good afternoon to all
we are new to lexus and are currently looking at purchasing a pre owned lexus gs 350
we have a puzzling to us question that someone here can probably answer very quicly
the car we are looking at is advertised for sale as 2013 and carfax states 2013 as well but carfax also shows production date of 02/2012
is this normal?

 

The 4th generation GS came out in 2012 as a 2013 model.

 

ok so there can be a 2013 made very early 2012 vs summer 2013 (up to 16 month difference)
other than mileage should this be a price factor/

 

That's correct - you can see that people HERE started getting information about the 4th Gen GS 350 back in the fall of 2011. (In the link go forward from page 295 to 294 to 293, etc. for old threads about the [then] 'new' GS 350.

Other than mileage the age of the 2013 shouldn't affect the price much. However, like with any vehicle the very earliest manufacture runs are when most of the gremlins are found, but most owners get any issues they may have taken care of with TSBs.

My 2013 GS 350 was manufactured in October of 2012 and it has been solid as a rock with zero issues.

 

so i am guessing 02/2012 is one of the earliest builds?
would you recommend to stay away from it?

thank you for your quick answers

 

No, if the car is in good condition for the mileage, and you like the color and options - it should be priced accordingly.

I suggest that you become familiar with the various packages (Base, Premium, Luxury, F-Sport, AWD) and all the individual options the car has been offered with so you will know what this particular car has...or is missing.

 

http://www.performancelexusrivercent...-KY/3079564223

this is the car
we are set on awd but don't care about any other options packages
what do you think?

 

our budget is about $22k which they are more or less agreeeing upon
truthfully if not for awd we would rather an ES350
yes i know it is a totally different car
we are coming from a Camry and winters here are brutal and blizzaks don't help so we are assuming an ES won't bee much different

 

The car looks to be a nice one! It's a one-owner with full Lexus service history. I personally like the red, but not wild about the light grey interior. Nice car at a fair price!

 

many people say the certified is not worth it on a lexus
do you agree/disagree?

 

The only reason some people say it is not 'worth' it is because the car rarely needs any repairs that the Certified warranty covers, but in my opinion it is nice to have.

Chances are pretty good that the Lexus dealer has done the service work already to bring the car up-to-date (or beyond) on recommended service (e.g. oil & filter change, cabin air filter, engine air filter, etc., etc.).

The Certified is nice to have in my opinion just because you know that Lexus has gone over the car and checked everything, and even though the mileage is just before the regular Basic warranty expires your Lexus dealer will provide you with some service (e.g. oil change) at no charge ... and I feel sure they will make sure anything you may find amiss is taken care of...unlike if you bought the car from a non-Lexus dealer/used-car lot. Even though the Basic warranty expires soon the Certified should extend the warranty for 3 years or 100k miles (whichever comes first) I believe will be the case for you, which I personally think is valuable. Lexus recently changed how they handle the Certified warranty and free services, so make sure you understand what is covered, and for how long.

 

My 2013 model was manufactured in December 2011. No problems on the car except for very minor things and the seat computer recall.

 

"Certified should extend the warranty for 3 years or 100k miles (whichever comes first) I believe will be the case for you, which I personally think is valuable. Lexus recently changed how they handle the Certified warranty and free services, so make sure you understand what is covered, and for how long."
interesting
this is not what the dealership is telling me
they are stating that the car will have a 2 year unlimited miles warranty not a 3 year 100k
also i saw somewhere that the max cap for the certified warranty is 6 years from original in service date which for this car will only be 4 month (02/18)

can someone who knows this for a fact please chime in

thank you

 

I can't speak to the 6 year claim but I can confirm the L certified warranty is now 2 years unlimited miles beyond the factory warranty. I just received this on my lexus purchased 2 months ago.

Also the production date is not the in service date. The in service date is the first time lexus sold the vehicle as a new car.

 

Past dealer service history might be worth checking too. Just ask the dealer to run the vin # so you can see what's been done at the dealer through the cars lifetime.
Looks like a nice car.