As I write this, I'm sitting in a drab dealership service area waiting to have some warranty work performed on my car. The reason for my visit is a simple issue with the climate control system on my Ford Fiesta ST, which has caused the floor air vents to remain open at all times. Such a simple issue - covered under warranty at no cost - turned out to be far more time consuming than I would have liked. This brings up a very important question of whether the experience may have been better if I owned a luxury car.

Buyers are faced with the decision of whether to go with a mainstream or luxury car more than you'd think. $35,000 can buy a very nicely optioned Honda Accord or the cheapest Mercedes model, the A-Class, for example. The Honda may be more well-optioned for the same price but the Mercedes comes with an unparalleled dealership experience that many shoppers don't consider when purchasing their car.

Let's start off with my Fiesta situation. I don't want to single out Ford here because the same troubles would be present at almost any mainstream dealership namely because they are not required to offer loaner cars. To get my Fiesta fixed, I had to drive 30 minutes (each way) to the Ford dealership, where I then had to wait an hour for the service technicians to diagnose the car and see what part would be needed to fix it. Since the dealership didn't have the part in stock, it had to be ordered and I was forced to drive back the next day, where the service was then completed in a rather timely three hours - the entirety of which I sat at the dealership to wait for the car.

For those who are counting, that is a total of two hours on the first day between driving to the dealership and waiting for the car, then an additional four hours the following day. I, unlike many other people in the workforce, have the ability to work from a laptop so luckily my days weren't completely ruined as a result.

I am also fortunate to have taken my car to a rather nice Ford dealership, which had just installed a fancy new coffee machine with the ability to brew up all sorts of fancy hot drinks. The dealership also had fairly quick WiFi and a refrigerator full of complimentary water bottles, so the experience was a pleasant one overall. But my trip to the dealership would have been even more pleasurable had I bought a car from a luxury brand. If you've never owned a car from a luxury brand like BMW, Lexus, Porsche, or Mercedes, let me paint a picture of why these companies are consistently scored as having the best service centers.

When I take my mother's Lexus GS 350 in for service, I always go on an empty stomach. This particular Lexus dealership stocks a large assortment of fresh fruits, cakes, candies, and hot drinks. While I wait, I can check out all of the new cars that are parked in the service center. This is a perfect way to entice customers to check out the new product while they wait for their car to be serviced. When it's time to sit and wait for the car, I can choose one of four massage chairs where I can plop down and relax.

This is, of course, assuming I even stay to wait for the car in the first place. If the service is a long one, Lexus will give me a loaner car - typically an IS or NX - to drive home or back to work. It may not seem like much but this little luxury can make a big difference in productivity whenever it's time to get service on your car.

I am often asked why we would recommend cars like the Lexus LC 500, which offer "only" 470 horsepower for nearly $100,000 when a similarly-price Chevy Corvette Z06 produces 650 hp. Well, amongst other reasons, when it comes time to service that Corvette at the dealership, the owner will likely be treated to the same type of experience I got with my little Fiesta. This is fine for me with my cheap Fiesta but if I had just spent six figures on a car, I'd like to be treated as such. It may not mean as much to you but the dealership experience could be an important factor for someone else and it is certainly worth considering when during your next car purchase.