Zeus69

iTrader: (1)

My friend and I bought our respective new cars around the same time (three-four weeks ago). I got the decked-out IS350; he went with the BMW 328i Sport. We each love our cars and wouldn't trade places (though I think he's jealous of my Levinson, keyless entry/start and 18s).

The glaring difference so far has to do with customer service. To wit--

When I bought my car, I knew I would be getting summer tires with the package I chose. I ordered a wheel/tire set from Tire Rack and had it delivered to my home (because dealership told me liability issues precludes them from accepting drop shipments). I could have drop-shipped to a local Tires R Us establishment, but a prior bad experience prevented me from doing so. Plus, as a new local customer, Lexus said they would "take care of me". So I received my shipment and took it to the dealer myself in my wife's SUV .

First problem arose when the service department became short-staffed due to injury and illness. Not their fault, understood, but it delayed my scheduled appointment slot to swap the wheels. I'm in the midwest and the weather rarely cooperates this time of year. My concern was snow/slush and the summer tread--an absolute NO GO! To alleviate concern, my saleperson assured me that they would provide a loaner if the weather became a problem prior to my scheduled appointment. I was sympathetic to their staffing misfortunes, so I felt this to be adequate appeasement. Sure enough, last week, almost four inches of snow hit the ground. In anticipation, I called my salesperson, reminded them of our loaner arrangement, and was dismayed at the "pushback" I received when he brought it up with the general manager. The manager that was working that day was not involved in the original discussions and claimed such an arrangement is not part of the loaner policy. I'm pretty level headed, but I essentially ear-f****d my salesperson into calling the owner of the place (who was on vacation out of state) to clear up the misunderstanding. Got into a loaner eventually, but never felt so frustrated and second-rate. My install is scheduled for this week and weather has cleared but I'm still keeping the loaner to let my car "rest" in the garage . After they switch wheels, I will have to use my wife's SUV to once again take the stocks home for storage (my dealership stopped storing wheels/tires, again due to "liability" concerns).

On the flip side, my friend's BMW experience has been a bit more seamless. Going with a Sport package, he also ordered a winter wheel/tire set. He processed the order online, texted his salesperson, and BMW took over. They arranged for delivery to the local service department, notified him when it arrived, drove a loaner out to his workplace, picked up his car, swapped the wheels, washed the vehicle and returned the car to its same parking spot the same day. They are also storing his stock rims/tires free of charge.

Pretty pain free and seamless if you ask me. Just like pushing the Staple's "EASY" button. As an added perk since purchasing the car, his salesperson comes by once a week, drops off a loaner, and takes his vehicle for a complimentary wash and vacuum. To boot, she's a six foot brunette who could moonlight as a catalog model. WTF?!? It's not like he bought an M6 or something...

Now, again, this is just a vent. I tend to get over things like this pretty quickly. I FAR prefer my 350 to his 328. But that two premium marques, with dealerships literally a 1/4 mile from one another and an overlapping target demographic, would present such disparate service experiences so early on just makes me frustrated. Not likely too much I can do about it, but no harm in sharing among friends .

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

so what dealer was this? our car is terrible with or with out snow tires. i was thinking of getting some sand tubes to put in the car but i must say im not impressed with the snow tires and see minimal difference even if i drive in snow mode.

sorry to hear about your story. most dealers will not do what they did at BMW, its a risk and liability they take on. maybe the lexus dealer had this bite them in the a** from a previous client so they stopped. i had a BMW and they never picked up my car for any reason. i drove it in for service and my free car wash.

Zeus69

iTrader: (1)

What snow tires do you have? I ordered Dunlop Winter Sport 3Ds. Have read very good things, even for lighter, RWD sporty cars.

Perhaps my friend's local BMW "concierge" service will be short lived. Just bizarre how polar opposite our experiences have been so far. I guess there are other BMW dealerships in close enough range that are cranking up the competition.

Irishman06

I know I'll probably sound like an a-hole, but you can't just swap the wheels and tires yourself? Yea, you'll get the TPMS light until you make it to the dealer, but it'll save you that extra $85/hr labor and the tech with an impact wrench who chronically overtightens lug nuts.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Excellent idea!

oblivionis

iTrader: (2)

I think the idea here is you buy a Lexus you expect the best custumer service out there. From what it sounds like he is not getting anything close to that. I had my car serviced at a dealer once so far and I was not impressed at all. I'm taking it in next week for the fuel pipe recall to a different dealership.... we'll see how they compare.

mikes rx

iTrader: (14)

At least you got a loaner car.

I've gone to my Lexus dealer a few times with different cars UNDER WARRANTY, and have never gotten a loaner car because their policy is no loaner car unless service time is > 3 hours (or maybe it's 2 hours).

Evitzee

Anytime you have a third party involved (tires/wheels from another souce) it increases the communication and liability issues. Your salesman overstepped his authority by agreeing to a loaner, but Lexus should stand by the agreement. But you can't fault them being short handed over the Xmas break, or the fact it snowed, or you had to schlep the tires/wheels yourself. What's done is done, but you probably wasted some goodwill by pushing so hard to get a loaner. I would have saved the ammo for when you really need somebody to go to bat for you. Swapping snow tires wouldn't be my battle. Now you have made enemies there, both your salesperson as well as the owner.

Giggity

Wow, almost speachless, some people expect an awful lot from the dealership.
Come to think of it, now I'm pissed that the dealership did not offer me a complimentary escort to pleasure me while I drove the loaner car when I had my last oil change?!?!?!?

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

Wow that's pretty cool, I've never heard of such great customer service before. I have to drive in for a free car wash.

gengar

Based on my roommate's 328 and 335i experience so far, I can't imagine any BMW dealership doing any of these. In fact, it's usually been the opposite. He's still a die-hard BMWhead though.

As for your problem, I would simply tell it like it is on the customer satisfaction survey. That's what's most important to the dealerships in terms of maintaining their service rating. Good service departments always act scared of them; maybe this dealership isn't scared enough.

At the same time, I tend to agree with Evitzee that a loaner wasn't worth fighting so hard over. Even if a salesman agreed to provide you with a loaner (which was a big mistake, and one you probably should have realized at the time ), the bottom line is that the weather is not under the dealership's control and your choice not to drive your vehicle in certain weather is your decision. Furthermore, a dealership can't give you what they don't have. My current dealership has never failed to get me a loaner when agreed, but they are almost always completely booked on loaners - so I'm a bit more understanding when they aren't available (for example, for shorter maintenances).

This is pretty typical among dealerships. I don't get a loaner without a major maintenance. The BMW dealership my roommate goes to doesn't give loaners unless it's a scheduled overnight maintenance. Luckily for him, I don't mind playing taxi.

Rehab_Pain

i drove in snow this year without winter tires and i darn near killed myself 3-4 times. I had to go 20 miles an hour or under just to get home. I bought winter tires and the ride is ten times better. The rears kick out every now and then, but the fronts are like glue. I wish some one would take my car from work and wash it and vacuum it, but that is asking a bit much. as for changing your tires, you should do it yourself that way you don't get any mysterious scratches in the paint or stains in the interior.

mikes rx

iTrader: (14)

I wouldn't have an issue with it, except for the fact that my local Ford dealer treats me better, even for more frivolous items (ie- oil changes, simple warranty work, etc).

Regardless of the make of vehicle, any time a vehicle gets serviced overnight, your warranty usually covers a loaner. It's how the service dept treats you for "simple" service / RECALLS that makes one shine over another.

I don't expect anything from a dealer other than giving me my car back in the condition it arrived sans the issue that it was brought in for. I don't even like it when they wash my car, as I'd rather just do it myself anyway. But, when the lexus dealer is a hassle to go to due to the lack of them (which I knew when purchasing, but the dealer also knows that they're the only one in the area), and then tells you that you must come in for diagnosis, and then come back in for the actual service, it gets annoying, especially when you have to wait because the service manual states that it's just under their "loaner policy time".

And yes, I know that ANY manufacturer's service dept would probably require the same diagnosis and then fix, which is my point. Some lexus dealers treat the customer no different than any other manufacturer, yet their "why you should a Lexus" line makes it seem otherwise.

mikes rx

iTrader: (14)

BTW, the problem in most areas is that there's only one dealership for most "luxury" vehicles in a given area. For example, there may be only ONE bmw, acura, mercedes, or audi dealer in a 50 mile radius.

So...they don't really need to treat you good, because they're all you have for service (although I would hope and suspect they don't do that)

Other makes, such as Ford, Chevy, Honda, etc, usually have MANY dealerships in the same 50 mile radius, therefore they DO have to earn your business, as you could easily go somewhere else.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I guess I'm lucky to have about 10 Lexus dealers in a 50 mile radius.