FuGSOwner

I am thinking of getting a RX 350 or 330 shortly and i'm thinking which way should i go to get the vehicle.

- Buy in at the dealership with CPO (3 year or 100,000 Miles) warranty (Is it true that CPO cars has less luxury feature loaded in the vechile? NAV, ML audio)

or

- Buy it private seller or anywhere and get the extended warranty

Which one would you recommend to get the vehicle? In the Lexus, I want the following items: ML with NAV, HID, Wood trim, AFS, AWD, preminum Pkg Plus

Interior (Black or Gray)
Exterior (Black, Blue, Silver or White)

To get an extended warranty on a RX 350, the SUV has to be less than 50,000 miles, is this true? I know getting a CPO vehicle will cost more due to the extra the dealership guarantee.

Let me know what you think. thanks

Michael

mandyfig

There are no hard rules for CPO vs Private.

Bottom line:

Select what type you want, accessories you want.
Hunt for the car, dealers and private sellers, auction houses.
List pricing. Add $1700 for extended warranty from Lexus.
Research through NADA Blue Book, Edmunds, etc.

Then tally and make a decision.

When you get down to 2 or 3 choices, we can help and sway you to make the right choice.

There's luck involved in the search.

Good luck!

salimshah

There may be some restrictions in obtaining extended warranty from Lexus. The extended warranty is sold through Lexus dealership. My stale information is that the as the original owner, you can purchase one, before the warranty runs out and it can be transferred to the new owner for $25.

There are 3rd parties that offer extended warranty. If you do buy such 3rd party insurance, just make sure they will be around if and when you need to collect. If Lexus is not around, the lost money in extended warranty will be relatively a lesser concern.

Salim

FuGSOwner

Thanks Guys!!

Since i'll be getting used, i will definitely get the extended warranty.

kitlz

I had an extended warranty on my '04 when I traded it in. I remember the fee was something like $250 to transfer to the new owner. Instead I chose to get a refund on the balance left (>1 year). The warranty was good for 7 years/100K, $0 deductible. Dealer wound up selling my 330 CPO.

noz34me

I found the CPO RX in Delaware for about $1K more than I could buy a non-certified unit closer. Just made sense to me for my personal peace of mind. I expected repair labor and parts to be expensive, because it IS Lexus, after all.

I'm perfectly OK if the premium I paid for this car is never used, warranty wise.

FuGSOwner

I live in New York and the prices of a RX is much higher when compare with out-of-state. I am thinking of getting the vehicle from another state with extended warranty and bring it back to NY. If there's any issue with the car, would i be able to drop it off at my local dealer and have it repair?

mandyfig

As long as warranty is still valid, you can use any Lexus dealer. Any.

Fatlex

I would recommend the CPO. CPO vehicles have to meet certain criteria and are thoroughly inspected by Lexus. They won't certify a vehicle they think might give them problems down the road. Aside from warranty, Lexus will attempt to bring the car back to as near as new condition as possible. Sure it will be a little more but you should get a nicer vehicle. You may get lucky with Private especially if the owner can produce service records showing the car was well cared for.

Speaking from experience, I bought a 2000 RX300 private with a bit left on factory warranty (thinking well its a lexus... won't have any problems) Good shape. Well, several oil & transmission leaks later/replacement of rear main seal convinced me the error in my ways (just missed the powertrain warranty covering it). This time around I went with a CPO 2006 RX330. I was amazed at the refurb Lexus did for this vehicle - they even resurfaced the rims to brand new condition. I may have paid a little more, but I got that "new car" feeling and get some peace of mind with an almost new car warranty. Unfortunately, there are no guarantess either way you go but I do feel better with the dealership having my back

FuGSOwner

What's the average mileage RX CPO sells? Over 50K or Less than 50K

What's the highest mileage they will sell a car as CPO?

kitlz

My 330 had a little more than 50K but less than 51K. I figured being a 2004, 6+ years old, the dealer would not sell CPO but they did. I guess it's because all service was done there and relatively low miles.

FuGSOwner

Has anyone had an experience where the dealership will fix a car issue with CPO and not on extended warranty? I know CPO vehicle goes thru a rigorous check before label as a CPO. With extended warranty, you can get it before the car hits 100,000 miles.

I have read user from this site mention the dealership will fix whatever issue their CPO car has without question ask. Would they fix the same issue if the car has extended warranty?

Let me know if their situation like that out there. I would like to know. Thank

noz34me

I guess I should re-cant my previous post. We went to Delaware, 5+ hours to buy the CPO '04 330 RX. After getting the link sent to me by the dealer as to how they go through it and make it in Lexus' words "nearly new". Here's what I found when we arrived:
Good looking 10' car
Paint chips at rear right side door
Several paint chips at hood (expected)
Poor quality console repair where someone had mounted a GPS (my guess) on passenger side; one area putty was smooth with no grain, another area the putty used was splotchy at best. Paint used was a very good match though.
Cleaner used at some point on radio had run into the unit and behind the plastic display. Dealer did offer to replace radio when they got one in.
Both headlights had condensation in them
Battery bracket was corroded.

Dealer did offer to either drive the car back to Delaware from our home to replace both headlights, and the radio if I purchased the car. I declined. If in 30 minutes I can find that much wrong, I had no confidence that there wasn't more, and items like the headlights I don't believe are covered in the CPO warranty.

Came back, and on the way looked at a RAV4 in Silver Spring, but honestly after driving and being in the Lexus, I knew there was not going to be a RAV 4 in our future.

Found the exact same Lexus, year, color, interior, features, even miles, not 60 miles from our house, without the Certification, but $2200 cheaper. I did get a 3 month, 4500 mile bumper/bumper warranty from the used dealer. CarFax on this car was the best I've ever seen. 1 owner, and all maintenance done on time and at a Lexus dealer.

I'm hoping it will be a good car for my wife, but as I mentioned in a previous post, we have had an issue with the driver's visor. Time will tell.

Good luck in your search. As someone said, luck does have a lot to do with what you find, and when.