Lexus Plus Aims to Make Car Buying Less Stressful
Lexus Plus expanding ‘no haggle, no negotiation’ practice in effort to improve car-buying experience.
Let’s face it, we all hate the car-buying process. Even if you shop a brand with an outstanding customer service reputation like Lexus, negotiations are agonizing and draining. Why is it so difficult to buy a car in a time when purchasing anything else can be done with the click of a button? Automakers know this is a problem. Which is why Lexus is expanding their Lexus Plus program.
The basic premise of Lexus Plus is really nothing new. The idea is to eliminate the oft-hated negotiation process by affixing a no haggle price to each car. That price is clearly stated in large numbers, with any applicable discounts listed as well. The idea has been used by some automakers with mixed success over the last decade or so, but the benefits are undeniable.
Aside from eliminating the frustrating back and forth between salesman and shopper, Lexus aims to shave 1-2 hours off the entire process. Instead of dealing with multiple layers of management, customers work with one person trained to handle the entire process. From greeting the customer to the financing process and drive off the lot.
The trade off, of course, is that you might not receive the absolute best deal. So if you’re the type who enjoys the art of negotiation, you might want to stick to traditional dealerships. But so far, customer feedback from the 13 dealerships participating in Lexus Plus has been positive. So much so that Lexus plans to expand the program by 6 or 7 more dealers by the end of the year.
The ultimate goal of the program is to improve customer experience, as Jim Dunn, vice president and general manager at JM Lexus, explained to Kelly Blue Book. “Being No. 1 now to us is no longer enough. We want to raise the bar and that’s the right thing to do.”
