SerKevin

I've had several "issues" having my 2006 IS250 serviced at my current dealership in the Houston, Texas area. After my 15k service I've decided that, even though they owe me one more "free" service, I can no longer trust my current service department and MUST find a suitable replacement.

So with that said, I'm curious where other member's in Houston are taking their cars to be serviced and what their experiences have been? Word of mouth means more than advertising so any information I can get will be greatly appreciated.

For those interested, here is the straw that broke the camel's back:

First, when I took my car to get the 15k service it was spotlessly clean... that's just the way I treat my cars. When they brought it back the cashmere colored parts of the driver side of my car looked like someone had rolled in an oil pit then danced a jig in the floorboard, on the running board and on the door. There was even a nice big boot print where they had pushed the door open with their foot. I calmly pointed this out to my service rep and they did half-**** clean it up but IMHO it should have A) never been there in the first place, B) at least been cleaned BEFORE I saw it. BTW, not the first time I've had this issue with them either.

Second, and this I find totally unacceptable, they neglected to replace the oil cap on my engine! Yes, you read that correctly. I found the oil cap just sitting in the little divot in the engine cover where it would normally be screwed down... two days later. Care to guess what kind of mess that made under the hood???

And I've always kind of gotten this "Oh, well your just driving a lowly IS and not a real customer driving a GS or a LS" attitude from them too. I'm not looking to get my butt kissed, just respect for me AND my car and the service done correctly.

NikoAWD

SerKevin,

I hate to say it but its just not a Houston issue. I HATE taking my cars in for service at my dealership also, They ALWAYS come back scratched, chipped, door dinged and grease on the inside. I have bought 6 Lexus cars and trucks from the same dealership and service has gotten worse through the years. Good luck....

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

I would be hella pissed if they do that to my car !

Call Lexus corporate customer service and file a complain !

houstonT

Westside Lexus here...which dealer are you having problems with?
Peter

SerKevin

Peter,

I was intentionally holding off on stating which dealership just to get an unbiased response but... Lexus of Clear Lake. It was where I purchased the car and it's close to my home.

As to contacting Lexus Corporate about them (per another poster), I've already done that once when they botched the repair of my moonroof and then copped an attitude. This happened when the car was just a couple of weeks old . BTW, I really hated having to call Corporate on them. I tried working through their on-site customer satisfaction rep to no avail.

The only reason that I ever went back to them after this was Corporate insisted that I continue using them and, to a lesser extent, the fact that they had given my first 4 services free for purchasing from them.

To be fair to Lexus of Clear Lake, they did correctly fix the car after I contacted Corporate and did make several changes to their service department. Also my 5k and 10k service went off without a hitch and I could rate those experiences as "Truly Outstanding".

They just seem disappointingly inconsistent and after making a stupid mistake like leaving the oil cap unscrewed... I just don't trust that the service is being done correctly (or even at all).

I was considering Northside Lexus because they are super close to my office. I think Northside and Westside are the same "company" so it good to hear that you like them.

Thanks for the reply, I truly do appreciate it.

HoustonIS

Westside Lexus is under the same management as Northside Lexus, and Clear Lake is also the same as Sterling McCall. Westside buying experience and customer service to me is phenomenal, my service advisor goes the extra mile to make sure that all problems are resolved and checks to make sure that all repairs made from previous service visits are satisfactory.

They also do not give that snotty "its only an IS" attitude to me, and I am always the youngest person in the customer waiting lounge, they treat me with the same level of respect given to much older customers. They are aware that a happy IS customer means a future GS/LS/RX etc. customer. I was looking to buy my IS originally from Sterling McCall but found that their treatment of a ready-to-buy customer rather "rude," so I went to Westside and was pampered and drove out 2 hrs later, so I dont recommend them either.

You should try Northside, since it is under the same management as Westside (which has treated me very well) I think you should be satisfied.

khangaroo

I take mine to NorthSide and they treat me with the utmost respect. No problems with them at all...

Do you office in the woodlands? Just curious there is an IS250 in my office building wondering if it might be you.

SerKevin

HoustonIS and Khangroo, thanks so much for taking the time to reply and for the very in insightful replies. I'm going to contact them and schedule an appointment to tour their facilities and find out a bit more about them.

Nope, I'm in the Rankin and Hardy Toll Road area.

alexc281

Hey Kevin, we work real close to each other I think. I'm over by Hardy Toll Road and Beltway 8. Anyway to answer your question, I bought my IS350 and get it serviced at Northside Lexus. I have only had it serviced once for the 5,000 mile maintenance, but the way they treated me and just the quality of their shop is outstanding. I was fully satisfied and pretty impressed, and expect to remain so. They seem to really take customer service seriously. I would definitely check them out if you get a chance.

Sorry about your bad luck

is2fiddy

I bought and get mine serviced at Northside, no problems what so ever. I know it might be along drive but it sounds like westside and northside could take care of you and your car!!!!!!

Old Oiler

I bought mine at Northside Lexus also and the service was spectacular. I felt like I was at a 5 star hotel.

I have not had to go back yet for an oil change, but there were some issues in the beginning that they made up for.

Take care.

Junghyuk2

I did my 5k service @ Westside,
got a RX as a loaner,
when i got back to the dealership, they couldn't find my keys, so had to wait 30min or so,

but other than that, i do like their service so far,

hope Northside treat you well...

SerKevin

I just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who responded. I'm going to contact Northside today.

I'll keep everyone posted as to how things go.

SParker1tx

Hey SerKevin,

I'd just like to let you know my parents have bought 3 Lexus vehicles from Westside Lexus and its because of there amazing customer service, not so much their amazing deals. If you want insanely amazing customer service Westside is definitely the place to go. They really do go out of there way to be accomodating.

I've heard good things about Northside also

Tropheus

Bought my car from Northside Lexus and been servicing it at Westside. Very satisfied here.