mmarshall

Chrysler, not that long ago, under Mercedes and Cerebus, was exactly the opposite on warranty repairs, but, since they got bought out by Fiat, customer service improved drastically.


Yes, I know that, but I don't consider 50 miles to be close-in.

SW17LS

Close in compared to where? It's a big metropolitan area. It's easier for me to get to Annapolis or Len Stoler or Towson than it is for me to get to Pohanka for instance. I've bought Lexus vehicles at Rockville, Lindsay in Alexandria, and Annapolis and I've shopped for new cars price comparing at all the local dealers. I'll drive 50 miles for a better deal. Would I drive 50 miles to service it? Probably not. In which case there are really only two dealers that are a reasonable distance for me for service, Silver Spring and Rockville.

When I bought Lexus vehicles from Alexandria and Annapolis both offered to give me pick up and drop off service so I could use their service given my distance.

All these dealers are competitors for each other.

LexBob2

There are 9 Lexus dealers within 50 miles of me. I'd go 50 miles to purchase if the savings warranted. I wouldn't go that far for service though. 20-30 miles would be my limit but I'd prefer the two closest to me.

SW17LS

Yeah and that's the situation here. Other than Rockville which is who I'm discussing here, and Silver Spring, all the dealers are 30-50 miles from me.

mmarshall

I know opinions vary on that, but I'd consider close-in to be within 20-30 miles. With me, that basically leaves Pohanka and Lindsay. And I don't like Pohanka's management...never did (that's where I bought my 1Gen IS).

SW17LS

20-30 miles precludes Pohanka and Lindsay for me, and we're still in the same metropolitan area that's my point.

Yeah I'm not a fan of Pohanka at all. They won't give price quotes, and sorry I'm not going to drive 40 miles one way based on your promise to make it "worth my while". We were out there one time shopping for the 03 ES, back then I was only 23 years old, but I've always been a serious person even when I was young, and this salesman kept trying to bridge a generation gap that didn't exist. He left me a voicemail that he enjoyed "rappin with me" lol. Not so much with the reading your customer.

Lindsay in Alexandria is a great dealer. I bought the 2010 ES there, and my dad bought his 98 LS and his 04 LS there. The guy that was there for his LS's is gone, but the guy I bought the ES from is still there. He didn't have the car I wanted when I got the GS or the LS460 or I would have bought it from him (they had just swapped my LS460 to Rockville). My business partner bought his 15 GS from him. The sales side of the dealer is older but nice, they have a beautiful service center that is actually at another location from the sales dealer entirely. Great small waiting rooms, fireplaces, big windows that look out at the service bays. Great store. Indoor service greeting lane.

Rockville has been okay. Aside from this loaner thing, they haven't followed through on some warranty things. I had all those issues with my LS and the nav freezing and they had it for 2 weeks right after I got it, damaged the console afterwards and had to repair that, damaged the bumper and had to repair that, and the radio thing wound up to not be anything that required the repair they were doing all along, instead was a simple SD card so all of it was for nothing. They offered me nothing in return for what they put my brand new vehicle through...even the sales manager expressed his surprise that they never offered me anything.

Everybody there seems genuine, salespeople I've dealt with, my service guy, and the sales management but somewhere further up the chain they seem handcuffed to really step up for customers.

patgilm

I've never dealt with Lexus of Rockville but have dealt with Towson, Owings Mills, Alexandria, Annapolis, Silver Spring and Pohanka in Chantilly. Bought from Towson, Owings Mills and Alexandria. Annapolis is the closest to me and where I get service, plus a friend of mine is my service advisor, but the sales experience isn't great. Silver Spring tried a bait and switch on me after I gave them a deposit but that was years ago and they have gotten better. I actually had a good experience at Pohanka but didn't buy from there. I just leased an IS350 f-sport and looked at all of these dealers. None would give me exact numbers, I would have to come to each dealer and when I did they would give me a range on the lease payment or tried to pull fast ones like I didn't know the lease incentives or what the cars were selling for this month. Since we bought our GX from Alexandria a few years ago (and my friend knows the COO well at this dealer group) I called our salesman and he gave me he cheapest quote right away over the phone with no negotiation since I knew it was a good price because I backed into the payment. Even after I told other dealers what I could get the exact car for they played games even though they had the car in stock I wanted. I stayed loyal and leased from Lindsay even though it took a couple days to get the car. Only downside is that it is a terrible drive for me to get there due to DC traffic, it was awful.

SW17LS

Alexandria is a stand up place, always give a quote, good quote. Rockville you need to get to the e sales manager, his name is Kirby. Or go straight to one of the sales managers for a good quote over email. I think I'm going to use my independent mechanic for maintenance and use Alexandria for warranty work.

I I bought my 03 ES from Annapolis and the process was fine, long time ago though. Silver Spring had done a bait and switch on me too for that car (they had swapped interior colors on a requisition order). They were $500 cheaper than Annapolis but Annapolis knew by looking at the allocations that Silver Spring wouldn't be able to deliver the car I wanted because they had the last one for that model year in their allocation. When I went back to her not only had she reserved the car for me knowing I'd be back, but they offered to split the $500 with me which they totally had no reason to do.

When i I was shopping for the LS460 I had contacted them but they wouldn't give me a quote on a new one, they kept trying to sell me a GM demo LS460L which I didn't want.

The new Annapols facility is nice. They were still down on Riva Rd near Edgewater when I bought that ES in 03.

SW17LS

So, coming back around to this. Came out to the car this morning to find a flat tire. Big screw in it. Seeing that I had a busy day, I figured I would take it over to Lexus of Rockville and have the tire patched and get a loaner so I could just continue on my way as opposed to taking it to my independent guy (who I've been using since this came up last year, have not been back to the dealer).

So, I called to make sure they would have a loaner, my partner was in for the same issue a couple weeks ago with his GS and they were out. The woman on the phone told me that while they did have loaners available that I could not have a loaner for that service, I would have to wait. My normal service guy wasn't there. Sorry, I'm not paying $70 for a tire plug (I know thats what they charge, I've paid it) and sitting around the dealer for 3 hours (I know thats how long it takes, I've waited), I'll pay $70 happily if I can go about my day while its being done. No go.

So, I called Lexus of Silver Spring, a place I haven't been in probably 10+ years for service. Very accommodating, happy to give me a loaner. I got there, they got me all set up. No loaner fee, free tank of gas, and an EZ Pass so I could drive on the toll road that runs right through there, toll courtesy of them. Top it off? $40 to patch the tire vs $70. Dealership is one of the original Lexus dealers from 1989, basically unrenovated and quite tired...but thats okay I'm only there for 10 minutes each time.

So, screw Lexus of Rockville lol

JDR76

Glad they took care of you.

The last nail I had I took it to the local tire shop. They fixed it for free while I waited. Took about 20 minutes with no appointment. The Lexus dealer said it would take over an hour. Tire shop works for me!.

Johnhav430

Not sure how many near me because I only consider work and home, and there are only 2. I guess ditto for BMW. But if I opened it up to 50 miles I don't think Lexus would be 9, but BMW would be probably much more than 9.

I have never set foot in the Lexus dealer by my work, but they just ordered touch up paint for me, and said to save me a trip, they'd take my CC and mail it once it arrived, that I would get an automated phone call after 4 business days. Guess what, it happened just as they said! The dealer 3.5 miles from my house said the only way I could get the paint would be to come in person, pay in advance, and then wait and come back to pick it up. Way too many people ask them for the paint and never come back and they get stuck with it. hahahahaha as if it's my problem as a customer?

Again, I have never set foot in the Lexus dealership that is near my work, yet based on their actions, seems like they've got their act together. The one near my house? I don't get it but almost 50% of the time they don't even answer the phone, and it's 2017.

ragingf80

I'd pay $40 for the luxury of a loaner for a tire patch. Luckily I also have a good tire shop near my house that does it for free, it just takes some time when it gets busy. I would never buy a tire from a dealer though, they charge a little more for tires AND for labor. Such a rip off.

Johnhav430

haha we were just down there, shoulda stopped by and had a beer with you! Dunno what it is but I like your area. We ended up staying at the Marriott North Bethesda? The breakfast was a joke, it was upscale and complimentary (we got a check for $42 but they said it's internal). And it cost $76 for the night, they waived the $15 parking. It's right near the convention center. I tried to see what it would be to book in July, and it was $132! Pretty sure the hotel was a straight shot down from the Lexus and BMW dealers in Rockville....

SW17LS

My only issue with tire shops is often they plug tires, I always want the tire dismounted and a patch put through the underside which is what they do at Lexus. Takes a little longer obviously because they have to dismount the tire.

Yeah you were right down by me! I've been to conferences at that Marriott many times. Next time you get down here hit me up!

In other news...they can't find the leak! It had a huge bolt I backed out last night because you could feel it when you drove on it, and it was down to 12lbs this morning from 31 the night before. They sprayed it all with soapy water, nothing. Going to try to put it in a water tank next.

Glad I didn't listen to Rockville and wait!

mmarshall

$40 is a lot more reasonable......especially if they can do a simple plug and not take the tire off the rim, which includes re-mounting and re-balancing.

With all of the debris lying on the roads around here, I've gotten many nails and other punctures over the years (I average about one every 2 years or so....sometimes more or less). I've had many simple plugs done, on a number of different tire brands (Michelin, Continental, Sumitomo, Bridgestone, etc....) and never had a problem with any of them (the last nail-plug I had, I think, was around $20-30). In most cases, with radial tires, you won't have a problem as long as the puncture (or the plug) is below the tire's sidewall, in the tread-groove area....though, with some tires, the tread extends partly up the sidewalls themselves, and they present a different case. If the puncture, however, is up on the side of the tire, on the sidewall, with a radial tire, it's bye-bye tire....there's not much than be done with it other than to recycle it and get a new tire.

In most cases, I'm not convinced that the repair has to be done from the inside...like I said, I've never had a problem with an outside plug, although, in Virginia, you can't legally have two of them on the same tire and still pass State Inspection. (Maryland, of course, doesn't safety-inspect their cars every year). The common perception, now, however, is that inside patches/repairs are better, and some places that formerly did plugs (including my own GM dealer) now take the tire off. IMO it is just an excuse to charge more, although, of course, it is still a cheap repair by today's standards.

One thing that helps today, though, with dismounting the tire......In past years, when wheels/tires were re-balanced, you often had problems with runout (out-of-roundness) in both wheels and tires, and other manufacturing defects (and problems with the balance-machines themselves, like mis-calibration) which could make it difficult to get a perfect balance and smooth roll, without vibrations or shimmies. Today's manufacturing techniques with both wheels and tires are far better than in the past, balance machines are much-better calibrated to give accurate readings where to attach the weights, and it's generally easier to get a good re-mount and re-balance.

I can remember, years ago, tricks like doing a 90-or 180-degree switch on the tire/wheel to try and place the high spot of an out-of-round tire across from the low spot of an out-of-round wheel, balancing out the unevenness, and/or actually putting the tire on a machine that shaves off a small amount of tread so that the outside of the tire is perfectly round. Also, you often had to hunt for a shop that had just calibrated their machines and/or had technicians that knew what they were doing....some of them were basically high school kids with minimal (if any) training. It was often a pain in the a** trying to get a good mount/balance. Fortunately, today, most of those bad old memories are gone.