GS350 F-Sport Lemon?
02-26-18, 07:53 PM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
GS350 F-Sport Lemon?
Just purchased my first Lexus. A GS350 F-Sport, Obsidian Black /w Cabernet leather (46k miles). I love the car although for the past 20 days it's only been in my driveway for 4 of them! After 3 days of ownership, the sunroof started to fail to respond. I took it to the dealer and they diagnosed the car with a bad sunroof motor. Luckily I bought a 3rd party 36 month / 100k warranty from the independent dealer I got the car from. After about 2 weeks of battling the warranty company and waiting on the work to be done, I finally had my car back! Well for one night. The same night I got the car back from the dealer I had a 30 mile trip I needed to take in it. I immediately started to notice the AC controls weren't working or displaying temps on either the passenger or drivers side. Also, my navigation thought I was in a totally different state and driving backwards! Also, the radio would cut in and out, the whole screen would go blank, and then reboot itself. Well...back the dealer the next morning. Got a call a couple of days later and was told my ECU needed to be replaced! $2k just for the part. I told them to contact the warranty company again. That was last week and here I am, still no car. I have almost forgot what it looks like and the 30 day tags are about to expire. Almost forgot to mention, the lot I bought the car from mentioned to me they had to replace the passenger side door lock actuators as well.
The carfax on the car said it was a one owner leased car out of Miami, FL. Do you think this could be a title washed flood car? I just find it hard to believe that a one owner Lexus with 46k miles has now had the sunroof motor replaced, passenger door lock actuators replaced, and now needing a new ECU.....was not expecting this from a one owner Lexus....
The carfax on the car said it was a one owner leased car out of Miami, FL. Do you think this could be a title washed flood car? I just find it hard to believe that a one owner Lexus with 46k miles has now had the sunroof motor replaced, passenger door lock actuators replaced, and now needing a new ECU.....was not expecting this from a one owner Lexus....
02-26-18, 08:16 PM
#2
Man, what a letdown. It's always a risk buying a used car--you really don't know for sure what happened. Yes, it might have flooded and cleaned without any documentation. It IS Miami afterall!!
If you dig into it, you can probably tell if water sat under the dash or interior. You may need to start pulling things apart to check.
Or perhaps some idiot jolted the electrical system and fried all of the items that have gone wrong. That's kinda what it sounds like? Lighting strike? Bad regulator? Monkey fisted owner/tech?
Take a deep breath and after you get the car back, poke around and look for water damage or dirt where it shouldn't be under the dash, in the door panels, under the carpet in nooks where they might not have cleaned, etc).
Really hope this is fixed once and for all and with no signs of further trouble for you. Good luck...git my fingers crossed for you!
If you dig into it, you can probably tell if water sat under the dash or interior. You may need to start pulling things apart to check.
Or perhaps some idiot jolted the electrical system and fried all of the items that have gone wrong. That's kinda what it sounds like? Lighting strike? Bad regulator? Monkey fisted owner/tech?
Take a deep breath and after you get the car back, poke around and look for water damage or dirt where it shouldn't be under the dash, in the door panels, under the carpet in nooks where they might not have cleaned, etc).
Really hope this is fixed once and for all and with no signs of further trouble for you. Good luck...git my fingers crossed for you!
02-27-18, 03:37 AM
#3
Pole Position
I think door lock actuators were a known problem on some of the GS's. Another sign of a flood car is dirty seat tracks, take a look. Good luck on that 3rd party warranty!
02-27-18, 08:16 AM
#5
That Sucks man been there before I bought 2007 Infiniti M35 from a Nissan dealer back in 2010 come to find out the car needed a short block want through all the bull**** trying to get it fixed
finally did but what a pain My 2016 GS f-sport CPO has been great so far bought used from Lexus of Manchester NH, Just goes to show you that these dealers will sell you a car with issues
because they're not inspecting the cars as they should.
finally did but what a pain My 2016 GS f-sport CPO has been great so far bought used from Lexus of Manchester NH, Just goes to show you that these dealers will sell you a car with issues
because they're not inspecting the cars as they should.
Last edited by lovemyGSFS; 02-27-18 at 08:31 AM.
02-27-18, 09:23 AM
#7
Lexus Test Driver
Just purchased my first Lexus. A GS350 F-Sport, Obsidian Black /w Cabernet leather (46k miles). I love the car although for the past 20 days it's only been in my driveway for 4 of them! After 3 days of ownership, the sunroof started to fail to respond. I took it to the dealer and they diagnosed the car with a bad sunroof motor. Luckily I bought a 3rd party 36 month / 100k warranty from the independent dealer I got the car from. After about 2 weeks of battling the warranty company and waiting on the work to be done, I finally had my car back! Well for one night. The same night I got the car back from the dealer I had a 30 mile trip I needed to take in it. I immediately started to notice the AC controls weren't working or displaying temps on either the passenger or drivers side. Also, my navigation thought I was in a totally different state and driving backwards! Also, the radio would cut in and out, the whole screen would go blank, and then reboot itself. Well...back the dealer the next morning. Got a call a couple of days later and was told my ECU needed to be replaced! $2k just for the part. I told them to contact the warranty company again. That was last week and here I am, still no car. I have almost forgot what it looks like and the 30 day tags are about to expire. Almost forgot to mention, the lot I bought the car from mentioned to me they had to replace the passenger side door lock actuators as well.
The carfax on the car said it was a one owner leased car out of Miami, FL. Do you think this could be a title washed flood car? I just find it hard to believe that a one owner Lexus with 46k miles has now had the sunroof motor replaced, passenger door lock actuators replaced, and now needing a new ECU.....was not expecting this from a one owner Lexus....
The carfax on the car said it was a one owner leased car out of Miami, FL. Do you think this could be a title washed flood car? I just find it hard to believe that a one owner Lexus with 46k miles has now had the sunroof motor replaced, passenger door lock actuators replaced, and now needing a new ECU.....was not expecting this from a one owner Lexus....
Personally, I would never buy a vehicle from an independent used car lot that was trying to sell a vehicle that had been owned/leased far away in another state. My guess is the car was not deemed to be worthy of selling by the Lexus dealership where the lease car was returned, and it was auctioned (possibly more than once). Either the independent used car lot purchased the car at auction or it eventually made its way (possibly after repairs or major clean-up) to the independent car lot where you purchased it.
The questions I would have asked before purchasing is:
Why is this Florida car now in North Carolina for sale?
Why did the Lexus dealer where this leased car was returned not want to put it on their own lot for sale?
The questions I would be asking now after experiencing some weird/strange problems that are far from commonplace is:
What exactly is the history of this car?
How many 'hands' has this car been in before it arrived at the independent used car lot where I purchased it?
Should the title on this car be something other than clean (e.g. flood, totaled, etc.)?
What does a Lexus dealership think of this car and its history?
Can I get my money back from the seller if I learn that the car has had a troubled history?
How long will my 3rd party warranty keep repairing this car?
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02-27-18, 10:14 AM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
Contact where you bought the car and tell them all the problems you have been having, it needs thousands of dollars in repairs already in less then a month and tell them that is unacceptable. See if they will repair it or give you money back for the repairs, if they tell you to take a hike which is what most will do then threaten them with legal action or bad reviews/exposing them, tell them you suspect it is a flooded car. Do as much research as you can on the car history, contact Lexus dealer where it was serviced and tell them your issues.
Door lock actuators have been a issue with Lexus cars for 20 years, they still don't seem to be able to design a reliable one.
Door lock actuators have been a issue with Lexus cars for 20 years, they still don't seem to be able to design a reliable one.
02-27-18, 10:19 AM
#9
Sorry to hear about all your problems. I hope that's all, but I won't be surprised to learn there are more.
Personally, I would never buy a vehicle from an independent used car lot that was trying to sell a vehicle that had been owned/leased far away in another state. My guess is the car was not deemed to be worthy of selling by the Lexus dealership where the lease car was returned, and it was auctioned (possibly more than once). Either the independent used car lot purchased the car at auction or it eventually made its way (possibly after repairs or major clean-up) to the independent car lot where you purchased it.
The questions I would have asked before purchasing is:
Why is this Florida car now in North Carolina for sale?
Why did the Lexus dealer where this leased car was returned not want to put it on their own lot for sale?
The questions I would be asking now after experiencing some weird/strange problems that are far from commonplace is:
What exactly is the history of this car?
How many 'hands' has this car been in before it arrived at the independent used car lot where I purchased it?
Should the title on this car be something other than clean (e.g. flood, totaled, etc.)?
What does a Lexus dealership think of this car and its history?
Can I get my money back from the seller if I learn that the car has had a troubled history?
How long will my 3rd party warranty keep repairing this car?
Personally, I would never buy a vehicle from an independent used car lot that was trying to sell a vehicle that had been owned/leased far away in another state. My guess is the car was not deemed to be worthy of selling by the Lexus dealership where the lease car was returned, and it was auctioned (possibly more than once). Either the independent used car lot purchased the car at auction or it eventually made its way (possibly after repairs or major clean-up) to the independent car lot where you purchased it.
The questions I would have asked before purchasing is:
Why is this Florida car now in North Carolina for sale?
Why did the Lexus dealer where this leased car was returned not want to put it on their own lot for sale?
The questions I would be asking now after experiencing some weird/strange problems that are far from commonplace is:
What exactly is the history of this car?
How many 'hands' has this car been in before it arrived at the independent used car lot where I purchased it?
Should the title on this car be something other than clean (e.g. flood, totaled, etc.)?
What does a Lexus dealership think of this car and its history?
Can I get my money back from the seller if I learn that the car has had a troubled history?
How long will my 3rd party warranty keep repairing this car?
Agreed sounds sketchy, their was a reason the dealer didn't want that car
02-27-18, 10:34 AM
#10
Driver School Candidate
I work at an auto auction and have access to both Carfax and Autocheck. I'm happy to help get you info on both if you want to give me the full VIN.
I'm not sure what the laws are in your state, but I'd be strongly looking to pressure the dealer you bought it from to take the car back and refund everything back to you, including the aftermarket warranty you bought. The reason the shop is probably fighting with he warranty company is because usually aftermarket warranties only take affect 30+ days from date of sale. This makes it so dealers aren't purposely selling cars that need major repairs and having the warranty company pay for it rather than the selling dealer.
The GS is such an amazing car, sorry you're having these issues.
I'm not sure what the laws are in your state, but I'd be strongly looking to pressure the dealer you bought it from to take the car back and refund everything back to you, including the aftermarket warranty you bought. The reason the shop is probably fighting with he warranty company is because usually aftermarket warranties only take affect 30+ days from date of sale. This makes it so dealers aren't purposely selling cars that need major repairs and having the warranty company pay for it rather than the selling dealer.
The GS is such an amazing car, sorry you're having these issues.
02-27-18, 02:33 PM
#12
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Wow! I didn't expect to get this much feedback in a day! You guys are great! Thanks for all the the valuable information. Once I get the call to come pick the car up, I plan to have a discussion with the rep there to see if they can give me anymore insight into the car. I have been using my local Lexus Dealer for all the repairs thus far and they have been really great to me. I certainly cannot complain about the service. I really want this car to be good, I'd hate to have to go through the headache of returning it and they really are excellent cars from what I understand. I will check the seat tracks and under the dash to see I notice anything "fishy" when I get the car back.
02-27-18, 02:35 PM
#13
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
I work at an auto auction and have access to both Carfax and Autocheck. I'm happy to help get you info on both if you want to give me the full VIN.
I'm not sure what the laws are in your state, but I'd be strongly looking to pressure the dealer you bought it from to take the car back and refund everything back to you, including the aftermarket warranty you bought. The reason the shop is probably fighting with he warranty company is because usually aftermarket warranties only take affect 30+ days from date of sale. This makes it so dealers aren't purposely selling cars that need major repairs and having the warranty company pay for it rather than the selling dealer.
The GS is such an amazing car, sorry you're having these issues.
I'm not sure what the laws are in your state, but I'd be strongly looking to pressure the dealer you bought it from to take the car back and refund everything back to you, including the aftermarket warranty you bought. The reason the shop is probably fighting with he warranty company is because usually aftermarket warranties only take affect 30+ days from date of sale. This makes it so dealers aren't purposely selling cars that need major repairs and having the warranty company pay for it rather than the selling dealer.
The GS is such an amazing car, sorry you're having these issues.
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Lusty72 (02-27-18)
03-14-18, 08:12 PM
#15
Hoping you get your car back tomorrow!