If you think easing through the rpms, and redlining a car
are the same then i guess you win!

 

I'm just saying, I don't think it's irresponsible if a dealership doesn't warm up a car for 15 minutes before letting someone test drive it. No one does that, including dealerships. And I doubt 140 miles of test driving would ruin a car. 5,000 miles of "demo car" use, on the other hand... My friend is a manager at Nissan, and I wouldn't touch his company Altima with a 20-foot pole... Sometimes I feel like calling the car abuse hotline to report him.

 

Alot of terms are being thrown around loosely here and I want to try and clarify.

1 - Lexus of Englewood to my knowledge (and I have no affiliation with them) does "pinstripe" the back of all of the cars sold by them with their name (and they do iot stupid becasue it usually follows the trunkline and not the Lexus emblem so it winds up looking rooked (one of my pet peeves about them)

2 - a dealer demo is NOT titled (at least not in NY) - it is driven with a DEALER plate on it by employees, and it can also be used on occassion for test drives...plenty of people have taken my wife's RX out to see how the car seats look in the car (not style wise, but sizing/roominess with them installed) These cars are typically driven for approx 5,000 miles - they can still be sold as NEW cars/demo models - because they have never been titled. You should expect a reasonable discount on these cars - 1/2% per 1,000 miles is a good place to start.

3 - a factory demo is one driven by a factory or HQ rep and will usually go for 5,000-7,000 miles and then they are usually sold to employees at a discount.

4 - a test drive car is just that - it is used primarily for test drives, and on occassion an employee will take it home - normally an employee who gets a loaner car, but perhaps all loaners in the pool are out for service customers use. These cars are usually program cars provided by the factory and then recovered by the factory at a later point.

5 - loaner cars again a factory program - cars rotated into/out of a pool for use as a loaner...these cars are registered and titled - i.e. real lic. plates.

Hope that clears things up - it sounds to me like you got a swap car - a particular car that was not in Lexus of Englewoods inventory, and they swapped with another dealer. I know Lexus of Manhattan and Bay Ridge Lexus will trailer cars back and forth on swaps - not all dealers do that and the miles may have gotten put on that way...either way you should have gotten something to sign called a a manufacturer's crtificate of origin, and odometer reading statement - these 2 should match very closely, or someone needs to explain the mileage discrepancy - I bunch of years ago I bought an Explorer - but the color combo I wanted was at a Ford dealer 70 odd miles away - they drove it in and I had 76 miles on it when I picked it up.

As for the damaged grille - bump and tap issues happen at all dealerships...I would approach them with it and see if they'll fix it..if not I'm not sure you have too much you can do unless you can prove via your sales contract paperwork and the condition of your vehicle (stop driving it if it comes to this). You can call the GM of the delaership and his/her response will indicate their committment as a Lexus dealer to you, or contact the better business bureau, dept of consumer affairs or the department of motor vehicles...any complaints lodged with the DMV will be heard loud and clear by the dealership - they could lose their dealer license.

Sorry you are having this trouble with your car, but dude - you needed to speak up before you took delivery.

 

Easy to tell if it was a swap car: the window sticker would have the name and address of the dealer where the car was originally shipped.

 

Great informative post, I have some questions:

I do see my odometer reading statement and it's messed up because it says in print 8 miles, but the dealer wrote over with a pen with 148, which I dont know why when the car had around 134 miles when I picked it up. According to what you're saying isn't this a violation by them?

I also did not recieve a certificate of origin, did they leave out a document that I was supposed to receive?

Anybody reading this thread, beware of Lexus of Englewood in NJ, they have made my purchase miserable, I know it was my fault for signing the papers but I had driven 75 miles that day to buy the car and was not about to go home empty handed, shame on me but shame on them for not telling me about the mileage beforehand.

I really like the IS 350 and probably am a Lexus customer for life (im 22) but will never go back to Lexus of Englewood again.

 

Maybe the "certificate of origin" is a New York state thing?

I didn't recieve a statement of origin with this car (or any other I've purchased in the past), just an odometer disclosure statement. The disclosure had 28 miles typed on it, even though the car had 16 miles at the time of delivery. I guess the clerical person who types up the paperwork just used a typical value rather than actually checking the mileage on the car. I certainly wasn't about to quibble over 12 miles.

 

your 'point' is not valid. if you think everyone who drives a demo is redlining it then youre a fool. yeah there are some dumbasses who think nothing of abusing something they arent going to buy but most lexus customers dont fall into that category. well I hope not at least. the punks who do generally bring down the whole anyway.

 

The certificate of origin may be on file some place after it was signed instead of you keeping it.

 

I wouldnt want to turn around and call you a fool, i actually have a weird
respect for gullable and nieve people.. But, if i'm going to test drive a car
that advertises it has "306 Horsepower" and does 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, I'm sure
as hell going to redline it,, (in every gear, if the road permits it).. Also so would
all of the people i know.. In fact, as soon as i took off with the car, the dealer
said to me "put the power button on and hit it!".. If you test drive a IS350 and
then don't even see how fast it can go, (not top speed obviously), then apparantly,
you should not be test driving the 350 you should be test driving the 250..

(I just noticed 2 things, first you dont even own a performance car and secondly
you listed "MA Legal Tint" as one of your mods!" You made my day, thanks!

 

His point is acually quite valid. I had a salesman redline a brand new car when displaying it's capabilities to me, at least twice.. Once when I purchased my M3, and the other when I test drove the 350 (not at the dealership where I actually purchased the car.) If the salesman does it on the drive out, then it would be quite natural for the potential customer to do the same.

Finally, for you to call him a fool doesn't speak well of you. It's downright rude and I hope most Lexus customers don't fall into that category.

mods (not): 18" wheels... 3.5 liter engine, 306 hp, ml audio/nav, no tint

 

I'm a level headed baby boomer, born before Hawaii was a state and hardly a punk kid, yet my test drives always include several full throttle acceleration runs as well as hard cornering and heavy braking. Perhaps those traditional Lexus drivers that would rather be cruising down the road on their living room sofa than actually driving a performance car see no need to assess the dynamic capabilities of the car, but I do. I feel terrible doing this to a car that is going to be sold to another customer as "new", which is why I strongly believe that all dealers should exclusively use designated demo cars for test drives.

 

right, but there's a difference between testing a vehicles performance (like what your saying) and completely abusing the car by redlining every chance they get (like some others are saying).

 

Guys this is a good discussion, but please discontinue the name calling (even if not specifically directed at an individual) and keep to the topic at hand. I ask you to respect other member's opinions even if you don't agree with them.

 

Everyone takes a test drive differently than the next. There is no set guideline for test drives. It's based on personal preference and needs. Some are looking to test drive a rocket and see if the magazine reviews are correct. Some are looking for a compact luxury sedan from Lexus. Some are looking for a people hauler

Enthusiasts would probably want to test drive a vehicle (even if they are not considering a new vehicle) to check its performance hands-on. Magazine articles can only say so much... and everyone *of course* knows how to drive professionally =P We're the types that would suggest an auto cross course for vehicles in this segment (haha)... but it may be a selling point to other types of consumers as well. (I've always wanted an on-site off-road test course for the GX/LX lol... I think Landrover has that)

*Typical* Lexus consumers may take it out w/ a brief "hard drive" period followed by the typical daily-grind style of driving. Not everyone is looking for a rocket... but having the capabilities is definitely a plus. You have to feel if the power is enough/overwhelming/just right. You have to feel the braking power to see if it's to par with your expectations, etc.

Confused people will drive it w/o testing any of the features and say "wow, 40K huh?" =P

SO yea... 140 miles doesn't seem too bad actually. It may have been a dealer trade. It may have been a car that kept getting not-so-interested buyers... Plus if anything does go wrong, you have the awesome powertrain warranty =P

 

The Manufacturers Statement of Origin (MSO) or the Certificate of Origin (CO) comes with every vehicle delivered to a dealership. This document is what is used at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or whatever it is called in your state to register a vehicle for the first time. You normally would never see this document. Lexus/Toyota calls it a Certificate of Origin for a Vehicle.