sales people in a dealership anymore, internet sales is where you get the best deals.

spwolf

those A7's are selling like crazy!


lol.

scgt652

This is so true. When I asked the sales manager at the Porsche/Audi store why there were no other customers there, he said most of their deals are done over the phone or internet. The only time the customer comes to the store is to pick up the car. This is exactly how my brother purchased his car as well. The sales manager also said they get lots of "fresh ups" on Saturdays, but very few of those people are serious shoppers.

spwolf

Audi currently sells half of the cars that Lexus sells, and thats their record numbers.

If they cant build enough of their mainstream product, then it is their problem.

scgt652

Audi might have a lot of buzz right now, but Lexus is laying the foundation to regain a lot of attention and buzz. For instance, although the LFA is a very low volume product, it has helped enhance Lexus' image. Even Paris Hilton's boyfriend bought her one.... and he could have just as easily bought her an R8. Likewise, the CT has made Lexus relevant to the Gen-Y crowd. Although neither of these cars sells in big numbers, they have had a positive effect on how people perceive Lexus. All of this will bear fruit very soon when their higher volume products get refreshed (2012 ES and GS, for starters).

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

BMW dealer is always nuts when i go there with my buddy when he's getting his car serviced or when i go test drive a car. Seems like 90% of the people there are there to lease the cars too lol

TRDFantasy

So a slow service department is now a bad thing ? Last time I checked, Toyota and Lexus dealers often have slow or dead service departments, because there isn't much fixing to be done on the cars usually apart from routine maintenance.

Obviously Audi or BMW dealerships will be busier, because their cars constantly have problems and issues that need service or repair.

Lots of cars parked at the dealer =/ lots of dealer traffic and also does not indicate interest in the brand.

More like, the Audi, BMW and Mercedes dealers are always busy because there are always issues or problems on those cars that need fixing or servicing, primarily electronic issues.

Lexus dealers right now can't keep a lot of models in stock either, like the CT for example. Lexus dealers have HUGE waiting lists for the CT. Japan got hit with an earthquake of biblical proportions which messed up the supply of Lexus vehicles. What's Audi's excuse for not meeting demand?

Porsche dealers are regularly empty, yet their sales are strong. I wonder why .

Electronics failing or having problems on a German car, nothing unusual about that .

So anecdotal observation at your local dealer is representative of nationwide sales overall?

I'd rather look at the facts, which are monthly sales figures than make observations at the local dealer.

Perfectly agreed. Once Lexus refreshes their lineup, and sales and hype increases, just you watch, many of the haters will jump on the Lexus bandwagon .

Wrong. RX supplies got disrupted by the March Japanese earthquake. Supplies of ALL Lexus models were disrupted. RX production is still not back to 100% yet. Supplies were disrupted because the factories of many suppliers in Japan were damaged. The RX is built primarily in Canada, but that is irrelevant since a lot of parts for it are still supplied from Japan.

If Audi prefers to sell most of their product in Europe and to have constant waiting lists in the US, that's their problem. Audi then will never achieve their goal of being one of the "big" luxury brands in the US if they continue with that arrogant and greedy attitude.

Soon, when Lexus completely refreshes their lineup, they will be "on the way up" and Audi at that point with it's stale lineup will likely be on the "way down". Then the cycle will repeat itself every few years. The Lexus lineup being overhauled and refreshed has been delayed due to extraordinary issues that Toyota was faced with over the last year or so. A massive US government witch hunt against Toyota, quality changes within the company that have delayed some models a bit, and the biblical earthquake in March that has delayed ALL future Toyota and Lexus products by a few months.