[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

They have offers on stock ES & RX & LX - Personal Road Tax is born by Dealership/ Lexus. Could not get a satisfactory response in case of company registration. I asked for a test drive which was not available due to some delegation visit ( per chances this is the third time they gave the same excuse!) Wonder if some Lexus company guy at Gurgaon is using the car on weekends or what?

No one bothered to explain anything or ask my contact details or even offer a glass of water. Mercedes / Volvo guys in Gurgaon are also in the same league but at least have some basic courtesies.

Anyways, I will try for a test drive at Delhi dealership next time and hopefully, they will be different.

In MH the RTO Tax on CBU cars is 20% flat irrespective of individual or company registration hence it did not matter in my case. However, I guess the offer on existing stock by Lexus India is only on individual RTO, perhaps you can offer to pay the balance difference.

Regarding the showroom experience, I am pretty surprised as Lexus India claims their key differentiator is the sales experience and service.
To be honest, I don't remember the last time I went to a showroom to test drive the car or make a sales inquiry. It has always been done at my home or office.I think this is the case with most customers shopping in this segment. Hence perhaps the sales guys at the showroom don't take walk-in customers as seriously. Which isn't a good practice at all as it makes showrooms mere display/showcase locations to purely window shop.

[Turbanator]

perhaps you can offer to pay the balance difference

Yes, that was what I was trying to reason but the sales guy was not sure.

I don't remember the last time I went to a showroom to test drive the car or make a sales inquiry

Maybe I am old fashioned, I always like to visit different dealerships mostly on Sundays. There have been multiple occasions, where I have actually ended buying a higher variant or model then what I had originally planned. One can only get 1 or 2 variants at home but Yes it appears that dealership guys can take you more seriously when they know you enough, that happens at most places.

I am pretty surprised as Lexus India claims their key differentiator is the sales experience and service.

Yes, that was what I originally believe, but now after this same third-time experience, I certainly believe they have been trained to differentiate between regular visitors and prospective sophisticated Lexus buyers the way I dress is more like Toyota or lower so it may not be entirely the fault of the sales guy.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

My experience was based on last visit couple of months before, I got a chance to visit Dealership at Gurgaon again today and it was no different from earlier. Could not get a satisfactory response in case of company registration. I asked for a test drive which was not available due to some delegation visit ( per chances this is the third time they gave the same excuse!) Wonder if some Lexus company guy at Gurgaon is using the car on weekends or what?

No one bothered to explain anything or ask my contact details or even offer a glass of water. Mercedes / Volvo guys in Gurgaon are also in the same league but at least have some basic courtesies. I recollect even Toyota dealerships are better as they have some cafe day machines and the guys at reception definitely ask you.

This is not a happy experience. Having dealt with them for the last one year I know all the staff there from owner to receptionist and I am scratching my head as to which of the 7 or 8 staff would behave this way with a walk in customer. Their training and their attitude not just at Lexus but even at Toyota doesn't allow them to behave this way. They are mortally scared of the OEM who exercises an iron fist control. They almost always have a test car parked in the basement of Oberoi.

Whether BMW or MB or Audi or Lexus all of them do conduct themselves quite well with walk in customers. The A.S.S. of some makes may have room for improvement but the showroom conduct is always quite decent. At least that has been my experience.

If you want me to write to them then please let me know.

[Turbanator]

If you want me to write to them then please let me know.

Thanks, Mr. Narayan. I wrote here sharing my personal experience and perhaps the guys had a rough day. But the least they could have asked was my contact number and name. Almost at every Dealership in Canada, the first thing any sales guy will ask you will be your phone number and mail ID and 10 out of 10 times walk you out when you are done with your visit, talking general things, trying to build relations for subsequent follow-ups. I am sure the day Car Sales guys stop getting any fixed salaries, it will happen same way here as well. The guys on the floor, have limited repercussions due to low sales, they continue to get their salaries, maybe lose some small bonus but that's about it. I am sure this same very guy will happily come over to my place multiple times if I make a call to Lexus India for a Test Drive but won't understand the value of someone walking to their place.

Whether BMW or MB or Audi or Lexus all of them do conduct themselves quite well with walk in customers

Not really Sir, apart from Porsche I don't have anything good to write about. But again, I have visited dealerships mostly on Sundays & maybe these dealerships have less staff and perhaps seniors have a day off.

The seniors having a day off on the day most customers would walk in to check out a car?

Yes, I checked, at most places in Delhi- NCR and even at Chandigarh.

[honeybee]

The seniors having a day off on the day most customers would walk in to check out a car?

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

See if you can pen a review even though it will be based off base in Pune if I read right. Many happy miles.

So the car has been in Pune past two weeks and my uncle who was almost always chauffeured in his BMW has been self driving the Lexus everyday! The only complaint he had so far is that the car does bottom on speed breakers. Pune has some notoriously large ones.
I had read this complaint earlier in this review too. I hope Lexus finds a fix for this, maybe provide spacers or something to lift the suspension a bit!

The registration process was fairly smooth, they tied up with a local Pune agent to do the process and they paid the tax online that amounted to 12 lakhs. This essentially was the discount provided in the deal.
Although I feel a bit rpped off with the agent fees and other charges that were 30k. They had initially quoted 60k but I got them down to half. However, their local agent in Pune told me that his charges are only 7500₹,should I require his services in the future! On the brighter side he agreed to get me a good number by paying the official receipt of 5000₹ and 1500 as his commission. Which is reasonable as Pune RTO doesn’t have an online number booking service and other agents charge higher. Got regn # 3388 with a nice font which from far looks like 8888

Also got PPF done from 3m on bumpers, mirrros, door edges and side skirts. In addition to CR70 on the windscreen and ER70 on the side and rear windows. All in all this costed approx 45k after discounts.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Sahil

So the car has been in Pune past two weeks and my uncle who was almost always chauffeured in his BMW has been self driving the Lexus everyday!

The only complaint he had so far is that the car does bottom on speed breakers. Pune has some notoriously large ones.

I had this challenge too in my initial 500 odd kms of driving till I learnt how to gently climb up slowly over the axle breakers. I gave this feedback to Lexus Japan but I don't think they can do much for the few sold in India.

The registration process was fairly smooth, they tied up with a local Pune agent to do the process and they paid the tax online that amounted to 12 lakhs. This essentially was the discount provided in the deal.

Because they don't want to start a habit of offering discounts on the base price they offered this absorption of the road tax to compensate for the GST hit. Scheme was for a few weeks and you were quick to capture it. Good for you.

Also got PPF done from 3m on bumpers, mirrros, door edges and side skirts. In addition to CR70 on the windscreen and ER70 on the side and rear windows. All in all this costed approx 45k after discounts.

Sensible. You car looks like a panther. Happy miles to you and your uncle.

[V.Narayan]

My cat turns one this coming weekend. One year of trouble free driving, great service and a quiet roll. Also one year of letting the looks grow on you – like marmite or a pint of bitter. A Lexus’s looks cannot be ignored. You can love it, hate it, gawk at it but you cannot ignore it. The smoothness of the ride and the quietness of the cabin are easy to get used to and hard to keep away from. I am like a father who cannot take enough photos of his year old baby.

My suggestions to Lexus next time they introduce an ES300h up grade in India:-

1. Ground clearance, ground clearance, ground clearance…..yeh Hindustan hai janab (this is India my friend). My drivers and I have actually done rather well thus far but it is something to watch out for.

2. The wood work is AAA+ and the leather in AAA. Now get around to a more modern looking space age cabin like Volvo.

3. Time to outgrow some of those Contessa era buttons. They clash badly with that superlative wood.

4. Your centre display screen should be more modern than my blackberry – right now they are in stiff competition and I fear my Shahjahan era Blackberry is ahead at times.

5. You should sell 1:24 scale models of this fine car. I’m sure there are others like me.

Other than this I have little to ask for. Your service levels and attention to customer needs has been top class. After all one reason a man (or woman) spends so much on a car is to feel important and you do that in spades.

Last 3 months I have measured the fuel consumption with the full tank to full tank method. Fuel consumption over the last 3200 kms has been 16.1 km per litre most of this while driving within NCR all in 'Eco' mode. At the start of our journey the F.E. was ~15.8. The uptick could be because the car has settled down and more importantly those driving have learnt who to modulate the pedal. The PPF from 3M has been applied to the whole car on day one. It has held up well so far. In my Volvo it is going strong into its 4th year now.

[Sahil]

Thanks for the update! Your feedback is quite reassuring and hoping we have the same experience with our ES300 for years to come.

The ES300 has a three pointer sibling that has joined the garage yesterday with the same #3388 Will post pics of that in it's relevant thread.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

1. Ground clearance, ground clearance, ground clearance…..yeh Hindustan hai janab (this is India my friend). My drivers and I have actually done rather well thus far but it is something to watch out for.

This is a sore point for us too. My uncle who drives the car has only this one complaint about it. On day one he called me to ask if the car has the suspension raising feature that we have on our w222 S and I told him "No, itne paise main itna hi milega"

[GTO]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

One year of trouble free driving, great service and a quiet roll.

Congrats! Just what a Lexus was built for .

Also one year of letting the looks grow on you

I personally can't digest their front-end designs, frankly. Am driving this over the coming weekend. Its face looks like it's from another planet!

Your service levels and attention to customer needs has been top class

Toyota treats its Corolla & Camry owners so well that I can only imagine how you Lexus folk are pampered.

Fuel consumption over the last 3200 kms has been 16.1 km per litre

That's a lower running cost than Germany's 4-cylinder diesels . I hope that Toyota & Suzuki soon bring proper hybrids to the mass market. It'll completely change the industry dynamics. A hatchback giving 25 kmpl in the city? You bet.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

My cat turns one this coming weekend.

Congratulations!

Lexus couldn't have chosen a better person to sell the car to. You have been an informed and happy owner; but more importantly, an excellent ambassador for the brand. Hope the ownership will remain trouble free and comfortable in the years to come.

A word about the review: Encyclopaedic!

[himanshugoswami]

Congratulations!! As always a pleasure to read your write ups, which have the same finesse as the car you are writing about! Wish you many years of motoring with the Lexus

[GTO]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Your service levels and attention to customer needs has been top class.

And just this evening, I came across an article by Doug DeMuro (big fan!). Even on the comments of this article, you'll see Lexus owners raving about their dealers (otherwise rare in USA).

No one can touch Lexus in customer service.

On Monday, the dealer called and told him the problem was indeed the oxygen sensor, and it would indeed be more than $400 to fix. But he wouldn’t be paying for it. The service advisor had talked it over with his manager, and they decided the dealer would cover the entire repair, on the theory that the problem might have happened during the oil change, however slight a possibility that was. In other words: the dealer had decided to cover a pricey repair on an 11-year-old car that was four years out of warranty because there was some small chance a part had gotten nicked during an oil change.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by GTO

Even on the comments of this article, you'll see Lexus owners raving about their dealers (otherwise rare in USA).
No one can touch Lexus in customer service.

Originally Posted by GTO

Toyota treats its Corolla & Camry owners so well that I can only imagine how you Lexus folk are pampered.

True, very true. It all boils down to the training the dealers' employees receive and the spoken and(more important) unspoken messages they receive from the top management of Lexus and as a corollary the dealers management. I think it is also who Lexus are picking up as their dealers. Money everyone has but polish and attitude is harder to find.

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

Congratulations!! As always a pleasure to read your write ups, which have the same finesse as the car you are writing about! Wish you many years of motoring with the Lexus

Thank you Himanshu, for your very kind words.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Lexus couldn't have chosen a better person to sell the car to. You have been an informed and happy owner; but more importantly, an excellent ambassador for the brand.

It can work both ways. If their service slips it will show in my posts. The teeth behind the smile Now where are my dentures!!?!!

A word about the review:Encyclopedic!

Thank you for the compliment. My knowledge of cars is actually not so hot - certainly not like the members on TBHP. But I'll happily lap up your appreciation.

Originally Posted by Sahil

Thanks for the update! Your feedback is quite reassuring and hoping we have the same experience with our ES300 for years to come.

If they realize you are a demanding no-nonsense customer - the polite and firm types - they will rise to the occasion

The ES300 has a three pointer sibling that has joined the garage yesterday with the same #3388 Will post pics of that in it's relevant thread.

Waiting eagerly.

The panther purrs...

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Waiting eagerly.

Here you go sir... http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post4379430