Jons01

Here is an interesting one. My 1997 ES300 has begun to have problems with the door locks. On occasion the car locks itself and sets off the alarm. You can do the usual, open the door with the key to stop the alarm, however you can not start the car until you lock and unlock the car AGAIN with the key. I called Lexus in Torrance, CA to get information because I thought the starter was disabled for a period of time. Anyway, while I was on the phone with Torrance, I told them all my complaints: Black radio/CD display, broken cupholders, door lock issues, peeling clear coat and broken seatbelt. The lady was very nice and asked what they could do to help. I said that I didn't think they would do anything to help after all it is a 1997. She said if I could get an estimate on the repairs from the dealership, they would see what they could do. Now comes the "liar" part. I called the dealership to find out if they would charge for the estimate. "Matt" said of course not, they did the same thing for another customer. "Just drop in". So today I did. Some service guy listened to my story and made me wait for an hour when some dude comes out with a list of charges - yep get this - FOR THE ESTIMATE. I walked out. These people sell the best car on the planet and yet treat the owners like garbage. Heck I didn't expect help, but they offered. Then this "Matt" lied. Well, there is my gripe for the day. Avoid dealerships at all costs.
Thanks for letting me vent.

imherenow

how much was the estimate. prolly charged by the hour rate? so you didn't pay right?
you know sometimes things happen. Just to be on safe side always ask before going to dealer if there is any charge and double confirm when @ dealership too. i always do that so i know what i am dealing with

BDSL

Maybe you weren't clear to the lady on the phone.
Usually a quick (2-3mins) visual inspection is free.

But if you have a list of compliants (black radio/CD display, broken cupholders, door lock issues, peeling clear coat and broken seatbelt, etc), it would require a mechanic to spend an hour to inspect if they are really broken or just need a simple adjustment.

Nothing is free in this world. Wake up.

canucklehe

ford charged me $300 to tell me my head gasket was blown on my 6.0L diesel engine.

i expected to pay a basic diagnostic, but not quite that much. I haven't taken my 93 es300 to a dealer cuz it will cost more than the car is worth.

there is a lot of overhead to cover at a dealership, that other shops don't have. all the service writers that deal with customers take time/$$ to pay, usually have a tower operator that distributes work to the mechanics so they all get good & bad jobs to work on (like lucrative brake jobs vs. something time consuming and messy that doesn't pay aswell). Then the techs have to be trained...sometimes sent away to do so, to learn intricacies of their various models, and then shop has to have all the specialty tools for each model. plus big shop, many service bays, etc... it all adds up.

not to say the dealerships are perfect, but they do have higher overhead than typical smaller shop where you deal directly with mechanic.

Jons01

I was very clear when asked the service guy "Matt" if there would be any charge for the estimate for the repairs after giving him a complete list of problems. He said NO and that the body shop was just across the street to get the paint quote. Looking at an defective radio display (a subject I found discussed on THIS forum - a given if you own a 97 ES) a cup holder w/ pieces broken off and clear coat peeling off the hood, top and trunk and providing an estimate should be free! (Never heard of a body shop that charged for an estimate to paint) None of these needed to be diagnosed. They verbally told me a couple years back that the radio was $650.00 plus installation and that the cup holder was about $120.00 plus installation. I just needed something in writing for Lexus headquarters to work with. Now when it comes to the door locks, I realize there would be diagnostic work and I didn't really expect that part to be free if they had to tear in to the door to find the problem. Sometimes a mechanic at a dealership has encountered similar issues and has an idea about what the issue might be.

Side note: When I was a kid I owned a 72 Javelin (that was made by now extinct American Motor Company) the engine made a loud ticking noise. I had been to 4 mechanics and spent about $600.00 back in 1975 to no avail. I had been warned to avoid the dealership because the prices were so much higher. Finally in exasperation I went to the dealership. I barely started to explain the problem to the service tech when he jumped in. "Oh, yeah, it is the rocker arm assemblies, they go bad in these cars". I paid them to fix it. The AMC tech knew the issue, no diagnosis, just repair. Not that it is always that easy, but it taught me that often the dealership might know something that the average mechanic was not familiar with.

So, no I did not pay for the estimate. I said that Matt had said there would be no charge. Matt was in the office, but did not come out of hiding. Too bad. Someday I will be buying a new Lexus and this dealership has lost my business.

Heck, I live 25 miles from almost any "service" and can get free estimates to paint my house, replace or repair my furnace & heat pump or build a fence. Actually, I have never paid for an estimate for anything except true diagnostic work on my car. Which makes sense because there is actual work involved.

rlx101

you go to dealership ONLY when its free under warranty. Going for anything else is unnecessary waste of money. There is almost nothing that a good independent mechanic can't do for much less.

Now to your problems -

Black radio/CD display - LCD display is a toast - get an after market unit and get it installed yourself of independent car audio shop;

Broken cup holders - are you serious? Ebay is your friend, do this yourself.

Door lock issues - car audio/alarm shop may help you with these;

Peeling clear coat - it is 16 year old car...

Broken seatbelt - should be easy DIY fix.


Honestly, all these are small items. It looks though like you are not a DIY type,may be it is good time to learn?