Regret / felt duped after buying your car?
02-08-17, 01:21 PM
#1
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Regret / felt duped after buying your car?
I'm hearing more and more stories about people having bad experiences with Lexus dealers when it comes to purchasing a car. There's a lot of tips buyers should be aware of when going in to buy a car. Doing your homework before entering the dealer is probably the most obvious. But some people just don't want to put up a fight at the dealership and end paying a higher price on the car, buying unnecessary add-ons, or simply having an unpleasant experience. And then comes the buyers remorse.
A friend of mine recently purchased a CPO GS350 F Sport from a local dealer. The next day I took a look at his paperwork and noticed a $450 charge for window etching. He said it was never mentioned by the salesperson or the finance manager, and it was slipped in to his final paperwork right before signing off. After 5+ hours at the dealer, it's hard not to be tired and overlook something like this. But at the end of the day it is buyer beware. I went back to the dealer with him and after some hassle with the finance manager, we were able to reverse the charge. Fortunately the dealers really care about not getting a negative survey. Lesson learned.
This can happen to the best of us. Have any you felt like you were taken advantage of by a dealer? Or felt buyers remorse? How did you handle it? Let's hear your story!
A friend of mine recently purchased a CPO GS350 F Sport from a local dealer. The next day I took a look at his paperwork and noticed a $450 charge for window etching. He said it was never mentioned by the salesperson or the finance manager, and it was slipped in to his final paperwork right before signing off. After 5+ hours at the dealer, it's hard not to be tired and overlook something like this. But at the end of the day it is buyer beware. I went back to the dealer with him and after some hassle with the finance manager, we were able to reverse the charge. Fortunately the dealers really care about not getting a negative survey. Lesson learned.
This can happen to the best of us. Have any you felt like you were taken advantage of by a dealer? Or felt buyers remorse? How did you handle it? Let's hear your story!
02-08-17, 01:24 PM
#2
Lexus Test Driver
Yea I think I got dinged for that window etching thing too. I didn't see any etching on my windows but it's there on the paperwork. Didn't bother to ask them cause they mistakenly added $1K to my trade in at the time. Found that out a few months later, that's why my payment is less than it supposed to. 
02-08-17, 01:37 PM
#3
I'm hearing more and more stories about people having bad experiences with Lexus dealers when it comes to purchasing a car. There's a lot of tips buyers should be aware of when going in to buy a car. Doing your homework before entering the dealer is probably the most obvious. But some people just don't want to put up a fight at the dealership and end paying a higher price on the car, buying unnecessary add-ons, or simply having an unpleasant experience. And then comes the buyers remorse.
A friend of mine recently purchased a CPO GS350 F Sport from a local dealer. The next day I took a look at his paperwork and noticed a $450 charge for window etching. He said it was never mentioned by the salesperson or the finance manager, and it was slipped in to his final paperwork right before signing off. After 5+ hours at the dealer, it's hard not to be tired and overlook something like this. But at the end of the day it is buyer beware. I went back to the dealer with him and after some hassle with the finance manager, we were able to reverse the charge. Fortunately the dealers really care about not getting a negative survey. Lesson learned.
This can happen to the best of us. Have any you felt like you were taken advantage of by a dealer? Or felt buyers remorse? How did you handle it? Let's hear your story!
A friend of mine recently purchased a CPO GS350 F Sport from a local dealer. The next day I took a look at his paperwork and noticed a $450 charge for window etching. He said it was never mentioned by the salesperson or the finance manager, and it was slipped in to his final paperwork right before signing off. After 5+ hours at the dealer, it's hard not to be tired and overlook something like this. But at the end of the day it is buyer beware. I went back to the dealer with him and after some hassle with the finance manager, we were able to reverse the charge. Fortunately the dealers really care about not getting a negative survey. Lesson learned.
This can happen to the best of us. Have any you felt like you were taken advantage of by a dealer? Or felt buyers remorse? How did you handle it? Let's hear your story!
Price wise, I think I did extremely well (Got the car right around auction price, as reported by blackbook). I did extend the CPO warranty 5 years (8 years, 1 month total warranty coverage), which is Lexus backed, not a 3rd party.
Only place I get "ripped off" was they charged me $350 for registration/title fees. VA registration/title was roughly $60 off the top of my head, and CT temp registration was roughly $20 or $30. However, they claim that their registration company provider charges $120 or $150 per transaction. Simply, it isn't worth my time trying to get a couple hundred dollar refund from a dealership 300 miles away when I got my car extremely cheap (about $4k to $5k cheaper than comparable models at the time)
One thing I do regret is not inquiring about the tire+rim+paintless ding protection through LFS. If it was ~$1k or lower, I probably would've added that since scratched rims and dings are inevitable in my area (have maybe 5 or 6 small dings and a scratched rim 10 weeks into ownership. I find it a bit strange that my dealership never even offered any of these extras to me. Only reasonI can think of is that I walked in, negotiated hard on their already amazing price, knew negotiated in the 5 year cpo extension from the very beginning - they probably thought I knew exactly what I wanted, no more, no less, and decided to save their sales pitch for someone else.
Otherwise, my purchase of the GS was great, no regrets yet.
02-08-17, 01:41 PM
#4
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Yea I think I got dinged for that window etching thing too. I didn't see any etching on my windows but it's there on the paperwork. Didn't bother to ask them cause they mistakenly added $1K to my trade in at the time. Found that out a few months later, that's why my payment is less than it supposed to.
02-08-17, 01:47 PM
#5
Pole Position
Thread Starter
My dealership said that VIN etching was required by Toyota/Lexus Financial financed vehicles and was $199. Not sure how true that was, but they were willing to simply take off $199 off the purchase price of the car.
Price wise, I think I did extremely well (Got the car right around auction price, as reported by blackbook). I did extend the CPO warranty 5 years (8 years, 1 month total warranty coverage), which is Lexus backed, not a 3rd party.
Only place I get "ripped off" was they charged me $350 for registration/title fees. VA registration/title was roughly $60 off the top of my head, and CT temp registration was roughly $20 or $30. However, they claim that their registration company provider charges $120 or $150 per transaction. Simply, it isn't worth my time trying to get a couple hundred dollar refund from a dealership 300 miles away when I got my car extremely cheap (about $4k to $5k cheaper than comparable models at the time)
One thing I do regret is not inquiring about the tire+rim+paintless ding protection through LFS. If it was ~$1k or lower, I probably would've added that since scratched rims and dings are inevitable in my area (have maybe 5 or 6 small dings and a scratched rim 10 weeks into ownership. I find it a bit strange that my dealership never even offered any of these extras to me. Only reasonI can think of is that I walked in, negotiated hard on their already amazing price, knew negotiated in the 5 year cpo extension from the very beginning - they probably thought I knew exactly what I wanted, no more, no less, and decided to save their sales pitch for someone else.
Otherwise, my purchase of the GS was great, no regrets yet.
Price wise, I think I did extremely well (Got the car right around auction price, as reported by blackbook). I did extend the CPO warranty 5 years (8 years, 1 month total warranty coverage), which is Lexus backed, not a 3rd party.
Only place I get "ripped off" was they charged me $350 for registration/title fees. VA registration/title was roughly $60 off the top of my head, and CT temp registration was roughly $20 or $30. However, they claim that their registration company provider charges $120 or $150 per transaction. Simply, it isn't worth my time trying to get a couple hundred dollar refund from a dealership 300 miles away when I got my car extremely cheap (about $4k to $5k cheaper than comparable models at the time)
One thing I do regret is not inquiring about the tire+rim+paintless ding protection through LFS. If it was ~$1k or lower, I probably would've added that since scratched rims and dings are inevitable in my area (have maybe 5 or 6 small dings and a scratched rim 10 weeks into ownership. I find it a bit strange that my dealership never even offered any of these extras to me. Only reasonI can think of is that I walked in, negotiated hard on their already amazing price, knew negotiated in the 5 year cpo extension from the very beginning - they probably thought I knew exactly what I wanted, no more, no less, and decided to save their sales pitch for someone else.
Otherwise, my purchase of the GS was great, no regrets yet.
The registration line item is an interesting little fee for the dealer. It is small in comparison to what you're spending but you definitely want to make sure they aren't padding it beyond $100-200 for their commission.
02-08-17, 01:54 PM
#6
Pole Position
Not a Lexus dealer and don't even get me started about them. They think they are selling gold plated lambos at my local Lexus dealer. Their prices are so high and the vehicles aren't always in the best shape. Can't stand them.
Anyways I picked up a Jeep Grand Cherokee about 15 days ago and they tried to pull a fast one on me but I stopped them in their tracks. They see a 26 year old and think it's my first rodeo. Well it's not it's probably been my 15th in car buying since I was 16. I know how dealers work and all the BS they try to throw at you. We negociated a price before walking in and because I was able to get them down so much they tried to add a $945 accessories charge to my final numbers on a used vehicle. I'm like really?!? Y'all think I'm an idiot? I told them I ran the numbers to make sure what my total drive out would be before going in so I knew something was way off when I couldn't get the numbers to add up. Then they had the audacity to tell me they added window tint, wheel locks and data dots (wtf is that) and that's why I have a charge for $945. I said first of all there is no window tint on the vehicle nor does it have wheel locks and I'm not paying for data dots cuz I don't know what that is. I almost walked out. Then when they found out I had my financing in place at my credit union at 2.49 for up to 72 months they tried to pressure me into giving them my social so they could pull my credit. They said don't worry we won't pull your credit it's a 5 liner. I knew what that was and said hell no. I don't want you to check my credit. They said they couldn't sell me a car unless I gave them my social so they could register my car. I was like dont give me that BS. I know I'm not required to give you my social to register my vehicle. All you need is a drivers license. Then they were trying to tell me ifs part of the US patriot act or something I pulled up the Texas DMV post that said we aren't required to give our social and that if a dealer insist report them to the DMV. They backed off so quick. I was so annoyed by the time I left with the car. I probably won't go back to them (Infiniti dealership) ever.
Anyways I picked up a Jeep Grand Cherokee about 15 days ago and they tried to pull a fast one on me but I stopped them in their tracks. They see a 26 year old and think it's my first rodeo. Well it's not it's probably been my 15th in car buying since I was 16. I know how dealers work and all the BS they try to throw at you. We negociated a price before walking in and because I was able to get them down so much they tried to add a $945 accessories charge to my final numbers on a used vehicle. I'm like really?!? Y'all think I'm an idiot? I told them I ran the numbers to make sure what my total drive out would be before going in so I knew something was way off when I couldn't get the numbers to add up. Then they had the audacity to tell me they added window tint, wheel locks and data dots (wtf is that) and that's why I have a charge for $945. I said first of all there is no window tint on the vehicle nor does it have wheel locks and I'm not paying for data dots cuz I don't know what that is. I almost walked out. Then when they found out I had my financing in place at my credit union at 2.49 for up to 72 months they tried to pressure me into giving them my social so they could pull my credit. They said don't worry we won't pull your credit it's a 5 liner. I knew what that was and said hell no. I don't want you to check my credit. They said they couldn't sell me a car unless I gave them my social so they could register my car. I was like dont give me that BS. I know I'm not required to give you my social to register my vehicle. All you need is a drivers license. Then they were trying to tell me ifs part of the US patriot act or something I pulled up the Texas DMV post that said we aren't required to give our social and that if a dealer insist report them to the DMV. They backed off so quick. I was so annoyed by the time I left with the car. I probably won't go back to them (Infiniti dealership) ever.
Last edited by Sevn86; 02-08-17 at 02:00 PM.
02-08-17, 01:56 PM
#7
Lead Lap
My Lexus dealership mishandled a few things for which they lost my business. After my purchase, a few things were not up to par for a CPO car. I pointed out that the bumper needed to be refinished and they added $500 for that. The tires were noisy and had the min. tread left required for CPO. When I told them about this, they said that would add at minimum $1000 to the car. I said no thanks since I don't drive much and I'd replace the tires myself when it made sense. My rear rotors were badly rusted and pitted but they said "they were in spec" after i realized after I purchased the car that they were in bad shape.
Other dealers I spoke to said they would've replaced the rotors and tires regardless because the car has to have to pass a certain standard for CPO - and most customers would not buy the car if these wear/tear items (which were negligible to them) were obvious. They'd rather spend the money up front so the car wouldn't sit on the lot.
Because of the low price, I ended up taking the money I saved and bought rotors and tires and had them installed locally. Essentially, paying the same price overall if the car had just been "fully" certified and reconditioned.
Other dealers I spoke to said they would've replaced the rotors and tires regardless because the car has to have to pass a certain standard for CPO - and most customers would not buy the car if these wear/tear items (which were negligible to them) were obvious. They'd rather spend the money up front so the car wouldn't sit on the lot.
Because of the low price, I ended up taking the money I saved and bought rotors and tires and had them installed locally. Essentially, paying the same price overall if the car had just been "fully" certified and reconditioned.
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02-08-17, 02:04 PM
#8
I think that is also included when i purchased mine about 5 1/2 weeks ago as well as this finishing coat or whatever that is..There are usually other things the dealer add to the car and then they try to charge the customer without disclosing it (I think some even charge buyers for nitrogen in tires, I have it in my tires) but since I gave them an OUT THE DOOR price for the car then in my case I don't feel ripped off. Also, I'm glad I told them that I'm getting my loan from my credit union so I did not have to deal with all the finance guy's add on bs.
02-08-17, 02:17 PM
#9
Lexus Champion
I guess I'm just fortunate that I have had wonderful buying experiences at my Lexus dealer. I've purchased three cars from the same salesman there and they've been fantastic experiences.
As for window etching, the finance office was very clear in asking if I wanted it or not, to which I replied no. It didn't seem difficult to me to understand what added options they were offering and to ensure none were added without my approval.
As for window etching, the finance office was very clear in asking if I wanted it or not, to which I replied no. It didn't seem difficult to me to understand what added options they were offering and to ensure none were added without my approval.
02-08-17, 02:18 PM
#10
Lexus Test Driver
They prey on uninformed people, like my uncle. He fell for every single thing in the dealer's trick book. He leased a Prius V for almost $500 a month with $1500 down I think. I told him to wait for me, I probably could've gotten an NX or RX for that price. But he couldn't wait. 
02-08-17, 04:24 PM
#11
Lexus Test Driver
02-08-17, 04:44 PM
#12
Same here. Purchase negotiated online with a couple phone calls thrown in. The dealer was thrilled I had accurately described my trade. Overall, a smooth and trouble free purchase experience.
02-08-17, 05:35 PM
#13
Driver School Candidate
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Up sell everything seems to be the plan. Best bet is to do your homework ahead of time. Don't be afraid to say No.
caveat emptor·
caveat emptor·
- the principle that the buyer alone is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods before a purchase is made.
02-08-17, 06:02 PM
#14
Lexus Champion
Love my local Lexus dealership, but their CPO/used sales manager was terrible when I bought my 4GS. After hours of negotiating I was told they would take $1k off the price, but no lower. I finally said ok deal. Little did I know (until a year and a half later) that they removed the $1k CPO certification fee off the car. It wasn't until I went to take care of some CPO-related issues I was told I only had the factory warranty. I called the pre-owned sales manager and say said "sorry, should have paid attention. Nothing you can do now." I was floored.
02-08-17, 08:31 PM
#15
Originally Posted by Sevn86
Not a Lexus dealer and don't even get me started about them. They think they are selling gold plated lambos at my local Lexus dealer. Their prices are so high and the vehicles aren't always in the best shape. Can't stand them.
Anyways I picked up a Jeep Grand Cherokee about 15 days ago and they tried to pull a fast one on me but I stopped them in their tracks. They see a 26 year old and think it's my first rodeo. Well it's not it's probably been my 15th in car buying since I was 16. I know how dealers work and all the BS they try to throw at you. We negociated a price before walking in and because I was able to get them down so much they tried to add a $945 accessories charge to my final numbers on a used vehicle. I'm like really?!? Y'all think I'm an idiot? I told them I ran the numbers to make sure what my total drive out would be before going in so I knew something was way off when I couldn't get the numbers to add up. Then they had the audacity to tell me they added window tint, wheel locks and data dots (wtf is that) and that's why I have a charge for $945. I said first of all there is no window tint on the vehicle nor does it have wheel locks and I'm not paying for data dots cuz I don't know what that is. I almost walked out. Then when they found out I had my financing in place at my credit union at 2.49 for up to 72 months they tried to pressure me into giving them my social so they could pull my credit. They said don't worry we won't pull your credit it's a 5 liner. I knew what that was and said hell no. I don't want you to check my credit. They said they couldn't sell me a car unless I gave them my social so they could register my car. I was like dont give me that BS. I know I'm not required to give you my social to register my vehicle. All you need is a drivers license. Then they were trying to tell me ifs part of the US patriot act or something I pulled up the Texas DMV post that said we aren't required to give our social and that if a dealer insist report them to the DMV. They backed off so quick. I was so annoyed by the time I left with the car. I probably won't go back to them (Infiniti dealership) ever.
Anyways I picked up a Jeep Grand Cherokee about 15 days ago and they tried to pull a fast one on me but I stopped them in their tracks. They see a 26 year old and think it's my first rodeo. Well it's not it's probably been my 15th in car buying since I was 16. I know how dealers work and all the BS they try to throw at you. We negociated a price before walking in and because I was able to get them down so much they tried to add a $945 accessories charge to my final numbers on a used vehicle. I'm like really?!? Y'all think I'm an idiot? I told them I ran the numbers to make sure what my total drive out would be before going in so I knew something was way off when I couldn't get the numbers to add up. Then they had the audacity to tell me they added window tint, wheel locks and data dots (wtf is that) and that's why I have a charge for $945. I said first of all there is no window tint on the vehicle nor does it have wheel locks and I'm not paying for data dots cuz I don't know what that is. I almost walked out. Then when they found out I had my financing in place at my credit union at 2.49 for up to 72 months they tried to pressure me into giving them my social so they could pull my credit. They said don't worry we won't pull your credit it's a 5 liner. I knew what that was and said hell no. I don't want you to check my credit. They said they couldn't sell me a car unless I gave them my social so they could register my car. I was like dont give me that BS. I know I'm not required to give you my social to register my vehicle. All you need is a drivers license. Then they were trying to tell me ifs part of the US patriot act or something I pulled up the Texas DMV post that said we aren't required to give our social and that if a dealer insist report them to the DMV. They backed off so quick. I was so annoyed by the time I left with the car. I probably won't go back to them (Infiniti dealership) ever.