The screwup saga continues... I got my car back from Lexus
04-17-08, 02:48 AM
#1
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
The screwup saga continues... I got my car back from Lexus
Forgive me if this isn't in the best of wording. It's late, I'm tired but mad enough I had to write this.
OK, you heard most of my issues about me and the Hawaii Lexus dealer. It seems EVERY time I bring the car in, something else happens.
The last one was where I brought my car in for the 10k, replace a button (I emailed them a picture of the button in the car so they could order the part), fix my driving light aim, and a few other minor things. I took a loaner. It took two days I think. They didn't order the button ahead of time. They say they never got the picture. So I have to come back. My lights are still angled wrong. But forget it. I give up on the lights. Now the bad part, if having my car for 2 days and only doing the 10k checkup wasn't bad enough...
They chipped the paint on my hood. The chip goes around the lip of the hood and a bit under the hood, it was hard for them to say it was a rock. Looks like they left a tool under the hood and closed closed it. They agreed to fix it. And the manager was nice, and agreed to fix a small nick in the bumper while they are at it. Ok fine. Augh.
Two weeks later, button comes in. I have them do that and the hood and for some reason I have air coming out of my front vents even though I selected feet area only. So I have them check that too. I get another loaner. This time they have my car for a WEEK. K. Fine. I have a loaner.
I drive down in traffic after work to get the car. BTW, I have to drive down EVERY time to Lexus in traffic because I finish work at 4pm. Crap. Takes like an hour on the road. I'm not happy. Keep in mind, for you mainland guys, this is nothing. For me, I drive 15minutes at most to get to work. And on none busy days, I can get to town in about 25minutes. So 1 hour in stop and go traffic makes me car sick. Really.
I tell them are you sure its fixed? I dont want to drive in traffic. Yup. Gives me my keys. He says the air con is working correctly. Its supposed to blow some air even if selecting feet. Really? Makes no sense. The arrow points to feet, yet air in my face? He shows me the paper from the tech manual stating where the air should come out from. The manager is standing there. I'm reading it. It says it'll blow air from the feet area and some air from top center defroster vent, and side defroster vent. Ok, where does it say it blows air from the center air vents and side vents? I show him how it blows the air. He tells me its only a little air. Its supposed to be like that. All the vents are connected. Don't worry about it. Just close the airvents. To tired to argue with the manager. That's not what the paper says. I don't care that even the loaner IS250 did it. At this point, I would've rather just heard him say, I dunno. Other cars does it. I'll cehck with Lexus and get back to you. No. Instead he goes on that only a little air comes out. And its normal. Whatever... I get ready to leave.
I go under something like a overpass and my auto headlights goes on. Hmm. Fog light burnt out? Aww crap! Sure, it does this when they have my car. K. A bulb can blow anytime. Not their fault... Even though its a new bulb and only a few months old. I replaced the OEM with a pair of $90 white bulbs. Doh! What a waist of money. I pull over to look. The foglight casing isn't on completly. Looks like its not attached all the way. Hmm. I bet its either not hooked up, or water got in it when they washed the car. I'm abut 5minutes away from the dealer. I ain't coming back AGAIN. I drive back to the dealer. Its 6pm now. I'm mad. I explain it to the manager. I show him a gs350 on his lot that had a proper fitting housing. He's mumbling under his breath but takes the car to the back to look at it. By 7pm he comes out smiling saying that the wiring harness for the foglight wasn't attached. And that its all fine now. He even fit back the casing. He said the black plastic wasn't part of the foglight housing, just a piece of plastic for decoration that wasn't attached nicly. He shows it to me. On one foglight it is on correctly. The black plastic fits behind the clear front reflector. Hmm, the other foglight isn't fitted. He said thats as far as it'll go. That's normal not to worry. I try and push the point, why if one side fits, why not the other? He says its fine. The black plastic is a there for looks. and not actually part of the foglight housing. No water will get in, its just a side piece of plastic so you don't see behind the foglight assembly. Dont worry, its fine. Too tired to push the point. I say ok fine. I put my hand on the hood...
What this I feel? Feels like lemon peeling from the front fender?? He feels it. It looks like clearcoat or something on the paint. But wouldn't they remove the hood, then spray it? Even the bumper would need to come off to fix the little ding, which now that I think about it, is why my foglight wasn't attached. He said if I leave the car he'll buff it out. Forget it. I'll do it. I'm not leaving my car here again.
I get home and check the whole car in my carage. THE WHOLE FREAKING CAR is covered with overspray (where it feels like a fine layer of dirt, but doesn't wash off). I get out my old clay bar. Sure enough, light rubbing it removed the oversrpay. But not water and cleaner alone. It's even on all the windows. My front wipers makes noise now. Sounds like a "shushing" sound like your hand moving on sandpaper. What kind of crap place did Lexus take my car to be painted.
OK, you heard most of my issues about me and the Hawaii Lexus dealer. It seems EVERY time I bring the car in, something else happens.
The last one was where I brought my car in for the 10k, replace a button (I emailed them a picture of the button in the car so they could order the part), fix my driving light aim, and a few other minor things. I took a loaner. It took two days I think. They didn't order the button ahead of time. They say they never got the picture. So I have to come back. My lights are still angled wrong. But forget it. I give up on the lights. Now the bad part, if having my car for 2 days and only doing the 10k checkup wasn't bad enough...
They chipped the paint on my hood. The chip goes around the lip of the hood and a bit under the hood, it was hard for them to say it was a rock. Looks like they left a tool under the hood and closed closed it. They agreed to fix it. And the manager was nice, and agreed to fix a small nick in the bumper while they are at it. Ok fine. Augh.
Two weeks later, button comes in. I have them do that and the hood and for some reason I have air coming out of my front vents even though I selected feet area only. So I have them check that too. I get another loaner. This time they have my car for a WEEK. K. Fine. I have a loaner.
I drive down in traffic after work to get the car. BTW, I have to drive down EVERY time to Lexus in traffic because I finish work at 4pm. Crap. Takes like an hour on the road. I'm not happy. Keep in mind, for you mainland guys, this is nothing. For me, I drive 15minutes at most to get to work. And on none busy days, I can get to town in about 25minutes. So 1 hour in stop and go traffic makes me car sick. Really.
I tell them are you sure its fixed? I dont want to drive in traffic. Yup. Gives me my keys. He says the air con is working correctly. Its supposed to blow some air even if selecting feet. Really? Makes no sense. The arrow points to feet, yet air in my face? He shows me the paper from the tech manual stating where the air should come out from. The manager is standing there. I'm reading it. It says it'll blow air from the feet area and some air from top center defroster vent, and side defroster vent. Ok, where does it say it blows air from the center air vents and side vents? I show him how it blows the air. He tells me its only a little air. Its supposed to be like that. All the vents are connected. Don't worry about it. Just close the airvents. To tired to argue with the manager. That's not what the paper says. I don't care that even the loaner IS250 did it. At this point, I would've rather just heard him say, I dunno. Other cars does it. I'll cehck with Lexus and get back to you. No. Instead he goes on that only a little air comes out. And its normal. Whatever... I get ready to leave.
I go under something like a overpass and my auto headlights goes on. Hmm. Fog light burnt out? Aww crap! Sure, it does this when they have my car. K. A bulb can blow anytime. Not their fault... Even though its a new bulb and only a few months old. I replaced the OEM with a pair of $90 white bulbs. Doh! What a waist of money. I pull over to look. The foglight casing isn't on completly. Looks like its not attached all the way. Hmm. I bet its either not hooked up, or water got in it when they washed the car. I'm abut 5minutes away from the dealer. I ain't coming back AGAIN. I drive back to the dealer. Its 6pm now. I'm mad. I explain it to the manager. I show him a gs350 on his lot that had a proper fitting housing. He's mumbling under his breath but takes the car to the back to look at it. By 7pm he comes out smiling saying that the wiring harness for the foglight wasn't attached. And that its all fine now. He even fit back the casing. He said the black plastic wasn't part of the foglight housing, just a piece of plastic for decoration that wasn't attached nicly. He shows it to me. On one foglight it is on correctly. The black plastic fits behind the clear front reflector. Hmm, the other foglight isn't fitted. He said thats as far as it'll go. That's normal not to worry. I try and push the point, why if one side fits, why not the other? He says its fine. The black plastic is a there for looks. and not actually part of the foglight housing. No water will get in, its just a side piece of plastic so you don't see behind the foglight assembly. Dont worry, its fine. Too tired to push the point. I say ok fine. I put my hand on the hood...
What this I feel? Feels like lemon peeling from the front fender?? He feels it. It looks like clearcoat or something on the paint. But wouldn't they remove the hood, then spray it? Even the bumper would need to come off to fix the little ding, which now that I think about it, is why my foglight wasn't attached. He said if I leave the car he'll buff it out. Forget it. I'll do it. I'm not leaving my car here again.
I get home and check the whole car in my carage. THE WHOLE FREAKING CAR is covered with overspray (where it feels like a fine layer of dirt, but doesn't wash off). I get out my old clay bar. Sure enough, light rubbing it removed the oversrpay. But not water and cleaner alone. It's even on all the windows. My front wipers makes noise now. Sounds like a "shushing" sound like your hand moving on sandpaper. What kind of crap place did Lexus take my car to be painted.
Last edited by starstreak; 04-17-08 at 03:04 AM.
04-17-08, 03:18 AM
#2
dang, sorry to hear about all that man. I had the same problem out here with a body shop that did some minor touch up work and i have overspray as well. i didn't notice it until MONTHS later. 
thankfully it will get clay bar'd in the next couple of weeks. 
if i were you, i'd have the dealer take care of it again. of course - it's a pain to deal with the dealership but this time i'd talk with the general manager of the entire dealership and let him know you'll be reporting the entire incident to corporate.
dealerships charge top dollar for service after a warranty expires and they always promise to do top quality work to earn that business. as a consumer, it's your responsibility to remind them of that mentality when they screw up and to call them out on their BS.
of course - bringing up this issue in a not so public manner so other customers can overhear the dealership's failure to provide proper attention to your vehicle helps convince them to just shut up and fix the problems and will raise the awareness of your issue to the higher ranks at the dealership. (run on sentences rule!)
thankfully it will get clay bar'd in the next couple of weeks. if i were you, i'd have the dealer take care of it again. of course - it's a pain to deal with the dealership but this time i'd talk with the general manager of the entire dealership and let him know you'll be reporting the entire incident to corporate.
dealerships charge top dollar for service after a warranty expires and they always promise to do top quality work to earn that business. as a consumer, it's your responsibility to remind them of that mentality when they screw up and to call them out on their BS.
of course - bringing up this issue in a not so public manner so other customers can overhear the dealership's failure to provide proper attention to your vehicle helps convince them to just shut up and fix the problems and will raise the awareness of your issue to the higher ranks at the dealership. (run on sentences rule!)
04-17-08, 09:02 AM
#5
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And most of their contracted bodyshops sucks!!! Don't ever take your car to the dealer for any sort of bodywork. They charged me 250 for a detail and came out that only the rear half of the car was detailed. It was such a waste of money. As far as that black piece by the fog light assembly you were talking about in your short story, I think that's a piece that collects air to the front brakes for cooling.
04-17-08, 09:19 AM
#7
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I bet they used a bumper repair guy to fix the chips. I have had this done in the past on a Toyota Camry and my BMW 745Li and they do an amazing job. You would never know it was resprayed let alone a touch up respray or a spot repair. Believe me, I am VERY meticulous and saw no evidence of a paint repair. That said, it's a very low tech thing. Dealerships have a bumper repair specialist come out and respray the car in the parking lot. Yes, I said PARKING LOT! These guys are just like the dent repair guys or the wheel repair guys, they are mobile and do their jobs onsite. They tape off a couple of areas on your car and basically spot repair the paint using a compressor setup mounted on a mobile truck or van. It costs the dealership about $100 for the whole job and if you were to pay directly it would be around $140-200.
So basically when all is said and done, your car will be covered with clearcoat overspray from your job and from the other cars that he did near your car. I drove up to pick up my car and my jaw just about hit the floor when I saw the guy doing this in a dusty parking lot with the wind blowing! He was respraying the entire front bumper on a brand new black Cayenne!
Anyways, don't worry about it. As long as you removed the overspray with a clay bar, you will be fine but speak to your dealership and make sure they acknowledge that this repair may not hold up over time and you will hold them accountable if it doesn't. BUT, it sounds like you are already having trouble with them so maybe this is a case of "pick your battles". I have seen dealerships refuse service to difficult customers. I am not implying that you are difficult or unreasonable but if the dealership feels like they are bending over backwards for you and getting nowhere you will ultimately be SOL when you need service in the future. YMMV and all that.
So basically when all is said and done, your car will be covered with clearcoat overspray from your job and from the other cars that he did near your car. I drove up to pick up my car and my jaw just about hit the floor when I saw the guy doing this in a dusty parking lot with the wind blowing! He was respraying the entire front bumper on a brand new black Cayenne!
Anyways, don't worry about it. As long as you removed the overspray with a clay bar, you will be fine but speak to your dealership and make sure they acknowledge that this repair may not hold up over time and you will hold them accountable if it doesn't. BUT, it sounds like you are already having trouble with them so maybe this is a case of "pick your battles". I have seen dealerships refuse service to difficult customers. I am not implying that you are difficult or unreasonable but if the dealership feels like they are bending over backwards for you and getting nowhere you will ultimately be SOL when you need service in the future. YMMV and all that.
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04-17-08, 10:37 AM
#8
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
This part is not aimed at 2thfixr. I just want to be fair. At no time (this time) was the dealership rude. But I did think the manger was trying to brush off what was happening. At no time did I raise my voice, swear or raise my fist in anger.lol. Near did the manager.
2thfixr- I was wondering how they did it. I'm guessing they took it to a bodyshop. Only reason why I say that is it looks like they repainted the whole bumper. They must've took it off. Would explain how the foglight assembly got screwed up and the wiring harness wasn't reconnected. Also, the edges of the hood (and I dont remember if it was like this before) is bumpy, not smooth around most of the edges. Like they redid the whole hood?
Yeah. I'm just bummed that the car "feels" like a 6 year old car paintjob. I'm not sure how I want this handled. Its funny. Sorta. The 10k maintanance was "free" because of issues that happend during my 5k. Looks like I didn't save anything.
2thfixr- I was wondering how they did it. I'm guessing they took it to a bodyshop. Only reason why I say that is it looks like they repainted the whole bumper. They must've took it off. Would explain how the foglight assembly got screwed up and the wiring harness wasn't reconnected. Also, the edges of the hood (and I dont remember if it was like this before) is bumpy, not smooth around most of the edges. Like they redid the whole hood?
Yeah. I'm just bummed that the car "feels" like a 6 year old car paintjob. I'm not sure how I want this handled. Its funny. Sorta. The 10k maintanance was "free" because of issues that happend during my 5k. Looks like I didn't save anything.
Last edited by starstreak; 04-17-08 at 10:50 AM.
04-17-08, 10:52 AM
#9
And most of their contracted bodyshops sucks!!! Don't ever take your car to the dealer for any sort of bodywork. They charged me 250 for a detail and came out that only the rear half of the car was detailed. It was such a waste of money. As far as that black piece by the fog light assembly you were talking about in your short story, I think that's a piece that collects air to the front brakes for cooling.
Yeah, come to think of it, I believe you're right. In an ideal world, the OP would get a quote elsewhere and have the dealership foot the tab. but then again, ideally, this wouldn't have ever happened.
04-17-08, 11:05 AM
#10
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
And I bet after all of this with my foglights, I bet they are angled wrong from the "repair" job to get the wiring and fitting of the casing back into the bumper. 
Last edited by starstreak; 04-17-08 at 11:08 AM.
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