As a first time customer, I feel very misled and d...

As a first time customer, I feel very misled and deceived from my experience with Lexus in Huntsville last week. Upon having them check my warning lights on my 2007 Lexus is250, I met with Rob Massingill who explained the service department would be running a diagnostic check to find out if there were any issues with the car. Rob mentioned there was a $140 diagnostic fee if there were issues and if I were to get the work done there at Lexus in Huntsville. I asked for clarification that I would not be charged if I didn't get the work done and he say NO. 2 hours later, I am told it threw a P0420 code and needed a new catalytic converter for $2,000. There was no explorative investigation or explanation as to why I needed the catalytic converter replaced, and I was still charged $140 just for the mechanic to take a code reader and simply run the code...a 3 minute task! If I would have known they were going to do this, I would have taken it to O'Reilly Auto Parts and gotten the code read for free! Be careful when you go to Lexus in Huntsville, they will say whatever they can to get you to pay out for their fancy furniture and gourmet coffee in the break room. After this experience, I took my car to a mechanic in town who determined the cat was throwing the error due to it being a California Converter, which has stricter emissions standards...something Lexus in Huntsville had no knowledge about or failed to share *cough* *cough*. The unnamed-but well known mechanic further elaborated that it will not damage the other components to continue driving the car the way it is...it just means I will be driving with warning lights on and my emissions will be higher. It just goes to show that it is always good to get a second opinion if you feel like you are getting swindled. Do yourself a favor and save your money by going somewhere else!