<p>I’ve had two problems with my car that only the dealership was able to diagnose. On the other hand, I had one problem that the dealer could figure out and our local Swedish Auto Shop was able to diagnose.</p>
<p>“Also, the salesman at the closest one intimated that I won’t get the pampering there that customers who buy from them get” </p>
<p>That’s what some of them try to make you think. It’s rarely the case. Dealerships make a great deal of their profits from service - they’d be biting off their noses to spite their faces. People move and change dealerships for all kind of reasons(ie a dealership is closer to work) all the time.</p>
<p>Pampering? Ooohh, that’s a BS threat. You will be pampered at any Lexus dealership. Toyota forces them to pamper you, or else!</p>
<p>Well, it’s a done deal! I love my new shiny red car!</p>
<p>The dealership offered me water or coffee (not Starbucks) and refreshments (don’t know what those were–I turned them down) and a shoulder and neck massage (! only on Wednesdays). (They also do shoe shines on Mondays and Saturdays.) There was a cafe (not free, but reasonable and with decent food) and a putting green, free wi-fi, and little office cubicles to work in. If I get my car serviced there (even just a $40 oil change) they’ll bring me to the shopping district with their shuttle service and reimburse me up to $10 for a cab ride back (!!). Plus, they’ll wash my car. I just might be able to manage that trip 2 or 3 times a year.</p>
<p>I kept waiting for someone to try and pull one over on me. Never happened. (They did offer a menu of 15 add-ons to buy, but they seemed to know I wasn’t going to buy them, seemed not to care, and moved right on by that step.) This dealership was a class act beginning to end. And I am a new and happy customer. I did get two free service visits–the first a check up within a month, the second an oil change–but just because that’s what they do. I didn’t ask for it or anything else. I was just happy with the deal and decided that was good enough. I’m a little sorry I worked so hard to conceal my excitement, lest they slip in a bogus charge on the easy mark. Oh well. Very happy.</p>
<p>Nice! Hope you enjoy it!</p>
<p>My mom has a RX - she had a free service deal for a while, but since that’s run out, she’s just been taking it to the Toyota dealership that’s within walking distance of our house. It’s way easier (and cheaper!) especially since the Lexus dealership is some 60 miles away. And Lexuses are pretty much fancy Toyotas anyway so they have no problems doing the service…</p>
<p>Hey Juba, we must be neighbors! 
(Toyota’s a lot closer for me too.) Thanks for the tip.</p>
<p>Use the dealership for warranty work and upkeep for good service from someone who knows all of the little things about your brand. After the warranty expires go anywhere for oil changes, etc. My H’s first Lexus is his snow car of choice for its traction- a '91 LS400 (paid $40,000), how many teenagers get to drive a Lexus? Never thought we would own it long enough for him to drive it, by then it wasn’t cost effective to trade in for a newer, less safe car. The seats, LCD panel and other sundries are showing their age. We have had some body work done elsewhere- didn’t need the perfect job for such an old car. I have an RX330, that I love (the newer ones are even better) except for a key turning problem (any others with that?)- a great SUV. H drives an ES350 for his regular use- the newer LS’s are too big and obscenely expensive, as well as still rear wheel drive. I won’t have need for a “haul and carry” car so I won’t get another RX, darn. </p>
<p>You got an excellent price for an excellent vehicle.</p>
<p>Doing routine maintenance at a well reputed Toyota dealership will not void your warranty! Lexus is owned by Toyota, and Lexus techs are Toyota-certified techs. Your RX is just a jazzed-up Toyota Highlander. After using a Lexus dealership for some time, we switched to a Toyota dealership when it opened a bigger service department. One word of caution: never take your car to be serviced on a weekend. Weekends are often staffed by less experienced techs (sort of “bottom of the food chain”), and a couple of times we had problems with the quality of service we’ve got (at a Lexus dealership!).</p>
<p>They can’t void the warranty if you don’t have the oil changes done through either Lexus or Toyota. They can’t void the warranty if you do them yourself. Plenty of people do. It is a good idea to keep receipts.</p>
<p>Schmoomcgoo–
I just got my 2009 April (!?!?!) Consumer Reports with the annual car report and discovered that the Lexus RX series has been redesigned for 2010, with the new models jsut now appearing int he showrooms (Heres an article about them) <a href=“http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10102845-48.html[/url]”>http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10102845-48.html</a>
So getting a good deal on the 2009 model was a good plan. Some people don’t like to get the first year of a new model, til they work out all the kinks. My 2005 is the same body style as the one you got, and I love it!! Enjoy!!</p>
<p>Oops!! Wrong link above, and I couldn’t get the post to reopen-- so I am reposting it[2010</a> Lexus RX gets update, new Remote Touch controller | The Car Tech blog - CNET Reviews](<a href=“http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10102845-48.html]2010”>http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10102845-48.html)</p>
<p>Congratulations!!! I always get so excited when we get a new car. Enjoy it.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing in my excitement, both with the deal and with the new car experience. My husband has been a bit of a bummer (because it’s painful to spend cash that will–hopefully–be worth so much more in the longterm if left where it was), so it’s nice to share the experience with those who can appreciate the process without the pain.</p>
<p>Jym, that’s much of why it made so much more sense to buy an RX 350 than the other cars I looked at. Can you believe I paid only $3k more for my new car than I paid for my Honda Odyssey ten years ago???</p>