shaikhu

Hello there
i purchased a CPO 2010 RX 350 , in 2013 with 35 K miles on it . I was shown carfax report which showed the vehicle is accident free and worth over 450 of retail price.since the beginning there were some gaps in the front and rear bumper. took the car to dealer and i was told this is normal and no issue. few months back my front bumper started to show road chips and small blemishes which started to bubble like a quarter size and paint started to peel off. took the car to dealer again and was told it is due to high way driving. i took my car to an auto body shop and found out the both bumpers are repainted as well as left quarter panel is painted. I took my car back again to the dealer where i bought and complain about the issue and he told lexus allow upto 4 panels to be painted in case of CPO and this is not unusual. He agreed to take care of the front bumper and adjust the rear bumper . It is my wife car and she is really pissed about the lexus peep not disclosing to us at the time of purchase. any help and suggestion how to pursue more about this issue . she wants to get rid of this car but i am worried the residual value is gone down and i would not be able to coup up the price and buy something newer for her. any suggestion about getting this issue resolved and confirmation that car did not had major damage before we bought.

litzdog911

So is Lexus taking care of repainting those bumpers for you, or not? Seems like you have a valid concern. Can you post photos?

shaikhu

vlad_a

The previous owner pulled a quick one - did a cheap collision repair and traded it in.
Unfortunately, a clean CarFax is not a guarantee of an accident-free vehicle.
Lexus can CPO a vehicle with prior damage under certain conditions.

I doubt there's much you can do, other than to strip and repaint bumpers. Are they doing the rear as well? Demand to do the rear as well, as the plastic paintwork was not done properly. Or the bumpers are aftermarket, which BTW are significantly cheaper.

At this point, I would be calling Lexus corporate (800)-25-LEXUS, posting in Lexus Support forum, and getting trade-in appraisals.

justin1203

How could Lexus think this vehicle was not in any collision? Those gaps are ridiculous.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

The dealer is shady,no doubt.
Gaps are one of the first things I look at when buying used.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Unfortunately, dealers are not required to disclose the vehicle's accident history. As long as the vehicle is 'fixed' then they can keep their mouth shut. Now if you asked at the time, then they're required to let you know what was done to the car.

Chances are, most people wouldn't think much when they see CPO plus 'clean' Carfax.

Clutchless

What about the CarFax guarantee? http://www.carfax.com/manifest/bbg/r...cfx?source=CFX

Also I have compared CarFax with AutoCheck and they do not always agree regarding accident history.

kitlz

shaikhu, sorry to hear you're having problems with your RX. There is a known bumper issue regarding gaps. But I doubt that may be the cause based on what you found out. You can try reaching out to Lexus Corporate like vlad suggested. And give the dealer the chance to make it right for you. Good luck and keep us posted.

vlad_a

That doesn't sound like much of a guarantee. They'll buy a car back only if DMV reported specific events: salvage, fire, flood damage, odometer problems or lemon history.

shaikhu

Thank you all for kind and supporting suggestions. I called lexus HQ and they have asked me to take the car to dealership and get the full inspection done for discrepancies and repainting. i talked to the manager and he denied about getting the inspection done and only agreed to paint the front bumper. i am planning to take car to another lexus dealer and get the inspection requested. Lexus HQ has opened the case and waiting to get the inspection report to move forward with the case.

I will keep you all posted.

Thanks again for all the great help and support.

kitlz

shaikhu, that's unfortunate the dealer doesn't want to do the inspection. But on the positive side, you have a case opened with Lexus. Good luck finding another dealer. And thanks for keeping us posted.

NateJG

When I bought my car -- at the world's largest Lexus Dealership -- I noticed that they had a couple cars in their shop (I had asked to have my car on a lift so I could do a visual inspection prior to purchase) with the bumpers off.

Odd, I thought -- so I asked why.

The answer was the same as reported above -- and that it was their policy to repaint the bumpers of their CPO cars so they showed well on the lot,

Their CPO cars all showed well on the lot (you'd be surprised how a scratfch-free set of bumpers causes you to stop looking for defects elsewhere).

With that tidbit of info, I'll be sure to do an even BETTER job of inspecting my next car -- regardless of nameplate.

hovbuild

You sir are right on! I missed a lot of chips everywhere else that were done well enough that if you focused on the rest of the car you'd find them. Bumpers had not a blemish on them with 25000 on the car I should have had my warning system going off. This is a good tip!

FLYCT

I suspect the car may have been a lease return and previous owner got a cheap bumper repaint before turning it in so they weren't charged for dealer repaint.

A dealer will remove a bumper cover, strip old paint and properly prime, paint (with flex additive) and bake it. A cheap repaint runs about $100 and a proper repaint about $350+.

Here is a quote from a Florida Body shop that specializes in inexpensive painting prior to lease returns.
http://www.econo-autopainting.com/in...lease-turnback

" At Econo Auto collision repair and Paint we repair all dents, dings, and scratches to your vehicle prior to you turning back to the dealer.
This can save hundreds if not thousands of dollars n dealer charges added on to your lease turn back contract.

We hear Econo collision repair and Auto painting are lease turn back specialist and will give you an excellent rate on lease turn back repairs."