For Sale Scam Alert: 2009 LX570 at Hiley Buick GMC TX (1 Viewer)

Year

2009

Vehicle Model

1. 200 Series
2. LX570

Location

United States

Mileage

115000

Color

Black

Beware of these sewer rats. I'm about to start LCCygnus's sewer rat series.

Getting so tired of the scumbags that are involved in this industry.

I inquired about this LX and asked for undercarriage photos. While the undercarriage looked good, when i asked about any mechanical or cosmetic flaws I got the scumbag answer of "the vehicle's condition is in line with an 11 year old vehicle that was taken care of".

Not sure how many of you guys shop on eBay, but this is the exact same as an eBay seller saying nothing but "condition is used" in the item description as to exploit eBay's user agreement on item condition by using a blanket statement rather than getting off of their ass and giving an accurate assessment of the condition.

I asked again to be given an accurate assessment of the condition and got nothing.

Undeterred by the lack of description and distance between myself and the vehicle, I called in and requested a salesman different from the one who ignored me.

I got a slightly more eager salesman and a better description of the condition, as well as several other indicators of good compression which i would further verify later.

I decided to place a $500 deposit on the vehicle, with a drive-out-invoice signed by a manager, at this price+dealer fees:

I take off work, arrange a rental car, my household taken care of for a few days, travel costs, the whole 9 yards.

While showing a friend my future prospect during dinner the next night, i see that the price had increased by $1000.

I'm thinking to myself: they didnt really just do that did they? That cant affect or change my agreed upon deal can it? I mean, i already placed a deposit on it, with legalese stating that I effectively own the vehicle, signed by the manager.

I called first thing the next morning and confirmed their sewer rat status.

Their response: "Pricing shifts constantly, especially these days, and we have to make sure that our pricing is in line with market trends."

Of course, i told this scumbag that this imaginary market shift has nothing to do with me as i have signed a contract and demanded to speak with the manager who signed my invoice.

I get this scumbag on the phone, and he basically reiterates the same thing.

So I of course ask him that this nonsense doesnt apply to our deal, correct? The original price agreed upon that I placed a deposit on is still valid correct?

He tells me no, that I would have do pay the new price.

I told him that not only do we have a contract, but to say that the market has shifted UPWARDS during this pandemic is absolutely absurd. If anything, the price should be CHEAPER.

This guy tells me to look at the fine print on the signed invoice, and that I would see rjat it states "this is not an agreement or contract for sale".

Lmao.

I was like so what in the hell did i place a deposit on? I have given you money, i have made plans, i have taken off work, what the hell is the problem?

His response was more or less "sue us" being that he knew I was 700 miles say in ATL and before I could even get off of the phone I got a text confirmation that my deposit had been refunded.

I will not include what I said to the man (little girl) before hanging up but it contained very colorful language and the promise that I would be calling the BBB, leavng a harsh google review, blasting them on the land cruiser forum and FB.

I have no idea why someone would pull such disgusting acts like this over a whopping $900 other than they are hoping to tack on all of the dealer fees, document fees, lazy salesman fees and oxygen fees on top of the new price thus creating more profit than they could have gotten out of me.

I tried to find the link to post the VIN and the ad has since been swiftly removed.

I dont know if they removed it to let the heat die down if I were to make good on my promise to expose them online or if they quickly sold it to some poor sucker who wasnt aware that he was being artificially upsold.

Regardless, beware of this dealership if it happens to pop back up. If it does, i will probably be the first to know as I scour the earth for these vehicles day in and day out.

Learn from my situation - even if you place a deposit and sign a contract - they can still screw you and inflate the price.

If I get into another situation again, i am going to insist that the terms "this is not an agreement or contract for sale" be completely redacted from the invoice with no exceptions.

And even then, depending on how far away they are, I suppose they could STILL simply ignore it and say "sue us".

I really wish someone on this forum with some damned balls and a solid word would sell me his black LX already.

Oh well. Wish me luck fellas.

 

[OregonLC]

I can appreciate your frustration, though this doesn't sound particularly egregious to me. Sales people are good at networking and bringing a deal to closure. They're not by any means mechanical experts. Expecting a detailed list of mechanical flaws is not realistic. You could always hire a third-party to inspect the vehicle prior to travel, though my experience with using one is that they take more pictures and will alert to body flaws but that's about it. When you travel to buy you roll the dice. Assume it's junk until you spend an hour with it.

Regarding price... again, they're just doing their job. You have to look at it from their perspective; by-and-large we (the buying population) are scumbags too. We say we're going to buy, but we don't. We say 'hold the truck I'll be down tomorrow' then we don't show. We say we'll pay a certain price then negotiate down later. Those types of shenanigans are 'de rigueur' for auto sales. Really the only power the buyer has is to walk and that power is largely reduced when you travel to buy; you're a (somewhat) captive audience at that point.

Again, I completely empathize with your frustrations but this is just the way of the world when it comes to auto sales. If you're to compose a 'sewer rat' list, be prepared for a very large undertaking.

I will say, that your odds are better when buying from a Lexus store. The culture is one more of service and that carries through into business ethics. And this is a very wide net for me to cast, not all dealers are bad. It's just very hard to make that determination from a few phone calls. If you live in the area you can pick up anecdotal stories from friends and visit the dealer in person multiple times to vet things out. On the web, they all look the same.

The other thing you can do to hedge your bets is to buy a CPO. There is value in that moniker (at least from Toyota/Lexus). You're going to get a vehicle that meets strict criteria and comes with a warranty backing it should things go wrong. Though this probably becomes price prohibitive for many when a two year old CPO LX is still in the 60k range.

 

[LCCygnus]

I can appreciate your frustration, though this doesn't sound particularly egregious to me. Sales people are good at networking and bringing a deal to closure. They're not by any means mechanical experts. Expecting a detailed list of mechanical flaws is not realistic. You could always hire a third-party to inspect the vehicle prior to travel, though my experience with using one is that they take more pictures and will alert to body flaws but that's about it. When you travel to buy you roll the dice. Assume it's junk until you spend an hour with it.

Regarding price... again, they're just doing their job. You have to look at it from their perspective; by-and-large we (the buying population) are scumbags too. We say we're going to buy, but we don't. We say 'hold the truck I'll be down tomorrow' then we don't show. We say we'll pay a certain price then negotiate down later. Those types of shenanigans are 'de rigueur' for auto sales. Really the only power the buyer has is to walk and that power is largely reduced when you travel to buy; you're a (somewhat) captive audience at that point.

Again, I completely empathize with your frustrations but this is just the way of the world when it comes to auto sales. If you're to compose a 'sewer rat' list, be prepared for a very large undertaking.

I will say, that your odds are better when buying from a Lexus store. The culture is one more of service and that carries through into business ethics. And this is a very wide net for me to cast, not all dealers are bad. It's just very hard to make that determination from a few phone calls. If you live in the area you can pick up anecdotal stories from friends and visit the dealer in person multiple times to vet things out. On the web, they all look the same.

The other thing you can do to hedge your bets is to buy a CPO. There is value in that moniker (at least from Toyota/Lexus). You're going to get a vehicle that meets strict criteria and comes with a warranty backing it should things go wrong. Though this probably becomes price prohibitive for many when a two year old CPO LX is still in the 60k range.

It wasnt a "hold it I will be there tomorrow" thing, I'm not sure you read everything in my post, I know it was a long one.

I actually placed a $500 deposit with an invoice showing an agreed upon price signed by a manager.

It wasn't something that came with the territory. These guys were lowlifes.

Give it another read and you will see the the sewer swimmin'.

I appreciate the advice on buying Lexus CPO although i have never seen an LX offered this way unless it was 2016+ which I can't justify purchasing.

Perhaps if they offered it on one of the older ones in my price range and would actually send me the legal document stating the actual warranty agreement instead of the brochure.

Before getting into cruisers, i was really trying hard for a wrangler rubicon and came across a CPO.

The salesman was very excited to offer me the brochure about the CPO and what it covered, but not the legalese.

I again asked for the legal contract, but only got a level 2 brochure that went into a little more detail but not the actual legal jargain and loopholes.

I asked for it again and got ignored, so I didnt buy.

I dont know how Lexus CPO works, but with other companies it is a rip and they will weasel out of covering things.

They are happy to offer the brochure but not the legal document showing you your actual rights and entitlement with the contract.

Sort of like in elementary school when they teach you how to articulate yourself by asking for a how-to on making a PB&J sandwich.

Theres a huge difference between "put the penaut butter on the bread" and "open the jar of peanut butter, take your knife and dip it in, spread the peanut butter onto the bread in a thin layer".

One method means actually making one half of your desired sandwich, the other method means putting the jar of unopened peanut butter on top of the bread.

So i never bought into the CPO thing, at least from DCJR. Perhaps I could from Lexus since they have a stellar reputation in customer satisfaction.

 

[mcgaskins]

FWIW I found a smoking deal on an LX at a Nissan dealer about 2 hours away from me. I made an appointment to see it, and then I saw they increased the price 2x to around $3k over the start asking price. I reached out and asked what the deal was and if they'd honor the original price. We went back and forth, and their final answer was that I had to give them a $1k non-refundable deposit on the spot to secure the lower price even though I still had not seen it (and they had no pics on the website). I figured they did me a favor by saving me the hassle of dealing with them because I'm confident there would have been more shenanigans if I showed up in person. It pays to wait for the right seller and right deal. About 2 weeks later a better truck, better color, better price, better seller showed up 10 minutes from our house, and that's the one that ended up in our driveway. Don't worry about it - just move on and be happy they saved you from the hassle and guaranteed additional frustration.

 

[Nola622]

FWIW I found a smoking deal on an LX at a Nissan dealer about 2 hours away from me. I made an appointment to see it, and then I saw they increased the price 2x to around $3k over the start asking price. I reached out and asked what the deal was and if they'd honor the original price. We went back and forth, and their final answer was that I had to give them a $1k non-refundable deposit on the spot to secure the lower price even though I still had not seen it (and they had no pics on the website). I figured they did me a favor by saving me the hassle of dealing with them because I'm confident there would have been more shenanigans if I showed up in person. It pays to wait for the right seller and right deal. About 2 weeks later a better truck, better color, better price, better seller showed up 10 minutes from our house, and that's the one that ended up in our driveway. Don't worry about it - just move on and be happy they saved you from the hassle and guaranteed additional frustration.

Mcgaskins, did you buy the silver 2013 that had the black TRD wheels on it?

 

[mcgaskins]

Mcgaskins, did you buy the silver 2013 that had the black TRD wheels on it?

Maybe Build thread will be coming soon!

 

[Whiskerz]

Ohio regulates used car dealers and has a dealership association. The Ohio bureau of motor vehicles is the state agency. I would file a complaint of unethical business practices. It looks like they did you a favor. Leave a google review. They can not change that or pay google to make it go away.

 

[bencallaway]

I've been studying the market hard for a few months and though I bought one last week I'm still watching. Prices seem to be trending up $1-2k over mid April.

 

[KAScruiser]

I really wish someone on this forum with some damned balls and a solid word would sell me his black LX already.

Mine is still, somehow for sale. and I am closer to you than 700 miles............I just took some videos for another interested party pm me your number if you want me to send them....

SOLD - North Carolina: 2009 LX570 *Still for sale.........*

Sigh. Selling the 570. Its Black with Tan interior. No modifications. With the 3rd kid on the way, wife has decided she wants something bigger which has us looking at Sequoias, Yukon XLs and Burbs. I am the second owner. Has spent most its life in Charlottesville, VA then moved to NC. Used as...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[TXMeatball]

Should be shopping for the land cruiser instead of the deal. A lot of the time dealers like these give service equal to their prices. Just find one you like and negotiate to what you think is fair.
Also surprised you didn't fly out right away to get the '08 LX with 89k for $19k a couple days ago in houston.

 

[LCCygnus]

FWIW I found a smoking deal on an LX at a Nissan dealer about 2 hours away from me. I made an appointment to see it, and then I saw they increased the price 2x to around $3k over the start asking price. I reached out and asked what the deal was and if they'd honor the original price. We went back and forth, and their final answer was that I had to give them a $1k non-refundable deposit on the spot to secure the lower price even though I still had not seen it (and they had no pics on the website). I figured they did me a favor by saving me the hassle of dealing with them because I'm confident there would have been more shenanigans if I showed up in person. It pays to wait for the right seller and right deal. About 2 weeks later a better truck, better color, better price, better seller showed up 10 minutes from our house, and that's the one that ended up in our driveway. Don't worry about it - just move on and be happy they saved you from the hassle and guaranteed additional frustration.

Thank you for the encouraging words, Skins. I will keep that in mind moving forward.

Should be shopping for the land cruiser instead of the deal. A lot of the time dealers like these give service equal to their prices. Just find one you like and negotiate to what you think is fair.
Also surprised you didn't fly out right away to get the '08 LX with 89k for $19k a couple days ago in houston.

I will keep that in mind.

Link to that 08?

I've been studying the market hard for a few months and though I bought one last week I'm still watching. Prices seem to be trending up $1-2k over mid April.

I have found them to be 2-5k lower. They are just never my color and interior combo or are located on the other side of the moon.

Mine is still, somehow for sale. and I am closer to you than 700 miles............I just took some videos for another interested party pm me your number if you want me to send them....

SOLD - North Carolina: 2009 LX570 *Still for sale.........*

Sigh. Selling the 570. Its Black with Tan interior. No modifications. With the 3rd kid on the way, wife has decided she wants something bigger which has us looking at Sequoias, Yukon XLs and Burbs. I am the second owner. Has spent most its life in Charlottesville, VA then moved to NC. Used as...

forum.ih8mud.com

You said you were trading in?

 

[KAScruiser]

You said you were trading in?

The dealer that offered me the most on trade in sold the vehicle I was interested in...so still hunting.