Buying experience at your Lexus dealership
04-03-17, 07:30 PM
#31
Instructor
04-03-17, 07:37 PM
#33
Lexus Champion
My Lexus purchase experience at Sewell Lexus in Dallas was nothing short of fantastic. The 4GS had just been introduced, so I decided to check out a few in person when the dealership was closed on a Sunday. A young lady actually came out of the dealership when I was looking and asked me if I wanted the keys to one so I could look inside. (Again, the dealership was closed, so I couldn't test drive.) I came back the next week, test drove the car and made a deal to trade in my '11 Audi S5 Convertible.
I chose one of the '13 GS350 F-Sports they had on order, so it was a few weeks before the car came in. A few days after the deal, I went out to the garage to see that an entire shelf with crates of CD's and florescent lights had fallen on top of the Audi and had dented and scratched the rear fender really badly. I called my salesperson to let her know of the damage since the deal had already been made. She told me to bring the car in that day. They took $1,000 off my trade for repairs (reasonable for body work), took the car in that day and gave me a 4GS loaner to drive until my car came in. I was really impressed.
I know the thread is about the Lexus buying experience, but my Infiniti buying experience (also with Sewell) has also been great. I email my salesperson with what I'm looking for, we go back and forth in email over the figures, close the deal, and I pick up the car.
Re: Audi, I've purchased/leased 3 cars from the same salesman. I do go into the dealership to negotiate, but he always makes sure my car is sitting in the showroom nice and shiny when I arrive to pick it up. Nice touch.
I chose one of the '13 GS350 F-Sports they had on order, so it was a few weeks before the car came in. A few days after the deal, I went out to the garage to see that an entire shelf with crates of CD's and florescent lights had fallen on top of the Audi and had dented and scratched the rear fender really badly. I called my salesperson to let her know of the damage since the deal had already been made. She told me to bring the car in that day. They took $1,000 off my trade for repairs (reasonable for body work), took the car in that day and gave me a 4GS loaner to drive until my car came in. I was really impressed.
I know the thread is about the Lexus buying experience, but my Infiniti buying experience (also with Sewell) has also been great. I email my salesperson with what I'm looking for, we go back and forth in email over the figures, close the deal, and I pick up the car.
Re: Audi, I've purchased/leased 3 cars from the same salesman. I do go into the dealership to negotiate, but he always makes sure my car is sitting in the showroom nice and shiny when I arrive to pick it up. Nice touch.
Last edited by dseag2; 04-03-17 at 07:43 PM.
04-03-17, 08:33 PM
#34
Lexus dealership or not, I hate all car sales people..
I am 32 and I have gotten six lexus vehicles from same dealer with two sales men.
Still have to fight over the deal as I know their pricing as well as they know that I know the pricing..
I am 32 and I have gotten six lexus vehicles from same dealer with two sales men.
Still have to fight over the deal as I know their pricing as well as they know that I know the pricing..
04-04-17, 08:11 AM
#35
Driver School Candidate
I bought a CPO GS after owning a diesel BMW that included a rather unpleasant dealership experience, and was hoping the vaunted Lexus store experience would be a net favorable, especially as the Lexus brand as a whole doesn't really do much for me... I've been driving European makes for a long time, and mostly with manual transmissions, besides.
The Lexus dealership buying experience was okay to pretty good, other than matters of price, where I expect any dealership to be hard to work with. I wouldn't say it was the best buying experience of all the vehicles I have bought, I had some excellent experiences with an Audi/VW dealership. But the sales team was courteous and informed, recognized where the customer's priorities were not in perfect alignment with the brand, and completed the transaction and delivery with the car well prepared and all questions answered, no paperwork glitches.
Service has been handled by the dealership's smaller satellite store located closer to my home, pickup and delivery has been good, all service so far in 16k miles has been routine maintenance.
By comparison, my other half's Audi was purchased locally at a different Audi dealership than the one I used for my own cars, and both the buying experience and service have been excellent, friendly, and especially convenient because the Audi dealership is located quite a bit closer to home than either Lexus store.
So I would say my Lexus buying experience was good, but only competitive with a well-run dealership, and not the standout improvement that Lexus apparently was over the norm twenty five years ago. I have no doubt that those early years did a lot to cause some of their competitors to strongly up their game, my local BMW dealership excepted.
The Lexus dealership buying experience was okay to pretty good, other than matters of price, where I expect any dealership to be hard to work with. I wouldn't say it was the best buying experience of all the vehicles I have bought, I had some excellent experiences with an Audi/VW dealership. But the sales team was courteous and informed, recognized where the customer's priorities were not in perfect alignment with the brand, and completed the transaction and delivery with the car well prepared and all questions answered, no paperwork glitches.
Service has been handled by the dealership's smaller satellite store located closer to my home, pickup and delivery has been good, all service so far in 16k miles has been routine maintenance.
By comparison, my other half's Audi was purchased locally at a different Audi dealership than the one I used for my own cars, and both the buying experience and service have been excellent, friendly, and especially convenient because the Audi dealership is located quite a bit closer to home than either Lexus store.
So I would say my Lexus buying experience was good, but only competitive with a well-run dealership, and not the standout improvement that Lexus apparently was over the norm twenty five years ago. I have no doubt that those early years did a lot to cause some of their competitors to strongly up their game, my local BMW dealership excepted.
04-04-17, 07:11 PM
#36
Lexus Champion
I bought a CPO GS after owning a diesel BMW that included a rather unpleasant dealership experience, and was hoping the vaunted Lexus store experience would be a net favorable, especially as the Lexus brand as a whole doesn't really do much for me... I've been driving European makes for a long time, and mostly with manual transmissions, besides.
The Lexus dealership buying experience was okay to pretty good, other than matters of price, where I expect any dealership to be hard to work with. I wouldn't say it was the best buying experience of all the vehicles I have bought, I had some excellent experiences with an Audi/VW dealership. But the sales team was courteous and informed, recognized where the customer's priorities were not in perfect alignment with the brand, and completed the transaction and delivery with the car well prepared and all questions answered, no paperwork glitches.
Service has been handled by the dealership's smaller satellite store located closer to my home, pickup and delivery has been good, all service so far in 16k miles has been routine maintenance.
By comparison, my other half's Audi was purchased locally at a different Audi dealership than the one I used for my own cars, and both the buying experience and service have been excellent, friendly, and especially convenient because the Audi dealership is located quite a bit closer to home than either Lexus store.
So I would say my Lexus buying experience was good, but only competitive with a well-run dealership, and not the standout improvement that Lexus apparently was over the norm twenty five years ago. I have no doubt that those early years did a lot to cause some of their competitors to strongly up their game, my local BMW dealership excepted.
The Lexus dealership buying experience was okay to pretty good, other than matters of price, where I expect any dealership to be hard to work with. I wouldn't say it was the best buying experience of all the vehicles I have bought, I had some excellent experiences with an Audi/VW dealership. But the sales team was courteous and informed, recognized where the customer's priorities were not in perfect alignment with the brand, and completed the transaction and delivery with the car well prepared and all questions answered, no paperwork glitches.
Service has been handled by the dealership's smaller satellite store located closer to my home, pickup and delivery has been good, all service so far in 16k miles has been routine maintenance.
By comparison, my other half's Audi was purchased locally at a different Audi dealership than the one I used for my own cars, and both the buying experience and service have been excellent, friendly, and especially convenient because the Audi dealership is located quite a bit closer to home than either Lexus store.
So I would say my Lexus buying experience was good, but only competitive with a well-run dealership, and not the standout improvement that Lexus apparently was over the norm twenty five years ago. I have no doubt that those early years did a lot to cause some of their competitors to strongly up their game, my local BMW dealership excepted.
But since this thread is about the buying experience, I will have to say the sales experience with the '01 Audi was fantastic. The dealership let me test drive 3 different models... BY MYSELF... before deciding. No other dealership, including Lexus, has ever offered that.
One other minor detail about the Audi sales experience. Since they pride themselves as being "technology innovators" all the paperwork at signing is done on the Finance Manager's desk, which is like a huge iPad that turns around toward the customer. You sign and initial on the iPad and the paperwork is printed out. Really cool, especially since I hardly hand write anything these days.
Last edited by dseag2; 04-04-17 at 07:15 PM.
04-05-17, 11:03 AM
#37
I've purchased three cars from Lexus of Seattle and all three have been fantastic experiences. When we bought the RX it was getting late so they ordered us dinner. When I bought my IS it was all arranged before hand so it only took me 30 minutes to go in, sign papers, and drive off. When I bought the GS they were so kind and gave me a nice gift of coffee beans and a nice bottle of wine.
I haven't ever dealt with them, as Lexus of Seattle is much closer to home. One of my coworkers had a bad experience at Bellevue, but I've heard others with good experiences. Bellevue is a much more impressive facility.
Lexus of Seattle has treated me well and been very fair on pricing with pretty easy negotiations so I just stick with them.
Lexus of Seattle has treated me well and been very fair on pricing with pretty easy negotiations so I just stick with them.
04-05-17, 12:32 PM
#38
Pole Position
One other minor detail about the Audi sales experience. Since they pride themselves as being "technology innovators" all the paperwork at signing is done on the Finance Manager's desk, which is like a huge iPad that turns around toward the customer. You sign and initial on the iPad and the paperwork is printed out. Really cool, especially since I hardly hand write anything these days.
04-01-19, 10:30 AM
#39
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: MI
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Hi,
My name is Adrienne Roberts -- I'm an autos reporter at WSJ in Detroit. I'm working on a story about the F&I office at dealerships, and how it's becoming increasingly important to dealers' bottom lines. I’m looking to talk to someone who didn’t have a good experience in the F&I office.
If you’re interested in sharing your experience with me, please email me at adrienne.roberts@wsj.com.
Thanks!
Adrienne
My name is Adrienne Roberts -- I'm an autos reporter at WSJ in Detroit. I'm working on a story about the F&I office at dealerships, and how it's becoming increasingly important to dealers' bottom lines. I’m looking to talk to someone who didn’t have a good experience in the F&I office.
If you’re interested in sharing your experience with me, please email me at adrienne.roberts@wsj.com.
Thanks!
Adrienne
04-01-19, 11:02 AM
#40
I have used Lexus of Bellevue 1x. I enjoyed it, but it might depend on what you like.
Very low pressure during my experience. They have the fixed pricing thing so no negotiation. However I had a price in mind when I went in for what I thought I would be satisfied with, and that was the number they quoted.
My salesperson helped me find the vehicle with the specs I wanted. It was between the assembly line and delivery. He had it redirected to Bellevue. I waited about a month I think.
When it arrived, paperwork was decent. They of course offered lots of stuff which we generally said no to. They didn't push it.
I did want a few things like a spoiler and 2nd send of wheels which they helped with.
Handoff was clean and simple.
I generally liked that it was low pressure, got what I needed, and was simple. It wasn't a Luxurious experience, but that's not a high priority for me.
They could have done better cleaning up the car. There was still a little plastic in a few areas. 1 full sheet, and a few little torn corners. Not a huge deal, but I let them know they could do better there. The other Toy dealership in the area is farther, but we gladly go there for everything.
Prior to this, I've been to 2 Toyota dealerships in my area. We have had many of those, and still do. One of them I won't return to for anything. If I was stuck walking and needed a restroom, I'd pass them up and go to the next dealership down the street.
Very low pressure during my experience. They have the fixed pricing thing so no negotiation. However I had a price in mind when I went in for what I thought I would be satisfied with, and that was the number they quoted.
My salesperson helped me find the vehicle with the specs I wanted. It was between the assembly line and delivery. He had it redirected to Bellevue. I waited about a month I think.
When it arrived, paperwork was decent. They of course offered lots of stuff which we generally said no to. They didn't push it.
I did want a few things like a spoiler and 2nd send of wheels which they helped with.
Handoff was clean and simple.
I generally liked that it was low pressure, got what I needed, and was simple. It wasn't a Luxurious experience, but that's not a high priority for me.
They could have done better cleaning up the car. There was still a little plastic in a few areas. 1 full sheet, and a few little torn corners. Not a huge deal, but I let them know they could do better there. The other Toy dealership in the area is farther, but we gladly go there for everything.
Prior to this, I've been to 2 Toyota dealerships in my area. We have had many of those, and still do. One of them I won't return to for anything. If I was stuck walking and needed a restroom, I'd pass them up and go to the next dealership down the street.
04-01-19, 12:49 PM
#41
drives cars
Hendrick Lexus here in KC has been pretty great. I like my sales guy and my service guy, and I low-key look forward to going to the dealership. They always greet me before I even get to the door, hold the door for me, ask if I want water or soda, etc. In addition, the service guys generally do whatever I ask them to do regardless of the "recommended" stuff without any protest - something that my wife's Nissan dealer gives us a hard time with. Service has generally been excellent, and sales was good, but not notably better overall than the experience I had at the next-door Hendrick Toyota. The main difference was that I was sitting in a nicer building, lol.
There was quite a foible with my paperwork however. We did paperwork for the wrong car - that is, the VIN was wrong. I bought an IS with a black interior instead of red.
A week later, I was back in the finance office re-doing all the paperwork. Pretty lame, but at least we caught it pretty early. I happened to notice when filling out paperwork for my insurance provider. For my trouble, they haven't really offered me anything, which is perhaps the truly disappointing part.
But, I'd be lying if I said I had a bad experience. The IS was my first "nice" car, and the excitement helped to make that whole debacle more bearable. Overall I'd recommend them based solely on the fact that they are more polite than any other dealership staff I've encountered.
There was quite a foible with my paperwork however. We did paperwork for the wrong car - that is, the VIN was wrong. I bought an IS with a black interior instead of red.
A week later, I was back in the finance office re-doing all the paperwork. Pretty lame, but at least we caught it pretty early. I happened to notice when filling out paperwork for my insurance provider. For my trouble, they haven't really offered me anything, which is perhaps the truly disappointing part.But, I'd be lying if I said I had a bad experience. The IS was my first "nice" car, and the excitement helped to make that whole debacle more bearable. Overall I'd recommend them based solely on the fact that they are more polite than any other dealership staff I've encountered.
04-02-19, 09:16 AM
#42
I recently got a 2019 GS 350 F sport in the SF bay area. The dealership experience felt more like a UFC title bout. I knew more about the product than the salesman, as well as the financing options and rates available. One of the managers cried to me about how they were short on sales that month, almost like I owed it to them to do the sale. After walking out, did everything else through text and email. It was just an all out battle over price. I realize you're not there to make friends, but it was extremely disappointing. This is more of a volume dealership. I had gotten a Lexus from a family owned Lexus dealership and had a much better experience there when I got my previous car, although when I was price shopping with them they were just as uninformed. I really don't understand why having competent, polite, focused on customer experience salespeople doesn't seem to be a priority for Lexus anymore.
04-02-19, 10:37 AM
#43
I just turned in my 2016 RX350 and leased a 2019 ES350UL. The dealership experience could not have been better. The total time at the dealership was just over an hour, but most of this was the test drive. Once I had decided on the car, we spent some time looking at available inventory and one I selected a car, they made an offer which was a significant discount but still more than I wanted to pay. I offered an amount near the max I was willing to pay and after about 5 minutes the salesperson came back with the sales manager. I expected some push-back, but the sales manager said that they would accept my offer if I would sign that day and take delivery before the end of the month. Done! The finance manager was my next stop and I started the conversation with "I know what you are going to ask and the answers are no, no, no, and no. He laughed and had me sign that he had offered the options and that I had declined. I signed the purchase agreement, gave him my American Express for the deposit (frequent flyer miles) and we were done. I picked the car up on my schedule 3 days later and spent about 20 minutes with the tech specialists going over the differences from my RX and setting up Apple CarPlay and the on-board hot-spot. Car condition was perfect.
I can't imagine a smoother, less stressful dealer experience. Did I leave a couple of hundred dollars on the table? Maybe, but I'm satisfied with the price.
I can't imagine a smoother, less stressful dealer experience. Did I leave a couple of hundred dollars on the table? Maybe, but I'm satisfied with the price.
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