lesz

My understanding is that the new legislation has strict requirements related to where the vehicle is assembled, source of parts, etc. to be eligible for the tax credit.

The requirements are, to my understanding, tougher than what had previously been the case, and, from what I've read, there are no current Toyota or Lexus vehicles that qualify. Also, I believe that, as soon as the new bill becomes law, the new requirements take effect immediately.

I could be mistaken about my understanding, but I'm just going by what I've read in the last few days.

TipsyTonio

Interesting. I hadn’t read that portion but it makes total sense. At the end of the day they want to favor companies that build cars in the US. I’ll definitely look into it though. Thank you!

lesz

Again, I could be mistaken, but, from what I've read, a good number of car models, including those built by Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, and Lexus, that qualify for the tax credits under the current legislation will not qualify under the new legislation.

Further, I believe that, with the new legislation, there is a $150,000 income cap that determines whether or not the buyer will be eligible for the tax credit. That may or may not affect the OP's eligibility for the credit. Also, only vehicles with an MSRP under $55,000 are eligible for the credit.

oldtripper

You mention orange peel. The orange peel is quite obvious and a lot more than the fenders. How much of an issue is that?

lesz

With a high quality body shop, I would have expected that, as a part of completing the refinishing process, they would have used some wet sanding to bring down the level of the orange peel to get it to match with the orange peel (or lack thereof) on the rest of the car.

oldtripper

Is that going to drop resale value quite a bit?

lesz

My guess is that most people, except for those with OCD tendencies (like me) would never notice the difference in orange peel.

Since bumpers are not painted at the same time as is the rest of the car, many cars will come off of the assembly line with orange peel on the bumpers that differs from the orange peel on the rest of the car, but that is not something that I'd expect to be the case with the higher level of quality control that Lexus supposedly uses.

But, if it bothers you, they could still remedy the situation by doing some careful wet sanding now. However, if it done carelessly, they could burn through the clear coat, which would require refinishing the entire bumper. So, you will have to make a decision about how big the difference is and whether it will bother you.

oldtripper

So we are likely going to turn down the car after looking at it. TipsyTonio pointed out in this video I took that it appears there's something wrong with the tabs or bracket for the bumper. That along with the bumper not fitting well were what decided it for us.

nitrolada

Zero impact
This is a mass produced entry lux crossover.. not a McLaren or Ferrari.

When you sell/trade in, it'll be Carfax, mileage and does it run, that's basically it...like you think dealer or place like CarMax, carvana will care? Of course not

TipsyTonio

Now that I am looking at this specific image, I see a couple of concerning things.

1. To my eye and at this angle, the gap between the tailgate and the bumper appears to be tighter on the right side then the left
2. Also, the matte black trim at the bottom appears to be sitting flush with the painted bumper on the right side, but not the left side.

Both of these things may just be a matter of the lighting and the angle of the photo, but those are my observations. Playing devil's advocate, there is a possibility that both of these conditions, should they be present, may have existed even before the damage and we just noticing them more now because we are looking for rear damage. These things don't nearly alarm me as much as what you showed in the video. My father had the front bumper removed and repainted on his 2017 Corolla by a body shop and slowly but surely the bumper started getting looser and looser at the tabs, until eventually the main side that was repainted actually had the bumper crack at the tabs. The variance in how tight the bumper is on each side is what concerns me that a similar condition may happen. Also, in the video, on the right side, it appears that the corner of the bumper has a paint chip, which I've seen happen when bumpers are removed and reinstalled.

lesz

When bumpers are attached to vehicles, multiple parts/connection points are involved. First, there are bumper brackets that attach to the unibody of the vehicle. Then, there are bumper clips that connect the bumper cover to the bumper brackets. Those bumper clips are designed to break easily upon impact, which is what minimizes damage to the sheet metal in the quarter panels if the bumper is impacted.

If the bumper clips are damaged, they can be replaced easily and inexpensively, but there can be slight and not easily noticed damage/enlargement of the connection points on the bumper brackets. If that happens, the fit of the new bumper cover can be just a bit off and, yes, over time, the connection between the bumper bracket and the clips can loosen, and the fit can get worse. From your video, it appears that there was damage to either the bumper clips or the bumper bracket that was not completely/properly repaired.

There is no question that getting a perfect alignment of the tailgate and bumper is especially difficult because, not only do the tailgate and bumper have to be aligned with each other, but they both also need to be aligned with the quarter panels on both sides of the vehicle, and trying to correct a slight misalignment at one spot can make the alignment in another spot worse.

For the OP, I think you are likely making the best decision if you decide not to buy the car. The dealer will have no trouble selling that NX, and the buyer likely will never notice that work was done on the vehicle, and he/she likely will be happy with the purchase. On the other hand, there is a good chance that, if you bought the car, because you know about the repair work that was done on it, it would always bother you. I know it would always bother me, but I do admit that I'm more than a bit OCD about things like that. In this case, though, the imperfect repairs are ones that I would not find acceptable even if I didn't have those OCD tendencies.

Considering that you have been inconvenienced by this entire experience, you might want to see if the dealer might, as a good-will gesture, make an extra effort to find and get you another NX450h as quickly as possible.

FastFord

I agree with Lesz about the always bothering you. Had that with a car I bought once door damaged and a repaint to that area, I could always see it in certain light conditions. I accepted the car because I could not get another one. The guy I sold it to a year later was the original person that ordered the car and refused it ! Small world.

Bumper covers are some what difficult to replace properly, who cares on a 4-10 year old vehicle, but brand new, not for me.

The right side should be tight where it seems to move in the video. The left side seems a little off where it meets the matte plastic. Checked mine and it's a very smooth transition

Tough choice, sorry that you have to make this decision.

Best of luck!!

oldtripper

Honestly, it probably wouldn't bother me in of in itself, but considering the price of the car and the fact it looks sloppy right from the beginning, a $500 discount they offered isn't enough. It hurts though that this was my last chance at this or a Prime before the tax credit ends when the new bill is signed. I also posted on Lexus groups on Facebook and the vast majority say they would have gladly bought. Granted I didn't post the pics of video and they haven't had to put up the money yet. The dealer will happily offer to the next person without the discount.

nitrolada

yup..it's hard as you'll always know there's something slightly off eventhough others won't be able to tell and as they say...ignorance is bliss.

best of luck on your car search!

redhot47fl

I’m an old guy with crazy-high standards but I say: Take the vehicle and the likely tax benefit. Ask for a $1,000 discount for your trouble. Compromise at $750 if you must. With the $1,000 or even the $750 or $500 (and the major tax credit), bring it to a reputable body shop and ask them if they can tighten that right side. Either way, you’ll stop thinking about it shortly after you begin to enjoy the vehicle, which is otherwise a 99 percent gem. Don’t spend the rest of your life testing that bumper joint and, when friends and neighbors compliment your new ride, don’t share the bumper story. Life’s too short and these vehicles are too rare. Just…

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