KCCOFox

With me being an extreme supporter of thorough review and opinion while researching cars I figured the best place to come is the forums. I am currently in the market for a new vehicle. After over 4 years with my King Ranch F150 that I have put my heart and soul into, sadly it is time for me to move on. The top reason for moving on is the cost of maintaining, repairing, and feeding the Leviathan that occupies my driveway. Currently I drive 60 miles a day 6 times a week and that daily mileage will be increasing to 100 in the very near future. My questions for y'all are going to be broad and some very particular. I will start off with what I have in my scopes. I am currently heavily researching and strongly considering buying a 2013 CT that I found. The car is a certified pre-owned with about 26k on the clock. Those of y'all who have dealt with the Lexus warranty, are the dealerships fair to you, is the experience good, and what, if any, deductibles are there? Can the car be serviced at a Toyota dealership (closest Lexus dealer to me is 120 miles away)? What are some quirks about the car that you had to get used to? Is it safe to assume that the battery packs in these things will last like Toyota and lecus claims they will. Any big ticket maintenance or repairs I should be aware of? Current service bulletins that would affect this particular car? I am sure that I will think of more to ask but I the mean time, thank you all in advance for any and all information that you would be willing to give.

Cheers,
Fox

sjw91

I bought a 2014 CPO car 2 years ago. Haven't had any warranty repairs needed, but it's covered until 2020. No deductible that I know of. Regular service is covered for 2 years, and I've had no issues at 2 different dealers. I don't believe a Toyota dealer is allowed to do warranty or covered service on a Lexus. It's not unique to Lexus; it's policy for all manufacturers.

There don't seem to be any common problems or issues with battery life. The biggest complaint I can think of on the early cars is the sun visors. They didn't slide until 2014. The biggest quirk for me is the joystick shifter. I hate valet parking. Half of them don't have a clue, and one of them just hit the "P" button and left the car on.

gshadow325

You in a Ford, no wonder you ask about the dealership warranty. Many of these cars never ever see the inside of a dealership once they leave for 100s of thousands of miles. Mine had no records of it being at the dealership since birth.

Why, bought mine used with 37k. 2013. Put on a set of New tires, changed the oil, cabin filter, air filter and it sitting at 101k 2 years later. 65k and all I did in the last 2 years was changed the oil every 10k, another set of tires, and a few more cabin filters, oh and gas.

You'll need to over come the power difference from the two very different vehicles. Once you realize that all you are doing is putting in 20 bucks and once a week for 400 plus miles. You'll forget the Ford real fast and remember all those extra dollar bills in your wallet.

My daily was a 13mpg Ford work van that needed maintaining constantly. I did a first year look back on the van vs my Lexus. It was expenses were 13488 for the van and Lexus came in at 3122. That's fuel and repair costs of both vehicles for first year. Both were similar in age and mileage when purchased and both covered similar distances in the first year.

User 41924

I traded in a nicely optioned 2011 IS350 for a 2016 CT. I was paying an awful lot for the IS, and putting very few miles on it. My daily drive to work was only 8 or 9 miles (<20 minutes), so fuel mileage wasn't huge for me. I loved the IS (Smoky Granite Mica), but decided I couldn't justify the cost for my daily drive. We also have an RX450h that I actually enjoy driving, so I figured I could live with the CV transmission. After considering the cost savings (payments for the CT were 50% of the IS!), I decided I could live with the CT FSport. I was wrong.

Simply put, I missed having a Lexus. I know the CT is a Lexus, but it's a cheap, knock off Lexus, in my humble opinion. The things I personally like about Lexus were all missing, and frankly, I missed them more than I expected. The sheet metal on the hood and roof was so thin I couldn't put a polisher on it without it flexing in. I lived in fear every time I polished it (it was black. I polished it a LOT), that one day it would permanently wrinkle. It had manual seats with no memory, the outside mirrors had no memory, manual wipers, manual steering wheel adjustment, etc. Also, the attention to detail (materials, fit, and finish) that I love so much about Lexus wasn't there. Possibly the biggest reason I'm such a fan of Lexus is the paint. Normally, Lexus paint polishes up exceptionally well, and stays nice a long time. The paint on the black CT was horrible. I could NEVER get out all of the swirls. It wasn't a deep black, and it was brittle, chipping very easily. No matter what I did, I couldn't make it look good. If you LOOKED at it crosswise, it would put a mark in the paint that you had to polish out. It drove me nuts. I admit these are "first world" issues and I know I sound "whiney" to those that enjoy their CT, but every time I had to adjust something or fix the paint, it reminded me that it felt like Lexus scrimped in order to keep the cost and weight down. In the end, I just didn't feel good when I drove it, and we quickly adjusted to the savings, which were quickly forgotten.

All that said, it's not a bad car! You can see that all of the issues I had with it were MY issues, as my expectations were simply wrong. It actually handled better that I expected, and the lack of power was tolerable, although noticeable. I had no service type issues at all, and I would NEVER hesitate to buy another Toyota product. Personally, I'm not a fan of Lexus service. Everything is way too expensive in my mind, but you are extremely well treated, as they're taking your money

My point in this long post, is ........ It's a LONG way from a King Ranch F150 to a CT, and you sound to me like you care about your vehicles. Just make sure you can live with it before you make the change. I knew what I was losing AND what I was gaining, and I still hosed it up.

Jazie

i have spent the last 15 years driving half and 3/4 tons as my daily drivers , ford f250, toyota tundra, nissan titan, chev 1500. they all sucked so much gas. now i fill up at the gas station with a big smile on my face.This is consistently voted most reliable hybrid and many other awards. yes it feels like it has almost zero displacement as far as horse power compared to the big trucks, but hey, its comfy as heck and corners surprisingly well.

tomknez

Bought my 2014 CT in August 2017 with 48k miles (now at 57k) and all I've done to it is change the oil, air filter, and engine filter.

I have driven a couple 4 banger midsize sedans (2013 Altima, 2016 Sonata, new 2018 Camry) and honestly the CT feels smoother and quicker from 0-45.

The only flaw I have about this car is the fuel tank is so tiny at 11.9, wish it was around 14-15. But even then, you'll get close to 400 miles a tank, in the winter I have been getting about 370.

Otherwise I would highly recommend this car, it is absolutely perfect for just one or two people!