JD Power's CSI survey is out - Nothing to see here, again

[epiclr4]

My dealer is a Jaguar Land Rover dealer. They told me they give Jags to Land Rover owners and Land Rovers to Jag owners. They apparently get a lot of sales that way. I guess I'll find out if they really do that when I take my LR4 in for service for the first time.

I recently was given a Jag as my loaner car but was also able to have had an LR2. Granted I was annoyed that I couldn't have the same vehicle I drive or something equal in size. That was my frustration as it ruined our plans for 3 weeks straight. The Jag was fun to zip around town in though.

In terms of clarifying my previous comments my CSI rating would be very low. While I like my service guy, it seems the capabilities and service values are very low with my dealer. While there is a dealer that is about 2.5 hours away that seemingly from other peoples experiences goes above and beyond expectation. That said our BMW dealer is leaps and bounds above the LR dealer. They have never given us our vehicle back with greasy/oily hand prints all over the dash.

 

[danrhiggins]

I agree 100% with your thoughts on Lexus. If they even remotely made the GX more offroad focus or even designed it better than the soccer mom look, I would totally go that direction. My wife has an RX and the dealer bends of backwards to take care of everything. That said, I've been lucky to have a good experience with my local LR dealer but I think that's because I'm part of the local LR club that they support and got to know the GM and a specific service guy really well. They do take care of me in reason but it's definitely still not to the considerate levels that Lexus was willing to go(pick up and drop off my wife's car to her).

I have an extended warranty on my LR4 but when that runs out in 2016, I'll be trading it in for something else. Maybe a new Disco or Defender. I'll take a look at the GX at that time too because the quality and reliability is hard to pass up.

I had 3 RX350s. (We had become empty-nesters so I had downsized from a Land Cruiser and we weren't interested in going off road.) I see two things going for Lexus. First, they change their vehicles very slowly and very carefully. Great for reliability. Not so good if you want to be on the leading edge of cool stuff. As I researched the LR4 I tried to convince myself to go with a Lexus multiple times. But the RX is not what we needed (though better off pavement then my current MDX) and every time I sat in it it was just so much the same. So little change. The GX has the 4' barn door and less interior space than an LR4. The LX, well to me it just felt bloated. And then there is the lame arrangement of the 2nd and 3rd row if you are interested in using that as a cargo area - which I am. I will probably drive most of the time with my 2nd row flat and one or both of the 3rd row seats flat. But back to the topic - by minimizing the change to the vehicles they also minimize the reliability risk.

And then there is the way they set up their dealerships to truly appeal to the luxury car buyer. The primary Lexus dealer in my area just opened a new two-story dealership. It is gorgeous. I don't know what they spent on it but the half of the 2nd floor facing the mountains is a cafe which services coffee, lattes, lunch, etc. There is a waterfall/feature. Massage chairs. All upscale furniture. And of course good wifi-enabled work areas for people like me. Every sales person is dressed in a suit. No pressure sale. Very nice experience.

I go to the Acura dealer and they are all nice people but it is no where near that level of luxury feel. It is closer to a Honda or American dealership. Even the local Mercedes and BMW dealerships do not have the same feel as the Lexus.

People feel pampered when they go into that Lexus dealership. And I believe, along with reliability born of slow, careful change and a willingness to fix whatever is wrong the feel you get in the dealership matters.

Lexus, at least the one here in Denver, nails it.

That said, the feeling and enjoyment that is most important to me is driving the vehicle and experiencing adventures in it. For me, I believe the LR4 will provide me with far more of that than any of the Lexus options.

Sheez, am I long-winded this morning or what?

 

[Lone Star landy]

Westside Lexus in Houston has the absolute best service center I have ever seen. I daily drive a Lexus GS and we had a GX before our LR4, and they always take care of everything we need. They have a fleet of Lexus complimentary loaner vehicles(ES, IS, RX) and they always have one ready to go for you. It's very quick and no headache. The BMW dealer in West Houston is also quite good when it comes to the "service experience".

Overall, I am pretty satisfied with my Land Rover dealer, Jaguar/Land Rover Southwest Houston. They are always very nice and they do what I need done. It's an upscale and luxurious building with a nice service waiting/lounge area. My biggest issue is that they don't have many Jaguar/Land Rover loaner vehicles. One time they loaned me an LR2, but every other time all their loaners were given out so they would rent me a vehicle through Enterprise. They have an Enterprise "kiosk" in the dealership, but you still have to go through all the rental vehicle paperwork and follow the general rental vehicle rules(return it with the same amount of fuel you were given, etc.). It's just much more time-consuming and more of a headache than getting a loaner. Last time, I tried to get them to loan me a Jaguar F-type V8 S, unfortunately to no avail

By the way our Lexus GX was in service far more than our LR4 has been. It definitely did not fit the esteemed "Lexus Reliability" that everyone talks about. It left us stranded multiple times. In the 3 years or so that we owned it, it went through 5-6 batteries, an alternator, an air shock, and some other little things. The worst was when my wife and my youngest son were driving at highway speed in Houston and the alternator went out and everything electronic in car died and they had to wait on the side of a busy highway for Lexus to come pick them and the GX up. Of course, the dealer would always fix everything and replace the batteries under warranty. They never could find anything wrong the charging/electrical system and said it was "normal" to go through 2-3 batteries every year in the Houston weather, which I called BS.

 

[danrhiggins]

By the way our Lexus GX was in service far more than our LR4 has been. It definitely did not fit the esteemed "Lexus Reliability" that everyone talks about. It left us stranded multiple times. In the 3 years or so that we owned it, it went through 5-6 batteries, an alternator, an air shock, and some other little things. The worst was when my wife and my youngest son were driving at highway speed in Houston and the alternator went out and everything electronic in car died and they had to wait on the side of a busy highway for Lexus to come pick them and the GX up. Of course, the dealer would always fix everything and replace the batteries under warranty. They never could find anything wrong the charging/electrical system and said it was "normal" to go through 2-3 batteries every year in the Houston weather, which I called BS.

No! That can't be! I thought Lexus' were "invincible" (flash to the scene from Goldeneye). And, to be honest, there were similar issues with a few of the 2014 Acura MDX cars - and many believe Honda is rock solid reliable right behind Toyota.

As for loaners, my dealership has about 35 new Evoques that aren't moving. I understand that after a certain period of time they will be relegated to loaner status and eventually sold as used.

As for past experience with Lexus and Acura they would always have me schedule an appointment when they new they had a Lexus or Acura loaner available and would reserve one for me at that time. Sometimes that meant I had to wait a week for an appointment.