Looking for used GX. Several in the 50k mile range, and told if CMO, I get free maintenance for 2 yrs....which would include the upcoming 60k service which I understand can be expensive. In addition extension of bumper to bumper warranty...just like the initial warranty for 2 more years. I also understand it is a factory, not dealer warranty so can get service at any Lexus dealer. Is there ever a situation where a dealer says not under warranty, and you go to another and they say it is covered?

I asked several times if everything is covered, under that normal wear and tear and they assured me that was the case, and that routine 10k oil changes, tire rotation...whatever recommended...was free. I would not pay a cent. Just want to make sure this is true.

I would assume brake pads would not be covered as wear and tear, but what about brake rotors. I have read of problems with Tundra and Lexus rotors. I have never had a rotor problem in any of my cars...some with over 100k miles. Is this a area where could be conflict with the dealership over warranty work verse normal wear and tear?

 

Free maintenance usually means oil change, tires rotation, fluid top off and 5000 points inspection (eh glance over). If they say 60K miles service is included, I would ask for it in writing just in case.
Yes brakes usually are wear and tear but if rotors are warp within the warranty period, it should be covered.

 

I would go look in the owner's manual and only assume what they say is needed is actually covered. Anything else will be out of pocket.

A lot of these "60k mile service" routines are just a complete rip off for the consumer and cost the dealer very little which is probably why they have no issue including it for free. It's mainly just "inspecting" things, no actual service is done. They probably spend less than 30 minutes looking over everything and then charge you like $1,200 for like a new cabin air filter and an oil change.

My opinion is to never agree to a "X mile Service". Just have specific service and maintenance done.

 

Last year I bought certified 2011 LS for my wife. My local dealership covered four services, 30, 35, 40 & 45k under CPO. 30k service was almost $500 service without any charge. LS requires oil change at 5k and I did not pay anything for these services. The vehicle was not even purchased from them, it was bought from another dealership.

 

I just recently bought a CPO 2014 that came L/certified. They said the next 4 services within the next 2 years are free, that includes oil changes and tire rotations. If I don't use these 4 services I was told they would be lost. I don't know much about these trucks yet but with today's synthetic oil 5000 mile oil change intervals are a bit too conservative. Unless you're doing city driving or driving down a dirt road everyday 7-8k should be perfectly fine for oil changes. Since they're offering it for free i'll probably do it anyway.

I actually took my new car for warranty work just yesterday as I found one of the CV boots leaking grease. It's covered under the original factory warranty so I'm told I won't need to pay anything.

 

Two dealers, told me that any scheduled....recommended service is free under the L certified. So if you buy Lcertified with 50k miles, you could expect the 60k which states in owners manual, change brake fluid, replace smart key battery, replace air filter, cabin filter, oil and filter, rotate tires......etc....., is completely free. I had heard that some problems with brake rotors and was told they would be under warranty, while brake pads would be normal wear and tear and not covered.

 

Then let them give you a printed hard copy of what is covered item by item. When I picked up CPO '15 RX hybrid from a dealer that's what they gave. After factory warranty runs out. The paper listed everything what will be covered and signed by salesman and service manager. . Just don't take a word of mouth.

 

Just FYI, but what you are listing is done for the 60k mile service is like $350 if you went to the dealership and had it done out of pocket.
Or like $40 if you did it yourself.

I'm not saying it's nothing, but just keep it in perspective when you are looking at the price premium. And things like the cabin air filter, engine air filter, and key fob battery are probably half that service visit and can be done by even the most basic DIYer in like 30 minutes.

 

That cabin filter could be done with a blindfold on assuming you pulled the contents out of glove box first. :-)

 

A salesman told be the brake rotors were covered under warranty- I asked because had read of problems with Tundra and Lexus 460 rotors. I read the warranty info online form Lexus today, and it excludes both brake pads....and rotors from the - certified - warranty.

 

When I bought my used 2011 GX there was the same truck across the street at a Lexus dealership that was identical to what I bought (give or take some miles) and Certified. Same color inside and outside but $3,500 more.

 

How much does it cost the Dealer to actually get the Certified warranty on the car? I had been told in the past that it cost the Dealer $2500 just to get the Certified Warranty from Lexus. I was looking at it as I was looking at some different models both fairly new that some were certified and some were not. I guess a lot factors in what the dealer is going to have in reconditioning the car.

 

It cost the dealer a few minutes of a tech's time. Its more of a sales gimmick than anything. They want to make money off of you. They also try to sell the vehicle for more because some tech spent a couple of minutes under the hood with a clipboard and a check-off sheet. Ultimately they know the vehicles are built well and few have claims against them. If they can make an extra $2,500 to $4,000 off of each sale and one in fifteen come back they make a huge profit. Even if that one (1) vehicle that comes back is for a $5,000 repair job.

I'm a firm believer that if you want to really inspect the vehicle a leak down test & compression test must be done. All cylinders must be within the factory tolerance range. Every engine & cylinder will be different from use. One or two PSI from one cylinder to another isn't cause for concern. A detailed maintenance history report is another thing that I would highly value over a business, dealer, certifying their own product that they are trying to sell to me at an increased profit point. The value of the vehicle must be subjective from one vehicle to another. Even within the same model year of vehicle you are looking at. You as the buyer MUST be informed as to what you are getting into. If you do not have the mechanical amplitude to judge a vehicle then you should have the common sense to take it to someone who does! This happens more often on higher end vehicles and exotic. The term commonly used is PPI pre purchase inspection. There are many people that perform this type of service. As with any profession though who you chose can vary drastically. Detailed people can spend five or six hours inspecting everything and another hour or two writing up the vehicle report. This report can total five or six pages, or more, with items found that are bad or nearing the end of life. It could also detail common items on the vehicle that should be replaced due to mileage or age. If you chose a sloppy person/shop you can get a cheap report that is half a page and basically a glance over that says "good" or "certified". They most likely will not lift up the vehicle and go over all mechanical items with a fine tooth comb. You can also expect to pay a fraction of the price for something that is a 'worthless' piece of paper. As with anything in life the value and what you get will vary.

Also you should expect normal wear and tear maintenance on any vehicle. The more complex the systems the more issues that can arise. For anyone that wants to experience sticker shock you should leave the club lexus forms and read up on the BMW and MB forms. When we take our vehicles in for oil changes they are doing the same. Only difference is ours usually require oil and a filter. Their can requires oil/filter & another $2,500 to $5,000 in parts and labor to keep it on the road. Gotta love Toyota reliability.

I'm not going to say that our vehicles are not perfect and will require zero additional dollars out of pocket. We do have issues. One of the bigger ones with the GX460 will be the rear air suspension. The airbag is made out of rubber. It bounces up and down with every bump in the road. Our vehicles are not that old and have not reached the point of time where this failure point has shown up yet. Rubber is a material that degrades with time. It will become hard and brittle and eventually crack, leak and ultimately fail. If you do research on the GX470 you will notice that this is a more common problem due to the age of the vehicles. Ours are going to end up going down the same path. There are aftermarket companies that have seen the need for these parts and have provided us with options. You can purchase airbags and replacement air compressors that is a plug and play device. These items are a fraction of the dealer price on the items. Don't worry about having to fork over thousands of dollars to repair this system. More than likely you will be able to do the job for $450 in parts. Any independent mechanic can do the work for you at a fraction of the dealer price. If your are mechanical yourself than its just a couple of hours with a floor jack & stands and basic tools is all you need. There is a good youtube tutorial that will also help guide you through the process.

We also have other complex electrical items that can go bad like any modern luxury vehicle. When researching these I've noticed that the number of complaints in online forms have been surprisingly low. Usually when someone has an issue they will spew all of the negative issues and you will find many people online with similar issues. When looking through the GX460 forms we don't see the same magnitude of common issues like other vehicles. It can be frustrating though if you do encounter an issue because fewer people have gone through the same problem and finding a solution can be more difficult.

The good thing about online automotive forms is support and solutions that others have for common issues.

As for the $2,500 warranty thats something that the dealer try to up-sell you. Its basically pure profit for them as few people end up using it before it expires due to time/mileage.

 

Understood on the Tech Time, but the dealership has to actually purchase a CPO warranty from actual Lexus. Then that cost gets packaged into it being a CPO car. So my contacts at the dealer had told me several times in the past that when a lease return or another vehicle I might be interested in, if I wanted it CPO, this is X price because it cost Y to buy the warranty from Lexus. If I wanted everything done to the car except it having the CPO status, but still have the inspection and everything else, it would be $2500 less.

So the dealer is purchasing the warranty from Lexus. That's how I had always understood it from several different dealers. Would love to know if this is not correct.

 

I bought a Lexus certified GX460 - a '14 with 36,500 miles on the clock - just over a week ago. The warranty period was measured from the date of first use, which in my case was August 2014. That meant I still had almost one year of the original warranty left to run. However, the Lexus certification added an additional two years (unlimited mileage) to that, with the first four service visits included at no charge (5,000 mile increments). Additionally, at the time of purchase I had the option of extending the original manufacturer warranty at my expense for $300 per year, up to five years. This is not a third-party warranty; it's the same Lexus warranty that is provided when the vehicle is new - and therefore excludes normal maintenance items plus wear and tear.

My experience: both the price of the certified vehicle and the extended warranty are negotiable items. I was able to get the price of the vehicle down to a what I considered within normal ranges for a non certified vehicle. (Most vehicle appraisal websites will put a premium price on factory certified. It seemed to be around $1,500 more.) I was also able to get five years of warranty coverage, quoted at $3,000, for $2,800 - not a massive savings, but not too bad either. Bottom line, my Lexus certified GX460 is covered by the manufacturer's warranty for almost eight years, unlimited miles, and I'm happy with that - even though I may never need it.

Hope this is helpful.