charlesatl

We talked to corporate yesterday and perhaps we can work this problem out. Corporate has proposed three solutions:

1. We can order the car again and wait three months.

2. They have found a black Lexus which is exactly what we wanted minus the interior.

3. They have other Lexi (plural of lexus I guess) with the ultra luxury package but not in the same color.

So all this is good amazing the dealership would like to us and say that Lexus does not allow the ultra luxury package on this car.

patgilm

Unless you are getting a great deal on the '14 that you are compromising on, might as well wait and order a new one exactly how you want it and it should be a '15 at this point or at least close to it. However, with your wife's situation you may not be able to wait.

caha14

I am glad that corporate appears to have stepped up (to some extent, anyway). Provided that options 2 or 3 are palatable to you, they seem viable, and I believe a complimentary platinum warranty would be warranted for your trouble and for having to settle in terms of color. Again, this is all assuming that you would be willing to pick another color. Echo patgilm's thoughts on the discount as well given the MY change.

In terms of option 1, not sure if that's what you want to do, but patgilm has a point. If you choose this, what I will say (at the risk of stating the obvious) is that the original dealer should not make a dime from you. They clearly messed up, and rather than owning up to their mistake, decided to lie. I cannot stand dealerships like this.

Tee

Looks like you getting some movement from Lexus Corp now you have to decide what will be best for you and the wife, if you pick one the LS's they are offering see if you can get a discount for the 3 month wait for nothing.

charlesatl

Here is a brief update.

Lexus Corp has NOT spoken to us since last Wednesday and they were supposed to call last Thursday with an update.

In the meantime we composed a very polite email to the dealership stating our problems and said perhaps we would take this car if they would give a good discount, extended warranty, leather and paint protector etc and the dealership has NOT responded to our emails.

So it appears that both Lexus HQ and the dealership have given us a big FU.

mbarron37

That's exactly what I would say to Lexus and that dealership a BIG FU. I would not have given that dealership the time of day, but that's me. Too many other good cars out there to put up with their BS. Pisses me off Lexus ***** smells like any other. There was a time when they went above and beyond but that is ancient history. I'm pissed and it isn't even my car. You would think with sales down >22% this year for the LS that they might actually want to sell one. Guess not.

Nospinzone

Charlesatl, I assume you gave the dealership a deposit at the time you special ordered the car. If so I would call them and tell them you are coming in tomorrow to get your deposit back. If anything will get them moving it is having to give back money.

HOWEVER, regardless of what you intend to do, even if it is to accept the car, I would still get my deposit back NOW.

patgilm

I cannot believe how they are handling this situation, both the dealer and corporate. At this point I wouldn't even want to buy from that dealer. How close is the next dealer or how are you with buying out of your state/area. I am sure there are other dealers that would love your business.

charlesatl

Thanks for the advice on the deposit as that is what I intended to do. We live in San Diego so there are other dealers and we are also fine with buying out of state.

What gets me is we have saved up enough to purchase a brand new Lexus with all bells and whistles. You would think a dealer would be so excited to get our business since we can give them cash..but to be treated like dirt by both corporate and the dealership is just stunning.

greg3852

This is mind boggling to me. Again, I am surprised that Lexus doesn't have a PR person on the many forums site who's responsibility is to handle things like this. I am also disappointed in Lexus as I feel for years they have been slowly slipping downhill. This is yet another example of this. Corporate should have been all over this as you have a customer ready to drop around 100K on a vehicle. They should have handled this very very differently.

caha14

I am speechless, though for what it's worth, not entirely surprised as the level of incompetence and entitlement I've encountered at some Lexus dealerships is shocking. On more than one occasion, I have asked myself "why is it so hard to spend my money on a new Lexus?". Mind you, I've only spent a fraction of what you would be paying here, so your situation is that much more egregious.

In terms of corporate, I want to attribute this to a large organization/bureaucracy unintentionally dropping the ball, which is hardly excusable or justifiable; it is just a bit less unacceptable than their tacitly saying "FU". I do hope someone is watching and will snap out of it, because this is ridiculous, and they should take action asap. It is the least I would expect.

This said, I'll reiterate what I said before and others have also stated. Irrespective of the way forward, your current dealer should not get your business. They should be the ones trying to settle with you, not the other way around, and it bothers me that they are showing little-to-no class despite the fact that you've been a complete gentleman throughout the process.

charlesatl

Thank you for your comments. The main reason I am being a complete gentlemen is that if I go to the FU stage then I have nowhere else to go.

I agree with all of you as I expected if I walked in there with cash they would fluff my butt and give me the car I had ordered.

It would have even been better if the dealership would have contacted me and told me my car had come in but for some reason it did NOT have the requested options on it and they are very sorry and they would like to give me a huge discount or just reorder the car. Instead they lie and tell me my car has those options and when I point out it does not they then state Lexus told they those options are not available.....

The corporate handling also sucks.

Nospinzone

I know what you mean, but really as a customer spending $10,000 or $100,000 you should be treated fairly and honestly. And with respect.

Just as an aside, the dealership would prefer you finance through them rather than pay cash. They make a commission on the loan.

Devh

I want to expand on what Nospinzone pointed out. Dealerships these days frown on those that want to pay with cash and they get even more annoyed with when you keep saying your going to pay in cash as if you are tempting them.
Cash in the old days gave you some leverage because they get their money up front which they can use to build quick capital but now their are incentives when borrowing rates are at an all time low for finance companies. This is one area where they can make margins on the deal.
When you take financing out of the equation they are no longer interested in your business.
I have personally gone though this all last year and some of the dealerships never called me back.
What you are suppose to do when paying with cash is not let them in on it until the deal is finalized. They will ask several times and you should say that after we work out a deal we will go though the various financing options and then you bring out the cash. I never got that far because they kept pressing the issue.

williakz

You can always "go with the flow" and accept the dealer's factory or local bank financing which often comes with valuable incentives for you (cash back for loyalty, competitive, etc.) then simply pay it off with cash once the deal's done. The dealer will lose HIS financing incentive money, but that's HIS problem. Just make sure the financing allows fee-free prepayment. Alternatively, you can refi the dealer's financing (after collecting the incentives) with a no- or super low-interest lender like PenFed and keep (some of) your cash working for you during the loan term (typically 3 years). Use your imagination to make the dealer "buy" your business while you maintain your optimum financial position.

P.S. It's often a good idea to accept some other dealer packs as long as they come with a 15- or 30-day no-cost cancellation option. Say wheel and tire insurance. By accepting these "goodies," the deal goes down better (i.e. you get perks) and it costs you nothing when you cancel. Also, don't worry that your "abuse" of the sales team will cause grief with your dealer service; they're two separate profit centers and operate largely independently of one another. Also, the FI guy has been down this road thousands of times before and, in my experience, tends to let bygones be bygones when it comes to the next deal you do.