are is200's really unreliable cars?
or am i being fleeced by lexus bracknell?
im consistently being charge 200-400 nicker every 4/5 months (in addition to service visits) for things that are going wrong.
is that normal for a 99-registered is200se with 65k on the clock?
i cant decide if i should take my business to another dealership in the hope that i'll get a better quality of service...or if i should take my business to another car manufacturer and turn my back on the lexus brand altogether - something i thought i could never do.

i really have had enough of them taking money off me faster than i can get it out of my pocket.
am i the only one who's car is seemingly falling apart?

I have had my Is for a year and a half, 99V 54,000 miles, never had a single problem touch wood, damn gone and done it now.

What has been done on the car?

had a clanking sound in the front right wheel, which i took the car in three times to get it looked at.
each time they fixed something which they were convinced would clear it up, and each time they charged me, not acknowledging that the price of the previous visit should have come off the price of the next. and each time, the noise disappeared for a week or two, but came back again.

the same happened with a clicking sound that i could hear when i depressed the clutch.

on the second time i dropped the car off with this issue, they replaced both front breakpads (which were only 60% worn) and added the cost to my bill without even ringing me up to ok it with me first, and gave me the excuse "well they wouldve needed changing soon anyway". That bombshell statement was followed by the news that i would have to fork out another £200 for a new pedal kit to stop the clicking sound.

my ensuing complaint resulted in me getting the pedal kit paid for and fitted for free, but that only kept me sweet until my visit this morning to take it in to have the key receiver replaced at a cost of £260 (upped to £380 with the labour) for my two keys that have gone out of sync a good four or five times since i bought the car (used) in 2002, resulting in me having to turn the key in the lock (setting the alarm off) to get in.

while i was there this morning - i also asked them to have a look at the clanking sound in the front wheel (which has come back) and the clicking sound in the clutch (which has come back too).

i dread to think what they are gonna tell me ive got to pay when they call tomorrow.

basically ive let them take me to the cleaners over the last year or so, and its got to end.

either i get rid of the car or......

...i dont know what....

is it just me?

have i got on the wrong side of one of the technicians somehow?

is it just a rare case of an is200 thats falling apart to early?

i'd love to know the answer.

(hope this message isnt too long! )

Sounds like you've had some bad luck, if you feel you're not getting anywhere with the dealer you could always try getting in touch with Lexus GB and let them try and help get everything resolved for you - it is taking the ***** a bit that you're paying to have the noise fixed and it's still got the problem.

Isnt the car covered under warranty?

not covered under warranty no.

it was registered in sept 99.

warranty has long expired.

i bought it off the lexus nottingham forecourt in feb 02 when it had 27k on the clock. (just under half the warranty left at that time)

no idea if the previous owner treated with as much respect as i do though.

sounds like they are taking you for a ride.

If you ask them to fix something, and they don't - you want your money back, or it worked on again (largely within the money already paid) until it is fixed.


think you might need to be more firm with them - although to be honest, I would stop using them, and let them know why they have lost your business

I live in the local area and have veered between loving and hating Lexus Bracknell! The Lexus dealership in Reading is also part of the Octogon group but seems to come out more favourably.

I had the same problem as you with my clutch when I had my IS and they just replaced a spring (under warranty).

I think it's disgusting they are expecting to be paid for work when they've not fixed the issues in the first place. I'd speak to the dealer principle/bodyshop manager first and if you get no happy resolution speak to Lexus GB. Then vote with your feet if you get no luck. Also let them know you're a member of LOC and all your experiences, positive and negative will be posted here.

i know the parts dept are , thay dont know what parts are what, thay can not tell the diff ( with front bumper and a supercharger ) there you go,you all know where i got my front bumper from now.

Suspect Sales Department would be good

Having read your first entry, it reads identical to the same problem I had at Bracknell last year (mention Mark Watson to the services manager and he'll probably shiver).

Its a huge long story so to summarise:

I took my car in for its 20k service and asked for other things to be done. WHen I picked the car up, none of the other bits had been done and they charged me for work without authorisation. Car went back again to have the work done again.

One of the things they were supposed to do was fix clunking noises from my front wheels. They had the car in 8, yes 8 times to try to fix it. In that time, they replaced steering rack, bushes, most parts of suspension, pads, loads of stuff. Every time they gave the car back, they said it 'might' be fixed. In the end, escalated to Lexus GB who got a proper mechanic to have a look and said it was the engine mounting brackets. Changed these and all okay. This was about a year ago although I think it might have started to return again. I didn't even get a courtesy call to ask if all okay. Moaned again and got a free service.

Unlike yourself, didn't have to pay for any of the above as car still under warranty.

But tell them engine mounting brackets if still a problem, it might help them. Or look up the records on car OV51FJZ.

funny you should say you didnt get a courtesy call...

i got a phone call a few weeks ago from a bloke who said he was calling from a company that were working on behalf of lexus bracknell to ask me about my experience with regards to my visit in june when they wasted my time (and money) realigning my keys to the obviously doomed receiver. (see original post at the top of this page)

naturally i couldnt believe my luck when he called, and i had a field day answering his questions.

but he nearly dropped the phone in shock when he asked me if i had received a courtesy call within 'five weeks of my visit' and i said no.

he said it like it was customary. i went on to tell him that i could safely say that with all my visits to the lexus bracknell garage, (approx 10-15) i have never received a follow-up courtesy call.

i think that pretty much confirmed for me that they must have ear-marked me for their bottom service-class!

cheers for your story though mcwatson
that'll give me a bit more 'oomph' when i go in to get the car back.

They're just crap. We had a courtesy car from them when my IS was in to replace the stereo (ERR3) problem. They forgot to call when the car was ready, I didn't ring out of principle and spent a week ramping up the mileage on their courtesy car!

I took my car under warranty to Bracknell to get the alloys changed for free.

They gave me an IS as a courtesy car for free. But they then phoned me and said the tyres needed replacing.

Now the reason, I asked for the alloys to be changed was that I'd just rotated the tyres and decided the alloys needed changing. So I knew how much tread was on each tyre.

I pretended I WAS interested in new tyres but hadn't decided which brand I wanted. When I got the car back, I was worried they might have shaved off some tread but they were OK and nowhere near as worn as they claimed over the phone.

I got them to quote me for 3 brands of new tyres but haven't been back since. Mind you the prices were good.

Had a service later and took it to Guildford who quoted lower labour costs.

Sounds like Bracknell are desperate for business. But if these sorts of practice are the way they're trying to get it, I'd say it's going to be counter productive.

Had accident damage repaired at Bracknell. Afterwards the paint texture at the bottom of the door didn't match the others so they resprayed it without any arguing. I recon the service I got was really good for both visits.

However they were the ones that quoted £726 to repaint the whole roof to deal with a stone chip. Local backstreet place painted just the front of the roof and blended it in for £125.

for anyone who's interested...the ending to the story:

got the car back.

they fixed the key receiver unit at a cost of 250 - plus 80 for the labour, and fixed both the clanking sounds for free on the parts insurance.

perhaps they heard about my using the owners club to vent my frustrations?!

so all's reasonably well that ends reasonably well.

unfortunately having driven all the way out to bracknell during my lunch hour in the courtesy car (from windsor) to get mine back, and then all the way back to windsor again in mine (about half an hour each way), i pulled back into the office carpark to discover that my steering lock wasnt there to put on.

no.

it was attached to the steering wheel of the courtesy car i had left behind in bracknell.

hence i had them on the phone saying for insurance purposes they had to move their car to put it away before the end of the day, so would i kindly come and get it.

so battling rush hour M4 traffic from the second the clock struck 5, ive just added another hour to my day.

you couldnt make it up.....you really couldnt.

one thing i forgot to do though was ask for the £60 labour they charged me in june to realign my keys with the then knackered receiver to come off the price of replacing the receiver.

i asked when i went to take the lock off, and i'm told they'll call me tomorrow.

with their track record of living up to their word and calling people back when they say they will - i'd say thats the last ive heard of that one.

Got a phone call the other day from Lexus Guildford. They said my service was due so I booked an appointment. They seemed to think I needed a B service and quoted £385 but I said I had a B last time and needed an A service. They didn't get back to me with another quote.

Anyway, today I got a letter from Lexus BRACKNELL confirming the appointment. UNBELIEVABLE! I phoned Guildford and got a quote of £180 for an A service and then got a quote from Bracknell for £118.

Given this thread and the dodgy dealings I've had from Bracknell I didn't want to chance it with them. The last time I got a service from Bracknell, they used cheap oil which makes up the difference anyway.

After reading your story DeanoDinelli there is no way on earth I would let it lie. You can cobble together a letter for the dealer principal or Lexus GB and let them know the score?

I also have received poor service from Bracknell allbeit from the parts department.

I was NOT treated as a valued customer. Link here

I wrote to lexus GB who replied with an apology which is far more than I received from Bracknell.

It is a shame that these dealers are allowed to continually deliver this level of customer care. I will NOT be using Bracknell again.

The ridiculous thing is they are part of the Octagon group that own Lexus Reading where I take my car and have received very good customer service.

I have left dealer reviews on both.

Well so far i can only say that Bracknell have been excellent when I have delt with them (I hope it continues - touch wood)). I have called around for quotes and got a better price of them than other dealers in the area.


BTW- All you non goldies using these places would save A LOT if you went GOLD

two weeks on and i still havent heard a whisper from the girl at lexus bracknell about a refund of the unneccessary £60 labour they charged me.

perhaps she thought i was joking.

wonder if ill get my 'customary' phone call *choke* within 5 weeks of my visit to see if i was happy with the experience?

wonder if hell will freeze over?

I can only add that the lexus side of things at Bracknell is first class but they are let down by the Toyota service bit - work not done as requested etc.

i sold u the charger.. so i know what the dif is between a front bumper and a supercharger..

Yes i know but you said that someone had ordered a TTE back box for MR2 and you got supercharger. and one of the mechanics was telling you that the little black box(ecu) was not needed to fit the supercharger kit

Ok,so whats that got to do with me and not knowin what the dif is between a bumper and charger??? second i gave u excatly what came in the kit.. how was i to know aboult the piggy back ecu.. didnt come in the kit so what am i to know..

I know that this dealer can suck sometimes but u can put that down to the service dept.. there the ones that f**k it all up.. fink its a bit harsh sayin i dont know the dif between a bumper and a charger when i clearly do..

Sorry not mean you, was only going off what you told me at the time

As far as the Octagon group goes i think that there not as bad as everyone makes out.. Ok,we have a new lexus site but still no workshop but thats not to mean that Toyota tech's are working on your vehicals..

If anyone has any problems and needs advice we have a great technical team that can advise on any problems to be solved..


And if anyone has any problems and need parts.. il gladly help . but only if its a bumper or a supercharger.. no problems gordon..

Il try to do my best to prove we aint all muppets over here...