AKoch

nope, neither of the 3 I used charged anything for the loaner.

ryanpw3

This feedback exceeded my expectations. Thanks everyone. My plan is to try a different dealer on my next service as a result of the added loaner fee I encountered. Best case is that Lexus and the dealers take notice that this practice kills goodwill amongst their customers. 👍

I'm somewhat surprised Lexus isn't more stringent with their dealers when it comes to this since it's their brand equity, not just the dealer's, that it unecessarily erodes.

SW17LS

They can only be so stringent. Dealers are independently owned and federal law limits the power they have over franchisees.

Lexus policy is WAY stricter than all dealers. All Lexus says you are entitled a loaner for is warranty work lasting longer than I believe 6 hours or overnight. Dealers have more liberal policies but Lexus has nothing to do with that.

AKoch

To contrast this, all BMW dealers I dealt with charged for the loaner. And BMWs need to go into service A LOT more often.

SW17LS

BMW dealers here also have free loaners.

yardie876

The local BMW dealership by me outsources their rentals from Enterprise. Drive in with a 5 Series, drive out with a Chevy Malibu. For warranty work only, of course.

Johnny Rad

Last time, I promise. Engaging broken record...

What a wasted opportunity by this BMW dealership! First, this ensures the BMW owner doesn't brag up their stealer to friends and does nothing to reinforce the post-purchase experience to the buyer. Second, the stealer is missing a tremendous opportunity to sneakily slip in multiple test drives upon a potential repeat buyer. It's 100% short-sighted in my opinion, but I'm just a guy that likes to have something he's proud of and who can check out new stuff to spend more $ on...

Broken record off.

SW17LS

Remember that BMW dealers are now reduced basically to doing free factory maintenance every 25,000 miles. Yeah they get paid from BMW but not much. What kind of revenue do you think that brings in, vs Lexus who has a service stop that gets done every 5k miles and an oil change every 10k?

Remember most people use the dealer for factory maintenance on new cars and warranty work.

You have to understand the economics behind all of this. Yeah something sounds great when you throw it out there like that, but if it doesn't make economic sense then it wouldn't be a smart business decision.

If dealers thought having high end cars in their loaner fleets would make them money...they would do that.

Johnny Rad

It does make sense to me to offer one's own brand of own loaners.

I agree that service depts can be gold mines. However, sales and service have a symbiotic relationship. One relies on the other. Cars under factory warranty are far more likely to visit the stealer for service than those out of warranty. Replacing cars that have lost their warranty with new cars keeps the money tree growing in service.

Example: I bought brand x car. I like it, but it's getting older. Like most folks, I can't stand the car buying experience and avoid the sales floor. If I get a brand x loaner, then I'm continually exposed to the latest and greatest things from the brand I already bought - without stepping foot on the sales floor and facing my fear of scary salespeople. I'm therefore more likely to be aware of what brand x offers and you know the saying that it's "cheaper to keep your own customer than get a new one." Conversely, if I don't get a brand x loaner I'm more likely to be tempted by another car - a friend's new car, car rags or an advertisement somewhere.

In my humble opinion, it's shortsighted for them to hide behind the "it's too expensive" argument. Why does it feel like you're supportive?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

bmw and mb dealers around me all have tons of loaners. when i brought my bmw and mb in i never got anything but same brand loaners.

and the same with lexus

SW17LS

I'm supportive because I understand the realities of their business position. I used to consult with car dealers, specifically on techniques to convert sales to service. Profit margins are thin, overhead is huge. Lexus dealers are already the most profitable dealer franchises in the business, so they're doing something right.

I think an on brand loaner is an important amenity to a luxury service experience, I just understand why they can't stock low volume $90k LS and LX vehicles. The cost of doing that is too high even if it might have the opportunity to sell them a car. They sell plenty of cars already.

Johnny Rad

Good to have someone with industry experience onboard! Thanks for sharing.