bblair0826

I have always been a BMW person, but in December decided to buy a Lexus b/c of reliability. Haven't had best experience..

- Agreed to pay local dealer their price which was $2000 more than I could have gotten for in a larger city. Dealer told me if I didn't buy from them I would not get courtesy cars, access to customer lounge and priority service appts.
- Had to take car back within first two weeks b/c of a chronic driver side door rattle and grease smudges the dealer got inside rear door. Took me 45 minutes to drop off car and get courtesy vehicle and I got to svc dept before they opened. They drove my car 100 miles and claim they never could find rattle. As soon as I got on Interstate heading home the rattle noise was back.
- Took car in recently b/c the Lexus kick plates inside door were dented just from normal use getting in and out of car. I would think they would use more durable materials and wouldn't have that problem. Also tried again to get them to fix rattle. Another bad experience b/c they charged me $400 to replace those kick plates claiming it was damaged by abusive behavior and not covered under warranty. Still didn't find the rattle, and again it took me forever to get in and out.

I'm so frustrated with Lexus service at local dealer, just decided to get rid of the car. I'm back in a BMW now, and I am so much happier! That will be my first and last experience with Lexus.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Bye,bye!
From what I've read in many articles and forums,you'll be visiting your BMW dealer quite often.

xfirechief

So happy u are now happy.

Ever think of going to a different dealer?

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

C'mon.....that makes too much sense.

Grumpa72

Hmmm, I have a 2007 BMW 328xi with 11000+ miles and no complaints. I will say that if you read the BMW forums, you might get the impression that all is not well in the Bimmer community. However, once again I point out that "the squeeky wheel gets the grease" meaning you only hear from the guys and gals with problems.

My 2005 Lexus RX330 has also been trouble free with around 45000 miles. I am just about ready to buy new tires but these still have a few thousand good miles left in them and the brake pads have lots of material left on t hem.

To the OP I will say that your dealer service is not typical as compared to the service I get from my dealer.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Very true.
Every forum has people with complaints.Every vehicle line has issues here and there.
I like BMW.In fact I almost bought a 5 Series but didn't like the roughish ride so I went with a GS 350 and took off the run flats.

Lexmex

I once had a 1990 325i conv. Excellent vehicle, very rarely a problem with it, usually just the plastic or some screwy electrical problem. Then again, it was a southern Florida vehicle, which is the reason my RX300 gets a nice life now.

However, when I was in Mexico, my uncle, cousins and I would work on BMWs and they did have their problems. Usually these were 3 series (which I consider the most reliable of the BMWs), X5s or X3s. People turned to us rather than the dealer not only because of cost, but because in many cases the agencias (or dealers) couldn't fix the vehicles right.

That is a non-hospitable climate to vehicles and most of you who have known me throughout the years have seen in my picture and words what can happen to vehicles there. BMWs are by no means perfect vehicles and I don't consider them even among the most reliable any more.

SLegacy99

The interior in my dad's '06 330 has been fallin apart. Not good for a $40k vehicle.

Chpsk8

Thanks for posting. Must be raining at your house today.

ecount00

gee a couple of problems without easy sugary answers and he demands an immediate withdrawal from Lexus. Must be getting ready to run for elected office. Next time i have a squeek and a scuff on a new car, I'll remember to dump it, take a big loss and then gloat. that'll show em.

Todd

His point is valid. Sounds like he has a greedy dealer. The kickplates should be under warranty, or at least he should have been advised they were going to charge him before doing the repair. And, they lied to him about the courtesy cars and lounge. And, 100 miles is totally unreasonable for a service visit to put on his vehicle. And, his original problem still has not been solved.

My 2 cents, take it on up the ladder. Contact Lexus USA, convey the story and ask them to verify and inform them right off the bat you will not stop until satisfaction is had, plain and simple.

And by the way, I wouldn't trade my BMW 528 for anything. No major problems from me.

catdaddylo

Not going to get on Blair's case but in his defense there is only one Lexus dealer in the state of Arkansas. I bought my first Lexus from a Dallas dealer because the only Lexus dealer in the state a couple blocks from my home would not deal with me. I have bought 2 more Lexus from the local dealer because I got a better deal than my first experience with them. I have not had the problems with the service department as Blair has but I also have a rattle issue that I have not yet addressed yet with the Service dept. I plan on doing this next month with my free 6 month/5000 mile check up. I had talked to my service adviser the day after I bought my RX350 about the rattle and he advised me to see if I could live with it until my first free check-up. He said sometimes these things work their way out. Mine has not but it's not something that would make me get rid of the vehicle for another brand. I will keep this MB posted when I do have this issue addressed and will see how I am treated by the service department. Also there are only 2 BMW dealers in the state of Arkansas. The local one (Little Rock) and the other in Fayetteville. I also own a BMW Z3 but I had to buy it out of state due to the dealer not wanting to "deal" with me. I have been treated well by the local BMW dealer and have been given courtesy cars for check-ups, etc. The threat of not being able to use the Lexus customer lounge is just a salesman BS. I guarantee that the lounge is used by many customers who bought their Lexus out of state or used car lots. I also was told I would not have access to a curtsy car when I bought my first Lexus in Texas but the dealer took me to work and picked me up after work which was actually better as I did not have to worry about a finding a parking place. Anyway, Blair I am cutting you some slack but if I was not happy with the rattle issue I would hold their feet to the fire and make them wish you were not a Lexus customer as they do not won't any negative reports about their service to go to Lexus, North America. If you are not satisfied there is a complaint procedure in your owners manual that you can address. You may won't to reconsider before you loose a lot of money when you buy that BMW.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Yeah,it's got to be tough for service perks and purchase discounts when you only have one dealer in the state.
I have around 10 Lexus dealers in a 50 mile radius.

javanutsy

I am happy with both Lexus and BMW. Neither make perfect cars, and my dealer experiences were less then perfect, but I also didn't expect perfection.

triplecore

What do you guys mean by local dealers? My parents did not get my lexus at out local dealer; we actually drove an extra 40 min instead of the Lexus dealer 15 minutes away. I like the farther dealer because its newer and they have better costumer service, but when I don't have time I bring it to my local Lexus dealer for new wipers, oil change and a warranty repair they never complained. I think Lexus dealers are supposed to honor all Lexus costumers the same as long as you own the car and its a Lexus CPO or not. Only warranty repair might be different, but they understandable; I don't see how it effects your access to the Lounge or Loaner cars (2 Hr or more repair). The lounge at all the Luxury dealers I been to whether Lexus or Mercedes can't say BMW never been their are pretty much open door. For all they now someone could walk in off the street and get some free internet, coffee, wraps, salads, bagels, etc. I actually wonder why people don't actually do that nobody would now.