Appalling Lexus Dealer Experience
 

I have given Lexus of Riverside 2 weeks to follow-up and apologize for my recent experience, yet no response from them. I think it is important to let you guys know about the practices of this dealer. It's a long story, so if you want the main reason for my disgust, move down to the third paragraph. Get a cup of coffee because it's a long one...

After ending my first GS ease and starting another one at the this dealer, I was unable to give good ratings on a survey for my salesman due to his rude attitude and lack of care to make the experience as easy as possible. I showed up at the dealer to get a quote, and they refused to give me one because I didn't have my co-signer present even though they already have our credit info. Then after some convincing they finally gave me quote that was much higher than my previous car. Cross shopped with dealers in LA which offered much better deals (several thousands less) for the same exact car (figures that people on the four were getting). Wanted to buy from local dealer due to perks, so I contacted them and they started slandering the other dealers. Then I told them that the other dealer has the car and I will go down to buy it there. They changed their tune immediately and said they will match it since they already traded with another dealer. When we arrived to the dealer, none of the paperwork was started even though they had most of our info on record. We waited for 3 hours, while salesman was on his phone, for them to finally get us into the finance office. When we got in, the finance person was confused and didn't know what was going on. Spent another hour signing paperwork. When we finally finished, the dealer had been closed and the salesman rushed us out the door without thanking us for our business. Buying a car should not take 4 hours, especially if the deal was already made.

Even though I wasn't able to give a good rating on the survey, I returned to the dealer again to purchase another Lexus (ES for the mom) in hopes of having a better experience with a different salesman. After haggling a bit, the salesman brought a copy of the survey and stated, "My manager says we cannot come any lower on the price due to your past survey. Your survey really hurt us so we need a way to make up for the loss." Punishing a customer for their survey is a low blow. No follow-up was made after they received the survey to find out reasons for mediocre ratings. As I let the salesman know about my disappointment and disgust, the sales general manager (Mark Marchant) finally came out and started yelling and lecturing me. "Young man, you wouldn't be driving your GS if it wasn't for me and your salesman. How can you give us a bad survey after we got you such a good deal? Your deal was one of the worst for my dealer. I trusted that you would give my salesman a good review and you didn't. My salesman lost his holiday bonus because of you and your survey. It seems like we can't please customers like you." He didn't allow me to explain before he told us to leave and stormed off. He seemed to be set on getting revenge and teaching me a lesson. When I got a quote from a different dealer that was a couple thousand less, on a similar car, he started slandering the other dealer saying that it was a trick and too good to be true. Went down to the other dealer and picked up the car for the deal I wanted. It is obvious that the sales GM had an agenda to rip us off by using the past survey as ammunition. When I brought my experience to the attention of the GM for the dealer, she ignored the email, and a different personnel at the dealer had to get a response over the incident for me. She told the personnel to tell me that she "did not agree with my statements and therefore we would need to agree to disagree." No follow-up, apology, or desire to investigate the situation. I have never encountered so many rude managers in my life. They treat their loyal, returning customers like trash after one little survey. Be careful what you say on their surveys because they are not anonymous and can be used against you when you try to be honest. Dealer does not represent the Lexus reputation for excellence. Other dealers provide more competitive pricing and better inventory. After 2 bad experiences and how they were handled I cannot recommend buying a car here. Customer service from the dealership is horrible. They are not honest and "play games" to make you pay more.

I'm not mad that they didn't give me a deal the third time, I'm mad about the reason and the attitude of the sales GM and the dealer GM. They could've just not go any lower and let me leave, but they wanted to harass me about the survey to make a point. Do you guys think what they did was right? Do I have the right to give an honest response on surveys? Do you guys think that I am at least entitled to an apology?

Sorry for the long rant, but I felt you guys should know about how Lexus of Riverside does business with loyal customers. I don't expect to receive any compensation, just a sincere apology.

Took awhile to read everything. My advise is to not go back to that dealership anymore. In SoCal there are many Lexus dealerships you can go to. I rather pay few bucks extra at a different dealership then get a ****y salesman/manager yelling at me or trying to lie to me for their mistake.
Give Keyes Lexus or Longo lexus a try next time. They always gave me great deals and always kept me a happy customer.

As I said in your other thread, you should give TO Lexus a shot, but I would be interested to hear this from the dealer's point of view.

Its like back in college when a buddy of yours just broke up with his girlfriend, and you are trying to get together with one of her friends -- the story he told you is completely different than the story she told her friend. The truth always lay somewhere in the middle.

I would imagine this is a similar experience.

I don't understand what's so hard to believe about the story? A smart dealership tries to build relationships with clients with an intent to maintain future business. But at the same time, many sales managers know that they can push a client into a higher payment trying to convince them they aren't going to get a better deal.

I have experienced some real jerks and also some smart sales managers. The jerks don't last.

I too would move on from the dealer. Anybody who thinks they are owed a good survey regardless of the customer service they provide is not wired to actually give good customer service.

I would certainly let Lexus know that they directly said they were charging you more because of e survey you gave them. That's terribly wrong. They had an opportunity to win you back and get a good survey...morons.

That's the classical definition for a car dealer. You asked for our opinion and I say thanks for the heads up on this dealer and its tactics, and move on. Don't waste your time trying to get a "sincere apology" because you'll never know if it was sincere (read your words above.)

Sorry to hear that my friend. Dealers are asholz and i would try contact the Rigional
Office and file a complaint. You wont gain anything but they may shove a foot in their azz. It happens sometimes. I have seen it too many times, and have experienced such crap. They should uave give you a quote even without running the credit. They just playing games.

Thanks for the heads up. I have an uncle in SoCal who recently rode with me in my GS and wants me to fly there one weekend to help him purchase one (hates haggling to the point that he hasn't changed his car in almost 10 years even if he can easily afford it as he dreads the buying experience). Definitely won't be stopping by that dealer

Also, with you using "cosign" and "mother", I would assume you are young. They probably thought you were gullible / easily swayed. These dealers don't seem to know the power of the internet and good research. Everybody knows what a good price is these days.

Dont be afraid to give a honest survey! They have no right to penelaize you for it. I would raise hell and scare a few customers while I was there just to piss them off, as I have done in the past. There is nothing scares them
More than a pissed off customer talking to other customers!

Why did u even go back to that dealer again man? They just humiliated u and treated u like trash. I wouldn't let anyone do that to me, especially if I'm the one with the cash. There are tons of Lexus dealers in SoCal.

I've found that Toyota of Riverside does not have good deals either, in fact I don't think they're willing to deal at all! Longo smoked them out of the water big time on my Prius deal, Riverside Toy couldn't even get near that number. I don't know if both Riverside Toy and Lex dealers are owned by the same company but I can tell one thing from the people that work there that the moment I stepped in to that dealer this is not going to be a pleasant experience.

+1 ...why would you go back to a dealership that gave you poor service?!?

Thanks guys for taking time to read my story. The reason why I went back is because they are my local, closest dealer. My first experience in my first GS lease was completely different than my horrible second and third encounters. We ended up buying ES350 from Longo, and will definitely return there because their numbers are much better without much effort on getting it. They also have a much bigger and better inventory. Look for Linda if you want a fast and good experience. She is also one of the few salesman I've met that actually knows a lot about the cars. Don't bother with Lexus of Riverside, and just go to Longo Lexus.

I have raised a few complaints to corporate and they are very unhappy about the situation. They said they will set the dealer straight, but idk if that's just their way of "pleasing me" by letting me hear what I want. Hopefully they take this seriously.

With my dealer (DCH Oxnard) I just go straight to the manager's office and would have a deal in less than 15 mins. Plus he lets me test drive a car without the salesman. lol Can't get any better than that! :D

I found that my dealer gives more for my trade than Longo did. This is important when u have a trade in.

Ohhh man, using your survey results to charge you more is totally absurd...

if they were so concerned about the past survey, how did they think that was going to bode well for their next survey if you would have bought the ES??!!

Seems like you pissed them off though with your survey, and they simply decided not to deal with you accordingly. Sad though, they should have used that as an opportunity to do better and not get rid of you!

Glad you found Longo, they are the first Lexus dealership in the county, and the biggest for more than one reason! :thumbup:

Mind me asking why you need a co-signer?