satiger

iTrader: (1)

Well, finally did it!.

I have to thank Comotiger (AC) pointing for out to a loaded 2014 LS in Carvana site in one other thread. That lead me to look into that car. The main features I liked in this 2014 LS is;

• Fully loaded except executive seat and rear entertainment
• My favorite exterior color
• Light interior
• AWD

So, initiated the purchasing process using their site. The whole process (sharing necessary documents etc) through the site and with phone calls. Overall I would say my experience with Carvana is neutral. The main difference I find between this web based model and dealership is that when dealing with Carvana I get to speak with different agents and some continuity is lost and had to repeat few times. Where as with a dealer model, a sales agent becomes our point contact person. Well, that sales person could ruin the experience as well.

Once a vehicle is added to the 'cart', based on the steps, system would generate auto remaining time during which that car wont be available (locked) to others for purchase. When all the financial details are updated, it would move to 'reserved' status.

I got a decent trade-in. More importantly I wanted to take tax advantage of 2012 trade-in value. First, there isn't many loaded LS with light interior. Even if I find one, it would most likely be in Southern States where driving 2012 to their place for trade-in would become hassle. So jumped into this this car.

Purchased it last night. We met at a public place (to be precise at Dunkin Donuts !!) to complete the transaction. A young kid brough the car in a flat bed truck (advertised miles and purchase miles are the same). We both exchanged the keys and he took mine for a test drive, I did the same with 2014. Well, sort of. It was a congested street and drove just about a mile. Being night (my choice due to kids schedules), kids were restless. Knowing they have 7 day return period and comes with one month 4000 some miles warranty, decided to sign the paperwork. All, in iPad.

Took the keys and drove back home after a dinner at a restaurant. Its about 30 minutes highway driving. During that drive, notice a low frequency noise most likely coming from front passenger side. Its a repeat sound, increases with speed but goes unnoticed below say 40mph. I have a service apt with Lexus dealership tomorrow, will ask them to check that. Also, will reach out to Carvana and see what they have to say.

As in the past, I called Lexus Corp to get few details on this car. I was disappointed with first two calls. They both have clue about options added to this car, service history etc. Very sad. Third and fourth call answered by questions. BTW, Lexus does/did have a way to pull window stickers as pdf. Its call something like 'medtronics' (?). The last rep was very knowledgeable. She is the one said that name when I requested window stickers of this car. Other three didn't have any clue . Any how, looks like they don't offer that any longer.

I had few questions regards to the last service done at JM Lexus. Spoke to them twice and both times their SAs were very polite to explained what was serviced and the cost of it (covered by new car warranty).

Now, what I miss in my 2012, not much as 2014 is much identical to 2012. However, even though its 5 years old car, it still has new car smell!!!!. 2014 lost it . I spend lots of hours polishing and applying Modesta paint coating. Now, I have to repeat the same.......

Will do some more test driving in the morning.........

satiger

iTrader: (1)

One last time, all there cousins were parked in my drive way .

Other one shows 2012 getting loaded ........

comotiger

Congrats, satiger!! It's great to know you are the lucky guy that snagged this deal! It's a beautiful car and I hope you will end up keeping it.

I think you can't go wrong with the 7 day warranty. It's a good idea to take the car to your trusted mechanic and/or Lexus dealership for a complete inspection. Check the sunroof, air suspension components, control arms, battery etc. All of those should be fixed under warranty if there are any concerns. I hope the "rotating noise" is nothing major. It might even be a pebble stuck in the tire, but that generally would be more noticeable at lower speeds.

As for printing the original window sticker for your vehicle, go to your local Lexus dealership. Their sales department should be able to print it for you. You may remember an used car sales manager at Lexus of Englewood who was active on here a while back (he doesn't work there anymore). He sent me the window sticker PDF for my car. Your car is identical to mine (except for colors and wheels), so it will likely have a similar MSRP around 101K. I can send you mine if you are interested.

You still have some time to decide, but are you planning to get a Lexus Platinum VSA?

Well, congrats again! I hope to see more pics of the car inside and out as you clean and polish it, and add some of the mods discussed on this site!

satiger

iTrader: (1)

Forgot to mention few points earlier....

As some of you might know, I purchased Lexus Platinum warranty on 2012. Its easy to cancel by calling Lexus Financials. It can be cancelled after selling the vehicle.

Main options on this 2014;

• 460L AWD
• Blind spot monitor with cross traffic alert
• ML audio
• Pre-collision with all speed dynamic radar cruise control
• Adv pre-collision system with driver attention monitor and collision avoidance assit
• Ultra luxury package

comotiger

So, you got a pro-rated refund on the VSA? That's great to know. If you had sold the car directly to a private buyer, you could have used the VSA as an incentive to get a better price. But if you are able to get some money back by cancelling it after the sale, that seems to be the better choice.

satiger

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Comotiger. I literally had to show that thread to my wife to convince her .

Yes, I already have an appt scheduled with Bridgewater Lexus and working with my SA over there. If inspection goes well, will do transmission, front and read diff fluid changes. I thought of doing injector cleaning as well but this car is driving and idling so smooth I will skip that.

Yes, planning to get extended warranty. Troy quoted the same amount as 2012. I guess warranty doesn't go up with options, which is nice.

Yes now that you reminded, I remember that sales manager from Lexus of Englewood. He sent me some pdfs in the past which I requested. Will reach out to him. If you could share the pdf you have, that would be nice.

Based on your signature, looks like your and mine are identical !.

satiger

iTrader: (1)

Yes, once I confirm they will cut me a check based on pro-rated refund.

Another aspect I had to deal with is about brand new P7 tires on 2012 which I installed two months back, not even driven 500 miles on it. When asked Carvana, they initially said they typically wont compensate for that. Later asked me to submit the paperwork to consider what they could do.

I took a different approach. Purchased Michelin Primacy MXM4 used tires from bestusedtires.com for little over $100 and replaced P7 with these!. I am impressed with bestusedtires.com service and delivery. The tires are in very good condition, shipped next day.

FatherTo1

Congratulations, satiger! That is a beautiful LS. We both have the same Nebula Gray exterior color. That light interior looks very nice and very well-maintained. I would have loved for ours to be an L and AWD like yours and comotiger's. That was a clever idea with swapping tires. When I was searching for our LS, I saw some for sale by VROOM. It is a service similar to Carvana, but I was too skeptical of their 7-day return policy. Also, VROOM's price wasn't that great nor were the sales associates very knowledgeable/professional so I didn't take the chance with them. Glad your experience with Carvana was good overall and hope you don't have to take advantage of that return policy. However, I am also curious if you do take them up on the 7-day return, does that mean they will still hold your car for the same amount of time so you can get it back? And then do you switch the tires back again in that case? Wishing only the best for you with your new LS, and many happy miles ahead.

satiger

iTrader: (1)

Thanks FatherT01.

On paper their return policy and a month warranty looks promising. However I don't know what I will have to go through if I decide to return . Hope I don't have to execute that.

I asked them about status of trade-in car during that 7 day period. They told me that they will hold the vehicle for 7 days and then will proceed with whatever they wanted to do. Same holds good for payment as well.

I still don't understand their business model. The moment one adds a vehicle to a cart and register to the site, it takes away from others buying it at least for few days. If 5 does that, they loose 10-15 days. Then a week waiting period before confirming and rotating money.

comotiger

The window sticker PDF is attached below. The original car has the 18 inch hollow chamber alloy wheels that I see on your car. I actually would have preferred that over the 19 inch 15 spoke alloys listed for my car that is a $990 option. I don't know whether the paint color changes the price. I have Obsidian with Shimamoku trim.


That's really great! Is it a simple pro-rating based upon the warranty period remaining to the total warranty period, or is there an additional penalty for canceling early?

Great idea. Will the P7s fit on your 2014 LS? Or do you plan to sell them? BTW, did you have to bargain for a good trade-in value? Did you lose any money on the trade or was the 2012 already paid off?


2014LSWindowSticker(SA).pdf

satiger

iTrader: (1)

Took the car for another short ride.

This is what my observation is; when speed is above 45 mph the low frequency sound starts and continue to increase or decrease as speed changes. Much like closing the mouth and saying 'Mmmmmm' from the throat at very low frequency. When speed drops below 45, I don't hear at all.

What could be causing this?.

I spoke with Carvana. They told me either I could return the car or take it to any ASE certified repair shop or to Lexus dealership. Once diagnosed, I could open a claim with Carvana's warranty provider, no cost on my side if any repair is involved. I was wrong about Carvana's warranty period. It comes with 100 days/4100 miles.

comotiger

It must have been quite a sight to have two beautiful Lexus flagships moving around in the DD parking lot! Did you attract a crowd??

comotiger

Could it be the transmission whine? I hear something like this at 65-75 mph, and will get it looked at on my next service (60K). I also have a slight vibration in the shift lever at all speeds. I don't know whether that is normal. Do you feel this?

Good to know the Carvana warranty is comprehensive and pretty long.

satiger

iTrader: (1)

Thanks AC for the pdf.

Mine came with 19-in split-seven-spoke wheel. When I tried to configure on 2017 model, it gives the price for 19 inch 15 spoke alloys but for 19 in split seven asking us to contact the dealer. So, P7 will fit these wheel. I had the same exact wheel on 2012.

As far as warranty refund goes, they will deduct $50 for processing. I am not sure how they calculate pro-rate refund but Troy said based on current date and miles on the car I would be getting around $2500. Which is $700 less than what I paid.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like a bad tire. The transmission whine TSB was for a whine at speeds below 40mph. I had that looked at on mine and they were able to get rid of it by carrying out the TSB.

On another note, I see you had the 2014+ 19" wheels on your 2012. Nice, I like them. Good to see your 2014 has them too.