jsb15

I was looking at a 2017 RX 450H at a Lexus dealer and they were not certifying the car since they were already over-charging for the color combination and thought that the CPO would further price the car too high. I was wondering what the average increased dealer charge was for a CPO car and what the actual dealer cost to Lexus would be on that change?

rxtimes2

Just guessing here, but I bet Lexus has excellent parametric statistics for the cost of the four free services, and the additional two years of warranty. Maybe around 2K.

JSracer

they were already over-charging for the color combination???

one can only imagine what colors that might be

1Louder

Best way to get a feel for that in our market is go on one of the car sites and compare list prices of CPO vs. not. It's imprecise, but gives you a ballpark. I'd agree with rxtimes2, my observation has been ~ 2k.

I'm really not following the logic of the dealership. I don't know what "pricing it too high" means, other than maybe if someone bought it with zero down banks would not support the loan. But that's such an odd corner-condition I can't believe that's the reason, considering if someone were putting some money down the problem goes away and it's a non-issue.

I would take a much harder look at that car, particularly the Car Fax. Maybe they can't CPO it because it's been in an accident or something. There has to be another reason. I've never heard of a dealership saying, "oh no, we can't charge more money for this car". Especially since the CPO comes with tangible benefits.

Seems fishy.

jsb16

The color combo was Caviar/Rioja Red and it was an F-sport hybrid. Two salesmen at my local dealership told me that they did not make F-sport hybrids which I assured them was incorrect. One had to look it up in the brochure to say he was mistaken and the other said that had to be a special order since his dealership had never taken one in on stock. Anyway, the carfax looked good and the car was acquired as a lease turn in by the non-selling dealership by outbidding other Lexus dealers. I can only imagine they overpaid for the car (hence being the winning bidder) and misjudged the market. Based on the 2019 "prices paid" thread I see people getting 14% off MSRP with the incentives on a new purchase so I was looking to get a discount to that on a used purchase. If this color combo is so desirable that it is discounted only 5%, then maybe the dealer's used price was more reasonable. They did specifically tell me that they did not L/Certify to avoid a further price bump. Since this dealership is a fixed price place, I asked the original question with the thought I could say raise the price $1000 more and certify it and we have a deal.

lexusfan05

I heard the dealer's cost is between 1100 and 1600 to just add the certification, not sure if it depends on age and mileage of the vehicle.

Hasman69

I remember when I was buying my GS350, I was bargaining really hard and at one point the salesman suggested he can take off the certification and knock down the price by $1500.

mcomer

The L/Cert program adds 2 year after the original 4 year expires and makes the Powertrain portion Unlimited miles.
Tangible benefits include the four (4) service visits (2 synthetic LOF) and the understanding that all four tires are the
same brand and type, the brakes are less than 50% worn and you are entitled to both ($350!) key fobs.

This thread addresses the balance that stymies merchants of all products, price to value presentation. When you have
a young low miles lease return or loaner car (2 year/20K miles) that need virtually no work and has plenty of coverage
it is of limited value to spend $2K to certify it. Folks that filter their internet search to only include L/Cert will miss it and
it will appear to be over priced among non - Certified cars. The older high mile trades (5 year/ 65K miles) will really
pose a pricing dilemma once you have put on tires and brakes and a windshield and repainted various scuffs plus certification
costs... now you need relatively tall dollars for what appears to be a classic inexpensive used car.

jsb16

This is probably what the dealer was thinking but you stated it better than the salesman. My issue is they already want to sell it for 23% off MSRP for a low mileage 2017 without the L/Certified which seems pretty unreasonable when the 2019 are selling for 15% off MSRP. There does seem to be plenty of low mileage lease returns that do get certified so this is only a harder value proposition when you want to charge enough to get into the realm of new car pricing. The Carfax was clean but this may not be as reassuring after reading the current thread from the guy who bought an L/Certified RX with undisclosed extensive hail damage repairs that are starting to crack.

mikemu30

I was thinking the same thing. Based on that thread, the CPO thing is a scam to raise prices by the selling dealer. A used car is a used car - you can't be 100% certain what you are really buying. Carfax only goes as far as the reported incident which in some cases never happens.

mirkee

Buying a used Toyota is tough, no matter how you cut it, LC or not. I'm struggling with getting 15% off a new one or buying low mile used certified. By the way, Mercedes E350 drops a whole bunch at three years and it is a wonderful car. Three years old, certified and with 30k or less for way less than 50% of MSRP when new. Alas, I have a hard time getting in and out of those any more so RX350 it is. I also enjoy the Toyota reliability.

mcomer

The cars that drop a whole bunch when they are young will continue to drop as they age.
The former tag line for Toyota was " the best new cars make the best used cars" and that
reflects in this thread.
I bought an Impala before I came over from the dark side and got $3500 off and a rebate.
Guess I should not have been surprised when the MSRP $25000 was $3500 7 years later, right?

PWMDMD

Carfax depends on insurance companies to report damage. My insurance company USAA has never reported anything to Carfax including an $18K repair to a Honda Pilot when someone T-boned my wife and kids. A clean Carfax means little...

I traded in everyone of those cars and guess what I was never asked...whether or not the car had ever been in an accident. In every case I was simply asked to provide the Vin and when it came up clean I was never asked anymore about it. That's the scam...if the Carfax comes up clean used car managers DO NOT ask if it was in an accident because they can sell the cars as clean. Yes, if I was explicitly asked I would've been truthful.

ddaapphh

It's over $1600 just to certify it and then if tires, brakes, battery, and other wear and tear items do not pass inspection, the dealer pays for those too.

bsekf

We are looking a 2017 RX and have found 2 we like, one is Certified and one is not. Mileage is about the same. Equipped about the same except the Certified does not have navigation. Certified is about $2K more money? Just what does “Certified” mean beside 2 more years of warranty? Is it worth it? Or do I try to negotiate an extra 24 month of warranty?

Bill