I want to buy a used 2015 Lexus Rx 450h in another state and need to hire a pre-purchase inspection mechanic? Where can I find him?

 

I see no harm, but what is the guarantee that your money is well spent?

Salim

 

If it's from a legit Lexus dealership and CPO, then I really don't see any REAL need to do this. However, I would still like to PERSONALLY and PHYSICALLY see and touch the car before I commit to buying it.

ADDENDUM: . Just make sure if from a Lexus dealership that it is indeed a "L Certified" with Lexus UNLIMITED MILEAGE WARRANTY for AT LEAST TWO MORE YEARS OR A TOTAL OF 6 YEARS FROM THE DATE OF FIRST PUT IN SERVICE!!! Not all used Lexus vehicles for sale on the Lexus dealership lots are "L Certified". Will need to specifically ask for it and need to SEE paperwork with all the "L Certified Lexus" documents with UNLIMITED MILEAGE WARRANTY!!!

If you drive A LOT, then this route will be your best deal!! MB comes close with it's ONE year additional INCLUDED UNLIMITED MILEAGE WARRANTY CPO (one can buy additional total of THREE years of unlimited mileage warranty, but it's costly!!)

 

OP, rather seek out Lexus CPO vehicle.

 

This site will help you find a mechanic. It is shops recommended by listeners to the NPR Car Talk radio show. https://www.cartalk.com/mechanics-files

I bought my RX used out of state from a Cadillac dealer when it was 2 years old with a one owner clean CarFax report and having checked the service records at the Lexus drivers web site. It was a local trade in. It was and still is a fine vehicle.

 

Search in the area that the vehicle is located for a reputable inspection service or use one of the nationwide inspection services. Or ask people located in the area that the vehicle is located for recommendations.

Compared to the cost of a vehicle with issues I'd say an inspection by a reputable service is definitely money well spent. However, it is a subjective matter and some don't want to spend the money.

I prefer having an independent 3rd party verify even if it is CPO. There were some items of note with our L/Certified 450h. No show stoppers that prevented us from making the purchase but I was glad to have info that the dealer didn't disclose.

 

2015? It's still under 50 000/5 yr bumper to bumper. Unless it was wracked and is rebuild title.
That said, I saw so much grief from others after remote buying that I absolutely do not condone any of them. Hands on is hands on. You always get what you paid for.

 

I would not buy a vehicle unseen. I never ordered new one. I have to see and try one which will become mine. Only one time when I was buying two brand new Subaru vehicles for my kids I found one in blue in town but red one for daughter has to be brought in from another city. Luckily I had a buddy who lives there and he checked the vehicle out for me. Local dealer where I got blue one received and detailed B4 delivery.
Son became a good driver driving that Subaru thru HS and university now owns two BMWs. Daughter's one got written off by hail damage when she was resident at out of town hospital. With payout money plus some out of my pocket she got another Subaru which is still on the road. She is looking at a Lexus or Mercedes vehicle for her next drive. Isn't there an old saying, 'Haste makes waste'? Always other cars come along. More than an inspection, maybe service history is valuable. I had '15 450h for about 2 years needed just two oil/filter changes during my ownership serviced by a selling dealer.

 

X2 here.

Check out the MB GLA. Just the right size for a single person or a married couple. Probably too small for a family of 4.

A couple of months ago I was looking for a small USED SAFE SUV for my son who is in college.

I was going for one of the USED Subaru SUV's. I even expanded my search to include used Lexus NX, RX, GX, and LX. In the end the more expensive Lexus models to get to my targeted price range of around $24K left me only with much older year models and/or way too many miles on the odo. On the Subaru side......I ran into similar issues. The Subaru folks thinks they have something really special and wanted top dollar.

Then I came across the MB GLA. I researched on it and found out MB co-developed the GLA along with Infinity!! On the Infinity side, it's the QX30. I figure the engine and the drive train along with many of the electronics are the same found in the Inifinity so the reliability should be above average. Plus the euro ENCAP gave it a 5 STAR crash rating.
https://newatlas.com/euro-ncap-safet...gs-2014/33667/

So I found a CPO 2015 MB GLA250 4Matic (all wheel drive) and got the MB dealer to include an additional 3 years of unlimited mileage CPO MB warranty as I will not want to own an MB out if warranty (all the way to 2023) PLUS shipping to SoCal (some 2000+ miles away. I work in the area where the MB dealer is located so I personally and throughly checked it out). All within budget!! Also just the right size for the Orange county area where parking is very tight. Our LX570 often have difficulty fitting into some of the parking spots marked compact.
https://www.autoblog.com/2017/03/16/...50-comparison/

 

Sorry wrong thread ... Bought CPO MY-2017 (EXEC w/ tow package) in Y'2019 with 51K Km still under warranty. Saved me a lot compared to buying new and so far been very satisfied with vehicle.

 

Gave up on new cars 10 years ago. Bought a BMW and a MB with CPO. Take that CPO with a grain of salt as to what is covered and what's not. Maybe Lexus covers everything. I don't know.
Also there's this thing called Lexus Owners. Open an account there and plug in the VIN number and you get literally everything after the car was born. I recently bought a RX with 115k plus miles and that car had every service done including a brand new hybrid battery from a Lexus dealership.