What would you do in this situation (dealer question)
08-26-16, 11:34 AM
#31
Pit Crew
You need to be dealing with the service manager. Sales manager doesn't know anything about car repairs, and all he cares is that they sold you the car and got your money. He's done his job.
edit to add: The service writer likely doesn't know anything about car repairs either. And whoever has been working on your car hasn't found the problem yet, so you need an upgrade.
I understand as a regular guy (ie you aren't a mechanic, etc) it can be difficult to tell if you are getting the run-around, or what the right answer is. I have 35 years of extensive DIY experience, several years as a mechanic, 5 years as a parts guy and 10+ years as a fleet manager with up to 350 vehicles. I have dealt with more car/truck repairs than 200 regular guys put together will in their entire lives and it can still be hard to stand up to them when they give you the "I know what I'm doing and you don't" BS. So hopefully the service manager won't pull that on you.
He needs to give your car to his best tech. Once that happens, I predict things will get better. The tech will know what to look for and how to look. I'm sure he will do the things I suggested and probably more, and he will find the problem.
Good luck.
edit to add: The service writer likely doesn't know anything about car repairs either. And whoever has been working on your car hasn't found the problem yet, so you need an upgrade.
I understand as a regular guy (ie you aren't a mechanic, etc) it can be difficult to tell if you are getting the run-around, or what the right answer is. I have 35 years of extensive DIY experience, several years as a mechanic, 5 years as a parts guy and 10+ years as a fleet manager with up to 350 vehicles. I have dealt with more car/truck repairs than 200 regular guys put together will in their entire lives and it can still be hard to stand up to them when they give you the "I know what I'm doing and you don't" BS. So hopefully the service manager won't pull that on you.
He needs to give your car to his best tech. Once that happens, I predict things will get better. The tech will know what to look for and how to look. I'm sure he will do the things I suggested and probably more, and he will find the problem.
Good luck.
Last edited by vfr700f2; 08-26-16 at 11:59 AM.
08-28-16, 01:11 PM
#32
Instructor
I am going to be asking all these questions when I pick up the car this time so that you get those answers. It has been very frustrating to say the least. They just say they will take care of it, however now that this is the third time its in the shop, I feel like I have already given them the opportunity to take care of it. If it isn't fixed this time, what action do you guys suggest I take with the dealership? The issue has been reported the first week of ownership without a remedy. I traded in my 2006 LS430 that I had for three years with not one issue. The same goes for my 2001 that had 180K on it now issues for almost 4 years. All I would go to dealer for was regular maintenance and oil changes.
Now I am in the shop with this car more than I am driving it, I've had it for a little over a month and I am making my second car payment on the thing in a few days and its always in the shop. I can't believe it...
**Only time the noise occurs is when brakes are applied. The easiest way to produce the noise is to slow the car down to 1-5 mph let off the brakes and then reapply them to a stop. This will always produce the Thump thump thump from the right rear. Sometimes you can almost feel the car sort of bump/minor jolt as if the brakes are rubbing over something that isn't flat or is catching causing a faint movement. (i know its hard to put it to words vs. actually experiencing it). If you feel the noise I guess you could see why they would think it was the rotors but their idea has not led to a resolution of the problem.
Is it out of line to get the pre-owned sales manager involved in this? Perhaps they should have done a better job at checking the car for issues before selling it to me considering it is a CPO car (i know not all dealers are great with the CPO process and it varies drastically from dealer to dealer how they interpret the CPO guidelines).
Any and all opinions are welcome on this thread! or feel free to PM me.
Now I am in the shop with this car more than I am driving it, I've had it for a little over a month and I am making my second car payment on the thing in a few days and its always in the shop. I can't believe it...
**Only time the noise occurs is when brakes are applied. The easiest way to produce the noise is to slow the car down to 1-5 mph let off the brakes and then reapply them to a stop. This will always produce the Thump thump thump from the right rear. Sometimes you can almost feel the car sort of bump/minor jolt as if the brakes are rubbing over something that isn't flat or is catching causing a faint movement. (i know its hard to put it to words vs. actually experiencing it). If you feel the noise I guess you could see why they would think it was the rotors but their idea has not led to a resolution of the problem.
Is it out of line to get the pre-owned sales manager involved in this? Perhaps they should have done a better job at checking the car for issues before selling it to me considering it is a CPO car (i know not all dealers are great with the CPO process and it varies drastically from dealer to dealer how they interpret the CPO guidelines).
Any and all opinions are welcome on this thread! or feel free to PM me.
08-28-16, 04:18 PM
#34
Instructor
Thread Starter
No update yet. I went there yesterday to drop off my new rims because while its there I want them to put them on. One of the tech told me he heard the noise and is fixing it. Supposedly this guy is the best tech. Patiently waiting...
08-29-16, 02:43 PM
#35
Instructor
Thread Starter
So it seems the culprit was air in the brake system. It was bled and so far it seems fixed. Brakes feel totally different than they did before. It's quite scary they were that way before and other techs didn't catch it.
Last edited by LS430FL; 08-29-16 at 03:46 PM.
08-29-16, 04:16 PM
#36
Instructor
Good to hear you got to the end of that...and the car is operating as designed.
08-29-16, 04:31 PM
#37
Pole Position
Air in the brake system? Have you had calipers replaced or brake lines? Otherwise there shouldn't be air in the system. If you had a brake job done recently the only thing I can think of - if the calipers weren't replaced - is that an inexperienced tech accidentally loosened the brake line at the caliper (sometimes that happens, but we'd have to be talking about a very inexperienced tech).
08-29-16, 04:44 PM
#38
Instructor
Thread Starter
I have no idea. I looked up prior owner history but I forget everything is had. I'll have to check again. I will check because the brakes feel totally different when braking. It feel perfect now. I spoke to tech and be said he didn't know why the other techs couldn't figure it out. All he had to do was get the air out of the system.
08-29-16, 06:35 PM
#40
Pole Position
I have no idea. I looked up prior owner history but I forget everything is had. I'll have to check again. I will check because the brakes feel totally different when braking. It feel perfect now. I spoke to tech and be said he didn't know why the other techs couldn't figure it out. All he had to do was get the air out of the system.
08-29-16, 09:18 PM
#41
Pole Position
I have no idea. I looked up prior owner history but I forget everything is had. I'll have to check again. I will check because the brakes feel totally different when braking. It feel perfect now. I spoke to tech and be said he didn't know why the other techs couldn't figure it out. All he had to do was get the air out of the system.
08-30-16, 08:10 AM
#42
Pole Position
Glad you were able to get this figured out. Sounds like getting to the right tech is all that was really needed.
08-30-16, 08:27 AM
#43
Lexus Fanatic
Acquaint yourselves with the Magnusson Moss Act if you haven't already. This type of legislation will help to protect you if a dealer tries to pin an aftermarket part as being the cause of a warranty issue.
08-30-16, 06:30 PM
#44
Instructor
Thread Starter
Totally bizarre! But I am thankful it has been sorted out. It was a fight to get the dealer to take care of some issues that came with the car despite it being CPO but they finally did the right thing and straightened it out. Just a shame they put customers through stress and headaches. Sometimes I wonder how they got to be "the worlds highest volume Lexus dealer".
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