gyusung

Hi guys. I am a newbie who has just purchased my first Lexus 2 weeks ago. I bought a 2015 RX350 at a Lexus dealer. I found that the driver side mirror has cracks both at the upper and lower housing. When it got folded, the mirror touches the side window trip because it was bent. The mirror must have been hit by something really hard. The locations of those cracks were not easy to find, so I could not notice them when I purchased the car. I am wondering how this mirror could pass the certification which includes appearance restoration standards? The dealer where I had purchased the car told me that it was my fault for not noticing the problem. The mirror is working well mechanically and electrically at this moment; however, I am concerning whether water may go into the housing through the cracks and cause damages to the mirror unit.

After the purchase, I requested the dealer to send me the complete Lexus service history. There was an item in the history stating that a new mirror assembly was needed. Because the repair was not done, I did not see it from the CarFax repair history. The dealer said that the mirror passed the certification standards. I am wondering how this mirror could pass the certification which includes appearance restoration standards.

If I bring this to the Lexus Customer Satisfaction Department, can they do something for me? Or should I forget about it?

Any suggestions on what I can do? Thanks for your help.

salimshah

I think you have made the first round with the sales person.

Now armed with the history, visit the used sales manager (the one who approved the sale). If you have already done that then approach Lexus customer service. They will most likely say discuss the issue with the dealership and you can respond that you have already done that. The only place you have not gone to is the Manager/owner of the dealership.

My suggestion would be to present your case as an item was overlooked in prep as well as your inspection before delivery. You can present the service history as a strong indicator of the issue being present at time of delivery. [Although both you and prep crew should have looked at the history and confirmed the status of last recorded findings]. You can appeal to Lexus that your reason to purchase was 'customer service' and 'customer satisfaction'. I would not go strong on failure to find the defect at prep. But that is just me.

Choose the arguments that best fit your style. I would suggest that be polite and persistent. Understand that the dealership point of view is that the damage could have happened while the vehicle was in your procession. If the damage is old, savvy tech may be able to determine if the damage is recent or not.

Another thing to keep in mind that a repair is broken into parts + labor. Many times in negotiations Lexus Corp provides the part and the owner pays for the labor. In this scenario the dealership looses nothing.

Salim