e-man

Well, that's an outright lie, kind of. If they had no info on the car, it's because they buried their heads in the sand and didn't look for it. As stated above, Lexus has a national service history database. If the car was serviced at a Lexus dealer, all they need to do is enter the VIN number in their computers and the service history will come up. It doesn't matter where the car was serviced -- as long as it was serviced at a Lexus dealership, any Lexus dealership can pull up the service history for the car.

osokuko

Well FWIW - Something to think about. The car is a 03 build probably arrive at the dealership at the of April for the ES release date. The car was probably first sold in May – June. As I recall first sales were a bit slow after the initial release of the ES/07 car due to the stark naked interior verses ES 06 model that was still being sold at the time at a very good price to make room for the ES/07. The Trans issue as we know it today was just starting to surface in several forums around June. The dealerships knew very little about the Trans issue at that time, and for the most part were starting to be informed by a few savvy customers. It maybe possible the car was sold to a buyer in June that found out about the pending Trans issues and got cold feet and wanted to move into a different Lexus model. It was not uncommon at that time for a customer to take back a new car and complain “it’s not acceptable to them” and the dealer would take the car back to satisfy the customer. Several family members have over the years purchased a Lexus that was not satisfactory to them in the first few weeks of ownership, Lexus went ahead and replace the car for them, Lexus wants satisfied customers. The returned cars were sold at a good discount. So what I’m saying here is I don’t think the dealership ripped you off big time on the car, the full impact of the trans issue was just starting to surface at that time, some savvy buyers were getting out the best way they could, and Lexus wanted to satisfied it’s customers. In other words everyone evolved got screwed by this trany. I think your best bet would be to contact Lexus and see if some form of compensation would be offered. But sound like your still happy with the car.

e-man

But isn't the issue whether the dealer knew that the trans had been replaced and didn't inform the buyer? Even if the trans issue was not a widespread problem, or even if this ES was the only car that ever had the problem, shouldn't the dealer have let him know that it had a new trans (even if they were not legally required to do so)?

osokuko

I agree with you 100% that today a dealership had better notify you that the used car your buying has a replaced trans, if only due to the sensitivity of the demon trans issue today, oh god yes. I only gave thought in my post to how the circumstances were at that time of sale. I offer only a boarder look at the bigger picture of that time and let you draw your own conclusions.

e-man

Right. But even if this was the first ES350 that had its trans replaced and the dealer didn't know that there was a much larger issue because it was so early in the process, the buyer should have been informed. I have to assume that a dealer checks the service history of a car before taking it on trade to make sure there's nothing unusual. Even if it was a different dealership that replaced the trans, they had to know that the trans had been replaced at the time they sold the car.

osokuko

You say:

“I have to assume that a dealer checks the service history of a car before taking it on trade to make sure there's nothing unusual. Even if it was a different dealership that replaced the trans,”

Well, when I bought my Es350 I traded in a 2002 Mit GTZ with 63K miles on it that just had it’s blown transmission replace the week before by the Mit dealership. The reason I wanted to dump that car at 63K is because it will probably go again soon. I wanted to get as much as I could for the 4 year old car. Should I have informed the Lexus dealership of the replaced transmission and hope they will still give me the $$??

kingofire

well to the poster above, no one in their right mind would disclose about the blown tranny to the dealership. In this case, the tranny was replaced and obviously had to be done at the lexus dealership, so when the car was traded in, all the dealer needed to do and i am sure they did this, was to enter the VIN number in the database to see what service if any took place. Now, to give credit to the dealer, they may have not pulled the service records since the car was so new and assumed no service was done and are now stuck with this car.
To the original poster, what i would do is contact a few lawyers who specialize in this kind of issues and ask if you have a legitimate case against this dealer. I would also start a complaint with Lexus corporate to let them know what this dealership did. You have nothing to lose, right or wrong, about this situation. Make sure you get a complaint number or whatever lexus calls it. Finally I would make sure that the dealership is aware and let them know you are aware of the platinum warranty that is automatic when a tranny is replaced. Voice your displeasure to the sales manager about no one telling you about the replacement at the time of purchase. If they give you some BS answer that they didnt know, tell them that the obligation was on them to do a vin check and disclose this issue.(even if it isnt) Now, I would ask the sales manager to give you the name of the owner of the dealership and his/her phone number so that you can complain. You do this to let the sales manager know you are not F'ing around about this issue and you will take the matter further. Let all in the dealership know that a complaint has been lodged against them with Lexus. Now wait and see what the dealership does or does not and go from there. Phew, way too much writing at this hour. Good luck.

e-man

What I meant was that I assume a Lexus dealer checks the service history of a Lexus car when it takes one in on trade because the information is so readily available in their database. For another brand of car, they probably don't check the service history and instead rely on their mechanics to check out the car.

ES350Bob

No question the Lexus dealer runs the VIN and knows the complete service history that was documented for that car.

And in this case it is likely the same Lexus dealer that sold the car new originally unless he picked it up at auction but still he would run the VIN.

His customer may have been really angry over just the transmission being replaced in a new car and dealer traded him out; or, Cole may find with digging the customer brought it back once after trans replace complaining it was still slipping and then dealer traded him out of it.

coleco

WOW, I am amazed at all of the good responses. Thanks for all of the input. I do believe that people have to make good buying decisions, and again I am not putting this all on the dealership - I may not have asked the correct questions though I thought I did. Anyway I am not looking to make a huge scene here but want to know what to expect about the cars performance and repair issues in the future, do I have any rights, and of course the issue of the platinum warranty. I have a feeling the dealership will not want to honor that - the window sticker clearly stated the warranty was the balance of the 50K. So I have a few questions then I will go to battle. (more like a small skirmish)

a) the overall feeling I am getting reading the responses is they did not technically or legally have to disclose the transmission replacemet, but they could have and should have? (again it was a used car technically)
b) am I correct in asking for a copy of that repair record - what I have now is the repair ticket from yesterday stating that the transmission was replaced before and a number after that. thats all. Should I ask them to send me or allow me to pick up a copy of the platinum warranty and is that bumper to bumper (I am wishing but I am guessing no, its limited) Also after reviewing all of the paper work I left with from the dealership, there is no mention of trans replacement, just that it went through a rigorous inspection. Thats interesting given my rotors are defective and had to be fixed yesterday, and the voice activated blue tooth was broken even as I was buying it - I just figured the salesperson didnt know what he was doing and I could fix it when I got home but no, it had to be replaced. sheesh
c) what do I do if the transmission flare continues or worsens. Video , etc. would they have to replace again if it worsens or am I SOL given it was a used car.

These are the things I am mostly concerned about, not the "I will get you if its the last thing I do issue" although I guess I am mad at myself and them equally. Thanks again everyone, you are all very helpful.

Coleco

ES350Bob

Cole,

Good questions. Because the transmission had been replaced, according to many posting here, you should have a 100k warranty on the car right now as a result of it's trans being replaced.

I find it interesting it was replaced since back then it was the TSIB to be done, so you may find it first had a TSIB valve body, and after that failed then trans replaced.

You have a right to your vehicle service history, so ask that complete copies be made so you can pick them up.

As for what to do about transmission, video tape the next flare or two and then take it back to dealer service. The warranty covers the transmission though there seems no permanent fix for transmissions still.

jcg

This is just a quick note on VEHICLE SERVICE HISTORY.

The last week of December '06 I received a letter from my dealer. It stated that I was due for my 5000 service. My RX330 is a little over three years old, has 24000 miles on it and had both 5000 and 10000 mile service done at this same dealer.

I now take the SERVICE HISTORY with a grain of salt.

e-man

I really think that has more to do with the dealership's record keeping than the Lexus national service history database. Don't you think?

jjbodean

i agree. its either that or the marketing company the dealer uses to send out the service reminders.

toneman

Is that what they flatout told you? If so, then have them explain how they told you that, prior to you purchasing the vehicle, the warranty was "100% new or complete from the date of (your) purchase" (see your post #4 in this thread)? Based on what they're telling you now (quoted above), they basically lied to you--50K miles less 1100 miles is not 100% warranty coverage period.

Also--based on your comments I should take it that your car is indeed a used car, but does your vehicle purchase contract explicitly state that the car you purchased is indeed a "used" vehicle...or is it a "new" vehicle contract? If used, then the dealer is more or less correct in saying that your warranty coverage is 50K minus whatever miles were already on the vehicle...but if it's new, then it should be 50K starting from 1100 miles (IOW warranty ends at 51100 miles).