Interior noise 2013 ES 350
 

I test drove a 2013 ES 350 today and in "Park" with the radio off, it was extremely noisy. It had to be the engine as nothing else adds up. Has anyone experienced this? What could it be as most people say the ES 350 is quiet? The CPO dealer is offering $35,500 for this 15,000 mileage car. Good deal?

Test drive a new one to compare.

As far as price, check out sites like Truecar.com to see if that is a fair price in your area since prices can vary by region.

This car will be 2 years old in 3 months. IMO the price is no bargain. You should go onto the internet and check KBB.com and other car sites to verify if this is a fair price. Also, do what Bootman said: sit in a new car and compare. I own a 2013 350 and sometimes cannot tell if the engine is running while I'm in the car.

+1 Even at highway cruising speeds, I have to listen very carefully to hear even the slightest noise from the engine. It may well be that there are quieter vehicles being made, but I consider the way that the ES cabin is isolated from engine, road, and wind noise to be one of the vehicle's strong points.

If the engine had gotten warm and was sitting still with a/c on, and you show you are in Florida, it could be no more than the temperature controlled engine fan for air conditioning.

Don't get CPO. Once a loaner car reached 15,000 miles they sell it as CPO. Have you ever wonder why they use a brand new vehicle as loaner car? Because they are defective vehicles that can't be sold as brand new (lemon).

I agree and would advise against buying a loaner car but for different reasons.

However I disagree that lemons are bought new to be used as loaners. Dealers buy new vehicles for their loaner fleets and then sell them as CPO's.

How would they even go about buying known lemons from the factory?

We shouldn't be assuming that this CPO vehicle is a former loaner. It could just as easily be a leased car off of a 2 year rental. I purchased my 2010 RX350 in Oct. 2012. It was off a 3 year lease where an older lady drove it on weekends only. It had 3,400 miles on it and was brand new. I've had it for more than 1.5 years and it has been perfect.

I too would never buy a loaner car, but this is ridiculous.

Every carmaker uses brand new cars as loaners. They buy them wholesale, then sell them CPO. If Lexus made enough lemons to fill every dealer's loaner fleet we should all be buying a different brand lol

This is kinda funny...
They are not lemons.. They are the models that don't sell because of equipment or color. The dealer actually makes a lot of money on their loaners because the manufacturer pays the dealer to use them as loaners. Also the dealer must disclose it was a loaner when you buy it.
Do you really think a CPO could be a lemon? Once a car is declared a lemon it goes on the title..

Our dealer always uses latest fully equipped black on black models. IMO, i think they do this on purpose to entice current owners to get new models... Also, our dealer don't sell loaners as CPO's. They sell it as a new car. Loaner cars don't get registered so even if it has 10,000 miles, you'll be the first owner, thus new car. They would usually tell you its "a dealer's car" or "the manager use to drive it" or something along those lines...

Sounds like a bad deal. 2 months ago we bought a new '14 with MSRP of about K$45 (Nav, etc.) for K$39.5. 3 other dealers in our North NJ area were also at about K$40 for the same car.

Even this isn't the case lol

The loaners at my dealer are well equipped, silver, white, etc (the most popular colors(, navigation, etc.

Back to the OP, the noise can be from the ventilated seats or AC since there are fans are running in both components. Also, I don't think that's a good deal. The 2013 is will almost be 2 years older and will have depreciated more than 25%. Apparently, there are some on this forum getting deals below cost, or over 10% of MSRP, on a newer model 2014. Pass and even wait for the 2015 and work off the dealer's cost of that model year.

Art

Check the ventilated seats...

It worked on me. I had a 2011 ES CPO, and after driving a 2013 as a loaner, I had to trade up.

In my experience, the car has been nothing but dead silent at idle, especially in Park.

As someone said it maybe the ventilated seats but without a better description of the sound other than "noisy" you're not going to get much help.

With our '14 ES350's AC on today and with both front seats in the max ventilated mode we barely heard a sound.

Same thing here. I think my hearing is fine, but, unless I put my ear right next to the seat, I don't hear any sound sound coming from the ventilated seats with the the seat fan set even to the highest setting, and, even with my ear right next to the seats, the sound sound that I hear from the fan for the ventilated seats even at the highest fan setting is still at an extremely low level.

That's interesting, because at max settings and no one in the seat, the ventilation is loud/ clearly audible. It sounds like... a fan, white noise. Unless someone is in the seat then it is barely audible.

Same here. When I'm either parked or stopped and the engine isn't running, I hear the seat fans. First time I heard them in my garage, I was wondering what was on and noisy. Then I remembered I had the seat fans on high. Hum, wondering why the difference with others?

It scared the hell out of me the first time I leaned forward to merge and my back broke the seal with the seat and I heard the fans roaring lol

Moral to the story: If you want quiet, don't break the seal :D.