Poor Customer Service and Workmanship

I guess if you don't buy your Lexus at their dealership then the Lexus pledge DOES NOT apply to you. Hello Peter South Africa

The following has been my experience , specifically the Lexus Cape Town City.

The first time I walked in, I was asked what I required. On hearing that I wanted a service for my car the reception ladies took one look at me in my work overalls and sent me to the back, to the Toyota section, without asking me what car I actually drive. The lady in the Toyota service department was kind enough to correct their error and bring me back to the front.

I then enquired about a major service for the Lexus IS 300 as I had just purchased it, and despite the service book being stamped by a approved service mechanic, I wanted peace of mind, so I requested it none the less.

At this point I was told how much the oil would cost, and that it is extremely expensive. I then said I did not ask for the price, instead I wanted to know what the service would entail, as in what exactly would be replaced. I was then again told about how the oil alone would be so much and then still the spark plugs.

I then became visibly annoyed, and told the consultant he was not listening properly as I had not asked for the price of anything and merely wanted to know which parts they would be replacing. Despite instructing the consultant to have my cambelt and fanbelt changed, it was not done, as it was deemed not necessary and according to the mechanic, or whomever, it could wait until the next service.

My second experience was bringing my car in for an oil leak. Only to have my car returned to me with excessive risidual oil both on the engine, on the under carriage, and a continued oil leak. I also found oil on my cambelt due to the leak or possibly poor quality of work.

I then sent the vehicle back as the tappet cover gasket and 3 seals had been replaced and yet the car continued to leak, in addition to developing a miss fire. I happened to find this out when I went to collect my vehicle from its custom paint job in Paarl, on my Birthday of all days. Only to be brought to tears as I quickly realised the care was not in the condition I had expected it to be in after having invested so much money in replacing certain things which should have left the car in great condition for a while to come.

I insisted they do everything from a cambelt change, to compression test, as well as checking for where the oil was coming from. As for the miss fire it was said after my major service that the car would need new plug leads but instead of ordering and installing as I requested, it was once again deemed unnecessary.

Only to have me source and replace them myself as the car was returned to me with no explanation for the oil leak, the miss fire, or accountability for the poor workmanship as we had found one of my spark plugs, which had been replaced with the major service had a hairline crack in it. It was said that my spark plugs had been replaced as well as the tappet cover gasket however only the 3 seals were returned to me with the invoice.

At this point the car still has oil inside the cambelt cover, and the car continues to miss fire, however I refuse to take my car back to Lexus Cape Town City, and I wouldn't advise anyone else does either, as I learnt the hard way about their poor customer service and quality of work. I also didn't know that this dealership specifically has a reputation for poor customer service and communication, as for their quality of work I hope this is not the general trend.

One would think that by using the dealership your car would be sorted out instead I am now having to use various mechanics who have experience to help solve the problem at home or via your average backyard mechanic.

I'm not only extremely upset, frustrated, annoyed, and extremely disappointed, I am also amazed and the complete disregard for the failure to maintain the Lexus brand and quality standard.