CJITTY

Hello Everyone,

You may recall my hunt this summer for a fully loaded LS460-L and I ultimately ended up going with an LS600hL because you only live once right? I wanted to share my purchase experience with you all and provide some things to keep in mind when buying a CPO LS..especially if you are traveling out of state to purchase it.

After about 40 days or so, I finally closed a deal on a LS600hL at an out of state dealership after several email exchanges. After getting a signed purchase agreement contingent upon physical inspection, we booked two one way tickets and flew to the dealer from GA. They also came down on the price to cover the tickets by the way, but there was room to move I'm sure, but either way it was a nice gesture after negoitiations were done.

Tip #1 (especially if out of state purchase) - Make sure you take the vehicle out for a test drive long enough to test every single button and feature the car has as possible. If it takes 30 miles, so be it.

I forgot to test the cruise control, kind of a big deal when I have to drive back 600 miles FTL. Well, the radar cruise had an issue as I found out about 1.5 hours into my trip when the road was clear enough for me to use it. So, no cruise on the drive home since the system would not allow it to engage until a "brake switch" part was fixed. Then, once I had to crank down the temperature on the AC, the fan has to blow harder. Well, turns out some leaves had fallen down into the motor area behind the dash causing a vibration noise..making the fan sound louder than normal. I also realized one of the folding mirrors was out of spec, like most are at 4 years old. The motor basically allows the mirror to turn in and rest on the front door glass. Didn't notice that right away either, that also needed to be replaced. I did see the CPO checklist from the technician, but the systems both checked out to be ok, but I wonder just how thorough they go through every single feature. In these days of company affordibility, I bet it comes down to fixing the obvious and allow the customer to bring up issues as they are discovered.

So, I went to the dealership here locally to get those resolved and I got my next surprise...

Tip #2 - Prior to leaving the dealership, make sure the vehicle VIN has been uploaded into the CPO national database as a CPO vehicle!!!

Turns out, my local dealer back home could not do CPO warranty work because the car was not showing up in the database. They didn't want to take the risk on working on it until that got cleared up. So, after a week or more, the selling dealership finally fixed that glitch and I had all those issues cleared up under warranty. I was charged 1/2 hour labor to get the leaves and stuff out of that motor area. BUT, the original dealership did send me a reimbursement check, so good on them for that...it was about $65 or something.

So, after all of that and the car having all the minor issues worked out, I got my next surprise....

Tip #3 Make sure that you check the front cover of your CPO warranty welcome packet and booklet carefully for warranty terms when it arrives in the mail (4 weeks or less after purchase)

Turns out, the dealership uploaded the wrong warranty plan and indicated my CPO as 5yr/100K instead of 5yr/125K....so, I called the original dealership again and they said they would take care of it in about a week or two it should be fixed. I gave them more than 8 weeks to resolve. I called Lexus Financial and they told me nothing had been changed...so, I respectfully vented my frustration to this poor guy who made it his mission to get this fixed once and for all. He called the dealership to verify the information, then in the same day canx my old CPO plan and reisssued another one showing the correct warranty terms. I did apologize to him and ensured him I was not mad at him, just frustrated.

So, after this was all said and done, everything is all good now. This was my first experience buying a CPO Lexus and first time actually buying from a Lexus dealership. I explained to Lexus Corporate about my situation and they did make it right, that is all I will say, so I have no complaints at this point and I am 100% satisfied. But, I wanted to provide these three items to create awareness for future CPO buyers that sometimes even the most basic things may not seem to "flow" as one would expect.

I'm sure people have much worse stories than mine, but these type of things are important to keep in mind.

RandyV

I imagine it takes alot more than 30 miles to check every feature on a LS600hL.

CJITTY

No kidding lol. But..take the time to literally mess with everything. I was kind of in a rush to get back down south because of my work schedule. .but if I do an out of state purchase again, I will literally push every button and test everything including the aux input connector lol..

thegov3

I couldn’t agree more with the out of town buyer advice. I bought out of state too and just didn’t drive the car long enough to check out all the issues. I short circuited the process due to the fact my car was still under factory warranty and I figured I would get any of the issues resolved at my home dealer. Not smart. I should have driven it more to catch the failing struts and have them fix a slight vibration at highway speeds that only got worse at 75+ MPH. I only drove it up to 55 MPH on the interstate. The vibration drove me nuts on the way home. I should have just had them rebalance the tires. But I was in a hurry to get on the road and drive 11 hours home.

But….for all the trouble, I got the extract exterior and interior color I wanted, the options I wanted, for a price that was around $9K less than I could buy a similar car in my hometown. Sadly, I live in a one Lexus dealer only city. Monopolexus…as I call it. I saved enough cash that I can drive the LS for a year and still trade it in locally and be out little or nothing. I may even make some dough. May. Well worth it.

LXurious

Whether in state or out of state all CPO's will have some thing you wont found out until later. But great write up glad everything worked out and we got another 600 member.

CJITTY

True that..this started in Aug when I bought it and everything was resolved as of late last week..

Nick2JZ

good read CJITTY! I bought my latest LS three months ago from a Lexus dealer out of state, and i still couldn't register my car as of yet. They said the original Title was lost so now they have to apply for a duplicate Title..................... i am starting to run out of patience and want to go see my lawyer.

hfahmy

So, I am resurrecting this thread to tell y'all about my experience buying certified 2008 LS600.

Background: I come across this brand new condition 2008 LS600 with 25k miles from private owner. I decide to buy it but after inspection at the dealer. I get a tip from sktn77a to ask for platinum warranty from the dealer finance manager. I take the car there, while going through the inspection I ask the dealer about lexus warranty, they say it is not available for this car because of the age, only CPO if we own it. They suggest that instead of buying the car from the private owner, ask him to sell to dealer, they certify it sell back to me at about $3100 charge to get 3years/100k miles. Out of the box deal, so I agree after confirming that the least expensive aftermarket warranty is $2600.

Now to the experience part, i will tell you up front it ain't pleasant....

1. Start with witnessing an argument between the CPO manager and finance guy who struck the deal with me about the tires that barely met Lexus spec, CPO manger saying he will not certify and finance manager saying suck it up, as long as it meets Lexus requirements

2. After two days of being lost in the middle, they override the CPO manager and sell me the car certified

3. After buying the car, I discover that the tires on the car are the factory ones that are more than 6-years old , according to the NHTSA tires that are older than 6 years need to be changed..

4. I go back to the dealer and of course they reject to change the tires, saying that I brought them the car they did not find it for me... I complain to Lexus and they decide to cover 50% after numerous calls and emails

5. For two weeks, dealer sends nothing to lexus about the certification, had to chase the finance manager, CPO manager, sales guy and finally people in accounting to enter the certification info in the CPO database

So, bottom-line: it is really painful to think out the box in this CPO process. Never again!!!

flsc300

I got a warranty on my ls460l for 1600$ from my credit union and they have already spent 8 grand on misc stuff from my car and with no problems just call them they send payment to dealer or send an inspector out if a large repair. Route 66 and ASC are two insurance that I had before on my cars none was 2600. Shop around a little and you could have gotten a better deal. Being that Lexus inspected the vehicle they will try to say all your problems were pre existing. But hope Lexus stands by their end of the deal.




QUOTE=hfahmy;8514099]So, I am resurrecting this thread to tell y'all about my experience buying certified 2008 LS600.

Background: I come across this brand new condition 2008 LS600 with 25k miles from private owner. I decide to buy it but after inspection at the dealer. I get a tip from sktn77a to ask for platinum warranty from the dealer finance manager. I take the car there, while going through the inspection I ask the dealer about lexus warranty, they say it is not available for this car because of the age, only CPO if we own it. They suggest that instead of buying the car from the private owner, ask him to sell to dealer, they certify it sell back to me at about $3100 charge to get 3years/100k miles. Out of the box deal, so I agree after confirming that the least expensive aftermarket warranty is $2600.

Now to the experience part, i will tell you up front it ain't pleasant....

1. Start with witnessing an argument between the CPO manager and finance guy who struck the deal with me about the tires that barely met Lexus spec, CPO manger saying he will not certify and finance manager saying suck it up, as long as it meets Lexus requirements

2. After two days of being lost in the middle, they override the CPO manager and sell me the car certified

3. After buying the car, I discover that the tires on the car are the factory ones that are more than 6-years old , according to the NHTSA tires that are older than 6 years need to be changed..

4. I go back to the dealer and of course they reject to change the tires, saying that I brought them the car they did not find it for me... I complain to Lexus and they decide to cover 50% after numerous calls and emails

5. For two weeks, dealer sends nothing to lexus about the certification, had to chase the finance manager, CPO manager, sales guy and finally people in accounting to enter the certification info in the CPO database

So, bottom-line: it is really painful to think out the box in this CPO process. Never again!!![/QUOTE]

hfahmy

Actually, $2600 was Route66 from CU after u add hybrid + enhanced electronics package to cover NAV and ML. Also, it doesn't cover the darn air suspension...

I also had excellent experience with Route66!

slimjimtel

I also purchased my CPO 2010 LS600h from an out of state Lexus dealer (1100 miles away). I bought it sight unseen. The car had 15,500 miles when I received it, there was only one issue that I have found to date. The tires were worn and were the original 4 year old tires. I took pictures of the tires sent them to the dealership and they sent me a check for over 1300.00 for new tires. The tires should not have passed the CPO certification in this condition.

I went over the car as well as I could, then took it to my local Lexus dealer for them to check it out. Since I am a long time customer of theirs, the went completely through the car for no charge.

Several tips before buying long distance...

1. Get the VIN and have it checked through your local dealer, they can give detailed history of the service
2. CarFax is only as good as the shops that report to it.
3. Get a plan for either travel there or shipping and compare the cost. (I chose shipping)
4. Ask them MANY times if the car has been damaged or repainted. Get it in writing if possible.
5. Ask for the CPO checklist
6. Get LOTS of pictures of the car from them.
7. Ask them how many days you have to report anything that may be not working.
8. Most important...build a relationship with the out of state dealership and your local dealership.

I cannot be happier with my 600, it was in amazing condition...except for the tires.

Dx3

iTrader: (13)

I had an ok experience buying my 600 sight unseen from an Audi dealer. It has 93k so couldn't get it CPO'd.

Got the car and there were several problems. Went back and forth with selling dealer about fixing problems. By the end of it I told them they can either fix the problems, send me a check for $xxxx or else get the car out of my damn garage. They chose to send me a check... So now I'm on my own trying to fix everything within the budgeted amount.

irishbrahm

I'm reviving this thread because I want to share my experience.

I purchased an '11 CPO on 19 June. I spent about 1/2 hour with the car before the purchase, including the test drive and time checking out all of the equipment. Unfortunately for me, I missed something -- the soft close on the driver's door. I discovered that it wasn't working about 15 mins. after leaving the dealership. Since I bought the car out of state, taking it back wouldn't work. So I made an appointment with my local Lexus dealership for 29 June.

On 26 June, I called the selling dealership to check to see if my VIN had been uploaded to the CPO database. I was told that there was a delay in processing my paperwork but that the CPO status should show up no later than Tuesday.

So I took the car in to my local Lexus dealership on Mon., 29 June. Later that day my SA told me that it needed a new door lock actuator which would arrive on Wed. No big deal. My CPO status would surely be in the database by that time. Not! On Wed. my SA told me that the part was in but since my VIN wasn't in the CPO database, they couldn't install it because they wanted assurance of payment ($1000 for parts and labor). To make a long story short, there was a lot of back and forth between the selling dealership, my local dealership, and Lexus Corporate (I called them because I was upset). My VIN finally appeared in the CPO database on Thurs. morning and the repair was done at 5 pm that day. Unfortunately for me, I had to cancel a 4th of July vacation and forfeit a $250 prepaid hotel room because my car was unavailable (I was scheduled to depart on my road trip at 4 am on Thurs. morning).

There are 3 things about this saga that aren't sitting well with me:

(1) The selling dealership sold a CPO with a broken door lock actuator. I'm aware of the 161-point CPO inspection. I would have thought that the dealership would have gone through the car with a fine-toothed comb. It seems a bit ridiculous to have to take a CPO car in for repair immediately after the purchase. No one at the selling dealership apologized for this inconvenience.

(2) It shouldn't take so long for a VIN to be entered into the CPO database. Indeed, Lexus Corporate told me that once the VIN is manually entered, it takes 24 hours (an overnight cycle) for it to show up.

(3) It'd be nice to be compensated for my ruined vacation (which I know is not going to happen).

dlbuckls10

Very useful information and tips.

hfahmy

Have you read the CPO trip intruption policy? You might be entitled for compensation for the hotel charge. If not, mentioned to Lexus, you never know.