Hello-
After slugging it out these past six years with a Subaru Outback, I’m taking the dive and buying a 2015 Lexus NX. She’s got 62,000 miles. One owner, local to my state of NC. Found from calling Lexus dealer with car recently traded in and not yet listed nor put on the lot so good timing. They go quickly here in this condition and price range.
Having scorch marks from being burnt from Subaru dealer where my third party extended warranty was useless due to a “ pre- existing” electrical harness issue that was neither listed on car fax or , surprise, surprise, revealed by dealer.
This Lexus is sold “as is” and I’ve spoken at length with sales manager on the Lexus service history. He is quite approachable and dealership has replaced with new tires, brake pads, sparks in prep for sale. Bubbling on nav screen was serviced. Drives mighty fine.
My question , finally! - Is a third party warranty a good idea here? Dealership is reputable but they are still salespeople and they know demand is high for these cars so any advice before I sign on the dotted line is appreciated. 🙏

 

I wrote below on your original post on Car Chat, so posting my response again here:


Hello @Virgie and welcome to the forum‼️ That’s amazing you found a 10yr old NX with such low mileage 👍

Your post should probably be in 1st Gen NX forum and maybe the moderators will move this there.

Is the dealer offering you the NX as CPO? Since the NX you’re considering is 10 yrs old, I don’t believe there’ll be an extended warranty offered beyond 10 yrs. At least I’ve not seen one. Have you checked the maintenance history? If previous owner did regular OCIs and kept up on the service intervals with no issues, that should give you peace of mind that this car “should” be solid. And if dealer is offering the NX as CPO, they should have made sure maintenance and service needed is done before selling it. Hopefully, you can get it at a good price

Can I ask what the price is and color combo?

From my experience we bought a 2020 NX Luxury with 26,757 miles last Oct and they only offered us to extend the warranty to 10 yrs or 100k miles, whichever came first. We don’t expect to put 100k miles on it as we only have 32k miles on it now, so it’ll be 10 yrs for us to be covered under extended warranty.

I hope this helps — Good luck with whatever you decide to do.


EDIT: I added some more thoughts to your second post below

I see you’ve spoken with dealer about maintenance history already and I didn’t know they were offering third party warranty.

Personally, I’d try to save and put aside the cost of the third party maintenance warranty for any future service needed as I’m not sure if you’d get some of the same treatment as you did with the Subaru dealer you dealt with, if you got the 3rd party warranty. But that’s me.

The NX we bought was 4-5 yrs old and we got the extended warranty for peace of mind.

Because the NX your considering is 10 yrs old, with such low mileage, and will be serviced before you drive off the lot, I, personally, wouldn’t get it. Not sure what they’re charging for the warranty and what exactly it covers, or if you plan to put a lot of miles in the near future on the NX — these are factors I’d also consider when making a decision.

 

A third-party warranty is likely unnecessary for a well-maintained Lexus with 62k miles they’re built to last. Save the money, skip the warranty, and just keep up with regular maintenance. If you’re still worried, get a pre-purchase inspection by an independent mechanic for peace of mind. Enjoy the NX it’s a solid upgrade from the Outback.

 

Hi RofH
Thank you for your welcoming words and informative reply.
I did end up adding an engine/ powertrain 3 year warranty to the sale. It cost me 2,400 as sales guy gave me the “ friend and family “ rate. Hendrick dealer is a reputable dealership here in NC and I felt a need to cover engine as I know that can add up quickly. I can use any certified mechanic so I do not have to return to them for repair. Road side emergency service also included. That and I did get an interior/ exterior damage repair add on just in case of stains, scratches, tears, etc. Perhaps I didn’t need it but the interior is cream colored with mica blue exterior and I’d like to keep it looking good.
They put all new brake pads, rotated rotors, new tires with alignment, new sparks, the usual wiper blade replacements and oil change, and a nav screen repair to get bubbles out…hopefully a solid start. Due to the low mileage and good condition, no wiggle room on car price at 23,999. Add on of 3,400 for those two warranties. Hopefully, I didn’t get soaked. Had to act quickly and at this price range and condition, things get gone. Oh yeah… he gave me a nice Lexus back pack with accessories usually reserved for new model buyers. So now I’m stylin 😆 ⭐️ 🏁

 

Well, Congrats are in order on your new-to-you Lexus and a proper Welcome to the 1st Gen forum

For peace of mind alone is why we also got the extended bumper to bumper and all electrical warranty. We've since found out that it doesn't include headlights (not the bulb but assembly) as I had a question with a little condensation inside of passenger headlight. I can't remember why he said this wasn't covered, but the condensation quickly resolved and hasn't been a problem since.

I don't think I've ever seen the Meteor Blue Mica color in person, so good on you for getting a rarer color.

Usually the 1st MY of a new model has lots of kinks to work out, but the 2015 has proven itself to be a solid first model year for the NX.

Even though you didn't get many responses to your initial posts, I have found this forum to be a wealth of knowledge that has helped me so much and where I've learned all about my NX. @LexMan2003 was one of the first members to help me and I so appreciated his experience/wisdom.

Here's to many more miles and good health for you and your NX

 

Well, thank you for your compliment, @RofH !!! You made my day. After all these years of posting, on this forum and previously on Toyota, it's nice to get my second REALLY valuable feedback !

Someone else asked about 3rd party warranties, in this forum, so I'll try not to repeat myself and keep it short!

When I purchased my CPO 2020, the vehicle had a measly 1,300 miles on it. Bottom line is I got a TERRIFIC deal on it. But that's another story.

Originally, the vehicle was NOT listed as a CPO, because the dealership probably felt that no one would want to pay extra for it, since the car was practically new. But when I negotiated for it, I decided to purchase the CPO warranty. YES, if the car qualifies, the Lexus dealer CAN "certify" it, and add that to the price. I ended up paying roughly half of the full retail cost of the certification. I know quite a bit about cars, and how to help them last. I do most of the maintenance myself, and if I need to have someone else do it, it's either because I don't have the specific tools or knowhow. But I will research thoroughly WHO I am going to trust my car to for repair, and try to ensure as best I can that the job gets done RIGHT.

Ok, enough rambling. So WHY then, did I want to purchase the CPO. Simply because I expected I would keep the NX for a bunch of years, and I was ONLY concerned about all the new gizmos/electronics failing. Also, I never had a Turbo engine before. Knowing how expensive the gizmo repairs could be, I decided to opt for the CPO.

HOWEVER...unfortunately, I discovered LATE into the time I owned it that I miscalculated the value of the warranty (for ME).

The text of my L/Certified read "Warranty is valid for a minimum of two years/unlimited mileage after the expiration of 4-year/50,000-mile new-vehicle Basic Warranty, or two years from your L/Certified purchase or lease date, whichever occurs later. Mileage is unlimited."

My original thinking was:BAD LOGIC on my part. The OEM warranty expired EITHER 4 years from purchase date OR when I hit 50k miles. I do a LOT of driving, so I actually hit that mark a tad over 2 years of ownership. So the CPO kicked in at the 2 year mark, instead of the <4 that I had anticipated.

I'm very analytical and good in math and logic. I have only myself to blame for misunderstanding this. Had I interpreted it correctly, I probably would have NOT opted for the CPO. Oh well. The best insurance you can buy is the one you'll never NEED!

Good luck with your NX !!!

 

No worries, and I'm surprised it's only the SECOND valuable feedback you've gotten as I'm sure you've been as helpful to others as you've been to me.

Now that I've been in the forum for a minute, I can see where Noobs come in with very limited knowledge asking the same things over and over and one can get tired answering over and over. I was and still consider myself a Newbie but I try to give them thread links and sources to questions already answered -- if I can find them, but sometimes I can't so just answer as best I can with topics I'm comfortable answering.

Forgot to mention the extended bumper to bumper warranty with electrical that we got, was on top of the 5 yr dealership one, and it's extended to 10 yrs or 100k miles, whichever comes first. Since we bought the NX with 26k miles and are now at almost 34k miles, I don't expect to get to 100k miles before the 10 yrs, so it's 10 yrs for us. Since we bought from a Toyota dealership, it's a Toyota/Lexus extended warranty so no third party one for us, and I'm thankful for that.

On another note, we just recently purchased an SC430 and LOVE it -- just a weekend cruiser and fun-filled enjoyment for us during the summer. Now, I'm active on that forum as well on CL.

I've got all the stuff for my next oil change for the NX. Just have to buy the oil, which I remember you said you've purchased at Costco and Walmart. I will opt for Costco as I'm NOT a fan of Wallyworld. I believe you said 0-20W Full synthetic oil and I have to look back now and see which brand you buy. Do you gas your NX at Top-tier gas stations or at Chevron to include the Techron in gas?

Thanks again for all your help and sorry to the OP for having hijacked this thread...

 

I buy my Mobil-1 from either COSTCO, BJs, or Walmart. The sale rotates amongst them, and I tend to buy more BEFORE I need it. I always keep 5-15 quarts in my garage so I'm always ready. I buy my OEM filters online, oftentimes from Bell Lexus (I've bought MANY things from there. Great prices, great service/support).

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the SC430. I had one (as a 2nd vehicle) and continued to look for an upgrade, but then ended up giving up the 2-car idea. If you ever have any unusual questions about it, or struggle getting an answer in the SC forum, send me a direct message and I'll see if I can help.