carguy_62

I joined a few months back as I was searching for my ultimate car - a low mile 05 or so UL in black. I had many questions along the way and Club Lexus members were always helpful with quick and to the point replies.

Sadly, I find that I have had to settle for my second choice as a car, a new Infiniti M35x with full load (pretty cool - reclining rear seats, hard drive card reader ipod dock, dvd player etc... but not an LS430 UL).

I really wanted the Lexus, but being in Canada, there are virtually none here (there was one but it had over 80k miles - an 05 no less) and while I found several US cars for what appeared to be very respectable deals, I was astonished to find that unlike many other luxury makes, Lexus does not honour warranty in Canada for cars bought in the US and you can't even buy one. Now of course the LS430 UL is a great car and nothing will ever go wrong, but I am not comfortable not having warranty coverage, particularly when the air suspension thingies go for $1500 a piece etc.... Maybe that is also why the price differential is so big on these cars Canada vs. US and I guess they want to keep it that way.

I'll likely continue to visit here - just because I still love the cars and might still one day get one (if I can get used to the new ones - still far prefer the 430 series), but just wanted to express my thanks to this forum and its members for all the help.

KILLERGS4

Congrats on your new car... I really like the M35 also... Post some pics. Nice 2nd choice car...

2SAVVY

carguy_62,

Hey good to see another Canadian member here in the LS forum. Yes I agree the LS430UL is very hard to find that aren't beaten to death. Found my LS up at Scarborough Lexus but then again I also new the previous owner who leased it from them so I had a bit of an inside track.

From a former Infiniti owner they are great cars just the service end sucks at most Infiniti dealers.

Pop on G35driver.com and visit the Canadian Forum those guys are the best if you have any questions about your M35.

Happy motoring!!

Ken

carguy_62

You got lucky! Yours was just what I was looking for (though slightly preferred the saddle interior, putting me in the minority).

Saw some nice cars with about 35-30k miles for about US $34-35k, but the warranty thing drove me nuts, and of course there is a hassle with all of the paperwork to bring it up here. I really needed to find one in Canada, even though likely at a higher price, but couldn't find one.

The M is really nice with tons of bells and whistles (no rear fridge and no cooled seats in the back, but dvd and 10gig hard drive for mp3 etc...), but even though it's a 6 cylinder I think it is not a fuel efficient as the LS.

Think I will like it, however, and thanks for the good wishes.

2SAVVY

There is a place in Oakville the name escapes me now but they deal with all the issues when bringing cars over from the US for a small charge. Remember reading about it in the Star's Wheel Section not too long ago.

I'll search it out when I finish dinner here and update this thread.

wanderer99

The Lexus US main vehicle warranty is fully valid in Canada. The US Lexus CPO extended warranty isn't valid in Canada, and US dealers won't even be able to sell you a car with that warranty. So the dealers pull the CPO warranty and replace it with the Platinum warranty if you want it - no big deal. US dealers are selling a lot of used Lexus vehicles to Canada, and rightfully so. The Lexus issued Platinum extended warranty is fully valid in the US and Canada.

I recently imported an 05 LS430 CustomLux to BC and the paperwork was easy. The original US warranty was still valid, and as it was within the 4yrs\50K original full warranty limits, I opted for the Platinum 7yr\100K warranty myself.

It is difficult to find a good LS430 in Canada. I looked at 30 US LS430's before I purchased my vehicle.

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

During my search for my LS, I was also looking at some M45 and FXs

Come back and give us an update/introduction for your M35x

carguy_62

Grrrr. I spoke directly with Lexus Canada, and they told me in no uncertain terms that warranty and CPO did not apply, nor did any of the extended warranties. I was further told that I could not even purchase an additional warranty in Canada (like a platinum or similar) for a car that was from the US. I had quite a lengthy discusison with him and bemoaned that fact, particularly as other manufacturers had no trouble covering a car from US in Canada, and we commiserated a little, but no different answer.

Apparently I was given faulty information - directly from Lexus - or the policy recently changed or someone unintenionally did you a favour. Lucky for you and too late for me. Take delivery on my M35x later today, however, so think I will be happy anyways.

Thanks.

wanderer99

Funnily enough, there was a banner ad displaying immediately below your post for Infiniti of Scottsdale, AZ. This link to their site is a 'We love Canadians' page.

Magic Toyota in WA state also have a webpage dedicated to Canadians and warranty. On that link is all kinds of info - they also advertise here in BC papers regularly.

The Magic Toyota link references Toyota Certified Used vehicles (CPO) warranty not being valid in Canada. The same is true for Lexus, with WA dealers openly advising they can't sell a Lexus CPO vehicle, as directed to them by Toyota\Lexus. So CPO warranty is definitely not available in Canada for US sourced vehicles. So they remove the CPO and adjust the price accordingly, or upgrade you to Platinum for a possible extra charge when you purchase in the US.

The Magic Toyota link also says that remaining warranty coverage is fully valid in Canada. This means whatever warranty coverage dates your vehicle has in the Toyota computer system (original or Platinum extended) is valid in US and Canada.

wanderer99

Lexus Corp Canada can be rather confusing to deal with. I went through them with my ES350, and don't ever plan on dealing with them again. It doesn't surprise me regarding the information they gave you. Enough said.

Enjoy your new Infiniti M35x. I drove an M35 around LA for an entire week in Dec 06. It's a very nice car and I'd definitely buy one. Fantastic trans, great engine, sporty handling and great sound system. It's an all around great car, and we're finally seeing some good deals on these in Canada too I believe.

What color exterior\interior did you get? I loved the wood interior on these cars.

carguy_62

Got the black on black. Really liked the saddle (Infiniti called it "Bourbon"), but no longer available. There are a few use dones online so you can see colour combo. Only options with black were black ("graphite") or beige/tan (yuck for me).

They have changed the wood trim to a very dark satin finish rosewood, I believe, and it looks nice. Car drives beautifully and bells and whistles are lots of fun. Nav system particularly good and mostly recognizes commands without my yet having done the learning process.

Rear seat room is huge - I'm over 6ft and with me comfortable in driver's seat, my 6'3" friend can sit behind with rear seat reclined and have lots of leg/knee room. It's deceptinve, as it doesn't look so big from outside, but long wheelbase seems to give much room inside.

Still a little pi**ed about the issues with Lexus Canada and warranties etc... but still love the Lexus. We'll see what the future brings...

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

The ONLY thing I didn't like about infiniti's wood trim is it's not glossy like lexus.

Saddle-oh yeah, nice choice

Gojirra99

It's matte finish wood, I don't care for them neither, but mmarshall seems to like them ......

I like the saddle leather on the M35/45 too

carguy_62

Just to be clear - I liked the saddle interior, but no longer available.

I actually prefer to satin finish on the wood - to me some real wood, when it is of high quality and is highly polished with glossy varnish, looks unsettlingly close to fake wood. It's that strange paradox that you also have with leather - the more you pay the closer it feels to vinyl.

ErseOne

M35 is a beautiful car. I was actually going to lease one, but found a good deal on my 2GS. Trust me, this place is like crack, you'll be back! =)