Lexus Santa Monica

So...I am not your typical car buyer in most ways. I was not coming in with an existing vehicle, as living in Santa Monica / most of the "west side"...you can get away without having a car for quite some time. The problem with walking into a dealer off the street is that most don't take you seriously, especially when you walk in wearing jeans and a t-shirt ;). I knew I wanted a sporty luxury sedan, so I looked at your common players (BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Infiniti). All of these dealers are walking distance from my apartment in Santa Monica on either Wilshire or Santa Monica Ave, so I walked in with an interest in test driving. Now, I am not a snob by any means, but I do have an eye for great customer service. Let me tell you about my experiences at a few local dealerships and why Lexus Santa Monica wins: Infiniti of Santa Monica - I walked in off the street, wanting to test drive. I started looking at the G37 and Q50. I was in there a solid 20 minutes before even the receptionist acknowledged me. When they did, I was informed that they were extremely busy and could not do a test drive at that precise moment. Busy? REALLY? I was the only person in the dealership, you should probably look around before using a canned excuse why you think I am unworthy of your time. BMW of Santa Monica - I walked in off the street again and no one really acknowledged me. I walked around the lot a bit and finally someone acknowledged and came out to chat with me. We chatted about a few vehicles on the lot and getting you to allow me to test drive was like pulling teeth. Yes...the vehicle may not be the exact one I was looking for, but when I said that I enjoy driving, I thrive on performance vehicles and that I have never driven a BMW...you had the perfect opportunity to sell me for life on BMW performance. Instead, you waffled so much that I left, figuring that you actually did not want to sell a vehicle. Even more interesting: I returned to both dealers above, except the second time around, a friend with a high end luxury sedan drove me to the dealer. Funny how both dealers suddenly were falling all over themselves to wait on me and listen to my every want and desire. Lexus Santa Monica was different though, I walked in off the street, again...in jeans and a t-shirt. I was greeted by Ctesiphon "CT" L. We chatted about what brought me in and I expressed interest in a sporty luxury sedan. He instantly knew what I wanted, before even I knew. He brought me around the dealership and introduced me to the IS Series and we chatted about the various models and packages. I expressed some early interest in the IS 250. I made it clear that I wasn't buying today, but he still wanted to introduce me properly to the IS 250 with a test drive. Who am I to turn down a test drive? So, we took one out for a spin. I liked the vehicle, but as I said, I wasn't ready to purchase. He introduced me to his sales manager Ray Spence and we all shook hands / exchanged cards and chatted about timeline. It was surprisingly low pressure. I came in the following day, just to show my partner the vehicle I was looking at. Everyone was, once again, super friendly and accommodating, and offered to get my sales person. Finally, I was getting more serious and scheduled an appointment, where we chatted about colors and final trim levels. I realized that I actually wanted a little more power, so we did a second test drive, except this time with our prospective vehicle, an 2014 IS 350 F Sport in Matador Red. Now I was sold...we worked out a deal, but I was waiting on some funding to my bank account. We put the deal on ice and stayed in touch throughout the entire process via email / text message. Two weeks later (this past Friday night), we completed the deal and I couldn't be happier. Thank you CT L. (Sales), Ray S. (floor manager), and Bob U. (finance) for an awesome car buying experience!