looknow12

I have been very patient with Lexus regarding a buyback of my vehicle due to the tax recall. They finally said that after reviewing everything they have respectfully declined. This is after speaking with them for nearly 8 months on many issues.

I thought this was a general policy. I purchased my 03 GX on January 2nd, 2003 based on the fax that the vehicle would qualify for the SUV Tax Break. Lexus then recalled changed the weight months after. Guess who's stuck out in the cold?

I have purchased 6 Lexus vehicles since 97 and not once have I ever requested assistance from Lexus Customer Service. Not once. Even with this vehicle I had consulted the dealership many times before first calling Lexus Customer Service.

There is was a major issue with Pohanka Lexus where the sales man told me the DVD player could easily be configured to tap into the front screen and that I could have a tow hitch installed byt the dealer after I took possession of the it. This led me to purchase a GX that had no factory DVD and tow hitch. Later when the dealership was proven wrong (remember this was as of June 03), I worked with them to get me another vehicle to resolve that issue. It is because of this change/trade (which cost me money) that Lexus Customer Service is apparently not buying the vehicle back. Their claim is your VIN number doesn't qualify. What's the difference? I paid out of pocket (cash) for the Jan GX and changed to work out other issues with the dealership.

After 3 months working with the dealership on my issues, I finally called customer service. For 2 months I worked with customer service who finally brought in a district Manager, Kyle McNaughton. After three weeks with him, he finally tells me "You need to contact Lexus Customer Service on this issue". After another 4 weeks working with Lexus Customer Service, she tells me they cannot buy back. I then explain to her the situation in further detail and and even offer to pay for the mileage fees on what the vehicle has. I said "I only want what is fair". She says "Sir I now have a much better understanding about this issue and the circumstances. I cannot promise anything, but I defintely think I can resubmit this in a different way for approval". I called her today and she "respectfully declines"

I have been asking to speak to the person who made this decision.

In the mean time, please PM me if you have successfuly gone through a buy back, or if you have taken other action. As one of Lexus's loyal fans, I now feel horrible.

RX469

iTrader: (1)

Wow. Sorry to hear about your situation.

But does anyone know what would qualify for a buy back?? What does the manufacturer look for/consider?


Curious now.


Sheldon.

kutscher

The dealers in Minneapolis have a couple they bought back. Maybe contacting them would help solve this issue?

looknow12

Please PM me the information on a dealer there.

looknow12

Any GX where the GVWR did qualify for the Tax break, but then later got recalled and no longer qualifies.

kutscher

looknow12
You have a PM.

You could always try to sell this and buy a new one, used 03's are taking almost the same as new 04's around the midwest.
Eric

looknow12

I will definitely consider that if my other attempts fail. I have an attorney who has a lot of experience trying cases against the dealership and he feels pretty confident.

I will explore legal only as a very last resort.

looknow12

It looks like it is going to cost me nearly 10k to purchase a new 04 GX and be eligible for the tax break.

I'm really upset with Lexus though. I really feel like they have just turned their back on me.

Kash

its becuase chris got promoted he was good and really took care of people.. the lady thats in his place is imo bleh....

looknow12

Chris?

degeester

For those who had the GX weight problem Chris is a well known rep. Glad to hear he was promoted. I am very happy in my 2004 LX-470.

looknow12

During my issues with Pohanka Lexus (see Not Starting Consistently https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...hreadid=115864), I noticed Kyle McNaughton was in the service managers office. I said "You know Lexus really hung me out to dry on this one." He said "I don't agree". I replied back with basically my feeling about the issue and what has been posted.

If you recall he was the guy that had me fax all the paper work to him. He sat on it for a few weeks and then told me I needed to open up a case with Lexus Customer Service.

kutscher

A case, ? Lawsuit?

What was Kyle McNaughton's arguement for not taking this back?
Is lexus becoming the next GM/Ford dealer?

daronberg

hate to sound stupid BUT i am looking to purchase an 04 and was factoring in the tax break on the purchase versus lease. does it not apply anymore? or does it not apply to certain 03 models? and how do you tell if a certain 03 does not qualify?

also - any accountants out there??? how does the tax break work?

thanx!!!

mogulbumm

The Section 179 deduction applies to equipment and vehicles with a GVW over 6000 lbs and allows an immediate deduction of up to 100K in a given year.

What a lot of people don't realize is that there are a great many areas that are scrutinized when using this deduction, especially in the event of an audit. For example:

Is the vehicle needed for use in the general course of business or is it an obvious luxury item (more difficult but not impossible to prove with a Lexus)?

What percentage is used for personal? (not able to write this part off)

How long do you plan on keeping the vehicle? This can be important since when you sell/trade it you may be liable to pay taxes on a "gain" since you already took full depreciation of the vehicle in year 1. I am not an accountant, but my take on this is that if you sell the truck in 3 years for 35K, you will be hit with paying taxes on that 35K as a capital gain or recaptured expense.

You also need to take into consideration how much your business makes. It may be disallowed upon an audit if the business did not show a reasonable profit after "purchasing" a 50K vehicle. This is VERY easy for the IRS to prove that the business did not need such a luxury vehicle.

Not as cut and dry as we would like it. A good accountant can give you the plusses and minues of using the 179. I opted for the lease since it was less subject to all the provisions and I didn't have to worry about the weight.