We had no intentions on buying a Lexus but we were in the market for a new car. Our kids bought the Lexus IS and though they hadn’t had it for long suggested we test drive one. We walked into Herb Chambers Lexus for the first time and said wow. This amazingly gorgeous dealership is located at 25 Providence Highway in Sharon, Massachusetts. At their website you can get a virtual tour.
They claim to have the largest inventory of Lexus and previous owned cars in New England. From the size of their lot I must agree. In addition they claim to have factory trained and certified service technicians. I have never had a problem with the service of my car.
We were greeted by two smiling young woman and a huge bowl of apples. A salesperson quickly approached us and we talked about various Lexus cars and what we might want. Bill was very pleasant and attentive. He showed us the service floor which was clean as a whistle and can service 80 cars at a time. As we walked downstairs we passed a café where we could get “free” sandwiches, pastry, lattes and more. There was a giant screen TV in the lounge which abuts the adorable childrens’ playroom. Having to wait for my car here didn’t seem like it would be a problem. The fact that we live close to 3 hours round trip isn’t Herb Chambers’ fault. I take total responsibility for buying a car so far from home.
We spent a couple of hours the first visit. Bill told us several times that day, in e-mails, and on the phone that it was the end of the month (July) and Herb wanted to make some great deals.
The Middle
Again I take responsibility for stopping at the Lexus dealer on the way to Connecticut when we were on a time crunch and set to leave for California the next morning. I had my heart set on a car that was $20,000 more than we had originally intended to pay. The color I wanted had just been sold so I settled on another color. The car was loaded – again I didn’t have to have a navigation system and it would have saved us money but that was part of what I liked about the car. The cardrives like a dream and after test driving two times the significantly less expensive Mercedes C300 there was no comparison in comfort.
So we offered a very good offer. We had a cream puff of a trade in and I knew there was wiggle room. They turned down our offer for a difference of $200 in spite of Bill telling me yet again that we could get a deal. We left for Connecticut and after ½ an hour got a call telling us that Bill’s boss, Brad, would like us to come back. We did losing an hour in travel time. Again our fault but we were suckered into the “end of the month deal.” They came down the $200 and around 9:30 (The dealership was closed and we had a several hour drive ahead of us where we would be waking up our kids at 1:00a.m.) we were sent to meet with Al who no longer works at Herb Chambers Lexus. Al sold us Venture Shield though we were not clear as to what it was except that it would protect our car from dings and that they would stand behind the Venture Shield. If we bought another add on we would save a lot of money. We just wanted to leave so we signed for those two add-ons and left.
Fast forward to August 12 when we took possession of the car. The drive is awesome. The inside is luxurious although the trunk could be bigger. Just to be clear we are adults with 3 grown children all of whom went to college; one of whom is a doctor. That means that luggage was taken in and out of a BMW, Cadillac, and other cars we had during the many years of transporting them.
My first glimpse of a problem was when our daughter took out her empty suitcase (to be filled to take back to CA where she is at USC in a surgical residency). As she took it out the wheel hit the bumper and actually left a tread mark. Two other nicks were made as well. A tread mark on a $50,000 car? Luggage never left a mark on my other cars’ bumpers. I was very careful to park a million miles away from anyone because I wanted to protect my new car. I babied it.
We called the Lexus dealer about the tread mark and were surprised when the General Manager Giovani told us that the Venture Shield we paid $600 for was only on the front. We were very annoyed and after days and him not getting back to us he finally called (I threatened to write a review.) and said we could either get our $600 back or they would put the Shield on our back bumper. We opted for the latter thinking that it would protect the car from small stones. It really (as I was told on November 17, 2008) only covers things like sand from a sand truck and much more often in the front. Well I can get away from a sand truck. I cannot get away from an unpaved driveway or a dirt road.
I brought in the car; the tread mark and two tiny nicks were taken out and the Shield was put on. Not long after that I noticed what looked like a hand had pushed in the side of the car between the door and the edge of the car. I spoke to Tommy at Lexus and he said that for about $150 to $200 he could “suck it out.” I opted to have it done closer to home for $150 out of my pocket. Interestingly the dent went all the way down and towards the bottom. Mr. Wing Ding (not his real name but that’s what I call him) was just able to put his hand around the car and push out the bottom part of the dent. What is this car made of??
So here I am with a brand new $50,000 car with less than 5,000 miles and once again I found a dent and area where the Venture Shield had cracked about a week after Mr. Wing Ding fixed my front dent. I went in for a 5,000 mile service check. Well of course I was told that the manager who took a picture would talk to Giovanni to see if he could help me because I was told the whole bumper had to be taken off along with the Venture Shield and then the Venture Shield would be put on again although at this point I think the Venture Shield might be part of the problem!!
I sold a 5 year old BMW privately for good money because it was in such great condition. That’s what I expected from Lexus thus I decided to forgo another BMW just for a change. It seems that was a mistake and unfortunately I am not getting any satisfaction. I cannot put another $1,000 into having the bumper taken off and a new one put on. Then I won’t have the Venture Shield which is a total waste of money but money we put into the car.The fact that Herb Chambers Lexus in Sharon, MA will not stand behind their Venture Sheild especially on a car of this price is beyond my belief system.
I urge you not to buy a Lexus and certainly not from this dealer. Wherever you go forgo the Venture Shield.
