Bad experience at the Lexus dealership
 

Yesterday my cousin and I walked into our neighborhood Lexus dealership in Princeton, NJ to do some research on the RX330 which our family was interested in. Well all I can is that our reception was less that I had expected. At the previously visited dealers like Acura, Nissan we were helped quickly and the sales people were very nice (We even got free drinks at the Acura dealer). However at the Lexus dealership we overheard the Sales clerk speaking to the manager.

"Should I help these two?" says the Sales clerk
"No, we don't have any paying customers" replies the manager.

We couldn't believe that they would treat us like that. Granted my cousin and I are a little youngish 18 and 21 but we didn't expect that. Our job was to go and inspect some of the cars that were mentioned by our family and evaluate them (Since we are the gear heads of the family). So we continued to inspect the car by ourselves which we eventually concluded was lesser of an automobile then some of the competitors models anyways. Just thought it was an interesting story and goes to show how different the dealers service can be.

That is when you make a scene, while inside the car and be like " Holy shit I didn't think this would brake as easy." The trick is to leave right away and watch them go over looking for what you "broke". :mrgreen:

Yeah man, get a dodge magnum instead!

Magnums are kewl but theirs still the 300c to

omg, how stupid... :shock: They said that???
Fuck them indeed as everso said :wink:

I thought Lexus was rated high on their dealer satisfaction index. Possibly this was a one-off situation. But who carse, its their loss not yours.

Sorry to hear about that experience, I know how much it sucks when you go to a dealer and they treat you like shit and act like you aren't even there.

My family has owned several lexus models in the past (though none currently). I was always treated excellent by the sales people at the dealers. Even when I went in by myself (when I was only eighteen) and they didn't know who I was, they were very respectful and curtious. I think this could have been one of those weird, one-off situations as SAMEERRAO stated.

Generally Lexus sales persons are rated extremely high in the customer service area.

well their loss would be 30 thousand dollars your loss would be a couple hours :lol:

Forget it, just some dumbasses :roll: I never care what they think, they just work there. Owner of the dealership would take care of you, and this just show how bad salesmens they are. Go somewareelse/ other Lexus dealership and tell them that story, trust me they would say "ouh... that would never happen in our dealership" :mrgreen:

Screw the RX, get a Lincoln Navi, or maybe a Acura MDX. the MDX is really nice, much better than the RX.

I agree, the Acura MDX was very impressive both standing still and on the test drive. Not to mention the dealer was really cool. I still have to check out the Infinity FX and the BMW X5 and see how the Acura stacks up against them.
If it was completely up to me I would possibly get that, or a Subaru WRX wagon since the automobile is going to see lots of snow in the winter time and I rather have something lower to the ground.

After looking at it, you should have walked away and said very loudly "I'm gonna get the X5 instead"

sadly if you want luxury SUV I would say the Cayenne is your best bet but I have to say the FX45 is a badass truck I've gotten to drive one and they are great and sound the best out of the bunch aswell. Personally I see waay too many X5's around here and they are getting boring and they are a bit over priced compared to the rest of the pack. Then again this also depends on which FX you are looking at and which X5 if your looking at the smaller engines then I would go for BMW but for the larger engines FX all the way. Also the LRD3 is always an option if you are gonna wait a bit eventhough they cost a bitch to service once that warranty expires.

yea i would agree with Tbird. the FX is a nice looking car and it sounds great too (especially the 45) also i like the SRX V8 which you havent mentioned, have you considered that?

Fuck them. The "I didn't know that would break that easy" thing is a must do. Maybe you can pay them a visit tomorrow and try it (if they decide to be lazy jackasses again). :twisted:

I agree, forget Lexus and check out the Infiniti FX :o

Sounds like my expedition! I went to the following dealerships with 2 other 17 year-old guys:

Ford
Audi
BMW
Mercedes
Honda
Subaru
Nissan

The ONLY dealership where someone actually tried to help us was the Audi dealership!! The Ford and Subaru guys were COMPLETE assholes! I took a Mustang pamphlet from the Ford dealership, and the guy was like "Did you leave you're One Dollar deposit!?!" (he was just kidding, but i didnt think it was funny). And the Subaru guy just sat there sitting on his computer, and said without even looking at us "Can I HELP YOU!?!" in a "Get the hell out of here" kind of voice. Im in a similar situation as you too, because my dad wants a new car and I'm the one researching what he should get. Luckily, the Audi lady was really nice and thats the car my dad favoured most anyway. Subaru was always the worst too, even too my dad they were pushy... just thought id do some venting of my own 8)

Well im suprise at how ignorant the sales ppl were, I would'nt buy a car from there dealership ever and I'd report em, I hate ppl like that :x

That's fucking awesome!

I bet spending all that money to buy the car was worth it for the look on their faces (also worth spending the money cause its a great car, but the look must have been great to see!) :D :twisted:

fuckers! :fist:

/\/\ Yeah I heard a lot of similar stories to this on a Civic Type R forum, young lads go in, get turned away, find a less stereotyping dealer, buy the car off him and go back to the first place and they're like 'fuck you I bought it elsewhere ' hehehe 0X

Car dealerships are notoriously bad places to work, as the entire strategy (in the US at any rate) is based almost completely on getting people out the door with car keys. Unfortunately this means that a lot of potential customers get the cold shoulder because of their looks or age or something like that. I've been in that situation too, so what I've done in the past is gone to a different rep at the same dealer and had him complete the transaction instead of the other asshole.

There was an article that got published recently on www.edwards.com about the underhanded shit that goes on in car sales...might be a good read if you want to get angry at someone.

Seems like lots of people have had bad experiences in car dealers at one time or another.
I wonder how much business the car dealers lose to online dealers on eBay and other auction/sales sites? If the threat ever gets serious enough maybe the dealers would rethink there attitude towards there potential customers.

Ive got a story for you all. The Ford dealership out here after my mom test drove a focus for here long distance car, went out of their way to be jackasses. The salesman went to runt he paperwork up, when he came back he had changed the style of focus, and added options we never even asked about or for. We promptly left after that. Do they believe we are stupid?

The guy at the Acura dealership that we test drove with was ranting on about american car dealers too. He was saying how he would hate to work there since everyone in the states seems to expect that if they buy an american car they should get it for free (or something like that). I guess he has a point about that, but then again if some of the american car makers stepped it up a little bit perhaps that misconception would disappear. Like on Top Gear they always speak about the interior of american cars, saying that they wonder where we find these terrible plastics. Although we happen to own a Corvette and even though the interior could be a little more stylish I don't think the conclusion that the interior is terribly cheap is fair either.

man you guys have really bad stories about dealerships. All the dealerships around here are pretty nice they won't bother you if your just looking and they are mostly glad to answer any questions I have from any of the local Ford dealerships (3 in a 10 mile radius) one of which we know the owner so that helps on up to www.LFSC.com and anything in between but the Bentley/Rolls/lambo dealer in Chicago can be a little bit snobbish.

Sorry guys, had a bit of a brain fart...the website for the horror stories is actually at www.edmunds.com, not www.edwards.com, for the story itself, here's the URL...enjoy, and keep some tissues handy, you'll be crying with anger by the time you get halfway through...

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying...2/page001.html

Wow, I am really surprise. I am guessing it is the fact that you are young. Also keep in mind what kind of car you guys drive up in. That often plays a big factor.

I personally have had the best experience at Lexus dealers. I have dealt with BMW, Audi, Acura and Cadillac. And I have notice that they offer the best personal service. Such as getting drinks for you. Greeting you at the door. Making sure you are comfortable while you wait.

In my opinion, BMW is the worst. I have notice that it all depends on the car that you roll up in. For example, I drove my mom's 4Runner and I would hardly get any service at all. But when I drive my 328is, salesman would come rushing to open the door for me, asking if I want to upgrade to the new 330i or M3.

So of course they judge whether or not if you were going to spend money and offer the appropriate amount of service. Not the best way of running a business, but it is effective.

sure make me wanna go a get a toyota ;)

A customer is a customer and if the sales rep's comments are overheard by the customer it is worth writing a letter to the dealer principal/owner with preferably a CC to the customer service manager at head office. Detail your experience and mention that you won't be purchasing your (or your family's) next car from the dealer. Most important'y don't go back there to buy a car. Hit em where it hurts - lost sales!

I've done the research and reconnaissance for my family's car purchases from the age of about 17. I've had a couple of similar situations, where my age has made the salesman look down at me. It is a pity that such upstanding citizens such as car salesman <sarcasm> can form an opinion by a quick look at the customer. I'm sure the joyriders and people wandering in for just a 'look' must piss them off, but making comments loud enough for the customer to hear is just wrong.

I actually enjoy playing the part of the "joyrider" and "looker" and what I call the "salesman troller".

It is great fun - I have lead them all the way to F&I where they want to run the credit check - and I just stand up and say "You know what - you are still $x thousand off my price. Bye bye.."

And walk out.

Trust me, it is the best free fun you can have for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon. Hell - you can even make out with a free cup of coffe or can of soda.

I really love having them go back and forth to the sales manager "refining the deal" LOL :lol: One day I should take a hidden camera with me just for shits and grins.

:)

Yeah I did that yesterday... with a Chevy dealer. Wanted to drive a Z06. My god it's quick, even compared to my Trans Am. I 'didn't buy' on the basis that it didn't come in liftback body style (although I already knew that :wink: )

So - you have tasted the forbidden fruit... when will we see you LS6ing it in the DFW area... ??? ;)h