Re: Colours (archive)

The complete automotive resource for buyers, sellers, and owners like you.

Hi,
Well I guess I am a bit of a car nut( various sports cars etc.) and a former Lexus owner. The Lexus was very nice and capable (although I had some issues with ergonomics). The dealers are held with their feet to the flame by Lexus and the service was unbelievable. I still compare dealers to the "Lexus Experience". My wife wanted a new car not necessarily a Lexus and as soon as she got her Honda v6 stated how she missed the Lexus!! Go figure. Anyway I had to sue a Chrysler dealer to get a new car after I found out Chrysler rolled back the Odo and the car was sold as new.Other dealers I've dealt with have not been a good experience either, usually "American" manufactured vehicles.I think dealers can get away with anything they want to and the maker will say well they are 'Independently owned stores and there is nothing we can do ""
What I copout. And then they act surprised when people don't buy their product. Unfortunatley I don't see this getting any better for the consumer. Just my two cents! By the way it looks like in the next couple of months I'll have to make a decision between The Jag X and another Lexus (She wants that Ebony Blue color of the Lexus) I think Adriatic Blue is nice!! Oh well
Gene

Well, the Lexus owners I know are not "car experts", hardly, they are just Toyota buyers with more money. And to say that the first Lexus owners were "taking a chance", when everyone knew it was a Toyota company, is a stretch IMHO.
That said, what Lexus has done better then anyone is CONTROL THEIR DEALER NETWORK. They don't allow them to crap on the customers, if they get bad feedback, those dealers get penalized and Lexus USA actually helps the customers.

Malcom Gladwell writes the following in the afterword of his book The Tipping Point:

In 1990, just after Lexus first introduced its line of luxery cars in the US, the company realized that it had 2 minor problems with its LS400 line that required a recall. The situation was, by any measure an awkward one. Lexus had decided, from the beginning, to build its reputation around quality workmanship and reliability. And now, within a little more than a year of the brand's launch, the company was being forced to admit to problems with its flagship. So Lexus decided to make a special effort. Lexus called each owner individually on the day the recall was announced. When the owners picked up their cars at the dealership after the work was completed, each car had been washed and the tank filled with gas. If an owner lived more than a hundred miles from a dealership, the dealer sent a mechanic to his or her home. In one instance, a technician flew from Los Angeles to Anchorage to make the necessary repairs.

Was it necessary to go to such lengths? You could argue that Lexus overreacted. The problems with the car was relatively minor and the number of cars involved in the recall was small. Lexus would have had many opportunities to correct the damage.

The key fact was not the number of people involved but the kind of people affected by the recall. Who, after all, are the people willing to take a chance and buy a brand new luxery model? Car mavens.

There may have only been a few thousand Lexus owners at that point, but they were car experts, people who take their cars seriously, people who talk to about cars, people whose friends ask them for advice about cars.

Lexus realized it had a captive audience of Mavens and that if it went the extra mile they could kick-start a word-of-mouth epidemic about the quality of their customer service - and that's just what happened. The company emerged from what could have been a disaster with a reputation for customer service that continues to this day.

Questions, comments, or problems, please visit the Roadfly help desk.