Complaint Review: Lexus of Orlando - Winter Park Florida

This was BY FAR the WORST experience I've EVER had with ANY business of ANY KIND in all my 49 years! I initially contacted Lexus of Orlando to inquire about a 2013 White Lexus ES350 they had listed on the Internet at $31,500. Alesha, their Internet liaison, replied and told me, 'Yes, the car is in stock.' She also sent me info on a second similar car listed at $33,000, so I felt reasonably certain I'd be making my purchase of ONE of these two white Lexus ES350 vehicles when I arrived at the dealership a few days later.

My husband and I drove to Orlando from Cocoa Beach (an hour away) to make a cash deal with no trade-in…..should have been a quick & simple transaction, right? The day before we drove over, I contacted Alesha and AGAIN she confirmed that the car with the $31,500 sticker was still in stock and waiting for us. (She even said, at one point, "I personally have checked on this vehicle and it's ready to be parked in your garage!") The $33,000 car had sold, which was understandable, of course.

Then, on the very day, and as we drove to Orlando, Alesha phoned me while we were on the 417 and about 20-minutes from the dealership. AGAIN, she confirmed the $31,500 car was waiting to be test-driven. We had our checkbook ready and figured we'd make a deal and be on our way within the hour.

When we arrived at the lot, minutes after Alesha's call, we were literally ignored (and I'm serious) for nearly 15 minutes as we waited inside the showroom. A woman then told us 'Henry' would be with us shortly. Minutes later, we overheard the receptionist say that 'Henry had JUST ARRIVED!' I went and asked for help from someone else and another salesman, Jorge, offered to help us. While Jorge was very nice, he could not locate the car we'd come to see. Three of us walked all around the dealership in 95-degree heat for about 45-minutes as we LOOKED for this Phantom Vehicle that seemed to elude everyone.

Things were becoming clearer to us, by this point (and I'm sure you can see where this is going!).

We explained precisely which car we'd driven over to see and I showed Jorge the multiple emails I'd received from Alesha in Internet Sales. NO ONE COULD FIND THIS PHANTOM CAR! THERE WAS NO RECORD OF SUCH A VEHICLE!

I was infuriated by this time and began phoning Alesha (who was miraculously 'at lunch' and unavailable to take my calls). A manager came and 'pretended' to be concerned and offer his help….which only added fuel to the fire, by this time. HE was as inept and useless as every other person we'd encountered and HE could not FIND THE CAR either! There were multiple salesmen and managers involved by this point, and it looked like a 'Chinese Fire Drill' as they robotically flitted around and bumped into one another as they pretended to 'look for this elusive ES350.' I wasn't sure if we were at a Lexus dealership or watching a bad Laurel & Hardy film!

Finally, after an '90-minutes,' they offered us an ES350 to drive that had not yet undergone a clean-up and inspection, and the price of THAT car was $33,500. We drove the car and 'tried to envision' how it would look after it had been properly serviced. By this time, our experience had been lackluster and we began losing faith that this dealership would be able to provide the type of service we demand and expect from a Lexus dealer.

After the TWO-HOUR debacle, we offered $31,500 CASH for the car that we drove (and that they couldn't have 'ready' for us till Tues or Wed, 3-4 days LATER). The manager said the best he'd do was $33,000. We explained that since we'd clearly been duped and scammed that we intended to offer not a penny over the price of the car we'd come to see.

In the end, we told the manager to, "Shove it," and we went to another dealership and bought the car we wanted.

Not only will I never again set foot in Lexus of Orlando, but I plan to make it my mission to share this disgusting story of classic 'Bait & Switch' tactics with everyone I know, in an effort to save others from being scammed, lied to, deceived and flagrantly screwed by these gypsies!

As owners of multiple successful (and ethical) businesses, my husband and I were highly offended that ANYONE would resort to such slimy, degenerate 'Snake Oil Salesman' tactics just to 'get people on the lot!'

AVOID THIS DEALERSHIP, FRIENDS, AND TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO DO THE SAME!