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EDIT: Update in the comments but long story short, working with Lexus corporate to get out the car now.
What's going on guys. I've been a member to this site for a bit but for some reason cant log into my old account. Whatever, not important really. I just need to vent abit.
I recently purchased a 2016 is300 f sport awd from lexus of Brooklyn on June 28th. It was SUPPOSEDLY L-certifed, 1 lease owner before me, 38000 miles. The car had some "tasteful" mods done to it by the previous owner, such as a butcher spray tint job on the taillights, front grill paint that was chipped and bubbling all over, gold calipers upfront and blue in the rear, and 1 fender F emblem painted gold, the other side left alone.... yeah, but I looked past it cause it was the model I wanted in the color combo I wanted as well (white with red interior) I'm also a pretty handy person as well so I can easily change up these things right? The interior was also pretty filthy when you looked deep into it, idk who had this before but dude definitely didnt believe in cleaning his car. And that right there should have been my 1st warning sign.
When I 1st road tested the vehicle I noticed a slight odor, but I chalked it up to being dirty and in desperate need of a cleaning. Spoke with the salesmen, liked the car and the numbers thrown at me so I purchased it. That day after parking it I noticed the smell got worse, and as the week went by it got progressively worse even after deodorizing it and constant frebreezing. Last friday I couldn't take it no more so I took it to the dealership my father works at and that's when we noticed the floorboards were wet in the drivers front and rear. As well, in the trunk the plugs were removed to allow water to drain out. The carpet as well as the insulation underneath had started developing mold. Obviously outraged I called lexus of Brooklyn and got no help, they kept hanging up and sending me to voicemail.
After calling corporate I the took it to lexus of Brooklyn the next day for them to service this, and to be fair they did take it in and put me in a loaner free of charge. Apologized and told me they would be taking care of it, as it's only been a week at this point of me owning the car. I get a call from them yesterday telling me the cars ready come get it, which to me is old. It's only been about 2 days, what could they possibly done in 2 days, including the fact it was a weekend when I dropped it off. But whatever I went and met with them. They told me it was the sunroof lines that were clogged and that they cleared them out, I shouldn't have any more issues. Also they took the car for a detail. When I got to my vehicle though, 1st thing I did was pop the trunk to put my bags in and the smell hit me right in the face instantly. So I go to check the drivers floor and yupp, still wet, still had the mold spot, and still stunk. They didn't do a damn thing about the interior. After confronting them about it they told me they hadn't done anything about the interior as when they checked it there was no water on the floorboards. No ****, the water had been absorbed into the carpet and the insulation, are you kidding me? The salesmen who sold me the car then tells me they cant replace the carpet and they would take it in for a few more days to dry. After going back and forth with the salesmen and the service writer they agreed to take the car and inspect it.
I've called corporate again, and now have 2 case numbers with them. They told me to wait to get the car back and if I have the same issue then we will escalate it with a case manager. I've also tweeted directly at lexus and they are calling the dealership to see what's going on. I'm beyond disgusted and frustrated with how they are handling this. I haven't owned the car for more then a week. This is supposed to be a L-certified vehicle, if I wanted a hoopty I would have purchased a is300 from any shady street dealership. Apparently L-certification dont mean anything though. And I feel like this dealership is giving me the run around on trying to replace this carpet and the insulation. The car didnt just start taking in water, this has been a ongoing issue from before I purchased the vehicle. The car was sitting in the lot atleast a month before I purchased it, someone had to notice that smell. Plus they removed the plugs in the trunk to drain out the water in it! As a technician myself, How this passed any type of certification is beyond me, and the fact this dealership is doing nothing to correct the situation, is baffling.
This car should have never been sold in this condition. I'll even take some fault in I should have known better when I 1st seen the condition of the interior and the smell, but honestly I was inlove with the car. This is one of the 1st purchases I've ever made in my life, and I feel like I got taken for as a sucker. And even now I feel like they giving me the run around and tryna get out of this anyway they can. I really do love the car, I even purchased foglights and a lip, and the vent shades for the vehicle that I have yet to install as it's been in the dealership. I planned to do even more mods to the car but truly, I'm disgusted by it and the experience I've had with the car and especially lexus of Brooklyn. If any of you members live in nyc and are looking at a vehicle, DO NOT GET A VEHICLE FROM LEXUS OF BROOKLYN!!! Especially their "L-certifed" pre owned vehicles, you would have a better chance off craigslist.
I'm sorry for the long rant and the bad formatting, I'm on mobile and any punctuation or spelling errors, I just needed to get this off my chest. I've been trying deal with this as civil and calm as I can be but it's becoming a huge burden to me and I'm starting to lose patience really quick. Thanks to all that read, and good luck to you guys if you ever run into any issues. I hope you domy, but should you I hope your dealer takes better care of you guys.
TLDR: **** LEXUS OF BROOKLYN.
Last edited by JayRoman46; 07-11-19 at 01:37 PM.
Reason: Updating with new info
Sorry to hear your bad experience with the car. My significant other just purchased a 2016 IS300 F Sport from Lexus of Queens with a CPO. We actually took a ride to Lexus of Brooklyn last month to take a look at the 4 (four!) white on red IS300's they were selling. I recall the exact IS you purchased (the gold F sport badge on the passenger side and the black wrap on the grill) but not sure if I can confirm the smell. One of the four IS's was a smokers car but I can't pinpoint the water/mold smell. We did not like any of the 4 that were there so we passed on them. Best of luck with your situation and I hope they treat you right.
Sorry to hear your bad experience with the car. My significant other just purchased a 2016 IS300 F Sport from Lexus of Queens with a CPO. We actually took a ride to Lexus of Brooklyn last month to take a look at the 4 (four!) white on red IS300's they were selling. I recall the exact IS you purchased (the gold F sport badge on the passenger side and the black wrap on the grill) but not sure if I can confirm the smell. One of the four IS's was a smokers car but I can't pinpoint the water/mold smell. We did not like any of the 4 that were there so we passed on them. Best of luck with your situation and I hope they treat you right.
Yeah that's the exact car I purchased lol. I looked past those things as they are minor and easily reversible. As for the smell when I went to pick the vehicle up It wasn't as noticeable because they already had the car upfront by the door windows down ready for me to take. It's been a headache to say the least. Thanks for the kind words and I hope so as well, if not I'm getting Corporate even more involved and whoever's else I can to get something done. I haven't made a payment on this car yet, shouldn't have to deal with this type of nonsense. Good luck with your car!
Can you take it to another Lexus dealership to get their own opinion?
That's definitely an option. They still have the vehicle right now though. I was trying to get it done through them as they are the dealership I purchased from and the time frame being less than 2 weeks, but depending on the outcome when I get my vehicle back I may have to take it elsewhere. Also depends on what lexus corporate wants to do as well. If it ends up them doing nothing for me then I will take care of it myself, I'm more then capable of removing the carpet and cleaning it and replacing the insulation. The point is I shouldn't HAVE to on a cpo car I just purchased.
Wow. How was this car a CPO with those mods and in this condition? hopefully corporate will make it right. good luck
I've heard that a from a few people. Apparently they were supposed to return everything to oem condition before selling as a cpo, but as PJSnow said in the other post they went as saw this car and the others they had on the lot and one was a smokers car, so these people obviously skipping on inspecting these vehicles. Scares me to think what else they may have looked past. Thank you though for the luck
A modder was tweaking that car probably. I bet metal is twisted, drilled, things sideways stickered, hard parking and pimping in the lot, slammed, showing off, bolts tweaked, things undone, etc. This is why RUN whenever you see poor taste mods done cause you know someone butchered it to high hell. Did you ever find out whats causing the leaks in the trunk?
A modder was tweaking that car probably. I bet metal is twisted, drilled, things sideways stickered, hard parking and pimping in the lot, slammed, showing off, bolts tweaked, things undone, etc. This is why RUN whenever you see poor taste mods done cause you know someone butchered it to high hell. Did you ever find out whats causing the leaks in the trunk?
Lmao I can only imagine. I did get it up on the lift at my dads shop and took a good look under it, and luckily there was no damage or anything like that. The worst of it was they had a lip previously installed I'm guessing and they used 3" wood screws to hold it in. I know cause I found 2 of them still attached. Also they changed the rear reflectors to the ones that light with turn and brakes. Haven't looked at the wiring for that yet but I plan on replacing them cause some of the LEDs are dead, probably go back to stock with it. Like I said before the mods didnt bother me much, I'm a technician by trade and I've got no problem replacing and fixing the things I don't like and i plan on doing some mods to make it my own, once I get past this issue.
As for the water it was due to the sunroof drains being clogged up. I'm not sure where the rear drain is on the vehicle but that's what they said they found, if it runs down the c pillar then that would make sense to me how it got in the trunk. Theres definitely no body damage though as we checked it thoroughly when we had it in the air and ripped apart the trunk panels to see if anything was bent or repaired.
As for the water it was due to the sunroof drains being clogged up. I'm not sure where the rear drain is on the vehicle but that's what they said they found, if it runs down the c pillar then that would make sense to me how it got in the trunk. Theres definitely no body damage though as we checked it thoroughly when we had it in the air and ripped apart the trunk panels to see if anything was bent or repaired.
Hey at least the stereo still works. Those drains clogged on my Z4 and water got into the rear battery well and shorted out the amp. Fortunately got a comprehensive claim for it and no speakers blew but still wasn't cheap.
Hey at least the stereo still works. Those drains clogged on my Z4 and water got into the rear battery well and shorted out the amp. Fortunately got a comprehensive claim for it and no speakers blew but still wasn't cheap.
Yeah luckily it was all on the drivers side. I checked the amp for any signs of water or corrosion and luckily it was all good. I can imagine that repair still cost a pretty penny.
I believe on the 3IS there is a drain at every corner of the sunroof assembly...so the tubes run down the A pillars and C pillars.
Once they clog and the water backs up the water will go where it wants to go.
Those LED reflectors are probably the iJDM ones which are notorious for LED's going dead...usually after the first year of being installed.
Hopefully everything that can be reasonably replaced is replaced...or the smell will still be there, maybe to a lesser degree.
New carpet, insulation and foam would be nice...then just clean everything else.
I believe on the 3IS there is a drain at every corner of the sunroof assembly...so the tubes run down the A pillars and C pillars.
Once they clog and the water backs up the water will go where it wants to go.
Those LED reflectors are probably the iJDM ones which are notorious for LED's going dead...usually after the first year of being installed.
Hopefully everything that can be reasonably replaced is replaced...or the smell will still be there, maybe to a lesser degree.
New carpet, insulation and foam would be nice...then just clean everything else.
That's my biggest concern. They are trying to get around replacing the carpet and insulation. If it was just wet it would be one thing take it out dry and clean but the carpet had developed mold already. It needs replacing. If it was something that happened later on in my possession and they were going to charge I GUARANTEE they would be wanting to replace the whole interior. Unfortunately I haven't had it 2 weeks, this is a issue they known about, so they need to get this right. As for the reflectors, I'm going to go to stock with those, but that makes me slightly wary of the foglights I ordered I got the iJDM fogs. Hopefully they last.
My G37S had this same exact problem and it was a common issue with them. It drove me NUTS. I had to go to hell and back to fix it because just forcing air down the drain didn’t help. I had to remove the trim to access the hose then I had to replace the actual nipple piece at the end of the tubing that went into the firewall. It was not fun at all. So much water was getting into the passenger side floor when it rained. When I did fixed it, it was a HUGE relief. Best of luck to you.
07-09-19, 05:30 AM
Can I vent for a sec?
