Raleigh Lexus Experience

Do you remember your first car? It was 20 or so years ago, but I remember mine like it was yesterday. I was 300 miles away from Raleigh then. If yours was a lemon, I can relate. I had a Mitsubishi Dodge Colt. I sure learned a lot about what could go wrong with a car. Because everything that could go wrong, did go wrong…including my car catching on fire. Man, that was scary! Especially since I was in the middle of no where about an hour outside of the university town of Charlottesville, VA… …but as luck would have it, there happened to be this ‘lil convenience shop (perhaps just waiting for helpless me back then?) … so I ran in. Luckily there was a nice man who wanted to help me. I have found that a lot of country folk are really nice and have the time of day for strangers. He came outside with me, lifted up my hood and said ‘holey smokes’ (literally!). He told me that water wasn’t the solution for a car fire as it could cause an explosion. G-R-E-A-T…something else to worry about! I now didn’t have to worry about the almost completely black air filter I’d been driving around with (that’d I just had changed…don’t ask!)… and that’s ‘cause the whole system was shot!Whoaa…that’s going down memory lane too much. Well life has improved, and my cars have too. I actually enjoy waiting for my car these days. Where is that, you ask? At my Raleigh Lexus dealership. I imagine all their dealerships are like that. It’s called the Lexus Experience.

When you pull up, that’s where the ‘red carpet’ treatment begins.  You should have everything ready to go ‘cause there’s someone attentively waiting for you. Then you get escorted to the waiting room. Lemme clarify…there’s the TV waiting room and the quiet waiting room. Both have ample plush leather seats. And there’s a lounge where you can get your complimentary sweets…like biscotti and cookie assortment. There’s also complimentary coffee, sodas, and apples. The bathroom is like a hotel bathroom – well kept.

TV Lounge Next to Quiet Lounge

You forget where you are. One time I watched a good part of the Wimbledon match on a TV bigger than mine at home.

The technician/customer service rep. tells you what is going to happen and how long it should take so that if you don’t wanna wait, you can get hooked up with a loner car. What convenience! If you choose to stay and wait, someone will come get you in the timeframe they originally quoted you. Then you go home and your car is all washed on the outside and vacuumed on the inside. Now, that’s service!

Now how does that compare to sitting for well over an hour or a two at a shop where there’s barely enough plastic chairs to sit on that are hard as rocks on your butt? There’s maybe a small TV that’s almost always on a generic news station ‘cause there’s usually more than a few people waiting. The shop smells like rubber tires and they do offer complimentary coffee as a self-service station…but it’s been sitting there for who knows how long and tastes like a hint of cigarette. …The bathroom is just a ‘lil better than a gas station bathroom. And to top it off, no one comes to provide an update until they call you to checkout after what seems to be eternity. Sounds like an incredible waste of half a day. Remember, you still have to drive back to where you need to go and did you count the time it took you to get to the shop? Oh, and if you don’t wait for your car, then you’ll have to find your own ride to and fro. Sound fun? Not to me, and I’m sure not fun for anyone.

I’m not saying get a Lexus. But I am saying, look at the entire package including maintenance when you consider a car. Me, I look for the “Lexus Experience”. Not the lemon experience.

Category: Raleigh Other Professional Services