clambros

Has anyone been involved with an LS Wind Noise Buyback ??

I'm asking because Lexus has requested that I engage arbitration thru NCDS (National Center for Dispute Settlement) for any vehicle replacement or buyback.

When BMW bought back my 2002 745i, it was very simple .. meet for coffe with the regional rep, at the dealer .. by end of the first cup .. the rep says "please go pick another car off the lot". 1hr later, I drive off in a new 2003 745i. Now THAT was an experiece .. I was so happy I returned a few years later to buy a 2007 650i.

After (5) Lexi since 2000, I never expected a problem would go un-addressed by Lexus .. and I certainly didn't expect arbitration as their answer.

I'm wondering if this is worth it ??

USLEX

I did the same thing for my wife's Toyota Sienna mivivan. It had a tranny leak from day one. They had 3 attempts to fix it and I ended up getting 2 new trannies. In the end, they would not replace it so I wouldn't hold my breath.

dimapb

My car was purchased back by Lexus for the wind noise. They did not make me go thru NCDS. I dealt with reg rep out of NJ. Granted, they would never call me back, so I had to stay on top of it and call then every week or so. It took about 3 months from the day I started the process. Once it was approved, a 3rd party came out to inspect my car and bring me the check. They paid off a lease and gave me back the money I paid while I had the car (lease). I drove the car for 18 months. Because of this treatment, I purchased another LS 460L from the same dealer.

jmcraney

If you decide to execute the repurchase of your car by Lexus, here are some things you should keep in mind:

There are owner reports of the "Wind Noise" problem occurring in all versions of the 2007, 2008 and 2009 LSs, except the 09 LS600hL. You need to remember this while you are auditioning your replacement car if you decide to go with another LS.

I have seen a few reports from owners saying that their car, even though it did not have the problem at the time of purchase, developed the wind noise problem after it was driven for several months. Keep in mind that you will probably not be allowed a second buyback option

There have been many reports of owners doing a DIY fix that takes about 10 minutes in time and $1 in materials.

There is a rumor that Lexus is about to release a fix for the wind noise.

Vi-Tuyen

ok since this thread talk about buyback, I don't want to make another thread.

I don't understand the buyback very much, here is my question, my car has windnoise like crazy, if I talk to the dealer about buyback and if they are agreed to do it, Am I get all the my money back? or just parts of it back?
I put 10k down. and my payment is 1300 until now. the car just turned one year old

can someone explain this to me. many thanks

dimapb

There are different options available for the buy-back. One of the options is you get all of your money back, regrdless how much you put down and how much you paid thus far. Second option is "Replacement of Collateral". This means they take your car and give you an identical new car that does not have the problem that you have reported. (Good luck with this one ). It is not up to the dealer to decide the buy-back. If it was, they would buy all of the cars back, because each time they sell a new one to replace the buy-back one, they get a "unit sold" added to their numbers and they make more profit. I would still be very nice to a service manager at your dealer because it is up to him to provide all of the necessary docs to Lexus Corp. If he/she doesn't like you, it could take a very long time for them to submit all of the docs.
In my case, Lexus has paid off a lease and gave me back all of the money I paid during teh time I had the car in my posesion. Based on some of the comments I heard form other people having this problem, I simply got lucky.
P.S. When I told Lexus I wanted to get another LS, they told me that even if it does have a wind noise issue, they would not be buying it back.

Vi-Tuyen

thanks for the info

terrain

Good info - If you can't stand wind noise of any kind I would probably not opt for another LS unless or until they address/fix the issue. I have a pretty good feeling that even if you find a car that does not have noise on day one - on day X it may/will have some noise. Our LSL did not have noise at zero miles but now at 2K miles we have some - not a lot but it appears to get worse over time. During my search I drove a new (10 mile) LSL that had LOTS of noise and from that point on it was #1 on my list to look for while test driving.

No 09 LS 600 wind noise reports yet -- thats because they have not sold any yet

jmcraney

This is a quote from a post that I made on May 1, 2008 to the wind-noise-fix discussion thread.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/3492828-post59.html

Quote:
My opinion is that all of the LS460s - both 07 and 08 - have the wind noise problem, will develop the wind noise problem or could suddenly develop the wind noise problem to some degree. If the cause is just those big gaps at the rear corners - the mounting tape is all in order and holds firmly - then they all will have some noise from that depending on how large the crack is to the outside. Noise that is caused from a failure of the mounting tape which could be the result of damage from pressure washers, a manufacturing defect, aging, etc could come on at any time.
End quote

terrain

jm - any reason not to add '09's to the list - did they fix it or just too little data to point to 09's as of yet?

jmcraney

There are reports of wind noise in the 09 LS460s, but none so far for the 09 LS600s, I think mainly because, as you said, they aren't selling many. As far as I know the design remains the same so I think you can expect all of the 09 models to be similarly affected.

You can see reports of 09 wind noise here:

http://autos.yahoo.com/2009_lexus_ls-reviews_user/

And here:

http://www.edmunds.com/lexus/ls460/2...merreview.html

bikerneil

This thread makes me chuckle.

I bought a 2007 LS460 that was a factory buyback car. It was bought back from the original owner because of wind noise. I got the loaded car for $40K with only 4400 miles on it, in perfect condition.

This car is the quietest car I have ever owned or ridden in.

The reason I am chuckling is - my neighbor just came home with a brand new 2008 Mercedes S550. (Beautiful car.) I drove it and it had terrible wind noise - sounded like it was missing an entire window seal. He drove mine and commented how quiet it is!!!

Ha!

jmcraney

When the LS460 is repaired properly I don't see how there could be a quieter car.

I repaired mine 10 months ago and it remains like a tomb.

Luxofreak

^^ Mine too, and the fix was done by the dealer. All good now, everybody that ride in my car makes comments on how stupid quiet the car is.

Johnny

I'm sitting at 20,000 kilometers now, and still waiting for any hints of noise on my 2008 600hL. It is definitely quieter than my previous experience with the 2007 460 SWB. Even my wife who was quite aware of the latter's noise hasn't been able to discern any wind noise to date. I read somewhere that the 600s were flowing through a different assembly line that apparently receive a greater attention to detail, but this kind of assertion is near impossible to validate imho.