jboomznh

Hi all,
New to the forums, did some searching but could not find the info I was looking for.

Placed an order deposit on a 2016 ES 350. I have the VIN and order sheet. Production date is scheduled for March 30th. Dealer is saying delivery late April early May, does that sound about right?

What have others experienced for delivery time ?

Note: Manufactured in KY - Dealership located East Coast - NH

Thanks!

bc6152

Sounds pretty good to me. My car came from Japan and took a long time. You're looking at just about one month from being built to delivery. Post some pix when you get it and welcome to CL.

jollick

Since the ES350 is now built in the USA, it sounds reasonable. I special ordered my 2013 ES300h and it took 4 months which is the average for a special ordered hybrid ES since they are made in Japan.

Brn2fish

Placed deposit on February 16th. So far waiting for a production date.
In my understanding, there are no defined timeframes since all depending on dealers allocation.
Estimated delivery in May.
I wish Lexus would have a better tracking system.

jboomznh

Thanks for the info. My vehicle was secured on February 25th dealership does allocations twice a month. I agree on the need for better tracking, it would keep impatient people like me from pestering their sales guy ever two weeks. Lol.

Anyone know how the ES produced in KY is shipped?

I found info on a Toyota forum (that may or may not be accurate) regarding Avalon/Camrys that are also produced at the KY plant that they are shipped from factory by rail to a vehicle processing center like Port of NJ, then trucked to dealership, but could not find any firm info on the Lexus ES.

Wonder if it would be possible to track by vin through which ever rail service is being used...

StevenTodd

I ordered a ES350 on 15 January 2016. It has now been 8 weeks and have heard nothing from the Salesman. I am not impressed with the service I am getting from the Lexus dealership I ordered the car from.


My brother ordered a 2016 Camaro a week before I ordered my ES350 and the Chevy salesman provided him with status updates during the entire time. He updated him on the date the car was scheduled to go into production, when the car came out of production, and when the car was scheduled to be shipped to the dealership. I also got status updates on my previous cars I had ordered from Lincoln.


This is my first Lexus and the way things are going it will be the last time I will order a car from this dealership. I am about ready to cancel the order although it will mean losing my deposit. Pretty pathetic you get better service from a Chevy dealership than from Lexus.

Brn2fish

I am not very excited about Kuni Lexus of Greenwood Village Sales Department.
My reasons why I am getting another Lexus is that I know the guy for many years and I promised if I going to get Lexus, will buy from him, secondly, the dealership is two miles away from my home and the most importantly - their service. It is way above and beyond any highest expectations. For more than 12 years of owning my current Lexus we became not just friends, but more like relatives. I LOVE my Service Advisor!
But unfortunately, everything else sucks...

Mike728

I haven't special ordered a car since the '90's, but some of the issues may be due to a couple things. First, it's the first Lexus being built in the states. Because of this, I'm sure there are several kinks needed to be worked out with the process. Not just on the factory side with quality issues, but also on the dealer's end.

That said, they should be bending over backwards to at least keep you informed with what they do know. I'm sure they would rather sell ready made ES's, but you're still a paying customer. Have you contacted your salesman to ask for an update? If he's no help, go higher up the chain. If that fails, demand your deposit back and move on.

jboomznh

I would definitely call your sales person to get an update. I would be very surprised if they did not have more info for you after 8 weeks.
Let us know how it turns out.....

cmy1991zr1

The only reference point I can provide is based on my 2015 ES 350. It came off the assembly line in Japan on February 2nd and arrived at the dealer in Kansas on March 21st. Your production to delivery time may be different if the ES 350s are now being built in U.S.

Brn2fish

Just got a word from my salesperson that Lexus has accepted my order (?). Deposit placed on February 16th. Order placed inside March 18th dealers allocation. Production date should be communicated to me shortly (?).
With Kentucky manufacturing for ES models, I would imagine that car will arrive faster.

Dave Mac

I special ordered my last three ES's and found the experience very good. In my case the order had to be in to Lexus by the 17th of the month and within about a month they were able to give me a production date, projected shipment and delivery date which proved to be pretty accurate. The cars took from an astounding 63 days to a more average 94 days and I found the time from production to me about 35 days even though both were arriving near holidays - Thanksgiving and this time Dec. 24th. With the first two I even received the shipping "Vessel Name" and was able to track it across the ocean - fun but it didn't make it go any faster. With KY built cars this should all change and I haven't talked to anyone who has received a special ordered KY ES.

I have heard of special orders taking longer and have considered my experience to be fortunate. I think there is only one "order by" date a month so if you happen to miss that date it could very well add a month to the process right away.

Dave Mac

StevenTodd

I would be interested in when you take delivery. I placed my order on 15 January. It has now been 10 weeks and have heard nothing from the dealer. No update status at all. I refuse to contact the Sales Associate or the dealership as they have done nothing for me since Day 1.


When I ordered the car I asked about getting a full size spare tire instead of the temporary tire since the 2016 ES Specification Sheet I downloaded from the Internet said that was an option. He said he would check on it and get back with me as he did not think ordering a full size spare tire was an option. Never got back with me. I had to call him back to find out the status only to be told you could not order the car with a full size spare tire.


At the time I ordered the car I told him if a full size spare was not an option then I was willing to pay extra to get a full size rim and tire and have the dealership swap the temporary tire out for the full size tire at the time of delivery. Never got an answer back on that either.


I will never buy another car from this dealership (Lexus of Dayton OH). Never received such poor service in my life. I have ordered 3 cars during my lifetime from a Ford dealership and they always have provided me updated status during the ordering process. My brother ordered a 2016 Camaro two weeks before I ordered my Lexus and his salesman provided him with the scheduled production date, the date it came out of production, and the delivery date. Pretty pathetic one gets this type of service from a Chevy dealership and not from a Lexus dealership.

Dave Mac

Yes, your dealer should and can provide you much more information on your order. Mine has always been great and it most recently enabled me to stop the installation of a bunch of port-installed-options that I didn't want. I'm pretty sure a full size spare cannot be ordered on the current ES model like it was in the past and I'm not even sure a full size spare will fit in the tire well in the trunk. There was a discussion of this earlier on this forum. I haven't tried it but just looking at it would make me think it won't fit so I would not purchase the very expensive full size spare until you check it out. I always like the full size spare option and it was an unusually low priced option when compared to the cost of buying a new wheel and tire.

Your dealer should be treating you better and should or does know the answer to the full size spare question but is not giving it to you.

Dave Mac

bc6152

I would bet that if you pursued these questions and went to a sales manager you'd get answers.
Lexus buyers are not a dime a dozen and generally, dealers like to keep them and make sure they're happy. I, for one, would not accept such poor service and would definitely escalate to a management level person. Even an email to the General Manager works wonders. I did this and received a call the same day.... And this was for a KIA.