letherflic

Just bought our first Lexus. Its a CPO with 20,000 miles. Noticed something after taking delivery and brought it to the attention of the salesman. The driver's door sill plate has a lot of rust around the Lexus logo. The passenger side not as bad. I asked how did it pass CPO inspection when the checklist says passed repaired replaced? I was to to expect that since salt could have gotten on it, etc. Then was told if it really bothered me, service said to use steel wool to clean it off. Was wondering if I am out of line with my request that they replace them. Thanks! Oh, yes the ride is great!

kitlz

Welcome to CL, letherflic. Congrats on your RX. Rust on the door sill for a year or so old RX is pretty odd. Maybe the previous owner got them too wet getting in and out. I'd contact the dealer again and ask them to replace the sills or you might give Lexus Corporate a call. It might be enough to nudge them to do something. Conveying your disappointment in a calm reasonable manner usually works.

In the meantime, try removing the sill to check the damage and make sure there isn't anything else going on underneath. Click here for a video on how to remove them from one of our vendors, Sewell. Good luck and please keep us posted.

letherflic

Thanks for the quick reply. The vehicle was a dealership loaner. I have been very calm in my discussions with them and have given them the benefit of the doubt. We are all human and make errors. Example: being sold Roadblock (to protect hood) and then being told it may not work because of previous chips to front of hood. Evidently Roadblock would "enhance" the chips covered with touchup paint. Secondly, took vehicle to get in state inspected. Key lock was not to be found. Called dealership, told go ahead a use tool to remove the locks for inspection. New wheel locks were to be given to me when I had door guards installed and picked up weather floor mats. They did not install new wheel locks. Its the attention to detail that makes me wonder. I will view video and check under the door sill plates. I have not completed my sales review for Lexus yet. You would think they would want to replace the door plates to insure a "glowing" review. I will keep you posted and again, thanks for welcome.

2010morx

Thats unacceptable as far as i'm concerned. When we were shopping for our CPO, a dealer called said he just got in what we were looking for. I made an appointment to see it the next day. With great anticipation we arrived and had to wait for at least 45 min....it was still in detailing. Salesman brings the SUV out and the wife gets in and the first thing she sees when putting on the seat belt is a very dirty looking stain on the inner strap (she didn't even want to put it on). On the test drive, when the brakes were applied the front end shook and surged (rotors?). Back at the dealership looking her over, saw many rock chips that weren't touched up. I asked the salesman and the manager how in the world did this meet CPO requirements? Best answer i could get was that they would make it right......and yeah lets still try to negotiate a deal. No Thanks! I have another dealer to visit. Found the perfect CPO for less money. I guess what i'm saying is all dealers don't seem to adhere to the CPO guidelines. If i had to i would complain to corporate.

kitlz

I hope you didn't think I was implying you weren't calm and being unreasonable. Quite the contrary especially with the last comment in your first post. From my experience, usually the mere mention of any issue results in immediate resolution to the point I feel guilty, LOL! Lexus goes above and beyond. And you deserve that too. It's sad when I read stories like yours.

Here is the contact information for Lexus. I would suggest you contact them and relay your un-Lexus like experience with the dealership. And maybe find another place to take your RX. Fortunately we have plenty of choices around here. Again, good luck.

letherflic

No offense taken. My personal opinion is that they made very little money on the deal and do not want to lose any more money if they can avoid it. I will tell them that me doing steel wool is unreasonable and to put 90 miles one way to the dealership for them to do it is unreasonable too. When I pop the door plates off, I will look to see if the wiring is there for the lighted ones. They look very nice (cool!!!). Thanks again.

kitlz

letherflic, I'm glad you weren't offended. You've already paid a premium buying your RX CPO so the issue of profit shouldn't be a factor. Lexus has high standards they like to maintain. A dealer's reluctance to resolve an issue is not in line. Sure, it may only be trim but somewhat embarrassing. It's the Lexus name after all, LOL! Using steel wool will only make it worse. I'm glad you're not going to use it.

The illuminated sills in the link above are pretty cool. I ordered them a few years back since my RXh didn't come with. But I chose white instead of hybrid blue. When you sign up with Sewell and indicate you're a CL member, the price drops to $416.48. Also check with our other CL vendors like Carson Toyota (aka L-Tuned) and Nogel JDM Parts. They probably carry them too. Keep the old sills for those times the RX might be subject to abuse. That's what I do

capcap

The gentleman with the "steel wool" comment would have made me angry. He needs to be mentioned when you call corporate Lexus (which I think you should do). There is no reason that the sills should be rusty on a low mileage 2013 let alone the fact that a CPO car should have been better inspected and cleaned up.

letherflic

The dealership I bought the vehicle from as an open letter from the dealership manager. He has his cell phone posted and asks anyone who is not happy to call him. After reading what everyone has said here, I decided to contact him about the door sill plates first before informing corporate. I did look at the other sill plates. Front passenger plates still has the plastic protective covering on the Lexus name. The right rear door plate still has the plastic protective covering the whole plate. The left rear passenger door sill plate has a dent in it. Finding these items makes me really wonder if a mechanic thoroughly inspected the vehicle. If he did, you would think he would have removed them and noted the dent. I was told about a couple of marks in the paint on the driver and passenger doors. I would rather solve this through the dealership manager instead of calling corporate. Thanks for all the comments and I will keep the forum informed about the outcome.

mshumack

My first Lexus (2001 RX300) was a CPO. I never expected the car to be perfect just thoroughly inspected and with a warranty on the mechanicals. I was/am very happy with my CPO - and I still have it. Good luck with yours.

Here's a list of what is inspected: http://www.lexus.com/cpo/pdf/CPO_161_Checklist.pdf

capcap

I wonder if a buyer can see the actual checklist above for the car they are purchasing? I never saw that document for my CPO.

oohpapi44

iTrader: (1)

Exactly, I think people are confusing what CPO means. You're not getting a new vehicle, it's still used, just means it comes with a warranty. Still on you to negotiate your buying price down because of any defects after a thorough inspection (before purchase). Lexus more often than not goes above and beyond than what is called for and we (as Lexus owners) are pretty spoiled when it comes to our part of the buying process.

capcap

VERY true about being spoiled! We are demanding.