Lexus of El Cajon

If you are looking for professionals...stay away from this service department.Took my car in for a timing belt replacement...quoted 485$.. not bad..then the trouble began..got a call from service advisor..Jennifer..real knowledgeable...NOT...she informed me that the 46$ water pump was leaking..and that the 2 idlers for the belt needed replacement..ok.and her not knowig I am a mechanic and have done many timing belts..had the nerve to tell me it would now be 1200$...so a water pump has 3 bolts...a timing idler..1 bolt and one spring...were now gonna add about 700$ to the repair...and this is while the car is already disassembled...incredible....this service advisor has never heard of a timng belt kit .. it includes all these parts for 180$...scary...then to top it off...get ready folks...the service manager tells me he has a personal car with over 30p k miles on it ..and he has never replaced a 30$ idler when doing the timing belt...incredible..if the service manager is that unprofessional...think about the mechanics....please do your self a favor and avoid this place like the plague for service...they obviously prey on poor customers who think they are dealing with professionals...they are anything but...save you money and take it to the shop down the road..at least they know what a timing belt kit is...

Review: Please see attached mailed and certified complaint letter sent December 27, 2013.

Primary nature of my complaint: Attempted fraudulent and deceitful car repair that was not authorized by me and giving me a loaner vehicle that was unsafe and could have caused another fatality like the CHP officer and family on August 28, 2009 in Santee, CA.

Consumer

Response:

I would like Lexus El Cajon to not provide a loaner vehicle that is unsafe and required "maintenance required" on the vehicle to any customer from Lexus El Cajon to prevent another fatality that happened to a family of four on August 28, 2009. I would also like for Lexus El Cajon to be truthful to all loyal customers and non-mechanic females to not be taken advantage of and lied to about the service in which an appointment is made for a specific thing to be checked and for it to be done and provided by Lexus El Cajon. Also, for Lexus El Cajon to keep all paperwork for customers confidential and not laying around the counter for anyone to see and any other customer's personal and confidential paperwork on the counter without a service advisor present. I would like a letter stating this will be done for all loyal customers requiring service by Lexus El Cajon and an apology from the owner of Lexus El Cajon for this happening to me as a loyal customer and owner of a Lexus vehicle to never happen again to me or any other customer of Lexus El Cajon. And a letter of public apology and to have it posted in a printed newspaper and to have it posted in social media site including and not limited to Face book, Twitter, Yahoo, MSN and Google.

Review: In October of this year I had my car repaired for a strong smoke smell coming into the car cabin. The dealer said it was a manifold valve problem and replaced my valves and the smoke odor still comes into the car cabin. I paid 850 dollars for this repair. When I took the car back to have it corrected the supervisor said well if that didn't fix the problem maybe its the catalacytic converter and you need to pay me 3,000 more dollars to fix it. The company just guessing and misdiagnosing the problem,but wanting me to pay for their misdiagnosis of the reason for the fume smell in the car. My wife and child get sick from smelling the fumes when in the car. I was ripped off for 850 dollars the company refuses to refund and refuse to fix the car unless I give them 3,000 dollars. My son was sick last night from riding in the car. Its the only car I have to pick him up from school. Please Help.Desired Settlement: They need to refund my cash for not fixing the car or fix the car for no charge.

Review: I had brought my Lexus RX 330 in for service for a burnt out drivers side tailllight and a oil change service on 11/25/15. Upon the dealership doing a inspection service they noticed the lower control arm bushings needed to be replaced, so I had left the vehicle with them to have that problem fixed along with the oil change and burnt out taillight. So the dealership had finished work on the car on 11/27/15. Upon picking up the car and paying for said repairs my service adivsor said that the molding from my rear taillight was melting and will turn white and that I had 2-3 months to have it fixed. So I paid for the repairs and left the facility. The night of 11/27 when I had to go out to run a errand I turned on my car and lights and I noticed like 1/3 of my taillight was white. So I had called the dealership on 11/28 and asked to speak to the service mananger but they said he wouldn't be in till the following Wednesday. So I called on 12/2 and spoke to a manager by the name of [redacted] and informed him of what happened and he said that its a known problem with those vehicles that the taillight housing melts. I responded "Yes it may be a known problem but it doesn't happen in the 2 days your dealership had the vehicle. Before the taillight burnt out on the night of 11/24 the housing for the drivers side taillight was all red not white ". [redacted] response was "that the dealership isn't going to repair it to call Lexus to see if they can do something for me or hell give me 20% off the repair". My response was "I am not going to pay for a problem that wasn't pre-existent prior to me bringing the vehicle there". So in short the dealership messed up the housing for my drivers side taillight not to mention they lost the panel cover for that taillight and haven't replaced it yet. This isn't the first time they a problem occurred they sold me a refurbished battery claiming it to be brand new. No battery that is brand new has stickers peeling off of them.Desired Settlement: I wan't my taillight housing to be brought to its original condition prior to the vehicle being serviced and my panel cover for the taillight to be replaced. I also want a percentage back of the money I paid for my battery that was claimed to be new when I bought it.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted], Firstly, we would like to apologize for you dissatisfaction with the Lexus El Cajon service department. It's very disappointing to read that you were not satisfied with your most recent visit or even the few visits prior. It's our goal to provide our customers with quality service each and every time they visit our dealership. Though your car was not purchased or serviced here very often other than for standard oil changes and warranty repairs, [redacted] did indeed go above and beyond in contacting Lexus Customer Satisfaction in hopes for getting assistance with your issue. Unfortunately Lexus Corporate declined any assistance due to the cars age, being it 12 years old, and the fact that it had a aftermarket spray on the lenses of the taillights upon arriving at our dealership. We appreciate you recently coming back to our facility and meeting with [redacted] to go over this repair. As you know, [redacted] has worked with the Bureau of Automotive Repair to get this issue solved, replacing the left rear harness of the taillight. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience and your dissatisfaction and look forward to seeing you again for this repair.Kindest Regards, Lexus El CajonCustomer Service Department