Bona Fide Original Owner Of Is350 Refused Service From Lexus Southport

[AGV]

I just joined this forum in the hope some members could give me advice on where to have my IS350 serviced, given that the local Lexus dealership (Lexus Southport) refuses to handle my car, implying they have had too many problems with "shonky" imports in the past. I am the original owner of this Lexus which I purchased in Tokyo, where I lived for 32 years. I love my Lexus and brought it back with me when I moved back to Australia last September. It was registered in September 2012 after going through the standard inspections and road worthiness tests. It has only done 23,000 city kms in 6 years, of which only 5,000 have been done in the last 12 months here on the Gold Coast. It is in impeccable condition. If Lexus claims it is a global luxury brand, how can it treat Bona Fide owners like this?

Has any other owner experienced similar problems and if so, could they give me some advice?

I spoke to Lexus Australia and their cop out is that the dealers are permitted to make their own policy on what cars to service and which not to. A Lexus is a Lexus, no matter where it is bought. It is somewhat understandable if they are reluctant to deal with grey imports which they see as circumventing local sales, or competing with them, but as stated above, I am the original Bona Fide owner and wish to continue to have my Lexus serviced and maintained by an accredited Lexus dealer so as to not affect there sale value in the future, should I decided to trade it in. A new Lexus is no longer top of my wish list after this episode.

[Lexus Nerd]

Hi AGV, and welcome to the Club.

I'm not surprised by your local dealer's reaction, although it would have been nice if they could have practised omotenashi and at least directed you to a service centre that would have been willing to service your vehicle.

Arguably, the biggest factor to affect your resale value is the fact that you have a JDM. There might not be much difference between the Japanese and Australian variants (unlike the Korean spec, the parts lists for these two RHD vehicles seem almost identical), but that's not the way the typical buyer would see it. Any value differential due to where you got it serviced may pale in comparison, but servicing according to the logbook requirements - regardless of who does it - is still valued by buyers.

Based on previous posts on this forum, I would recommend looking in the following order:

• Your local Toyota dealer (if it's not adjacent to Lexus of Southport).
• Ultra Tune
• A mechanic who specialises in JDMs/imports/exotic vehicles but who is willing to stamp the logbook

[AGV]

Dear Lexus Nerd,

Thank you for your considerate and helpful reply. After such a long absence from Australia, I now realize Omotenashi is sadly missing in most service related situations in Australia. Where one does encounter it, it is that much more noticeable and appreciated. Mind you it does happen.

The other issue I need to resolve is where to procure a replacement the centre dashboard which hosts the screen for reverse camera and GPS, etc. The various buttons around it are in Japanese. Any leads on a reliable parts supplier such as a Lexus wrecker would be very much appreciated.

Thank you once again.

Tony

[ilv1004s]

most dealers will be not willing to look after the car if they are not familiar with it

sad but true story