Hey All,

I've been looking for a 2015 F Sport for the last month or so. From what I'm seeing CPO are anywhere form $3000 to $6000 over private party or non Lexus dealers. I'm looking in the 20k to 35k miles range.

I've looked at 2 CPOs in person and both were underwhelming. I just back from MA looking at one with 30k miles. It had dings and scratches all over it. 3 out of 4 rims have curb rash. They're asking $29.8 and won't budge. Dealer promised to fix all the cosmetic stuff but I'd rather have one that isn't touched up with resprayed bumpers.

On the other hand I have seen a handful of private party and non-Lexus dealer listings that check all the boxes and are in the $25-26 range.

Is the extra 2 year warranty worth the premium? From what I've read here they seem super reliable.

I will likely need to buy sight unseen since there's almost nothing semi-locally (Maine). I was hoping the CPO route would net me a super clean car. But the ones I've seen in person say otherwise.

Looking at non-CPO also opens up a lot more choice to get the right color and feature combo.

 

Bonus sample from today's

To their credit I scheduled a test drive the second they posted it online, prior to them even posting pictures or cleaning it.

 

That one looks like normal wear and tear, doesn’t mean you have to buy it, I probably wouldn’t. The rear end looks like garage door scrapes. I have one just like it because I didn’t pull in far enough. I got lucky on my non-CPO WITH 18K for $38500 but that was two years ago on a 2015. It was listed 4.9/5.0.

Go to a broker and have them find the one you want, not just the one that shows up on a dealer’s lot.

 

Ever thought of having one shipped to you from another state? I have read of members hiring companies to inspect the cars for them. I've also read of members offering to inspect cars for potential buyers.

 

I have a problem about CPO cars. I had a front end collision in an ES350 and had it repaired to the tune of $10,000+. When I traded it in for the GS it was later sold as a CPO vehicle. Now, maybe I don't understand what makes a car qualify for CPO, but I believe the typical consumer doesn't either. And this means whoever bought it probably assumed no body/paint work had ever been performed..... even if that is not a CPO designated requirement.

 

That's actually my plan right now. I have several out of state I'm in talks with. One of which is is being inspected this week.

I like the idea of the extra 2 years of bumper to bumper. I'm just not sure if it's worth the premium.

 

I've come by a couple like that. There's a 2015 F Sport CPO in Colorado the popped up a few days ago. The Carfax shows damage to the whole front and part of the rear and they're still asking 30k for it.

 

IMO not worth it. Just do/get a thorough inspection of the car prior to purchase. Lexus is one of the most reliable cars out there. Your mostly throwing away money with the CPO premium. Just avoid the cars with visible damage, find s nice clean non-cpo instead.

 

You might want to consider non CPO in your area. You should be able to find something clean with average or a little higher mileage for a good price. It will probably work better with your budget too.
It’s weird but the Lexus dealers in the northeast don’t seem to have the cleanest CPO cars or they don’t want to refresh them until they have a buyer. The dealers in my area(MD, VA) have some really clean vehicles but they tend to have higher prices.

 

New England is an often ****ty market to find a GS in. Unfortunately, the car is not that popular here, partially because the car culture sucks in this part of the country, and also because the roads suck. You might have to expand your search quite a bit distance wise to get one that will meet your requirements. I had to go to NJ to get mine. Getting one from MA/NH is a total crap shoot depending on the lease turn ins, etc. One month things could be great next month there's just crap on the lots or a bunch of non-fsports with crap color combinations.

The main reason I went CPO is it was the easiest way for me to get a low mileage car. I basically wanted an almost new car with the depreciation lopped off. IMHO I would expand your search to 2014s as well. That was going to be my fallback plan if I couldn't get the 15 I wanted.

ETA: Whether you go CPO or otherwise, look over that thing with a fine toothed comb. Wax can hide a lot of sins. Also test drive it and get it up to 80 at least, if any of the rims are bent (unless they tried to hide it by putting them on the back) that'll usually show itself in due course.... (and in NJ, NY, MA, CT, NH, etc, the odds of a bent rim being on an AWD F-sport GS are very high, unless it's been fixed... because potholes.... and these rims can bend on the inside and not appear visually bent on the outside, for extra fun... unless they're spun on a balancer. )

-Mike

 

Thanks for the info. You seem to be 100% on about it being a crap shoot up here.

I've been looking at the entire east coast and as far west as CO.

It looks like I have one locked down. I found a private sale in NJ a couple weeks ago. Been talking to the owner and have him down to 25k which I'm pretty happy with. 2015, 34k miles, AWD, Cold Weather package, BSM, PA, perfect service history, garaged, original owner. Had it inspected at a Lexus dealership last week and it has a clean bill of health.

The only box it doesn't check for me is interior color. Been looking for red or tan, this one is black. But I can live with that.

Leaving in the AM to go see it in person and hopefully buy it. Fingers crossed my search is over. Will be nice since I've spent an unhealthy amount of time looking for a car the last couple months.

 

Age old question right here. Personally, the reliability factor of Lexus was a huge reason I went with the GS over a 535i. Due to the reliability, I felt 100% comfortable forgoing the CPO which opened up a lot more options.

 

Definitely pass on this car, not worth it. How do they CPO a car in such bad condition? Looks like someone beat on this car probably drove it like they stole it.

 

My '16 IS 350 was in 2 minor accidents and they still CPO'd it. I don't think it's worth the premium. Find one you like, inspect yourself, get the VIN and go to Lexus Drivers to pull down the maintenance history to give you peace of mind. it's been taken care of.

 

CPO isn't necessary: these cars are so well built and assembled.
Service records are easily obtainable with the VIN, and if you can validate proper maintenance and observe care by the current owner, there's so little risk of unexpected failure that would exceed the incremental dealer cost of CPO.

It's the same for extended warranties: they aren't a value because you're so unlikely to need them for anything that will exceed the warranty cost.