Lexus Santa Monica

Purchased vehicle over two months ago. Feel swindled. Was believed to be a 2k rebate with first month drive off. Signed drive off. Two months later started receiving calls about additional 2k needed for the lease. Was given the contract again and shame On me did t see they had manipulated an additional 2k into deal using rebate and wanting 2k. My bad I signed it. I will pay it but be very careful with this stealership. Tried to contact the sales manager that made the deal. He didn’t speak to me transferred me to to the finance guy. Done with this place. Don’t want to talk about it even to explain. Will pay what I owe but will never refer or would want anyone to go through this. Terrible feeling. I also would not work with sales person Tracey Tackett. Will waste your time. Brought back flashbacks of old days slick sales guy that doesn’t listen to you. Especially do t make a drive for a deal here. I don’t believe you will end up with what you want. Plenty of other dealers to take your money without the worry of a cal two months later .

This is my second purchase with Enrique. He is a thoughtful salesperson who listens to his customers and strives to make sure you are comfortable with your purchase. He doesn’t disappear the moment the ink dries; he actually follows up with you to make sure you are a satisfied customer!

For the past two years, we had no problems with Lexus of Santa Monica until last week and boy, this is a disappointing and fateful one. I had a lot of respect for Lexus of Santa Monica until last week. At this point, I would recommend that you never buy from nor service a vehicle at Lexus of Santa Monica. I can never trust them again, and this is why: Most people don't have four in-car HD cameras installed in their vehicle recording 24-7 - but we do. I disclosed this to the service advisor so they wouldn't roll the windows down, as I always do. 7:40 AM - I was the only customer at the service drop-off and was promptly helped. I told the service advisor we needed the 6-month service as well as "fuel injection" service, which I was told we needed at the last service. I was quoted just under $400 by the advisor. I signed and walked off to wait - and shortly realized thereafter that I signed for a separate "throttle service" (~$200). Promptly returned to the service advisor and was told that it was part of the "fuel service" discount package, which apparently has two parts - "fuel induction" and "throttle service." I decided we didn't need "throttle service" this time and asked them to remove it and just check to see if we needed it and to let me know. We were never told we previously needed it and I was not advised as the service advisor wrote the ticket that he was adding "throttle service." I had only recalled previously being told we needed fuel injection service. Conveniently, they no longer have access to previous service notes - all gone - poof! That was the first curiosity, but I chalked it up to miscommunication because I asked for "fuel injection" service. Now, I truly question if it was miscommunication or whether an additional service was added to simply charge me more. In the end, we were told the throttle is fine and doesn't need any service. At least they were honest about that - I think... 9:15 AM - The service advisor cashed me out and I was on my way at 9:20. I contacted them three times later throughout the day because the brake measurements were not on the invoice (never heard back until the following morning). That was the second curiosity. That night, I retrieved the data from our in-car cameras and started to review it. I found the following: 7:52 AM - vehicle entered the shop 8:00 AM - vehicle pulled into bay and hood opened 8:03 AM - vehicle raised 8:17 AM - vehicle lowered 8:20 AM - hood closed 8:24 AM - vehicle left shop and left to sit on the east drive (the only car for a long time) 9:20 AM - I left after cashing out After speaking with the service advisor and service manager, the fuel induction service takes one technician 30-40 minutes (usually on the ground) plus the time for the 6-month service. Our vehicle was in the service bay for a total of 20-minutes with one technician. This was the third curiosity. The vehicle sat in the east drive for almost an hour before they notified me that it was outside just sitting and waiting, conveniently just out of sight if one was looking out from the lobby. This was the fourth curiosity. The service manager has only offered to inspect the vehicle so that they can confirm for themselves that the service was not completed. He explained to me that he reviewed their video and that my timeline matches up with what he also saw. He has offered no other option nor explanation. To any reasonable person, it is not a reasonable request to return the car to them knowing what I now believe about Lexus of Santa Monica, based upon my video. Why am I now expected to blindly trust them and spend more of my time so that they can verify what I already believe? How is this helpful to anyone but them? I'll let you decide what you think happened during the 20-minutes in the service bay, but based upon the words of the service department, it doesn't seem within the realm of possibility that a 30-40 minute ($200) fuel induction and the 6-month service could have occurred in 20-minutes total, with the car in the air for 14 of those minutes, since the fuel induction service is usually completed on the ground. Oh yea, they billed $247.50 for labor for those 20-minutes in the service bay!!! With this experience, should you take the chance with Lexus of Santa Monica? Do you have the means and expertise to independently verify the work that you paid for? It's always a leap of faith with vehicle service, but Lexus of Santa Monica has shown to me that they should not be trusted or that they are worthy of my business. In fact, ths behavior appears to lean toward something entirely different, and not just ethically... You be the judge with your money. I have noticed a steady decline in service over the past two years, but chalked it up to a corporate need to continuously address the bottom line and cost cut. However, after this experience, I won't let the shiny, beautiful and impressive Lexus vehicles deceive me ever again about the behavior of the staff at Lexus of Santa Monica and how LA Car Guy has decided to manage this dealership. You have now been warned.

Enrique is honestly the best! We’ve known Enrique for about 10 years now. We first met him while working at a different dealership and since then we’ve followed him to Lexus Santa Monica. This is our 3rd lease with with Enrique and Lexus Santa Monica. Enrique makes the process incredibly easy and will search high and low to get the car and color your searching for. Needless to say we’ll definitely be going back to Enrique and Lexus of Santa Monica.

Nice cars but biggest complaint is they force you to do an option contract. If you want to use your own lender it can take up to 10 days to release the car upon receiving check from your bank. They'll constantly push you to do the option contract with one of their credit unions to get the car off the lot that day. Rule is once you drive off the lot in California the sale is final. If you're ok with an option contract then they're fine, but that's all they know how to do. Even our credit union said BUYER BEWARE! We got a car from another Lexus dealer with our credit union, no problem just up the street and picked up the car the next day. If you're set on using your lender because you have great rates then don't go to this dealer. No matter what they try to talk you into.

My wife and I purchased a 2017 used Certified Pre-Owned LX 570 sight unseen. We were moving from Hawaii to Albuquerque, NM and needed a car to drive our family from CA to NM when we landed. Because of the reputation Lexus and Lexus Certified Pre-Owned vehicles have, we purchased it sight unseen. We landed in CA got a ride from a family member to the Lexus dealership to pick up our new vehicle. Literally walked around the vehicle for one minute, went in and signed papers. Moments later drove it across country. When we got to NM I had to wash the vehicle and this is when the issues arouse. The car had significant repairs to both back and front bumpers (never disclosed). Whoever covered up the issues used a slightly off colored paint, painted over the parking sensors, over spray on the taillights, mud flaps, and luggage protectors. The texture is horrible, when you get underneath the car you can see paint drips from excessive paint. On the front of the car, the same exact issues, paint over the parking sensors, paint on the accent lights and a cracked grill. Lexus of Santa Monica refuses to make this right. They will not cover any of the costs to get it corrected, rather they want me to drive to CA and maybe they will take care of it. I am stuck fitting the bill for something that Lexus should have corrected immediately. This is just the beginning, the windshield wipers were not adjusted correctly and were hotting the windshield pillar, there are massive transmission issues that have creeped up, and the tailgate does not lift automatically. Yes these items can be corrected over warranty, but the underlying story is that the Service Department did not do their jobs or did them extremely poorly. Worst dealership I have ever been to, never never go here.

My wife and I purchased a 2017 used Certified Pre-Owned LX 570 sight unseen. We were moving from Hawaii to Albuquerque, NM and needed a car to drive our family from CA to NM when we landed. Because of the reputation Lexus and Lexus Certified Pre-Owned vehicles have, we purchased it sight unseen. We landed in CA got a ride from a family member to the Lexus dealership to pick up our new vehicle. Literally walked around the vehicle for one minute, went in and signed papers. Moments later drove it across country. When we got to NM I had to wash the vehicle and this is when the issues arouse. The car had significant repairs to both back and front bumpers (never disclosed). Whoever covered up the issues used a slightly off colored paint, painted over the parking sensors, over spray on the taillights, mud flaps, and luggage protectors. The texture is horrible, when you get underneath the car you can see paint drips from excessive paint. On the front of the car, the same exact issues, paint over the parking sensors, paint on the accent lights and a cracked grill. Lexus of Santa Monica refuses to make this right. They will not cover any of the costs to get it corrected, rather they want me to drive to CA and maybe they will take care of it. I am stuck fitting the bill for something that Lexus should have corrected immediately. This is just the beginning, the windshield wipers were not adjusted correctly and were hotting the windshield pillar, there are massive transmission issues that have creeped up, and the tailgate does not lift automatically. Yes these items can be corrected over warranty, but the underlying story is that the Service Department did not do their jobs or did them extremely poorly. Worst dealership I have ever been to, never never go here.

Enrique Carvajal has helped me get into 2 Lexus vehicles. My first one was a 2019 ES 300h which I loved. Enrique was there to help me anytime I had a car emergency. Unfortunately after only 7 months of driving the car, I found it with a tree crashed onto it. It totaled the vehicle. In a state of panic I called Enrique asking if he could get me into another Lexus. He had always been so helpful and generous that I knew I wanted to work with him again. At first I couldn’t get into a car I wanted for the price I wanted but he kept working with me until I found the perfect car for an amazing price. I now have a beautiful black UX 250h. I know I can always count on Enrique with my car and I definitely advice going into Lexus and requesting his name.

Richard Doherty is a pleasure to work with. He goes the extra mile to take care of me which is one of the main reasons I go directly to Lexus for my services when clearly I could get it for a lot cheaper at a third party vendor. It’s all about the service including the convenience of a loaner car. You get what you pay for. My only complaint about Lexus is that their bumpers are the absolute worst. The brackets are so flimsy that the bumper repeatedly gets misaligned when your bumper scrapes the driveway or curb. This and this reason alone is why I will never buy another Lexus. So until this 10 year old car dies on me, I will continue going to their service center. Considering how dependable Lexuses are, it will probably be another decade before I switch to another make/model.

Not pushing into a new car. Comfortable surroundings. Organized. Thorough. Detail oriented. Timely. Have all my history at the customer service fingertips. Costly but coupon oriented.