Lexus of Manhattan — Local services in New York

UPDATE 6 months later: I had a meeting in the city, so I took the car in for the warranty service and a detail. We did not receive the video walk around however, the service advisor asked me to come into his office. he tried to hustle me with over $1000 of nonsense services. Including, looking me in the eyes, trying to intimidate me and pressure me. Disgusting and misogynistic thinking he could scare me and pressure me into paying for fake services plus other that had prices four times the normal price. basically he made it up so he could make a commission along with his partner, the technician. I declined. He had the audacity to tell me his family depended on me giving him a really good review. He explained what I would be receiving and what it would look like and how I should fill out the survey in his favor. I am not gullible and I feel badly for any person that does not have experience or wherewithal to not fall for his snake oil. A couple days later . . . We took it to the regular dealership we go to for a potential mouse and guess what? They never completed the warranty services. However, they charged Lexus for it and put it on our vehicle record that it was completed. No new filters, no wiper blades, no brake fluid change and when I left, it was raining so I couldn’t tell but they over buffed the vehicle on the fenders. They lied, committed fraud, tried to sell snake oil and failed at the basic part of the job. I guess you can buy your car there just never get a service there. Lexus however, made it right and gave us a $550 credit to go to our regular dealership to complete the required services. Check your cars folks! I let the dealership know about my experience and how I was treated. They were “shocked” and I was promised that the general manager would be calling me, he never did. A few months later, I was called by someone to schedule my next service. I told them about my experience and I would never have my vehicle worked on at that location again. I told him I did not trust the service team. The woman was horrified at my story and promised to have the manager call me. Nobody ever did. I reminded her to please remove me from all phone calls and solicitations as previously requested. a few months later I get another call and I asked again to be removed. Once again, I was promised a call & they never did. ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW After four months of car shopping and meeting all kinds of amazing people, and actually quite a few weirdos; plus, adding, some dealerships that are scam artists, and some that just didn’t have the right car; we found Lexus of Manhattan. I am incredibly guarded and only wanted to work with a woman. Who answered the phone when I asked for a woman? Richard Emerson! Boy did we both laugh! I explained that I couldn’t stand the salesmen that try to take advantage of women. He was/is fantastic! I don’t play games, I am very straightforward and I’ll tell you exactly how I feel if I feel like I’m being taken advantage of. He truly made this experience easy, fun, and I appreciate deeply everything he did for us. We actually traveled 2+ hours from up the shoreline in Connecticut just to work with him. He had the car we’ve been looking for with the features and an excellent price. Plus, he was nice! One thing we’ve learned after four months of car shopping is how ridiculously overpriced the preowned vehicles are in the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts. Additionally, a couple dealerships in NY tell you the car is certified, but that only means verified certified and eligible to buy an extra warranty (bait, and switch, beware shoppers) Lexus of Manhattan is honest, has superb service, and so incredibly easy to work with. If you’re looking for a car, please call Richard Emerson or just ask for Emerson because there are a few Richards there. Lexus corporate take notice, this location should be on your radar as the best of the best representing your brand . . . Friends, give Richard “Emerson” a call. I promise he’ll take good care of...

My family and I recently had the experience of purchasing a 2022 RX with Dom. And what an experience it was—sike! From the moment you sit down, they make it abundantly clear that buying from them is a privilege, and you should be grateful for any modicum of respect or honesty. Forget about a “luxury” car-buying experience—this felt more like customer service at McDonald’s. Honestly, they should just rename this place the McDonald’s of Manhattan. If we hadn’t already put down a deposit and committed to our word, we would’ve walked away. STAY AWAY!

Background

We scheduled an appointment on a rainy Thursday and arrived to an empty dealership. After waiting a while, we were finally greeted by our salesperson, Dominique, or “Dom.” After basic pleasantries, Dom promised us “a few hundred dollars off” the listing price before we even saw the vehicle. When we inspected the wet car and pointed out a few scratches, Dom verbally promised to take care of those as well.

Trusting Dom, I left him with my retired parents to work out the details—a mistake on my part. We paid the listed price, put down a deposit while waiting for the title (ETA: one week), and were assured the car would be delivered in good condition.

The Nightmare Begins

Fast forward to the weekend: we got a call from one of the used car managers informing us the title was in and to call back to schedule our appointment. After four unanswered calls on a Saturday, we finally reached Sani, a sales manager. Without any greeting or acknowledgment of the original delivery estimate, Sani angrily stated that if we didn’t pick up the car by Monday, he’d sell it to someone else—deposit or not. He then hung up on us.

Imagine speaking to someone you’ve never interacted with, only to be met with hostility, a one-liner ultimatum, and a hang-up. If a sales manager is yelling at customers without knowing contract details and abruptly hangs up, how do you think the rest of the team behaves? Check the reviews—this experience seems to be par for the course.

Despite everything, we honored our word and spoke with Mike and Aladdin, two other used car managers, who were much more reasonable and understanding. We scheduled a pickup for a few days later in the morning.

Pickup Day

We arrived prepared, with insurance in hand, and the dealership had our checks cashed by 10:30 AM. After inspecting the car again, we reminded Dom of his promises: cleaning/buffing the car and ensuring a license plate without the number “4” (considered bad luck in our culture). At this point, we were ready to finalize the transaction, but we were told there was an “elevator malfunction” and were asked to leave.

There was zero communication throughout the day unless we reached out for updates. At Dom’s request, we returned at 3 PM, still hoping to make it to our family Thanksgiving dinner.

Unfortunately, we ended up sitting at the dealership for hours without any updates. Dom was nowhere to be found, and various employees repeatedly claimed they didn’t know what was going on. By 6:30 PM, we were the only customers left and had to cancel our family dinner.

From what we observed during those hours, other customers were treated with the same indifference and lack of respect. At least the dealership is consistent—in belittling their customers equally.

The Final Straw

We finally received the car at 7 PM—an hour past closing. The license plate had two “4s,” the car had not been cleaned or buffed as promised, and to top it off, we were given only one key. Of course, we had to pay an additional $300 for a second key. We left exhausted, dejected, and completely disillusioned.

Good luck to anyone who encounters Dom & Sani at this dealership—or anywhere...

I have had my 2003 Lexus 470 (with 394,000 miles) serviced over 30 times over 17 years at 4 different Lexus dealerships--and NEVER have I had a bad experience. Until the most recent one at Manhattan Lexus.

They had my vehicle for 7 weeks (full disclosure--yes, I was provided a loaner), and in the course of that time, only communicated with me 3 times and more and most importantly--did not fix one of the core problems. I pointed this out to "Manny", my Service Advisor, together with the other issues--which included not installing the proper trim kit in my replacement sunroof and their having broken a fastener in the cargo area. I then asked, "How many miles did you drive the car for the road test?" and he immediately dismissed me by replying, "Carmine (the Service Manager) will get back to you. I'm forwarding all questions to him". (The "Check Engine" light and "VSC" lights--one of the original problems--came on less than 10 minutes after I picked up the car. When I asked what they did to supposedly fix that issue, Manny told me that the "Check engine light was the gas cap not sealing properly". Obviously this was not the case).

I gave Carmine THREE full business days to contact me.

He never did.

To give him the benefit of the doubt, I even called the dealership to make sure that he wasn't out sick or on vacation--he was present the entire time.

Perhaps the "adding insult to injury" part of this story? They asked me for a certified check for the costs of the repair--over $11,000.00. And while part of Manny's sales pitch was that they would return the car to me (I live in CT, some 2 hours away from Manhattan Lexus) and pick up the loaner--that proved to be a false promise. When I asked them to meet me at my bank in Greenwich with 2 days notice (an hour closer to Manhattan for me, and an hour closer to Manhattan than CT for Manhattan Lexus), Manny replied, "We can't send a driver to Greenwich. When can you come here?". I should also state that in the midst of all this, my wife had surgery. I told him that I needed the car back prior to the surgical date (6 weeks time), and he said that it would be no problem. I ultimately got the car back 10 days later, and only because I was willing to drive 5 hours round trip to retrieve it.

I have spent quite a bit of time on the phone with a "Brand Engagement Consultant" at Lexus Corporate, and they have been both shocked and understanding about my experience. I remain confident that they will satisfy me (although I have made it clear that I do not want my vehicle going back to Manhattan Lexus for the remedies).

One last comment. I factored the pandemic into this. That's why I was patient for 6 of the 7 weeks. That's why I brought my car to Manhattan Lexus in the first place--because they presented a really well thought out plan to consider customers and their cars during the crisis (full disclosure--they did a great job sanitizing and keeping the service area clean).

But a pandemic is no excuse for treating a valued Lexus customer like this.

I can afford a new vehicle. I choose to keep this car on the road, because it has proven to be incredibly well built, has been incredibly reliable (one engine-related breakdown in 17 years), and is tremendously comfortable.

I can make but two promises in closing: I will easily turn 500,000 miles on the odometer on this vehicle, and I will never go back to Manhattan Lexus for service.

PS. The two stars were for the immaculate detailing of my vehicle. I want to be honest and fair with...