Edit: I have passed on this car so my questions below are moot. However if anyone is interested Woodfield Lexus in Schaumberg Illinois has 4 or 5 very similar CPO ones with 2k miles on each roughly. Here is the inspection sheet they sent me showing tire tred depth among other things.



orig post:
The LC I am in process of buying is a 2024, built 12/2023, shipped to the dealer in January 2024. However, it wasnt officially "titled" until November 2025.

VIN: JTHLP5AY6RA109515

So somehow it had ~2200 miles put on it in 18-20 months (assuming it arrived at the original dealer around March/April 2024) without ever being reported/titled by a 1st owner.

The dealership is telling me they purchased it at a Lexus internal auction.

There is no history of a branded title/manufacturer buyback or anything. Just somehow went untitled for 18-20 months. I am assuming it had to be 'titled' by this dealership in order to be deemed Certified Preowned by Lexus.

Any super knowledgeable Lexus faithful here have any ideas how/why this occured?? I dont think it was a press demo, as I've watched nearly every piece of content on them and theyre usually tan, blue/white, and occassionally black/red for the interiors. This one is all black interior on a blue car. Not typical press car material.

It seems likea good thing at 1st glance, nearly 4 years B2B still despite being an early 2024, because the 1st title wasnt issued until last month, plus CPO on top.

Could it be a "captured test fleet" car? I know GM sells CTF corvettes at times...

Just dont want any unwelcome surprises, and hoping it wasnt someone's track day toy that they never registered because they didnt drive it on public roads. Not sure if thats possible though, as I assume dealers still have to report it as sold and title it??

Super confused.

 

Possibly used in the Lexus Performance school? From Indy of this year.

 

HAHAHAHA DAMNNNNNNNN! HE SURE HOPES NOT!!!!

 

No kidding!! But they're telling me its tires are original tires and the interior looks pretty immaculate for a performance school car. I cant imagine it wouldve survived several rounds of being beaten on by "students" if it had been run 2k miles there without noticeable interior defects.

Dealer confirmed in writing that it was not a performance academy car. It was an executive demo unit. I figure the immaculate interior leans toward that vs 30-40 different students putting miles in on a track.

Does lexus even use their own fleet for that? Toyota makes you bring your own car (GR86, supra, etc).

 

Tires are easily changed to “original”. 2k miles on interior shouldn’t have any wear. Should look like new.

I think if the dealer just say upper management drove the vehicle and never registered it, then I might be considering it. An internal Lexus auction sounds like either a press car or performance driving school.

 

easily verifiable by asking the dealer to provide the date code on the tires...

Also, is it being sold as New, Used, or CPO?

 

It's CPO. In-service date is Nov 2025 as mentioned above, so its got nearly all the original B2B on it.

I know GM will NOT do CPO on their Ron Fellows cars. No idea how lexus runs their performance academy.

 

If used in a driving school for 2200 miles on a TRACK, even by amateurs, I have to assume there would be SOME signs of wear. Paint chips on front hood/bumper, interior wear & tear...

The car looks immaculate from photos including close-ups I requested. I'm really hoping it wasnt an academy car... although on the other hand if the engine was run-in "hard", it shiuldnt suffer from burning/"using" oil long-term. A gentle break-in sounds worse in some ways from what I have read.

If it was some dealership owner or executive's "demo" for 18 months without ever being titled/registered, I can live with that given I'm getting almost full factory warranty and CPO on top of that.

I may just be worrying too much. I'm a pessimist by nature.

 

Lexus uses their own cars for the school, I was informed while there that after each year (last year was 4 tracks) the cars are sold as CPO. Except for the drivers seat, not sure what other interior is damaged unless someone chunks lunch (although my helmet did make roof contact).

Per Carfax it looked like the original destination dealer was in Chandler AZ. Maybe give them a call?

https://www.carfax.com/vehiclehistor...CYYYiHVEh3mDiL

 

@Korbek
“although on the other hand if the engine was run-in "hard", it shiuldnt suffer from burning/"using" oil long-term. A gentle break-in sounds worse in some ways from what I have read.”

I really believe that there’s much merit in this idea. They meticulously change the oil with these performance school cars after usage. Furthermore the 2UR-GSE is about as robust and near bulletproof as any V8 engine you’re going to find. An overly babied engine during the break-in process could possibly be the poorer choice.

 

Yeah I tried them, they were no help.

But if the cars are sold after each year, this car shouldve hit the market sooner than now.

At any rate the dealer is giving me hard copy letterhead document in writing that it wasn't a performance school car. He also said he has bought driving academy cars before and the stickers get left on, needing him to remove them, and this car did not.

It's a car salesman though... trust but verify. (Honestly in 99% of cases dont even "trust", get it in writing!)

Rear tire tred depth is 7/32 and front is 6/32. A little low compared to the 9/32 "new" tred level for just 2200 miles. Means it was likely run a little "hard", and/or the Arizona blacktop heat was unkind to the rubber.

Either way I'm moving forward and if a paint meter shows that it has in fact had paint done, or there turn out to be any other cosmetic issues, I should be able to hold the dealer responsible since theyve put all this "no paintwork, no track use, etc" in writing. (Whether going after them would be worth it is a separate issue).

And they are sharing the cost of the enclosed transport from IL to TX with me, so not having brand new tires on it isn't a huge deal. I may put smaller forged wheels and 20" tires on it after a year anyway.

Lexus corporate could not confirm to me where or how the driving school gets its cars. Seems like they sure try to keep that info need-to-know. Would they send them to a dealer in Arizona, and from there to the school? Seems unlikely. I did look at another LC that had "non personal use reported" on its Carfax. That seems like what you would see for a driving school car.

Yeah I'm honestly far less concerned about the engine being run hard than I am about the paint. If the front has any road rash, my PPF wont adhere nicely and will have noticeable imperfections.

I could fly up and inspect the car myself to put my mind at ease on the paint.... but a round trip flight just to look at the paint seems excessive.

 

I went to the Lexus Owners website and obtained the car's history. Not much there, but don't think it was used as a track car by Lexus:



Edit: In looking at the Videos and all the pics, I see no evidence of road rash, the paint looks GREAT - also it's a Bespoke build. Since it's certified, go for it👍🏻

Lou

 

Thanks for that! Yeah I'm sure I'm just overthinking it but 118k after TT&L from out of state without putting my paws on her is a touch pessimism-inducing. Almost 30k more than my 2022 C8 where I got to get into the car before signing. I could fly up but the week between Xmas and New years? Noooo thanks!

Oh, and btw this:

Was pure evil!​​​​​​​

 

Why wouldn't you just hop on a flight this weekend for piece of mind since it seems to be stressing you out? Or next week?

 

This weekend and next week --> too expensive and cant get time off work. (I know I know peace of mind would warrant the $$$, maybe). A forum member said he could go take a look next weekend. And we fly out for Disney on the 20th so end of next week is a no go and I cant take off work new years week.