Complaint Review: Lexus Of Manhattan

On 9/30 I signed a contract for a BRAND NEW 2005 Lexus IS300. Upon delivery on 10/6, I inspected the vehicle for the first time and I found 3 scratches and 2 dings on the vehicle and a scratch on the left driver side rim. I told Elena, the person who handles the delivery process and she told me to talk to the Sales Manager, Peter. I showed him all the scratches and dings and he said that since I bought it for such a low price, there's really nothing he can do. I insist that he repair the damages because it's a brand new car and it's not suppose to have any cosmetic defects. He wrote on the contract that they'll touch up the scratches and polish/wax the rims free of charge on my first service.

On 10/18, I brought the car in for the repairs. I called the service department around 3pm and ask for repair status. Amariano, the Service Manager, told me that they're repairing it right now and he'll call me once it's ready. Since the dept closes at 6pm, I called them at 5pm and he told me it's not ready and that I should pick it up the next day.

On 10/19 at around 8AM, Amariano called me and told me the car's ready to be picked up. I went there and waited for 30 mins and when my vehicle pulled up, I inspected it and THOSE SCRATCHES AND DINGS ARE STILL THERE. I showed Amariano and Micheal, sales rep who sold me the car, that those problems are still there and they said they'll have to bring it to the body shop and it takes a week.

Amariano called me today and told me the car's ready and the sales manager will not repair the scratched rim. Peter Silleti, Sales Manager, called me and told me he even went over the line with the repairs. He said initially he was just going to touch it up but now he fixed the dents on the body and has suffered a loss selling me this vehicle, so he will not repair the rim NOR give me a brand new one.

I called Lexus Customer Service (Chip Hanley) and explained the whole situation. He said that I should pick up the vehicle and check if it's repaired. He also said someone will contact me regarding this case in 2-3 business days and try to come out with a solution.

I will pick up the vehicle tomorrow and make sure the scratches and dings are fixed. I did a research on this dealer and there were lots of complaints about their service and inexperienced their technicians are. I'm afraid they will do a horrible job on the repair. As for the rims, I feel I'm an entitled to at least have the rims repaired.

Being a brand new car, I was expecting the car to be flawless, dentfree, and scratchfree. I didn't expect to have so many cosmetic defects. I feel like cancelling the contract since what I have is not what was expected. The sales manager REFUSED to cancel the contract stating its binding. Is there anything else I can do to get these problems solved?

Li
Brooklyn, New York
U.S.A.