Hi All,

my wife and I are long time Lexus customers and on the ClubLexus forums for years and years. Great knowledge here.
We have been looking to get a GSF and have been looking around, unfortunately several of the cars we have found, have been mistreated, very sad to see and just dont get it.
Anyway, I am seeking advise on some interior issues we have found on 2017, that is in really great shape outside, but gives us concern and hesitation for what we see on the interior.
3 out of the 4 seats have some issue and rear driver door panel has a serious smack on it. See attached photos.

In summery, driver chair has a puncture in it, the passenger rear seats have a baby chairs strapped in hard indentations, the other rear seat had something heavy placed in it creating a deep indentations.
The driver rear door panel had something, box corner maybe, pushed into to it hard enough to puncture it.
We would appreciate any comments or advise on the what is shown in the photos.
Your time and effort is very much appreciated

 

Hello. in my opinion . Yes, it is very painful to see a GSF with blemishes, but it is purely cosmetic. it doesn't take away from the fact that it is still an awesome vehicle. no one is really going to see the interior that much unless you plan to make it a show car . Hands down the best seats lexus has ever produced . I absolutely love my red seats.

 

I personally would move on. Once you see those defects you can't un-see them no matter how much you love the car.
Perhaps some steam would massage those out to some extent but they will never look right.

There was an L-Certifed '16 in the in the exact spec I wanted at Lexus Newport Beach and similar to your encounter the
exterior was near perfect but the interior was pretty trashed by what appeared to be a small dog being aloud to run amuck
inside. Snags and tears in the leather and deep scratches on the drivers side alcantara and door cup.....something I would
cringe at everyday of driving it.

 

Thank you for your responses.
I agree with you, cant un-see things and we were very leery of how repairs would go with those, additionally, we are not looking to have project car with multiple questions marks on our mind.
LoL... know what you mean, would bug the hell out of me. Amazed at the lack of care of these awesome cars by people...........

So this evening we have decided pass on this one, hopefully in the near future we will find the right car for us

 

If you have little kids or going to have dogs in the car, the interior defects won't matter long term.

If it's CPO and the dealer gives you a reasonable discount because of the interior, I would consider taking it.

I've had my '17 CPO for 6month and 5k miles, and already it's gotten little rock chips on the hood - it's just life of daily driving. With or without dents the car is a blast to drive.

Very glad I went CPO. Rear shocks are leaking and labor and parts are all covered. Yes, still have two years on original warranty + 2 years CPO, but the peace of mind is great knowing I still have 4 years coverage no questions asked.

 

Thank you for the reply. No kids and dogs would go in the car.
Not CPO car, actually at a Ford dealership... would like to have CPO if possible. Another reason we passed, all our Lexus over the years have been CPO, absolutely a piece of mind having that
We always protect our vehicles with at at least 1/4 front end covered Expel Ultimate protective film and Ceramic tint the windows to protect interior.
Love the GSF, awesome and a "blast" to drive
Had a 2013 GS 350 Luxury for 5 years, and loved that car as well.

 

Those pieces are replaceable, probably not cheap but they are replaceable. If the car was a great price, I would buy and look on eBay for replacements.

 

Way far from cheap. This is a car for someone like me with a 6 year old and a 2 year old. None of those defects will be significant with kids in the car. Wait until your 2 year old pukes in the back seat and you have to remove everything, and I mean everything, to clean it up and eliminate the smell. It took an entire day and a whole lot of TLC, but everything was as new when it went back in the car.

FWIW, I can tell you the seat cover for the driver's side runs ~$1700 for top and bottom before the install. Install is about 4 hours. Odds are the top has significant wear on the bolster at this point too. Ours does for sure with barely over 60k miles.

Definitely not the car for the perfectionist.

 

I was kind of disappointed with the bolster wear in the driver's seat and I have 40k miles on the ODO. Either thats normal wear, cheap material or the owner before be was above average in weight.

 

Bolded for truth. Strangely enough, when I bought new covers for my IS F, they've lasted far better than the original ones from the factory. No idea why that SHOULD be, but I can only say it's my experience.

 

Thank you for your inputs, very much appreciated.

 

The indentations will come out with heat and message for those parts of the leather.

The holes in the leather and the rip in the door panel can all be repaired by a professional upholstery/leather repair shop. Those guys can do magic, I've had some leather professionally repaired before, with fantastic results, for a fraction of what it would cost to replace the damaged cover.

 

The holes and the damage around the speaker are one thing but to have the indentations in the rear seats(from a child's car seat like the second picture shown) isn't that crazy to me. It's a 4 door sedan that is put on the market to attract buyers that have a family but still want to have the performance of a sports car. Don't get me wrong, when I see the rear leather seats after taking out the car seats, it makes me sick. But having my kids ask me to "go fast daddy" and listen to them laugh and giggle when you hit it is totally worth it. So it might have some issues with the rear seat but on the other end of that, if they had their kids in the car often, you can imagine that the car wasn't beaten on much given that their kids were in the car...

Good luck on your search!

 

Mostly true...

 

That interior is terrible. Idk how many miles are on it but if the driver seat and speaker area is jacked up just imagine what they were like driving it. Hard pass!