Purchased used IS350 last year - found out it was wrecked!
06-25-10, 12:51 PM
#16
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LOL nope, most dealer (independent or dealership) can set the warranty to whatever they like. Most used car dealership sell their car AS IS and it will be clearly marked on the window Sticker.
06-25-10, 01:07 PM
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Is the few extra grand worth it for a CPO? Who's to judge - I could easily find an equal amount of people that say yes versus no.
06-25-10, 01:19 PM
#18
Bum luck dude... I would give a lawyer a call just to check and make sure.... I mean the auction did let the dealer know so they should of let you know to sooooo... yea if I was you I would give a lawyer a call tell em ur story and see what they say. How much less are they tryin to give you on ur trade in bec its been in an accident?
06-25-10, 01:23 PM
#19
Buying from an independent used car dealer is worse than buying from an individual IMHO. First, you're paying more than a private sale. Second, these dealers usually get their cars at auction with dubious pedigrees. Third, these dealers are used to ripping people off. There's a reason why used car dealers consistently show up on on consumer complaints lists.
06-25-10, 01:58 PM
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Bum luck dude... I would give a lawyer a call just to check and make sure.... I mean the auction did let the dealer know so they should of let you know to sooooo... yea if I was you I would give a lawyer a call tell em ur story and see what they say. How much less are they tryin to give you on ur trade in bec its been in an accident?
Two totally different baskets there when you are talking about laws and regulations.
06-25-10, 11:51 PM
#23
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Yeah same thing happened here, bought my car from a used car dealer in texas (clean carfax report). they said they couldn't sell any vehicle that didn't have a clean carfax or if it ever had hail damage.
Well after owning it and washing it several times i started to notice some fine scratches in the metal (underneath the paint) they are scratches from a DA, so at some point in time my roof was repainted.
Well after owning it and washing it several times i started to notice some fine scratches in the metal (underneath the paint) they are scratches from a DA, so at some point in time my roof was repainted.
06-26-10, 01:42 PM
#25
Very true about the CPOs. Just because it's CPO'd doesn't meant it's perfect.
Whenever my parents were buying a used LS460, they were immediately attracted to the CPO one. After I took a close inspection of it, that LS had been through what looked like EVERY body panel as taken off and put back on poorly. Everything wasn't aligned and even one of the taillights were so loose I could put my pinky BEHIND it. The stupid salesman even tried to lie to me: "No no, it hasn't been painted..." and then I asked for the manager and the manager was like "Oh... well.. yeah... we took off the bumpers to get them repainted because they were scratched up." Which I understand is very common for dealers to do, but for them to lie even made things more fishy.
Right next to it was an non-cpo'd LS that was perfect except that it had a little paint chip on the bumper. My parents ended up buying that one and we've had absolutely no problems.
Lesson learned... thoroughly check the car, get a carfax report, and have the dealer in WRITING guarantee the car hasn't had any body work/accidents, or whatever. They're just trying to get that paycheck, guys. They rarely give a crap about you, even if it's Lexus. You have to protect yourself.
Whenever my parents were buying a used LS460, they were immediately attracted to the CPO one. After I took a close inspection of it, that LS had been through what looked like EVERY body panel as taken off and put back on poorly. Everything wasn't aligned and even one of the taillights were so loose I could put my pinky BEHIND it. The stupid salesman even tried to lie to me: "No no, it hasn't been painted..." and then I asked for the manager and the manager was like "Oh... well.. yeah... we took off the bumpers to get them repainted because they were scratched up." Which I understand is very common for dealers to do, but for them to lie even made things more fishy.
Right next to it was an non-cpo'd LS that was perfect except that it had a little paint chip on the bumper. My parents ended up buying that one and we've had absolutely no problems.
Lesson learned... thoroughly check the car, get a carfax report, and have the dealer in WRITING guarantee the car hasn't had any body work/accidents, or whatever. They're just trying to get that paycheck, guys. They rarely give a crap about you, even if it's Lexus. You have to protect yourself.
06-26-10, 10:33 PM
#27
Lexus Champion
Agree with what others have said .... you should have done due diligence BEFORE you bought the car. But not every car that has been in an accident shows up on CARFAX. I had a Subaru WRX that had been in an accident and when I eventually sold it there was no sign of it in the CF system. People tend to over rely on the Carfax. It does not relieve the potential buyer from doing his own due diligence.
No knock on your Brother in Law, but anyone who owns a body shop for a living should have been able to tell if it had had some work done on it.
No knock on your Brother in Law, but anyone who owns a body shop for a living should have been able to tell if it had had some work done on it.
06-29-10, 02:12 PM
#28
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LOTS more comments then I expected, so I'll try to respond to as many of them as I can:
-I wanted to buy CPO, but the dealers around here were asking 28-30k last summer for a 2006 350 with the Levinson + Nav. I picked mine up for $24,900... I agee with other posters, CPO doesn't guarantee you anything other then that it passed through the "rigorous xyz point inspection" that Lexus requires.
-Carfax... Yeah, good idea, but it wouldn't have shown, this showed on AutoCheck. Lesson learned, ALWAYS ask for both. CarFax on my car still shows eligible for "Guarantee".
-Title - It's clean.
-Tire Wear - surprised that I didn't see it, yeah me too, but I always look at the outside of my tires and the treadwear. The only way to see the inner part is to turn the wheels all the way in or out. After this experience, I'm going to make it a habit to check that every 3 months just to be "Safe".
Few other things:
-When I (and my brother in law) inspected the car prior to purchase, we checked the VIN number on the hood and the doors and other areas of the car - they matched.. So at least I know the accident wasn't major enough to require replacing those parts.
-There are plenty of people with "buddies" or family members who own body shops. It's very possible for someone to wreck a car, and have their "Friend" fix it for them on the cheap, and then never report it to anyone, so therefore it will never show up on Carfax, Autocheck, or any other reports.
So how did this turn out for me?
I confronted the dealer. He denied it of course. I held my ground. He offered to do "Whatever it takes to make it right"... At first, we were looking at exchanging it for another car on his lot, but he didn't have any 350's with Levinson and Nav. He told me he's been having a difficult time getting the 350's with Levinson & Nav lately... The other challenge with an exchange would be getting bank approval for a new deal and hoping that I can still get the same 6.9% interest rate I have now... So, that left us with option B:
-He replaced my front tires with new ones (Hankook)
-He took it to a professional alignment shop and had the front end aligned - the toe was 1/8... They said they don't like to see it be any more then 1/16. They fixed it.
-He gave me an oil change and changed all the filters (cabin & air filters)
-Wrote me a check for $500
-Set up an apointment with the bumper doctor to fix some scratches I made in the bumper.
In the end, that was probably a whole lot less hastle for him then a lawsuit, and the reputation of his business (not to mention a bad review on Yelp, a BBB complaint, and a complaint with the auto dealers association) which would have been very bad for his business.
For me, could I have prevailed in court? That depends on what a subpoena of his purchase records from the auction house turned up and what other evidence could have been collected by a lawsuit...
So, in the end, I am a happy customer again. In addition, he did admit to me that about 6 months ago he signed up for Carfax, and he provides a link to the Carfax for every car on his lot on his web site... So maybe I'm not the only customer who had a problem like this.
Anyway, lessons learned... Always get BOTH Carfax, and Autocheck. ASK the dealer in writing for a history of the vehicle. It also doesn't hurt to get the service history from Lexus' web site (https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/home.do) or ask your local dealer to pull the history.... And last but not least, you can always by most state laws, take the vehicle to an auto body shop and a mechanic and have it inspected before you agree to purchase the vehicle.
-I wanted to buy CPO, but the dealers around here were asking 28-30k last summer for a 2006 350 with the Levinson + Nav. I picked mine up for $24,900... I agee with other posters, CPO doesn't guarantee you anything other then that it passed through the "rigorous xyz point inspection" that Lexus requires.
-Carfax... Yeah, good idea, but it wouldn't have shown, this showed on AutoCheck. Lesson learned, ALWAYS ask for both. CarFax on my car still shows eligible for "Guarantee".
-Title - It's clean.
-Tire Wear - surprised that I didn't see it, yeah me too, but I always look at the outside of my tires and the treadwear. The only way to see the inner part is to turn the wheels all the way in or out. After this experience, I'm going to make it a habit to check that every 3 months just to be "Safe".
Few other things:
-When I (and my brother in law) inspected the car prior to purchase, we checked the VIN number on the hood and the doors and other areas of the car - they matched.. So at least I know the accident wasn't major enough to require replacing those parts.
-There are plenty of people with "buddies" or family members who own body shops. It's very possible for someone to wreck a car, and have their "Friend" fix it for them on the cheap, and then never report it to anyone, so therefore it will never show up on Carfax, Autocheck, or any other reports.
So how did this turn out for me?
I confronted the dealer. He denied it of course. I held my ground. He offered to do "Whatever it takes to make it right"... At first, we were looking at exchanging it for another car on his lot, but he didn't have any 350's with Levinson and Nav. He told me he's been having a difficult time getting the 350's with Levinson & Nav lately... The other challenge with an exchange would be getting bank approval for a new deal and hoping that I can still get the same 6.9% interest rate I have now... So, that left us with option B:
-He replaced my front tires with new ones (Hankook)
-He took it to a professional alignment shop and had the front end aligned - the toe was 1/8... They said they don't like to see it be any more then 1/16. They fixed it.
-He gave me an oil change and changed all the filters (cabin & air filters)
-Wrote me a check for $500
-Set up an apointment with the bumper doctor to fix some scratches I made in the bumper.
In the end, that was probably a whole lot less hastle for him then a lawsuit, and the reputation of his business (not to mention a bad review on Yelp, a BBB complaint, and a complaint with the auto dealers association) which would have been very bad for his business.
For me, could I have prevailed in court? That depends on what a subpoena of his purchase records from the auction house turned up and what other evidence could have been collected by a lawsuit...
So, in the end, I am a happy customer again. In addition, he did admit to me that about 6 months ago he signed up for Carfax, and he provides a link to the Carfax for every car on his lot on his web site... So maybe I'm not the only customer who had a problem like this.
Anyway, lessons learned... Always get BOTH Carfax, and Autocheck. ASK the dealer in writing for a history of the vehicle. It also doesn't hurt to get the service history from Lexus' web site (https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/home.do) or ask your local dealer to pull the history.... And last but not least, you can always by most state laws, take the vehicle to an auto body shop and a mechanic and have it inspected before you agree to purchase the vehicle.
06-29-10, 02:15 PM
#29
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Agree with what others have said .... you should have done due diligence BEFORE you bought the car. But not every car that has been in an accident shows up on CARFAX. I had a Subaru WRX that had been in an accident and when I eventually sold it there was no sign of it in the CF system. People tend to over rely on the Carfax. It does not relieve the potential buyer from doing his own due diligence.
No knock on your Brother in Law, but anyone who owns a body shop for a living should have been able to tell if it had had some work done on it.
No knock on your Brother in Law, but anyone who owns a body shop for a living should have been able to tell if it had had some work done on it.
06-29-10, 02:49 PM
#30
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my wifes 08 with 30k miles still has all those stickers and such with similar markings. She also had similar tire wear at 18K miles on the stock bridgstones. The local lexus dealer told me it was normal on the IS platform. I put Goodyear GT2's on it and had it aligned and no problems since. We bought thee car with 7 miles by the way. Also...I had a 3000GT that a carfax listed as unibody damage in one accident and it ended up being the sunroof panel.....it was repainted...thats it. Carfax sux imo