bc6152

It is most certainly a matter of preference. Most of us on this forum are car enthusiasts and care more about our vehicles than the average person. We worry about door dings, scratches from car washes, smoke smell in the car, etc.,etc. So then it comes down to saving money and worrying what you're going to see when the car comes, or knowing what you're getting by seeing it beforehand. It is not how I would buy any car...

Mike728

No, the difference I was referring to, from BC's post, is that you can SEE the car beforehand. It's not required, but is an option that does not seem available from the auction buying company.

SW17LS

Correct. But you're paying more for that option generally. Most people who buy a car from eBay from states away don't fly to look at it. When you have an inspection done you're still relying on someone else's physical inspection of the car. Carlypso makes the same $1,500...why would they want to sell you a car that you're not going to be happy with by misrepresenting it to you?

I'm not saying I would do it, I'm just saying that I can understand why someone with different priorities would find it appealing and of value. Hell, I don't buy used cars at all...

rld14

From what I have seen from Carlypso, you'd need to save around (at least in my market) $2,500+ over CPO to make it worthwhile.

I haven't looked at their pricing, but I am not so sure that the difference is that much.

SW17LS

Just CPO vs non CPO or private party is that much. You're talking about auction prices plus $1500.

azipod

This has got to be one of the most active threads on the ES forum. Much appreciate everyone's input and I think we can all agree that there are various thoughts about vehicles from "auctions."

I would admit that I am personally very picky about my car, and everything in it. Perhaps, some of you may even be pickier -- such as the individual who said Toyota/Lexus would never touch a auction vehicle. Everyone has their own requirement. Some gear their shopping for the right exact car, some on price, and some take into consideration of who they buy it from.

I can only speak from my on experience. I do buy cars from the auction, for personal use and not for resale. I have no problems with them. I am picky. But like I said, some of us could be pickier. With my ES, I used Carlypso, reviewed the service records and inspection reports, bought the car through hi-res photos. The car was delivered in a condition as mint as it could be given its age. I trusted that the broker would do what they do to all cars, refinish them to top shape before delivery. And this is what they did. If they didn't, and the problem was material in nature, I had the option to reject the car.

Bottom line. I'm happy and satisfied with my car. If it's a CPO car from a Lexus dealer that makes you happy then go for that too. Just because someone who wouldn't buy from an auction doesn't mean you shouldn't. On the other hand, some of us would rather save some $ than to spend it on CPO badging. After all, this is a Lexus.

rld14

Let me clarify.

I never said that Toyota/Lexus dealers wouldn't touch an auction vehicle, far from it.

What I said was that the majority of what makes it to physical auctions in the Toyota or Lexus financial service lane is stuff that every Toyota and Lexus dealer in the country has passed on already, so most of it is stuff that we don't want.

Now, is everything there junk? No, there are some nice cars there and there are exceptions:

Repossessions never make it to dealer direct. Some of them are very nice.

Cars with outstanding payments never make it to dealer direct unless the dealer that grounded the car wants it for market/payoff/residual plus remaining payments.

And some stuff does slip through the cracks but VERY VERY VERY few nice cars with low miles and the right equipment make it to the TFS lane.

I'm basing this as someone who buys 20-30 cars a week off lease from TFS/LFS.

ALtin107

I agree with most of the comments in that it's not always a bad thing when sold at auction. The best thing to do is to take the car and pay for full inspection at a Lexus dealership and make your decision from there.

rld14

On an In-Warranty car I would suggest taking it to a good body shop or someone who can spot previous repair work.

bostonsnow

Great Thread! Can I take this in a slightly different direction, as I'm looking at CPOs at the moment - would you buy a CPO that was a dealer loaner? The advantage of these are that they are usually 2015s and have very low miles. But, do you think they may have been treated too roughly by the service customers driving them as loaners?

mspearl95

Personally, I think I'd look for a CPO that wasn't a loaner. There is always a good chance that they have been treated roughly.

lesz

From other posts made here by dealers, I didn't think that loaner cars were eligible to become CPO vehicles. On the other hand, I thought that vehicles that were used by the dealership as demonstrators could become CPO vehicles.

Perhaps, someone from a dealership could clarify that and, if I'm mistaken, correct what I've said.

azipod

I would look away from loaners. I think cars receive the most abuse when they are used by "multiple" drivers. This is especially true in rental cars. But to a degree, I think it applies to loaner cars in general .. same for "fleet" vehicles.

The simple logic is this. People do not treat vehicles the same when it is not theirs. Although things may look good when the vehicle is still new, things may develop down the line when the car age.

Many years ago, I worked at an airport rental car locations where we rented/received over 2000 cars on a busy day. You would not imagine the abuse these cars go through not just renters, but from just being in the rental industry in itself. As an example, during busy days, we can have "lost" cars that are in no mans land on the facility that can sit idle for hours if not overnight before we can get to them or find them. Or, when we shuffle and relocate cars, we can turn on a cold car, drive it 5 feet to reposition them, and then turn them off. This gets repeatedly throughout each day until it gets to the front of the line. These are just a 2 examples, there are many more and I haven't even gotten to the renters who abuse them. I wouldn't want to take one of these home. There are plenty of good cars out there.

You can look at a taxi vehicle the same way. Would you buy one of those?

rld14

We can cert them and we do as long as the car meets CPO requirements. We wholesale a decent number of our retired loaners though as some do get smacked up while in loaner service.