Ascari_2

http://www.autobarnvwcountryside.com...-IL/2241014533

Just wanted to give people that may be looking at this car as a sight-unseen purchase a quick heads up that it has clear evidence of some kind of undocumented body work. I don't know what happened to it, but the front right quarter panel doesn't seem to sit flush with the rest of the body, there is a big gap along the left side of the trunk, and the rear bumper has definitely been removed at least once. Also, the rear center console sits crooked and may very well be damaged.

peteybabes

You can also very clearly see the difference in paint color in the very first picture between the doors and quarter panels.

This car was slapped together cheaply so that the previous owner didn't have to spend too much out of pocket.

CJITTY

Keep in mind that a very large number of vehicles in the used market have had some type of body work. Whether to fix a dent, scraped and needed repainting, bumper removals and resprays are extremely common, especially just before it is put up for sale or goes through auction. So it would be worth taking the car to an independent body shop along with a full autocheck.com score and carfax.com score to compare and have the car thoroughly vetted before passing on it. Just because it has some work doesn't necessarily mean it is trash by any means. My old 460 had some body work on the rear quarter panel along with front and rear bumper resprays. So what..car was fine and I sold it for about $2K less than what I paid for it 2 years prior.

Also, I don't see what the issue is on the rear console. The right rear seat is in the near full recline position which is making it stick out further than the rest of the seat line. When they recline the seat back to normal position it will all line up. There are two versions of reclining rear seats on 460s and 600s. Exec seating which has the right rear seat with ottoman and near full recline, and then the other semi recline package that offers both seats with slight recline adjustments for bottom and upper seat areas. So maybe you are referring to something else I'm not seeing in the pics

Anywhooo, here is the Service History for this 600 as per the MyLexus portion of Lexus.com website...

Ascari_2

The thing that pissed me of a bit was that when I first started taking with the sales guy I asked him if he is aware of any body work being done to the car and he responds with a "no." Then by the end of the test drive (after I've pointed out the issues with the body) when I tell him that I am not too crazy about spending $40k on a car with some unknown body work, he tells me that "yeah you're the second person to give us that response." Well if that's the case why in the hell did you say you don't know of any issues when I asked in the first place. This is the epitome of what's wrong with car sales people and why it's almost impossible to believe anything they say.

CJITTY

Trust me, most of these sales people have no idea about the history of the cars on their lot. The cars come in, they try to sell them. It is always best to have it independently inspected by a body shop. Get the report and if the parts don't quite line up to your liking, use it for negotiation and score a hell of a deal. The bumpers on these cars are hard to get back perfect after removal. Many have the little tabs that meet up with the fender edges glued down so it doesn;t stick up since those clips are very weak. Bottom line is this..if you like the car enough but skeptical, have it inspected and whatever comes back, then make your final decision. If they want the car sold, they will work with you and you will have ammunition to get thousands off. If the body shop says stay clear, heed the warning.

Ascari_2

It's not so much that I am opposed to buying a car that's seen a paint gun before. It's the fact that he was clearly aware of there being issues and decided to blatantly overlook that fact when asked.

CJITTY

Nothing against car sales folks, but in every case I went to look at a car, I had more knowledge of the car, the features and it's history than they did. The fact he admitted being asked by another test driver should make you leary, but their mission is to move product..someone will buy that car and not even think twice about what you saw. With the issues you pointed out about the bodywork, if the car is solid otherwise, offer them a low price hahahaha. The car is damn near 7 years old this October (Oct 2007 In Svc Date)..high probability it ain't perfect. Get a connect at a body shop to tighten up the panels and keep it movin with extra cash in your bank acct lol

riknchar

Wow! I had actually decided to pull the trigger on that very same car a month ago, but when I called the used car sales manager to negotiate the deal, he was so incredibly rude to me I backed out and switched to a sight-unseen LS600hL purchase from McGrath Lexus in Chicago instead. I am so glad I did! The McGrath Lexus has worked out great!

Thanks for warning the rest of the forum about that one!

broken_tsi

iTrader: (1)

I am in car sales. In a good dealership, you'll have a good trade walk every week down to every day depending on the volume of the dealership. This is when you go over the car, the price, the reconditioning needed and whether the car will be certified and why or why not.

The salesman definitely should've told you what he knew right away. Even if you weren't satisfied with the car, he may have kept you as a customer, perhaps on an incoming car or on a future purchase. Now by hoping you'd be ignorant to obvious body work, he's lost credibility and possibly the dealership's as well.

Don't throw all sales people in the same category, please.

Ascari_2

CJITTY: You know I'd follow your suggested approach if I didn't get an overall feeling that the car was simply neglected. I just sold my 08 ISF that felt brand new inside. With the exception of the seat having a little bit of wear, it looked new, drove like new, and had none of those funny used-car smells. After that, it's difficult to get into a car that's been so poorly maintained. The best way I can describe it is you know the feeling when you get into a cab? That's how this car felt.

riknchar: Chances are that you would not have been very pleased if this showed up at your doorsteps.

broken_tsi: Sure there are some good sales people working at some good dealerships, and after all they are in business to make money. But in my experience, the majority are there to simply make a buck at any expense. In my view, these are CAR sales people and they aught to be knowledgeable about the product that they are selling. Yes it's their job to convince me to buy the car, but nowhere in their title does it say car con-artist. Know what you are selling and don't lie to me. Also don't tell me you'll call me back the next day once you get a hold of the auction report if you have no intention of calling back. You are very correct that they've lost this deal and the potential of me doing any future business with them.

CJITTY

Well stated. .well stated

peteybabes

You bought from one awesome dealer! McGrath managed to get me the Platinum Extended Warranty, but i can now see, (with the bright summer sun), that this car has had fairly extensive paint work done to it, and I will be having Connan's Paint and Body in Indianapolis do their best to correct it so that the car looks like new.