Need Inspection: Phoenix LS460
05-25-12, 02:41 PM
#16
Lead Lap
Spend a little time with the really QUALITY Elite Lexus dealers ....... with their Senior Service Advisers - and let them tell you the stories of the LS460's which have arrived in their stores for service work.
They will detail story after story of LS's which in NO MANNER WHATSOEVER were ever qualified to carry a CPO tag !!!!!!!! Effectively, they were sold as CPO cars, but in no manner did not QUALIFY for this !
Just a word to the wise ..... THE DEALER, and his reputation, is as important to this process.
Best Wishes, Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA
05-25-12, 03:07 PM
#17
Lexus Fanatic
Stay away from Bell Lexus in Phoenix. They have gone down the tubes over the last 5 years and have gone from a great service place and dealership to a shop that cant even do a basic repair the right way the first time and a true "stealership" Stay away from Bell sales or service, especially the service area
05-25-12, 03:15 PM
#18
This is an excellent question. It desaerves SERIOUS attention. Buying a CPO LS460 does not mean as much as WHICH DEALER YOU BUY IIT FROM !!!!!!!
Spend a little time with the really QUALITY Elite Lexus dealers ....... with their Senior Service Advisers - and let them tell you the stories of the LS460's which have arrived in their stores for service work.
They will detail story after story of LS's which in NO MANNER WHATSOEVER were ever qualified to carry a CPO tag !!!!!!!! Effectively, they were sold as CPO cars, but in no manner did not QUALIFY for this !
Just a word to the wise ..... THE DEALER, and his reputation, is as important to this process.
Best Wishes, Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA
Spend a little time with the really QUALITY Elite Lexus dealers ....... with their Senior Service Advisers - and let them tell you the stories of the LS460's which have arrived in their stores for service work.
They will detail story after story of LS's which in NO MANNER WHATSOEVER were ever qualified to carry a CPO tag !!!!!!!! Effectively, they were sold as CPO cars, but in no manner did not QUALIFY for this !
Just a word to the wise ..... THE DEALER, and his reputation, is as important to this process.
Best Wishes, Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA
05-25-12, 03:39 PM
#19
This is an excellent question. It desaerves SERIOUS attention. Buying a CPO LS460 does not mean as much as WHICH DEALER YOU BUY IIT FROM !!!!!!!
Spend a little time with the really QUALITY Elite Lexus dealers ....... with their Senior Service Advisers - and let them tell you the stories of the LS460's which have arrived in their stores for service work.
They will detail story after story of LS's which in NO MANNER WHATSOEVER were ever qualified to carry a CPO tag !!!!!!!! Effectively, they were sold as CPO cars, but in no manner did not QUALIFY for this !
Just a word to the wise ..... THE DEALER, and his reputation, is as important to this process.
Best Wishes, Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA
Spend a little time with the really QUALITY Elite Lexus dealers ....... with their Senior Service Advisers - and let them tell you the stories of the LS460's which have arrived in their stores for service work.
They will detail story after story of LS's which in NO MANNER WHATSOEVER were ever qualified to carry a CPO tag !!!!!!!! Effectively, they were sold as CPO cars, but in no manner did not QUALIFY for this !
Just a word to the wise ..... THE DEALER, and his reputation, is as important to this process.
Best Wishes, Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA
I certainly understand that there are better dealerships than others, but a car should not be part of the program period if it doesn't meet the threshold of what should qualify for this program.
That being said, the 3 year 100k warranty should more than suffice but it may mean that, as I have been, you may be in the dealership for a few visits before feeling like the car is up to the standards that it should be.
05-25-12, 04:53 PM
#20
Lead Lap
The problem I have with this is that Lexus is supposed to take pride in the way this process is handled, regardless of which dealership is involved.
I certainly understand that there are better dealerships than others, but a car should not be part of the program period if it doesn't meet the threshold of what should qualify for this program.
That being said, the 3 year 100k warranty should more than suffice but it may mean that, as I have been, you may be in the dealership for a few visits before feeling like the car is up to the standards that it should be.
I certainly understand that there are better dealerships than others, but a car should not be part of the program period if it doesn't meet the threshold of what should qualify for this program.
That being said, the 3 year 100k warranty should more than suffice but it may mean that, as I have been, you may be in the dealership for a few visits before feeling like the car is up to the standards that it should be.
Some dealers do not subscribe 100% to this. Only a few dealers however ...... and some may vary in this regard during the course of a year.
What this says is: Lexus is like Life in general. Nothing is perfect. And if you tend to disregard this, sooner or later you are gonna be disappointed.
Best Wishes to all, And a Happy Memorial Day to our Soldiers and veterans.
Mikey Lulejian - Lake Oconee, GA
05-25-12, 08:49 PM
#21
22X9 P265/30/22
22X10.5 P295/25/22
Tanabe Springs but will swap to coilovers possibly this year
Brembo 6 piston 380mm BBK
05-26-12, 05:17 AM
#22
Mine's an AWD and the front struts were bad so they're replacing the actuators and struts, I was getting my windows tinted and the tinters noticed that the laminated factory tint was yellowing down the middle of the 2 panes of glass so they had to replace the 2 front windows, then I also had my brake actuator replaced due to a ticking sound (there's a service bulletin on this, so a known issue by Lexus).
Regarding the struts, ya know when you run into concrete that has shed a top layer so the concrete isn't smooth? Going over that in this car i felt it a LOT more than I should have (my older Honda was much more solid feeling) so they found that the struts were going back and needed to be replaced.
My car had just over 48k miles on it when I got it, so up to 50 they're covering everything under that warranty, but I believe everything up to this point would have been covered under the CPO warranty as well.
I just replaced the tires as the ones that were on it were wearing badly on the inside edge, and since they have to replace the struts, they'll be doing an alignment on the car so once all that is said and done it will be happy days.....
Regarding the struts, ya know when you run into concrete that has shed a top layer so the concrete isn't smooth? Going over that in this car i felt it a LOT more than I should have (my older Honda was much more solid feeling) so they found that the struts were going back and needed to be replaced.
My car had just over 48k miles on it when I got it, so up to 50 they're covering everything under that warranty, but I believe everything up to this point would have been covered under the CPO warranty as well.
I just replaced the tires as the ones that were on it were wearing badly on the inside edge, and since they have to replace the struts, they'll be doing an alignment on the car so once all that is said and done it will be happy days.....
05-26-12, 07:28 AM
#23
Lead Lap
I bought my SWB from a broker with an A+ BBB verified rating along with verified letters of appreciation from my county's chamber of commerce and police dept for being an upstanding business and all that good stuff.
Long story short, I found a gem SWB Obsidian with every option possible minus air suspension and radar cruise. I paid $7K less than a CPO similar model at the dealer with way less options. Before purchase, I had it inspected by an independent shop and a Lexus dealer and both arrived at the conclusion that I indeed had a pristine vehicle worthy of purchase. I got a 3.25% loan from my credit union and paid $1000 for a Zero Deductible Platinum extended warranty that covers me to 104K miles.
There are some great brokers out there with very nice LS's they have or can get for you. A business with a good track record is reassuring. I know people who had CPO cars of various brands including Lexus who stay in the shop for repairs. If you time it right and catch a dealer on a good day, you can smoke a deal. But I think you have even more opportunity at a broker to save a ton of cash. Since Aug 2010, my car has only lost about $2500 based on what I paid for it...that's pretty good if you ask me.
Good luck in what you decide to do!
Long story short, I found a gem SWB Obsidian with every option possible minus air suspension and radar cruise. I paid $7K less than a CPO similar model at the dealer with way less options. Before purchase, I had it inspected by an independent shop and a Lexus dealer and both arrived at the conclusion that I indeed had a pristine vehicle worthy of purchase. I got a 3.25% loan from my credit union and paid $1000 for a Zero Deductible Platinum extended warranty that covers me to 104K miles.
There are some great brokers out there with very nice LS's they have or can get for you. A business with a good track record is reassuring. I know people who had CPO cars of various brands including Lexus who stay in the shop for repairs. If you time it right and catch a dealer on a good day, you can smoke a deal. But I think you have even more opportunity at a broker to save a ton of cash. Since Aug 2010, my car has only lost about $2500 based on what I paid for it...that's pretty good if you ask me.
Good luck in what you decide to do!
05-26-12, 08:47 AM
#24
Value of CPO = Value of extended warranty, IMHO
I agree with most of the statements above, but between my experience during my search for my LS and other CPO experiences, I can comfortably say that:
(1) I agree with Mikey, that much of the quality in the CPO process is a function of the specific dealership
and also (which I've posted before)
(2) That a lousy used car will likely continue to be so after CPO and
(3) A great used car can be so without CPO (even if CPO can improve it through the extended warranty and the replacement of some wear-and-tear items).
I went the non-CPO route and bought an extended warranty from Lexus. My car has had north of $20k in warranty repairs, all before the original 4/50 warranty expired. I can tell you with 99% certainty that a CPO inspection would have failed to identify and rectify the vast majority of the problems my car has had.
When I share this story with people, most say "that's what you get from buying a used car". That's not the case here... All these issues would have surfaced had I been the original owner of this perfectly-maintained and well-kept 2008 LS460L.
The moral of the story... Look for the right car, CPO or not. If it isn't CPO, it's definitely preferable to get it while it's under factory warranty, since to your point, there are many things you don't see until you drive the car for a while. This way, things can get fixed AND you still qualify to buy a "new car" extended warranty.
And the second moral of the story... Lexus has stood behind this product in an unbelievable way. I have never dealt with an auto manufacturer so keen on making things right. The shop foreman and diagnostic specialist at the dealership, the district service and parts manager, and the field technical specialist have all been nothing short of amazing in their follow-through and persistence.
(1) I agree with Mikey, that much of the quality in the CPO process is a function of the specific dealership
and also (which I've posted before)
(2) That a lousy used car will likely continue to be so after CPO and
(3) A great used car can be so without CPO (even if CPO can improve it through the extended warranty and the replacement of some wear-and-tear items).
I went the non-CPO route and bought an extended warranty from Lexus. My car has had north of $20k in warranty repairs, all before the original 4/50 warranty expired. I can tell you with 99% certainty that a CPO inspection would have failed to identify and rectify the vast majority of the problems my car has had.
When I share this story with people, most say "that's what you get from buying a used car". That's not the case here... All these issues would have surfaced had I been the original owner of this perfectly-maintained and well-kept 2008 LS460L.
The moral of the story... Look for the right car, CPO or not. If it isn't CPO, it's definitely preferable to get it while it's under factory warranty, since to your point, there are many things you don't see until you drive the car for a while. This way, things can get fixed AND you still qualify to buy a "new car" extended warranty.
And the second moral of the story... Lexus has stood behind this product in an unbelievable way. I have never dealt with an auto manufacturer so keen on making things right. The shop foreman and diagnostic specialist at the dealership, the district service and parts manager, and the field technical specialist have all been nothing short of amazing in their follow-through and persistence.
Last edited by caha14; 05-26-12 at 10:15 AM.
05-26-12, 10:36 AM
#25
google around for a service like this:
http://www.autopi.com/
they have inspected two of my cars and did a great job.
http://www.autopi.com/
they have inspected two of my cars and did a great job.
05-26-12, 10:58 AM
#26
Lead Lap
Agreed with caha and Mikey and others...I forgot to mention I bought mine with 44k miles on it. The best thing I did was review all of the TSB threads I could find and rolled into my dealer and complained about all that stuff and slapped the printed TSBs down on the desk and all repairs were made..over $6k of TSB/warranty work done before 50k miles ran out.. an educated owner can really score a deal..so buy under 50k to maximize all the free repairs..
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