jberger

Hey Folks,
I'm trying to nail-down just what options are available when buying a used lexus. I'm in the market for a GS400 and I've heard tons of different stories involving warranties. I'm hoping to consolidate some of this data into a useful doc for myself and future buyers, any info or experiance is appreciated.

Here's what I've heard so far. I'm not sure what to believe.

From Lexus Dealers:
Only pre-certified lexus cars, resold by the dealer are eligable for ANY Lexus Extended Warranty. The warranty is in line with the original factory coverage, but only applicable to cars with less than 45K mi. that meet the pre-certification guideline. I've even been told that only a lexus dealer may buy the car from the original owner (ie Auction or private sales are not allowed for pre-certification). This "story" was disputed by another dealer who said he could find one at auction.

From Toyota Dealer (Sales rep):
We can sell the same extended warranty coverage that lexus sells, they are all provided through TIMS (Toyota Insurance Motor Services???) but it's cheaper since it's not a lexus dealer. He states that the coverage options are the same, with no change from the lexus policy.

From a private dealer:
You can buy a lexus extended warranty as long as the car is less than 50K mi in good condition and listed as such in the lexus maintance database. There are 3 levels of coverage available from lexus, and you have to buy it directly from Lexus, it is not availble from a dealer. But it is genuine lexus coverage with dealer service.
or you can buy an independant warranty which provides similar coverage but no telling what happens with the dealer.

My Thoughts:
Confusion, I think the independant dealer this probably giving the most honest info. The Lexus guys all seem to try to justify the huge premium (6K on average) of pre-certified cars on the lot.

I did a little research and the Toyota guy does offer a similar policy, but I'd hate to buy the car somewhere else and find out he can't really offer the same policy.

I really want lexus coverage on the car, since it will be the easiest to work with the dealer. But I can't justify 6k premium for the coverage. In my area, the dealer is consistantly 5K or more expensive than other resellers for similar cars in almost the exact same conditions.

Any experianced folks care to comment on this one?
Thanks

GS4Will

J,

my 1st lex was a certified gs300. and if you can spare that extra $3k, it would save you tons of headache fi something does happen. iam not sure about your area, but here in s.cal, competiitons among dealers actually made the prices of certified cars came down over the years.

now, let me clarify a few things.
1. all certified cars could have came from any sources. whetther it is an old customer trade-in, manager demo, or delears bought from the auctions, so long as the car can pass the certiifcation process, it becomes a certified lexus. that being said, each dealer does possess slightly diif inspection criteria, and profit mark-ups. i.e.,

an excellent gs4 with fewer miles may sometimes actually cost less than a car fromanother dealer who has a similar year and more miles but shows more wear and tear cosmetically.

2.i undersatnd you want to save $$$(who doesn't) , the best thing you should do is
-do more research on the dealers and private parties in your area.
-call the dealers and ask for the finance dept. and find out if any would be willing to sell you an "EXTENDED warranty" this backed by the corporate lexus and is available nation wide. if the car is under 45-50k miles, the dealers, from my experience would perform an inspection to see if your car is eligible.

when i sold my last lex to a private party, that was what i did, the car had 30k miles and pass their test, and the new owner bought the nation wide lexus warranty upto 100kmile for $1395.

i hope this help.