-->> my Lexus ISF has been in for 1 service appointment 74 days! <<---
01-10-12, 01:36 PM
#106
Oh and to top things off, my wife's car was rear ended and totaled yesterday! I do not have good "car"ma.
Accident was not her fault. Driver didn't see the stopped traffic and plowed into her at ~30mph without ever getting on the brake. No emergent injuries but sore, neck, back, tailbone, possible mild concussion. Seeing the doc today to get checked out. We currently have a (another) POS rental car.
I've never seen a car that was rear ended so hard that all 4 door jambs are effected. All doors have problem open and shutting. I guess the Volvo served its purpose, to keep the passengers safe.
Accident was not her fault. Driver didn't see the stopped traffic and plowed into her at ~30mph without ever getting on the brake. No emergent injuries but sore, neck, back, tailbone, possible mild concussion. Seeing the doc today to get checked out. We currently have a (another) POS rental car.
I've never seen a car that was rear ended so hard that all 4 door jambs are effected. All doors have problem open and shutting. I guess the Volvo served its purpose, to keep the passengers safe.
My aunt had an S60, it was rear ended at 50+mph by a pick up truck driver who wasn't paying attention and hit the brakes wayyy too late and slid right into the back making her rear end the car in front of her too. She blacked out immediately and suffered some injuries. The Volvo saved her life though, took the damage very well. The entire trunk was pushed far in and the rear window shattered (but held due to tint)...Front end got a good beating too. I was amazed when i saw the car though, the interior was intact, and 3 of the doors opened and closed without issues, just 1 of the rear's had some trouble closing properly.
It was, however, one of the most unreliable cars she ever owned lol.
01-12-12, 11:13 AM
#107
I personally do not believe one gets the highest quality service at dealerships but that is just my opinion. Consequently I have not taken my F back to a one. Your's is a completely different case though and a warranty issue.
I too hope your wife is OK.
And it may be time to see how well your rental cars work off road or at the track. JK, but damn I feel for you man.
Last edited by hwy1isf; 01-12-12 at 11:18 AM.
01-12-12, 07:50 PM
#108
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I concur with the sentiments above, hopefully Lexus does the right thing. As a potential future Lexus buyer I am disappointed to see the way this situation has been handled. I've been checking practically everyday with the hope of seeing a good outcome.
01-13-12, 07:53 PM
#109
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Have you contacted some of the auto websites with your story? An ISF out of service for 4 months makes a good headline. I'd e-mail jalopnik, autoblog, edmunds, truthaboutcars.com and consumerist.com to start with. Then I'd hammer Lexus on twitter and Facebook.
Keep us posted.
Keep us posted.
01-14-12, 04:51 PM
#110
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
Sorry for the hiatus. I've been on business travel (CES) and dealing with the claim on the wife's car.
Short story. I have the ISF back. It is running exceptionally well.
Corporate has OK'd a buy back. They have not yet made their offer, 2 more weeks for that.
I'm considering keeping my car and asking for them to comp an extended warranty and some cash.
Wife required an MRI to monitor a concussion from her accident. She is still a bitty forgetful but getting better. Car was a complete loss. We think we found a replacement today, negotiating. More later
Thanks again for everyone's support!
Andy
Short story. I have the ISF back. It is running exceptionally well.
Corporate has OK'd a buy back. They have not yet made their offer, 2 more weeks for that.
I'm considering keeping my car and asking for them to comp an extended warranty and some cash.
Wife required an MRI to monitor a concussion from her accident. She is still a bitty forgetful but getting better. Car was a complete loss. We think we found a replacement today, negotiating. More later
Thanks again for everyone's support!
Andy
01-18-12, 10:31 AM
#112
Sorry for the hiatus. I've been on business travel (CES) and dealing with the claim on the wife's car.
Short story. I have the ISF back. It is running exceptionally well.
Corporate has OK'd a buy back. They have not yet made their offer, 2 more weeks for that.
I'm considering keeping my car and asking for them to comp an extended warranty and some cash.
Wife required an MRI to monitor a concussion from her accident. She is still a bitty forgetful but getting better. Car was a complete loss. We think we found a replacement today, negotiating. More later
Thanks again for everyone's support!
Andy
Short story. I have the ISF back. It is running exceptionally well.
Corporate has OK'd a buy back. They have not yet made their offer, 2 more weeks for that.
I'm considering keeping my car and asking for them to comp an extended warranty and some cash.
Wife required an MRI to monitor a concussion from her accident. She is still a bitty forgetful but getting better. Car was a complete loss. We think we found a replacement today, negotiating. More later
Thanks again for everyone's support!
Andy
Best wishes to your wife most of all, cars can be replaced.
Besure to let us know the results with Lexus
01-20-12, 10:43 AM
#113
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
So the car has been back with me for a week.
I can't believe how much I missed driving this car. I have a permanent smile on my face now and I am looking for excuses to run to the store, etc.
The repair seems to be top notch. When it was delivered back to me it the dealer practically threw a parade for me. The car was on a lift, they handed me a flash light and went over the entire underneath of the vehicle with me to look for issues. Every thing was in excellent condition, no bolt heads "rounded" or showing signs of poor assembly. All under body panels were snug and used new hardware to attach. Everything was clean. I pointed out a piece of side molding (rocker panel) that was a little deformed from the R&R and they quickly used a heat gun to correct the shape and position.
Driving the car, there are no rattles, shakes, squeaks, etc. The engine is quite and smooth and the transmission is like glass. My alignment is dead on (car had the right drift problem earlier in it's life) and they placed the engine sub frame cradle perfectly. I actually believe the engine is making more power right now. Probably the result of the engine being hand built from the bottom up and all the valves, etc. being hand lapped and the clearances adjusted. I am very happy.
They actually did the final assembly in the diagnosticians office in order to maintain the cleanest environment and to have tight temperature control (better than the shop) during the assembly.
Lexus Corporate has informed me that they will offer me a buyback but they have not yet provided me with the offer. I'm curious to see what the offer is, but I am likely to counter them with a different proposal. Currently I am leaning towards keeping my vehicle and requesting that they pay me back for my extended (8/100K) warranty (while leaving coverage in tact) and some sort of compensation for my inconvenience. We'll see how far that gets me.
Dealing with corporate has been interesting. They are always very polite but do not give an inch. When you try to argue a point with them you simple get the reply "we will have to agree to disagree". Again, they are polite but evasive in answering your questions. They provide little in writing and prefer all interactions to be done on the phone. However they want all of YOUR concerns and demands in writing.
We'll see how this all pans out. I still can't say over all this has been a good experience as I believe Lexus should have handled this much differently but I am exceptionally pleased with the work that the dealer did on my car.
until later...
I can't believe how much I missed driving this car. I have a permanent smile on my face now and I am looking for excuses to run to the store, etc.
The repair seems to be top notch. When it was delivered back to me it the dealer practically threw a parade for me. The car was on a lift, they handed me a flash light and went over the entire underneath of the vehicle with me to look for issues. Every thing was in excellent condition, no bolt heads "rounded" or showing signs of poor assembly. All under body panels were snug and used new hardware to attach. Everything was clean. I pointed out a piece of side molding (rocker panel) that was a little deformed from the R&R and they quickly used a heat gun to correct the shape and position.
Driving the car, there are no rattles, shakes, squeaks, etc. The engine is quite and smooth and the transmission is like glass. My alignment is dead on (car had the right drift problem earlier in it's life) and they placed the engine sub frame cradle perfectly. I actually believe the engine is making more power right now. Probably the result of the engine being hand built from the bottom up and all the valves, etc. being hand lapped and the clearances adjusted. I am very happy.
They actually did the final assembly in the diagnosticians office in order to maintain the cleanest environment and to have tight temperature control (better than the shop) during the assembly.
Lexus Corporate has informed me that they will offer me a buyback but they have not yet provided me with the offer. I'm curious to see what the offer is, but I am likely to counter them with a different proposal. Currently I am leaning towards keeping my vehicle and requesting that they pay me back for my extended (8/100K) warranty (while leaving coverage in tact) and some sort of compensation for my inconvenience. We'll see how far that gets me.
Dealing with corporate has been interesting. They are always very polite but do not give an inch. When you try to argue a point with them you simple get the reply "we will have to agree to disagree". Again, they are polite but evasive in answering your questions. They provide little in writing and prefer all interactions to be done on the phone. However they want all of YOUR concerns and demands in writing.
We'll see how this all pans out. I still can't say over all this has been a good experience as I believe Lexus should have handled this much differently but I am exceptionally pleased with the work that the dealer did on my car.
until later...
01-20-12, 03:09 PM
#114
I'd work out a deal to pay a little more fora 2012 ISF exchange.
Their customer relations (according to you) seemed horrible and dragging you along was plain WRONG. I'd take this straight to the top, as high as you can. GM, Mark Templin...if you have to get his attention.
They may have fixed the problem after almost 4 months but the customer service and experience you had to go through was what made it so bad. They need to acknowledge this and correct it through some sort of compensation, not just compensation for inconvenience but compensation for their horrible SERVICE.
Their customer relations (according to you) seemed horrible and dragging you along was plain WRONG. I'd take this straight to the top, as high as you can. GM, Mark Templin...if you have to get his attention.
They may have fixed the problem after almost 4 months but the customer service and experience you had to go through was what made it so bad. They need to acknowledge this and correct it through some sort of compensation, not just compensation for inconvenience but compensation for their horrible SERVICE.
01-20-12, 03:31 PM
#115
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
I'd work out a deal to pay a little more fora 2012 ISF exchange.
Their customer relations (according to you) seemed horrible and dragging you along was plain WRONG. I'd take this straight to the top, as high as you can. GM, Mark Templin...if you have to get his attention.
They may have fixed the problem after almost 4 months but the customer service and experience you had to go through was what made it so bad. They need to acknowledge this and correct it through some sort of compensation, not just compensation for inconvenience but compensation for their horrible SERVICE.
Their customer relations (according to you) seemed horrible and dragging you along was plain WRONG. I'd take this straight to the top, as high as you can. GM, Mark Templin...if you have to get his attention.
They may have fixed the problem after almost 4 months but the customer service and experience you had to go through was what made it so bad. They need to acknowledge this and correct it through some sort of compensation, not just compensation for inconvenience but compensation for their horrible SERVICE.
I have blogged, tweeted, facebooked, etc. direct mailed, emailed and called. No response, everything gets forwarded to the same one person Myra Garcia and she is pleasant and polite but gives no information and seems to not have any authority to provide compensation. All they talk about is "make you whole" "without enriching". So essentially all they claim to be on the hook for is exactly the amount of dollars spent on the vehicle and they refuse to offer anything additional for my inconvenience as that would be "enriching".
Until my wife's car was totaled last week and I had to buy her a new one on Tuesday this might have been an option. Now I'm needing a cash neutral solution.
Last edited by UCrazyKid; 01-20-12 at 03:41 PM.
01-20-12, 04:14 PM
#116
It's great that your car is fixed, but my takeaway from this is the following:
Lexus cars are great because they are reliable. But if they break down, you are much better of dealing with BMW. Lexus Corporate are a bunch of penny pinchers who will take the cheapest solution even if it means leaving a customer with a crappy loaner for 4 months.
BTW Making you whole would mean paying you back for the difference between the lease rate of an ISF and an IS250 for 4 months. That's $2000 or so on top of the warranty cost.
Lexus cars are great because they are reliable. But if they break down, you are much better of dealing with BMW. Lexus Corporate are a bunch of penny pinchers who will take the cheapest solution even if it means leaving a customer with a crappy loaner for 4 months.
BTW Making you whole would mean paying you back for the difference between the lease rate of an ISF and an IS250 for 4 months. That's $2000 or so on top of the warranty cost.
01-20-12, 06:48 PM
#117
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If they want it in writing, put it in writing. Print this thread, all the information on it, then send it to every single executive in the company. Do it as a bulk mailer and let their mailroom sort it and disburse it to the executives.
In your letter, state that you were expecting a top tier brand to behave in a top tier fashion, and that doesn't mean making you wait and call back, it means they have an urgent need to call you back, lest their reputation be sullied. If you copy every single executive from the CEO down, you'll see results.
I did this for an issue I was having in completing some financing for a project, and let me tell you, personal service doesn't even begin to describe what I received after doing the above. I had personal mobile numbers given to me, people asking for calls back within 30 minutes to confirm I had received their email or voicemail, and the list goes on. People have forgotten how to write these days, and a letter sent in via mail creates a trail that cannot be ignored by anyone or destroyed by a server error. This is the type of thing that TMC does not want to deal with or ever hear about, so make them react to you and take care of you.
If they're willing to buy it back, it should be for the cost of a brand new ISF for all your trouble and patience.
It's good that you're finally able to enjoy the car again, but the stress of the entire ordeal should not be overlooked or downplayed. They fumbled the ball big time.
Big Mack
In your letter, state that you were expecting a top tier brand to behave in a top tier fashion, and that doesn't mean making you wait and call back, it means they have an urgent need to call you back, lest their reputation be sullied. If you copy every single executive from the CEO down, you'll see results.
I did this for an issue I was having in completing some financing for a project, and let me tell you, personal service doesn't even begin to describe what I received after doing the above. I had personal mobile numbers given to me, people asking for calls back within 30 minutes to confirm I had received their email or voicemail, and the list goes on. People have forgotten how to write these days, and a letter sent in via mail creates a trail that cannot be ignored by anyone or destroyed by a server error. This is the type of thing that TMC does not want to deal with or ever hear about, so make them react to you and take care of you.
If they're willing to buy it back, it should be for the cost of a brand new ISF for all your trouble and patience.
It's good that you're finally able to enjoy the car again, but the stress of the entire ordeal should not be overlooked or downplayed. They fumbled the ball big time.
Big Mack
01-20-12, 06:58 PM
#118
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It's great that your car is fixed, but my takeaway from this is the following:
Lexus cars are great because they are reliable. But if they break down, you are much better of dealing with BMW. Lexus Corporate are a bunch of penny pinchers who will take the cheapest solution even if it means leaving a customer with a crappy loaner for 4 months.
BTW Making you whole would mean paying you back for the difference between the lease rate of an ISF and an IS250 for 4 months. That's $2000 or so on top of the warranty cost.
Lexus cars are great because they are reliable. But if they break down, you are much better of dealing with BMW. Lexus Corporate are a bunch of penny pinchers who will take the cheapest solution even if it means leaving a customer with a crappy loaner for 4 months.
BTW Making you whole would mean paying you back for the difference between the lease rate of an ISF and an IS250 for 4 months. That's $2000 or so on top of the warranty cost.
People seem to think a Lexus won't have any issues or they won't have a lemon. Lexus has issues and lemons, the thing is the chances are much rarer compared to the competition. They do exist though.
Same with dealerships, on average a Lexus dealer and the customers experience will be better than most of the competition. However there will be those dealers and experiences which are horrid and bad.
01-20-12, 07:37 PM
#119
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
01-20-12, 09:49 PM
#120
Odd as most would disagree with this. This is one story, there are countless stories here of goodwill done by dealers and Lexus. The bad stories seem to overshadow those.
People seem to think a Lexus won't have any issues or they won't have a lemon. Lexus has issues and lemons, the thing is the chances are much rarer compared to the competition. They do exist though.
Same with dealerships, on average a Lexus dealer and the customers experience will be better than most of the competition. However there will be those dealers and experiences which are horrid and bad.
People seem to think a Lexus won't have any issues or they won't have a lemon. Lexus has issues and lemons, the thing is the chances are much rarer compared to the competition. They do exist though.
Same with dealerships, on average a Lexus dealer and the customers experience will be better than most of the competition. However there will be those dealers and experiences which are horrid and bad.
Lexus refused to give me the updated bushings for my F-Sport sways. I was extremely annoyed they would cause such a fuss after selling me a product which was known to be defective with a published TSIB. I ended up having to pay $150 for parts and labor of my own money to fix problems on a product which I had bought and installed through a Lexus dealer for the first time a week previously. Further I bought these after the updated bushings were released which meAns they were continuing to ship outdated stock to clear inventory when they knew the product was defective. Sewell confirmed this for me.
It's not good enough to occasionally give goodwill to people - or to give goodwill to guys like you who are marked out by Lexus and by Henessy as an opinion leader who must be treated with care. They have to treat everyone like this, othefwise their reputation is only as good as the lowest common denominator.