Lexus Escondido

Review: I sold my 2008 Lexus to Lexus Escondido on 4-19-14 and was promised payment in three weeks. After three weeks, I contacted the dealership and was told they would not pay me for my car until they received the title for it. On 4-19-14, I provided Lexus Escondido with a payoff letter from the lender, California Coast Credit Union, indicating the payoff amount was $5872.28. Lexus Escondido agreed to purchase my car for $12,500. Based on the payoff amount provided by California Coast Credit Union, I was given a purchase order indicating that Lexus would pay the credit union $5872.28 and would pay me $6627.72. On 4-20-14, I had to make a payment to the credit union for the car as monthly payments were due on the 20th day of the month. I made the payment in the amount of $178.41. The information I received from CCCU indicates that Lexus paid off the loan with a single payment of $5691.32, not the $5872.28 noted on the purchase order the provided to me. Therefore, it appeared Lexus owed me $6807.75, not $6627.72. I contacted the dealership several times asking for an explanation of the difference in the amount they paid the credit union and for an explanation of why the amount they eventually paid me ($6627.72) did not reflect the final payment I made to the credit union. The dealership refuses to return my calls or respond to my emails. I am not asking for assistance in collecting a debt. I am asking for assistance in getting a response from Lexus Escondido to my questions about the differences in amounts so that I can reach a conclusion about whether Lexus Escondido owes me an additional $178.41,Desired Settlement: It is a reasonable expectation that a reputable business like Lexus Escondido respond to customer inquiries, and it is my expectation that someone will respond to my repeated inquiries with an explanation of the differences in amounts paid or owed.

Business

Response:

We apologize for the delayed response. Apparently this issue was solved recently. Please see the attached email thread regarding the history of communications between Lexus Escondido and Ms [redacted]. While there was an issue regarding the guests payoff to their credit union, the facts have been verified by the credit union per our guests email attached.

Once again, I apologize for the delay and am available for any assistance.

Thank you,

Review: Defective Recall part installed on car caused serious engine/valve/rocker arm damage.Desired Settlement: Dealer refused to repair. Engine damaged and required replacement. Cost to us was $5,835.95

Business

Response:

Thank you for the information, we appreciate the feedback.Upon inspection of the 2007 Lexus RX on 4/27/2015 the check engine light and engine noise were verified at no charge, but the cause was unknown without a disassembly of the affected components. Our guest informed our service consultant that the "defective part" was replaced about two years ago by his own outside mechanic.Lexus Escondido had originally replaced the part back in 2010 with no known issues since that time according to our records. Lexus Corporate apparently declined warranty assistance due to the expiration of the power train warranty on 3/14/2013.Please feel free to contact me for any further information.Thank you,[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Regards,

Review: We're disappointed in Lexus Escondido for trying to deceive me and my wife into buying a certified pre-owned IS 250 that was declared a "Total Loss Vehicle". We expect more from a luxury brand like Lexus.

My wife test drove a 2011 certified pre-owned Lexus on August 14, 2013, agreed to the price for the vehicle ($28,000) and her trade-in ($15,000) then placed a deposit with the expectation to pick up the car the following day. The sales person and his manager approved the final price and confirmed it was Lexus certified pre-owned, but Lexus Escondido never mentioned that the car was declared a total loss by an insurance company for collision damage. Additionally, I called the sales person on the same day (August 14th) and he confirmed that the car had a clean carfax and had never been in an accident. However, on August 15th as my wife was about to pick up the car I demanded that the Sales person show me the carfax report, only then did the truth come out. Please see the attached for yourself. This vehicle was declared a "Total Loss Vehicle" on 9/17/2011 and a new or updated title was issued on 9/26/2011 after the repairs. Per the report the car has been in "Dealer Inventory" since 6/28/2013 so this was clearly a known issue by Lexus Escondido.

For the next 4 days the sales person and his manager tried convincing me and my wife that we should buy the car with the dirty CarFax and that the car was never damaged. Lexus even provided me with the certified pre-owned inspection report (attached) as their evidence that the car was truly Lexus certified pre-owned, that the car could never have been damaged, and it had a clean history and title. The assertion was that the carFax was wrong.

I’ve not seen the title but Lexus has since removed the vehicle from their web site and refers to the vehicle as the “salvage vehicle” in discussions with me. Lexus Escondido has also told me that their sales person has been reprimanded over this.

In an attempt to settle the matter my recommendation to Lexus was to honor the deal we agreed to on August 14th by substituting the Total Loss Vehicle with a vehicle that has a clean service and title history. We found in their inventory a matching vehicle of the same model and color. It was a year newer but had more miles. Lexus Escondido rejected the settlement offer on the grounds that they returned the deposit so the deal was off. They offered the car to me for $4,000 above the price we agreed to the week before and rejected the trade-in vehicle price which they also agreed to the week before. This is bad faith and Lexus Escondido's tone and attitude throughout this has been rude, emotional and arrogant with phrases like, "I'm sorry you feel that way".

I've brought this matter to the Lexus/Toyota corporate office where they have been very professional and supportive. Lexus corporate has tried to facilitate Lexus Escondido accepting a substitute vehicle; however, the decision/rejection is determined by Lexus Escondido. Lexus Escondido is out of step with their own corporate office over this and likely violated their own corporate policies on certifying and selling vehicles that are declared Total Loss Vehicles.

1. salvage vehicles should never be sold by a luxury brand dealer

2. salvage vehicles should not qualify as a certified pre-owned Lexus

3. The sales person and his manager should have been honest about the car's history before my wife provided her deposit

4. The sales person should not have lied to me on August 15th on the phone about the car having a clean carfax and having never been in an accident.

FRAUD

Lexus Escondido knowingly lied to me and my wife several times about the car and failed to disclose the car’s “Total Loss” status to deceive and induce us into buying the vehicle.Desired Settlement: 1. Revive the August 14th deal that we all agreed to and placed a deposit on, but with a substitute vehicle replacing the Total Loss Vehicle. i.e. a black on black certified pre-owned Lexus IS 250 2011 or newer with approximately 15,000 miles; take trade-in at $15,000.

2. Apologize to me and my wife for the mistakes that were made and poor treatment we received.

3. Surprise us with something that will help rebuild our customer satisfaction in the Lexus brand.

Business

Response:

To whom it may concern:

Over the last 10 days, Lexus Escondido has investigated this erroneous posting with the independent company CARFAX. [redacted] Company is involved as this has been verified to be an erroneus posting from them to CARFAX. This is why no major damage was detected at the time of inspection by Lexus Escondido.

The claim number with [redacted] is [redacted], agent name is Cecelia, and telephone number is ###-###-#### for anyone to verify the previous small claim of $658.00 for a small bumper repair. There is no record of a Total Loss or Salvage Title. The record with Carfax will be updated within 7 to 10 days for anyone to see.

We apologize for any mistakes that were made and for failing to meet expectaions.

Please feel free to verify any or all of this information as neccessary.

Thank you

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that the business has not proposed action to resolve my complaint. The business has merely pointed out that after lying to me and my wife the business learned that the vehicle was not a total loss as identified in the carfax report, the car was damaged to a lesser degree and therefore the carfax report was in error.

The business has not offered any resolution to the complaint.

1. salvage vehicles (or vehicles with partially incorrect carfax reports identifying salvage vehicles) should never be sold by a luxury

brand dealer

2. salvage vehicles (or vehicles with partially incorrect carfax reports identifying salvage vehicles) should not qualify as a certified pre-owned

Lexus

3. The sales person and his manager should have been honest and disclosed the

car's history before my wife provided her deposit (even if the carfax was later found to be partially incorrect).

4. The sales person should

not have lied to me on August 15th on the phone about the car having a clean

carfax and having never been in an accident.

FRAUD Lexus Escondido knowingly

lied to me and my wife several times about the car and failed to disclose the

car’s “Total Loss” status in the carfax (even if later found to be in error) to deceive and induce us into buying the vehicle.

There are clearly issues with the business' unethical behavior that are neither acknowledged or resolved by the business.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Revdex.com,

1. and 2. The vehicle in question was never a "salvage" vehicle. Nothing in our 161 point inspection would have led us to believe otherwise. The vehicle has been removed from sale until Carfax and [redacted] Company correct their erroneous reporting. Apparently at some point this erroneous posting was missed and we apologize for that. As soon as we became aware of the errror, we took steps to have it corrected.

3. Lexus Escondido does not condone and apologizes for any behaviour as described. Once again we apologize for any misinformation given and the salesperson has been reprimanded as previously disclosed.

4. The salesperson has been reprimanded for his misstatements as previously disclosed. The vehicle has been removed from sale as indicated and will be available for sale again to the public once the named outside companies resolve their error.

We apologize for not meeting our guests expectations and are sorry to lose anyones business as this is most harmful, especially today.

Thank you,

Review: On 4-07-14 I brought my car to the Escondido dealership for A/C servos , rear hatch shocks and a all wheel alignment. During that time I received a call from [redacted] (service writer) who informed me upon a complimentary inspection of my car they discovered my rear brakes need replaced , since this was recommended by the Lexus dealership I took their advice and authorized them to do the rear brakes. Upon paying in full and leaving dealership my car immediately exhibited a wheel oscillation (separately) and brake vibration when pressing the brakes, I continued to drive home 35 miles away because dealership was now closed. On the following business day I called the dealership to inform them of the problem , they said to bring the car back . I then was working with service writer [redacted] he tells me before anyone had even looked at my car "oh it's probably your front brakes" I questioned him to say how do you know this and what does front brakes have anything to do with the prior services done to my car . He says sometimes when they fix one problem another one shows up. I found this to be disturbing because my car did NOT exhibit any of these issues prior to bringing the car for service on 4/07/14 . Later I get a call from [redacted] that yes indeed my front rotors are warped and all though the pads were only at a "5" half way he still recommended these items be repaired in order fix both wheel oscillation and brake peddle vibration. As per his recommendation I gave him permission to complete the repairs , he then called me later to say there were aftermarket shims on my brakes and that would be 70 extra , at this point what can I do my car is taken completely apart , I also gave him permission to move forward , I asked him at that time are you positive this will fix the oscillating wheel he replied "definitely! I was called and told my car was ready for pick up , I paid in full once again , got in my car for my trip home and in less than a quarter of a mile my wheel was shimming out of control , I tried calling to turn around and go back but once again the dealership was closed (a sat) . I waited til the next business day which was Monday spoke with [redacted] he said I cant believe you still have this problem , he then says bring the car back in , when I got there [redacted] said I am sure its just an out of balance wheel , I replied I just did a four wheel alignment with your dealership how can a wheel be out of balance ? He says don't worry we will figure it out . After having my car several more days they say they cannot get the wheel to oscillate at all but they went ahead and road forced balanced my tires at a discount for all the trouble I have been through . I go to pick up my car once again and just after leaving and entering onto the freeway the wheel oscillating begins with my mother as witness I make a u turn to go back to dealership and say I need to see [redacted] I ask him to get in the car to ride with me so I can show him whats going on , he forwards me to [redacted] the shop foreman who rides with me my car is having a heavy wheel vibration he says he will keep the car to look deeper into this problem . At this point I can not even believe how I continue to deal with an issue I believe the dealership created by doing improper repairs to my car or that they keep leading me into repair after repair at no avail. The car remained with them for several more days this time I am calling saying whats going on , I was told they are just so busy they were having delays , then I get an invitation to once again ride with shop foreman [redacted] , he drives and even though I ask him to drive on frwy at higher speeds he tells me its better to drive on a smooth road , I ask him to drive the frwy he does with resistance saying the frwys. Are so rough and are not a true measurement , he kept saying the car feels fine to me even though I reached across to feel the steering wheel I could feel heavy vibration , I asked him if he felt that and he says its just the roads ... the wheel oscillation and vibration he says not really, we went back to dealership where he and I spoke about my car he agrees to take yet another look at the car , upon conversation I mention to him my concern that my spark plugs have never been replaced at 94,000 miles he says it would be a good idea (this was something I actually brought up for the safety and well operation of my car , he says while they do the spark plugs he will drive it more to see if the wheel problem comes back. Several more days go by , I received a phone call from [redacted] who tells me spark plugs have been replaced but that they had found why my car was shimming, vibrating, and having the wheel oscillation that they discover my front strutts were making a loud clunking noise and that even though the shocks were not visibly leaking he was sure they were bad and needed replaced, I said wow this is just crazy all this time and services later and all along it was the struts. I agree to his recommendation for the repair . At this point it has been about 5 weeks and 5 trips. To the dealership and having listen to the personal lives of the service writer and how he continues to redirect all and any conversation about my car repairs and turns it into a person conversation. Annoyed at this point I am looking forward to getting my car back and having it drive like a dream as it did prior to every repair they told me I needed but still had a difficult time digesting the fact that I was assured each and every time they had solved the cars mechanical issues . Once again I picked up my car and YES the car still drove with a wheel shimmy , I was extremely flabbergasted by the dealership ethics on repairs and how they bled over and over again financially . I returned to the dealership one time asking to speak to a manager her name is [redacted] she was unavailable not only one day but two days in a row , that is she could NOT be bothered to do her job which was manage . I told [redacted] I wanted every repair they did done over again because they made the problem and they needed to fix it, after [redacted] the shop foreman quickly noticed my rear rotors had what he called a "rough" cut I said I had taken the car into americas tire where I had purchased new tires and wheels and I was told by their manager that all four of my rotors were machined improperly , [redacted] immediately says americas tire doesn't know anything about rotors . At this point I am feeling so much disparity I can only feel invalidated by any of what I say , I tell [redacted] I want the rotors replaced NOT machined again as this takes life off the rotor itself. [redacted] then pulls me aside and says can we agree to leave [redacted] the manager and corporate lexus out of this matter and that he assures me yet again it will be taken care of . Needless to say they refused to replace the rotors or do any of the work or take responsibility for the improper repairs they did to my car. I spoke very little words upon the final time of picking up my car , I did NOT want to hear one more empty assurance of repair work! At this point I contact corporate Lexus where they open a case of complaint against the dealership on my behalf .[redacted] my case worker and I spoke several times regarding the ethics of Escondido lexus, he the offers me to go to any dealership of my choice , for diagnostics on my car , I go to lexus of riverside the shop foreman diagnostics specialist [redacted] rides with me and immediately feels severe wheel shimmy he says he thinks its my aftermarket wheels , he with in 10 min. Put oem factory wheels on my car and it drove without wheel shimmy . I go back to americas tire where I had purchased the tires and wheels where they deeply apologize and give me a full refund and four new tires to match the old original wheels , which were out of round and was the purpose for the purchase of the aftermarket wheels americas tire helped in every way . I then order two new oem factory wheels from lexus of riverside at a reduced amount because the original wheels they sold me on the car 10 years ago were the wrong size the were very apologetic , they put the two new wheels on my car and tell me that lexus of escondido charged me for alot of things that DID NOT need to be done and that they should owe me a refund. I again contact [redacted] my case worker where he reaches out to lexus of escondido and asks for resolution but explains to me he cannot force them to do any refund but he would forward my case onto the actual corporate desks of the higher ups, that they have relationship with escondido lexus to represent them as a company and that he was disappointed to hear all that I have gone through , 2 weeks later I got a call from ron the service manager of escondido telling me he reviewed my complaints and was very condescending and undermining my abilities to understand all that was done to my car (I completely comprehended it all) he told me that they never once recommended any of my repairs ( he was NOT present for any of my conversations with service writers or techs) (his words) (I chose) to do them, I asked him [redacted] why would I come up with a list of repairs chasing a wheel shimmy for no reason as if a person will just throw 4 thousand out in repairs for the fun of it . He is a cunning word manipulator and spoke freedom of arrogance , he disrespected me in every way , his JOB is simple INTERFERENCE tactic to assure the dealership excepts ZERO responsibility , I call this JOB SECURITY . Bottom line here is they acted unethical in every way and left my car in an unsafe mess . And here is the kicker my CAR still has a wheel shimmy because the original work lexus of escondido was done careless , reckless, and without care to my personal safety ! I pride myself on honesty I trusted them to take care of my car repairs and they instead took advantage of me both financially and with NO regard to respect. I spent the last 4 hours writing this complaint to hopefully encourage others to never let this happen to them without doing everything possible to STOP the madness of dishonesty . I will mention that I did NOT used capital letters when speaking of lexus of escondido or [redacted] (manager) or ron (service manager) or [redacted] (service writer) because they truly do NOT deserve the respect of even a capital letter to their name.Desired Settlement: Reasonable resolution and respect

Business

Response:

[redacted]

Revdex.com

In response to your inquiry on the [redacted] concerns, ID#[redacted].

Our management staff here at Lexus Escondido met with [redacted] on Tuesday, June 4th 2014. During the discussion, regarding her concerns it became apparent various repairs have been made on her vehicle at multiple repair centers. This made it difficult to ascertain a specific cause for her concerns. With that in mind we came to an agreement, both Lexus Escondido and Loris Shaffer, to send her a refund.

Secondly and in conclusion [redacted] has found a repair facility in Temecula, CA, closer to her home, and more convenient. She has complete trust and faith in their capabilities and will be going there for all her future maintenance and repair needs.

At the end of the meeting on June 4th, all parties were satisfied with this agreement.

Any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me directly ###-###-####.

Regards,

General Manager

Lexus Escondido