mikesrx350

most important pay a body shop make sure car wasn't sprayed or hit and replaced panels
most cars going to auction have been painted and hit if it has low mileage

spoogenet

This is misleading. I agree the inspection is important but "auction" is not synonymous with "undesirable" for cars.

DP03 has covered the main process. Lease returns generally go through auction with Lexus getting first dibs, followed by Toyota dealerships, then the open market. There are many low-mileage lease returns offered at auction. Savvy dealers look at the offerings daily and pull in cars they think will sell in their market, sometimes getting cars from other markets in the process. Similarly, a market may have had great lease sales in prior years and be a bit flooded, so they may turn down lease returns at the auction.

Also a driver could trade in their car at a non-Lexus dealership who may auction it off.