paul-uk

Should have mentioned the reason I found this company is because my neighbour reversed into my car and they are an approved Lexus repairer. The repair job was excellent and they give a life time guarantee on the paint job. They maybe in your area http://www.fixauto.com/en/world-network.sn I also used the Sytner Accident Service - who basically claim directly of the 3rd party insurance (so no need to contact your own). They also gave me a GS450 for 2 weeks whilst my car was being repaired.

Sorry for the delay ... however I have just booked my 40k service for my IS220d at http://www.fixautocardiff.co.uk/, I have asked for the Premium Service using Lexus parts and to have my front brakes pads replaced. £300 inc vat. Lexus Parts breakdown - Brake pad set £59.60 Oil £27 Air filter £18.15 Oil filter £9.33 Fuel filter £14.90 Fuel clean - £24

If the car is 5 years old then £199 but not sure if this inclides the IS250. http://www.sytner.co.uk/lexus/aftersales/aftersales-offers/lexus-service-over-5-years-old.aspx Or this one for £250 which should cover the IS250 http://www.sytner.co.uk/lexus/aftersales/aftersales-offers/lexus-essential-care.aspx I have just booked my 40k service for my IS220d at http://www.fixautocardiff.co.uk/, I have asked for the Premium Service using Lexus parts and to have my front brakes pads replaced. £300 inc vat.

Here is the reply.... Thank you for your email dated 15 October 2010 and for taking the trouble to contact us. I was sorry to note your comments and to learn that you are unhappy with the variation in service prices you have been provided by Lexus Cheltenham, Lexus Cardiff and the Sytner Group, I can understand your concerns and why you have felt it necessary to write to us. I would like to take this opportunity to explain that the Lexus Centre network is made up of franchised independent companies and as such the cost to service a vehicle will vary depending on the Lexus Centre. The actual components will be the same recommended retail cost throughout and the Centres will set their own labour rates in accordance with their individual business needs. We are actively looking to control prices and reduce ownership costs wherever possible, as such Lexus have implemented the Essential Care programme as an alternative for the standard Lexus service for older vehicles. The standard Lexus service is designed for vehicles typically 0-3 years old that are still covered by the manufacturers warranty and that do normal mileage within that life cycle. These vehicles need to be maintained to factory standards and these services include a number of adjustments and replacements because of those typical demands. The Essential Care service only addresses those essential adjustments and replacements needed following those first 3 years and ensures the vehicle is kept to a good basic standard of safety and road worthiness. Naturally, price and content is proportionate. If you would like a further breakdown of the costs quoted by a Sytner website, I would respectfully suggest that you contact the Service Manager at your preferred Sytner Lexus Centre as they are best placed to discuss your needs and provide you with a service quotation. They are also best placed to provide a breakdown of the costs to service your vehicle. With reference to the future servicing of your car, I would like to confirm that the maintenance can be completed at a garage of your choice. I can also confirm that in doing so the manufacturer's warranty on your vehicle will only be affected if a failure results from maintenance that is not keeping with the manufacturer's recommendations and guidelines. In order to avoid this situation occurring it is incumbent upon you to keep records that can corroborate that maintenance has been completed in line with the recommended service schedule and that it has been completed in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. I trust this clarifies the situation and we would always advise customers to use the facilities and expertise that are available within Lexus Centre network. This is due to the fact that they have instant access to the latest technical training and vehicle information. It may also be worthy to note that if you wish to purchase an extended warranty, the terms and conditions of the policy do state the car must be serviced by an authorised Lexus Centre. In closing, I would like to thank you for taking the time to write to us and for bringing your concerns to our attention. Yours sincerely Sam Ragan Customer Relations Executive

I sent the email on Friday so hopefully will get a reply tomorrow... I dont see how they can charge labour at different rates depending on the age of the car!!

I have sent the following to Lexus Head Office, I will let you know once they reply!! Can you please explain why there is such a variation on the price for a 40k service between different Lexus divisions. I was quoted £475 from Lexus Cheltenham and £375 from Lexus Cardiff. I then found that I could have exactly the same service for £199 via a Sytner website, however this is for cars over 5 years old. As my car is only 4 years old I have to pay more for the labour! I think this is absolutely outrageous. I spoke to my local dealership who advised this is a promotion for customer loyalty. Why should I have a service with Lexus and pay an additional £176 for my loyalty? Sytner are currently advertising 2 promotions which offer either a "gold service" for £199 as shown here http://www.sytner.co.uk/lexus/aftersales/aftersales-offers/lexus-service-over-5-years-old.aspx , or a major service for £249 as shown here http://www.sytner.co.uk/lexus/aftersales/aftersales-offers/lexus-essential-care.aspx. Both the services are the same and from the same company so why the price difference? Why wouldn't I just pay for an independent service with genuine parts for £153?

Further to my previous post "Lexus Cheltenham Are The Best! (Feb 2009)", I now retract this statement. They are nothing but a bunch of cowboys!! Their service department is a complete joke, they make up prices for a service depending on what day you call, even if you speak to the same person. They even forgot to collect my car for the 30k service and MOT, I had to call them back to book it again. But what is really annoying is because I didnt report on day 1 that my bumper wasnt sitting completly flush with the car they wont (cant) repair it. The only way to fix it is to have a new one costing £500. Even contacted the Centre Principal - Tim Huxley as I was told there was no one in the office to authorise a new bumber. Just by calling his mobile number .... funny that!!!!! Still he said the same - :tsktsk: off basically! The whole reason I purchased a Lexus was to get away from the really poor and crappy service at Toyota.... But... Lexus Cheltenham is now a Toyota service centre aswell...... They must have brought the Toyota staff across... Rant over....

I purchased the car from Cheltenham hence the reason the car going back to them to get all the bits and bobs done. I did try to buy a car from my local Cardiff Lexus but there sales people were not interested. Plus the car was only 11k, October 56, 1 owner 20k on the clock, not a single mark on the body work :-) BTW it was filled with diesel :-) just used to saying petrol. Now getting 42 MPG around town instead of 38.

Having bought my first used IS 220d in December I had a few issues but was not sure if they were characteristics or faults. Thanks to this board I found that there were indeed known issues and everyone of them has been fixed: Squeeky drivers seat Windscreen replaced due to chip when I purchased it Plastic trims replaced on windscreen as the were broken by the repair guy Virbrating rear mirror Rattle from dashboard on passengers side Cracking noise from heating / cooling system Hand break tightened and break pads replaced Checked the 5th injector had been replaced, which it had but the ECU was on 200 and they upgraded it to 500. This has now given me more MPG. At the same time they have also done some other works due to a recall this month on the steering and something else. In addition they collected my car from Cardiff and I mentioned I had a slow puncture. They advised the puncture could not be repaired and they gave me a free used tyre as another customer had upgraded. In addition they also gave me a full tank of petrol and a free valet (although they forgot to actually do the valet)!! The customer service is absolutly exceptional compared with the type of service offered at Cardiff Lexus. They have also offered the collection service when I have my next service with them which means I dont need to deal with the numpties at Cardiff anymore. Evan had the chance to drive a brand new IS 200d whilst mine was being attended to. Will deffinatly be being my next car for Cheltenham!! So overall one very happy customer, well done Cheltenham!!