Hi, I have done a few searches in regards to my experience and received some information but just wanted some advice or prior experience. My question, can Lexus certify a damaged car? My wife and I purchased a certified car and had to leave in a rush (and it was pitch black outside) before doing a final inspection and walk through. After we got home, we noticed a huge chunk of glass missing from the driver window, a broken cupholder, a brake light that was out, and a broken light cover. I called the dealer and they seemed shock to have overlooked all this. After a few back and forth conversations, they agreed to replace everything. At the time of the purchase, we noticed the rear bumper seemed to have a gap but the salesman ensured all Lexus are like that and even asked a few coworkers to come out and look. We trusted them so we didn't force the issue. They printed out autocheck and carfax and ensured it had not been in an accident.

The bumper started separating more and more over time until it became extremely obvious. We took it to a Lexus body shop and within 2 seconds the guy preparing the estimate said it is not the original bumper. I signed up on the Lexus Ownerlink a week ago and noticed they cleaned the car and prepped it for auction and four days later certified the car at the dealership. I am guessing nobody bought the car or it never made it to the auction.

Long story short, I found out the car had a loss claim for $4,500 including replacement of rear bumper, side door, front door, outer panel, rear door, moldings, and right quarter panel. I called the dealer from whom I purchased the car and spoke to the GM. He stated he would think that if they knew it was in an accident, they would have disclosed the information. All his responses were vague and general.

Can a car that had this much work done have been certified? Is it possible the dealership techs would have seen this with their eye since they deal with cars on an every day basis? Any course of action I can take? I feel like we got completely ripped off by this dealership. Thanks in advance!

 

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...certified.html

 

Thanks Ryan, I read through the entire thread. Looks like the previous user had a dealer that cared, the GM I spoke to didn't seem to care a bit. I will see what I can do. The guy simply stated they did not know at the time of the sale the car had been wrecked. I don't think there is a way to prove it either. Thanks!

 

Welcome

it’s an unfortunate situation

but I have seen lots of accident cars being CPOd

 

 

 

The other thing is when it comes to certification
the Service department is the only part of the dealership that can submit a vehicle to be L Certified
what i mean by this is when the Sale Department takes a car in on trade they have run a vin check and a car fax or auto check or the previous owner if honest has told them about accidents when they are asked has the car ever been in a accident sales department already knows that a car has been damaged
before they send it over to Lexus service to be rn through the 161 point inspectoin and i certification the service department has no idea what damage is done to the car they dont run checks on it sales departments pull fast ones all the time and every now and then something passes throught he cracks.
i was told once by a service manager that for every 10 vehicles that get sent in for Certification 70% fail and get refused from certification.

 

http://www.lexus.com/lcertified/certification-warranty

 

Lexus can and does certify damaged vehicles. This just happened to me last week at Lexus of Austin. I purchased a Lexus certified 2015 RX350 with 11K miles that had extensive undisclosed damage.
Unfortunately, I trusted the 161-point Lexus inspection & the very dishonest CPO sales manager, Jon Fitzpatrick, who concealed and misled throughout the process.

A few days after buying the RX350, in the bright sunlight I could see major paint irregularities so I took the car to one of the highest rated body shops in town.
They confirmed that the car had poorly repaired bodywork and paint, and it would cost $7-10K to fix. They were very surprised Lexus of Austin had certified this car.

I was able to get my money and my trade-in back; however, I'm back to square one and I've lost major trust in Lexus.
I contacted the GM, who said he will try to find me a similar vehicle.

15 years ago, I bought a CPO RX at a different dealership, and had a fantastic experience. I went to Lexus of Austin expecting the same, and was extremely disappointed.

 

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the issue you had is not lexus related the issue you had is dealership related
When the Sales Department sends the car to the service department to have it Certified they don't have someone specific from Lexus corporate that comes out and does the inspections
they have a tech that works for them at the dealership go over the vehicle certification then they get the vehicle certified
if the dealership is dishonest about the quality of the vehicle they can get i t certified
its not legit its not Lexus policy to do this but it can be done because no one specific from Lexus checks the car out they just take the word of the dealership.

what i would do if i where you would not just rely on the dealership GM to get this taken care of for your complain however i would contact lexus Corporate customer care and explain what happens give them any proof you have like a estimate for the repairs that the shop you took it to said it would cost to get it fixed and the vin number and and les corporate Know that this dealership is doing this and is not supposed to do this that way someone who is not as smart as you does not get screwed by this dealership.
I bet the dealer put that same car out for sale as a CPO vehicle right after you returned it.

 

I already contacted Lexus Corp and told them the entire story in detail. They spoke to the GM who told them he would "help me find another similar vehicle". That remains to be seen.
These unscrupulous dealers give Lexus a bad name.

It's sad that in order to protect yourself, you have to have an "inspection of the 161-point inspection". Total BS

 

just for the hell of it i was looking at there website it shows that lexus in austin has like 12 RX350 2015 models that are certified CPO i wonder why they have not had luck finding you one

 

I'm looking for a specific color combo, which evidently is hard to find

 

something i have always said when buying a used car its ok to try and look for your color combo sometimes you get lucky but if you are buying a car to have the exact colors you want buy new

with used cars be happy if you can find one color you like externally

 

Oh, my. I am looking for my first Lexus CPO and had complete faith in the "certification" process. I know not to expect perfection from a used car, but I had thought that the Lexus certification process would be enough to make sure I wasn't buying a car with serious flaws.

I hope to be buying a car from a Dallas-area dealer (it was going to be Lexus of Austin, but not after reading cwatx's post) . Does anyone know how to find a mechanic near Sewell or Park Place where I can take the certified car to be evaluated?