Bolton Lexus - Never Again

[lexuslexus]

Please see dealer reviews Bolton Lexus or go to www.jmgoodman.freeserve.co.uk I've just had the' Lexus experience' and I don't want it again.

[wildrnes]

well that is a surprise

i highly recomend lexus stockport they are a good bunch

i wonder if the accident repair was done at bolton's body shop

hope you enjoy your new car ... what did you get?

[93_LS400]

Good stuff.

IMHO you should have got an RAC or AA inspection. Pricey but worth it.

What year was the LS400 ?

Mine was a 93 bought with 105000 on the clock and it's more or less OK.

[rhaines]

I look forward to LGB's response on that one :D

[lexuslexus]

The car was a 1999 S reg up for £17,995. They said it had had an RAC inspection, although I wasn't shown it when I bought the car. the salesperson just said it had sailed through., all approved Lexi are supposed to have been examined by the RAC, but I have also heard from friends who alledge these are not very good?

[lexuslexus]

I bought a 1998 R reg LS400 Mk4 privately, one owner, it has 58000 FLSH, and had even had the cambelts changed early, at a lot less £s.

[lexuslexus]

Had a chat with my local trading standards dept. They were very interested and will take the matter up on my behalf via Bolton Trading Standards. Incidently they tell me that if a manager asks a customer to lie to a potential customer, ie say to anyone who rings up - I just did not like the car and not mention the breakdown, he/she has committed a criminal offence. What is so sad is that had they just made a gesture to compensate me for my actual losses and a bit of goodwill because it ruined my holiday all this would not have been necessary. He seemed more concerned about his own loss repeatedly telling me it would be about £1000.

[Loz]

My Car was orriginaly supplied by the Lexus Bolton (formerly R.R.G Bolton I think) and I had little joy when trying to get some useful info about the radio code from them...

But you have been seriously abused and I would hope that Lexus GB recognise the power of the pen in this instance. You might want to copy any follow up letters to all the Motoring press and local bolton Press. NAME AND SHAME!

Glad you got a bargain and stayed with the brand though.

Hope you and your well educated wife enjoy the rest of your hols.

Loz :zee:

[Steve ( West Mids )]

As you are no doubt aware your contract is with the dealer, if Lexus GB did want to get involved then the dealer is on their side not yours. Believe me I've been there already.

If you are out of pocket then I suggest you take out a small claims court summons against them. As well as the £100 include a not unreasonable sum for ditress, lack of trust etc. Before you file it take it to Lexus Bolton Centre Manager and ask him to read it in front of you.

Await the outcome.

If you need any contacts either @ Lexus (GB) or the press please pm me.

I am currently waiting for my replacement ( after rejection ) Lexus that is 6 weels old and only done 350 miles to go in for it's third piece of work on faulty paintwork.

[Rob]

ohhhhh what a very great surprise - lexus bolton living up to thier normal standards once again I had a major run around when buying my IS from them, the manager you spoke to wouldnt happen to have the initials C.M by any chance??

I also contacted Lexus GB about the absolutly disgusting attitude i recieved and the answer i got was, and I quote " its nothing to do with us, the dealers are independant and they can do what they want"

great isnt it?

[mudzs]

I notice you say lexus GB will not get involved ,I had the same problem with a used volvo about a year ago, it to had a rac warranty but after owning the car for a few weeks i got all sorts of problems wheel wobble ,stiff clutch in fact the pedal was so high my wife and i had to lift our foot completly of the floor to change gear.Volvo uk also would not get involved and insisted it was down to the supplying dealer to sort probs .I took the car to another main dealer for a used car check (£180 )and they found 63 faults on the car yes i said 63 ranging from two buckled rear alloys ,Master cylinder for clutch was seized ,all discs were worn ,The list was massive .The dealer rectified all faults at enormous cost about £4000 in total .The worst thing is to rectify the high clutch pedal they took it off heated it up bent it downwards and stuck it back on.this cured the problem of the high pedal but the biting point for the clutch was at the very top of its travel.I realy do not think dealer rac reports are worth the paper they are written on and i would never trust any garage main dealer or not always do your own checks they are more than worth the money .An example of this is the dealer i bought my car from had rac report done while i was there and i watched him do it from the showrooom it took no longer than 15 mins and he did not look under the car .After a week of driving it i could hear a rattling noise underneath turned out to be the clips that hold on the exhaust sheild had rusted through and were hanging down ,Funning how a rac inspection failed to spot it and all i did was look under the car .I think all main dealers are only as good as the bloke that has bought the franchise because that is all you are dealig with most of the time mr used car salesman made good .

The weirdest thing was when i took my car back to lexus for a service they had a new salesman and it was the one that sold me the volvo a year previous .you should have seen his face it was a picture :D .He slated volvo and the franchise he worked for and said he now agreed with all of my problems funny how his attitude changed now he is working for lexus.Also he said the volvo garage had lost its franchise due to the amount of complaints. :D

[lexuslexus]

As I tried to explain to Lexus GB it is they who pay for and produce the Lexus advertising that contains the claims about how good the 'Lexus Experience' is. I think, therefore, they have some responsibility when it doesn't turn out as they promise. Is is after all they who through their advertising induce us to visit a dealership to make a purchase. I personally think Lexus have got overconfident with the JD Power results etc. It doesn't take much bad publicity to undue a great deal of good, after all bad news travels faster than good! It would have been so easy for them to resolve this issue but they just can't bring themselves to do this, even though they repeatedly state that' the customer comes first' . If they do sort this out I will of course be the first one to let everyone know, because I am honest. The really sad thing is the cars are so good, good job they sell themselves without the need for Lexus salespersons.

[Wosket]

I bought my W plate IS200 Sport navigator from Lexus Bolton in January and have to say recevied top class service. The missus jammed the CD changer moments after leaving the dealership (entirely her fault, didnt wait for the lights to flash before inserting another cd) so we went back and they fitted a new head unit the very next day. Also a few days after having the car, I noticed a few scrapes on the n/s front wheel arch which I know I didnt do so I took it back and they sent me to MCR (Manchester Car Refurbishment) and said they would pay for it (as they should). Clive the dealership manager also noticed a scratch on the bonnet and said they would take care of that for me as well. The car was repaired and valeted and looking like new within days. The chrome gear knob was also worn but I wasnt that fussed at the time as I was going to get a different one. But last month I was passing Lexus Bolton and popped in, said I wasnt happy with my knob (ooo errr!!!) and they gave me a brand new knob straight away. Coming up for my 60k service soon though and am not sure whether to go back or go to Stockport. I'm a bit concerned after reading about Bolton on this fantastic site!

[Wosket]

How come I've come up as a new member with 1 post?? Is it cos all my other posts (not many!) have been in Gold? Or am I just having a spaz day?????

[lexuslexus]

Stockport does seem to get excellent comments, thats where I'm going now.

[nickmoul]

Lets be honest, with 20/20 hindsight, you should have walked out as soon as you didn't like the salesman. I had an unhelpful experience with Lexus Leeds. The salesman knew nothing about the car, offered pathetic trade-ins and was not interested in negotiating.

Then 2 days later I was speaking to a business colleague who - it turned out - had a relation who had just purchased the Leeds Franchise. I was contacted by the Leeds Boss who arranged to see me. I was then treated like a fool, offered a discount of so called £1500, but it was actually only a £1000 because they'd restickered the forecourt price (and on the internet). He reduced the Trade in I'd been offered the previous week on 2 cars by £750. I was then offered a test drive accompanied by a very new young salesman, which was a joke because the car hadn't even been valeted. It also was very scruffy.

I sold my 2 cars IN THE TRADE for £1500 more, bought a s/h Harrier (RX-300) with 18,000 miles on which is pristine and My vendor was Braham Garage (not a Lexus Dealer), who have been superb. They even helped reprogram the ECU after the car was stolen with the keys and I needed to get it so the ToeRags could not get back into it.

Sadly Lexus is about marketing a great range of cars.

All the rest is just guff in the UK. Its no better or worse than any Prestige car dealer. They all shortcut on service unless you give them no opportunity to get it wrong, by being very very careful, obviously looking under the bonnet, checking the oil colour after a service, giving them a list of faults and getting it back with the words "rectified" written against it. I mean think of the labour rates they're charging, realise they do as little as possible. Most of what they do is just connect up the diagnosis cable and read off the display.

I reckon to go to the dealer JUST for the service and take it to a real garage to get anything else done. Also a safety check by your favoured real garage may save your life.

Cynical Nick.

[mylexus]

read this just in time. Bolton is my nearest dealer and I was about to purchase an ls430. Think I will go to Stockport instead. Stockport does seem to get much better write ups. Thanks for the insight. :o

[Loz]

Wondering at what point this is going to get printed off and sent to the OWNER of Lexus Bolton...

Copied to the Editor of:

Auto Express

Top Gear

Car

Japanese Performance

Autocar

The Sunday Times Motoring Section

Mike Rutherford (of Talksport Motor show and Daily Mirror)

James Whale ( cos he is a C U Next Tuesday)

And the CEO of:

Lexus GB

LEXUS

Sytner Group

Parragon

Reg Vardy

JCT 600

I'm sure they would all find a use for it somewhere....

Feel free to delete this post when you do send it off if you think its inappropriate :winky:

Loz :zee:

[Fargo]

read this just in time. Bolton is my nearest dealer and I was about to purchase an ls430. Think I will go to Stockport instead. Stockport does seem to get much better write ups. Thanks for the insight. :o

errr IS430....... :P

[Loz]

read this just in time. Bolton is my nearest dealer and I was about to purchase an ls430. Think I will go to Stockport instead. Stockport does seem to get much better write ups. Thanks for the insight. :o

errr IS430....... :P

blumin' power junkies! :P

[Dobbin]

I would just like to add that Lexus GB cannot just blame the dealer and leave it at that.

Recently we have been having an issue over something and it can't be sorted without the dealer going to Lexus GB for advice/guidance/ approval.

If it's the case that the problems stayed with the dealer and Lexus GB don't get involved then why would they have to be involved in our case ???

[TonyGoose]

Though they repeatedly state that' the customer comes first'

OK, so do they just roll over and go to sleep then :P

Incidentally, i saw an IS200 being RAC inspected.

The car was in the showroom and didn't move.

Nothing more than a wander round and note the stone chips.

[Loz]

Though they repeatedly state that' the customer comes first'

OK, so do they just roll over and go to sleep then :P

Incidentally, i saw an IS200 being RAC inspected.

The car was in the showroom and didn't move.

Nothing more than a wander round and note the stone chips.

Iam so glad that I have never wasted any money on these then... I guess its only worth having if there is a guarantee attached. IF the RAC man says its groovy and then it aint, surely you have recourse. Or is it like the MOT, worth Sweet Fanny Adams once you drive off the lot?

Makes me more and more certain that you just don't buy from crooks. Went to THe Leodis Centre lastnight and expressed my interest in the New Aston Martin AMV8 due out in 2005. they have 350 letters of intent already which means letters now would produce a car in 2008! still, its nice to know I'll get it when I have the money and not have to hock my twins for the balance!

Did I mention I want an Aston martin before I am forty? Oh yeah! Boy has to have his toys, expect I will have had my TVR by then too....

:zee:

[ColinBarber]

The AA and RAC inspections that customers pay for should include a road test. Maybe the dealer inspections are just cosmetic?

[Dobbin]

Did I mention I want an Aston martin before I am forty? Oh yeah! Boy has to have his toys, expect I will have had my TVR by then too....

:zee:

WARNING

Loz

If you want an Aston go to Car Care Works (www.db7centre.co.uk) I bought mine from them and can't praise them highly enough - their knowledge of the product and customer care is second to none and you don't get any hint of being patronised (as was my experience with 3 main dealers )

Sorry for a quick hijack of the topic