'04 LC/LX potential purchase question...advice needed please (1 Viewer)

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the warranty that was quoted wasnt available back in 2001, lexus just rolled out the platinum warranty program for higher mileage vehicle within the last 12 months, so your coverage on a vehicle with no bumper to bumper coverage now has the same warranty coverage as a brand new lexus. previous warranties like the gold plan had lots of exclusions, and as such, were cheaper. lexus also raises their rates typically every year, there is a rate increase due for october.
 
The 03 seems quite high to me and the Platinum warranty is high in comparison to a CPO. However, Lexus only offers CPO up to 60K miles and typically don't like to offer them above 50K miles. I had two dealers tell me they could offer CPO on a non-CPO used vehicle for about $800 as "our cost" and I believe they were correct. The vehicles were in great shape and did not need additional work to be certified - primarily paper work.

However, purchasing the extended warranty when the vehicle is past the new warranty of 50K means you will pay as a used car purchaser. That is why the big bucks on the warranty. If they will certify it, expect to be charged the $800 plus any work that may need to be done to meet the requirements to be certifiable.

It looks like the 03 is caught in the middle and neither the dealer nor you may have much flexibility. I would keep looking to find a better value - they are definitely out there if you have the flexibility to be patient.
 
thanks for the feedback.....not going to actively persue this 03 at the moment, though the dealer has asked for a counter offer from me...i am thinkin low to mid 30s on that LX...since month end has come and gone, will look to reload for sep...no rush on the purchase would just like to get it off the to-do list...will see what comes available over next couple weeks...would prefer a lower mileage 03...

enjoy the holiday weekend everyone
thanks
bill
 
hey guys...yes i am back and still looking...has been tuf as there has been no real supply of vehicles offered locally...i have decided to expand my search nationally and not try to trade-in her vehicle etc...

i am focusing on findin a certified '03 LX... will be wifey daily and family vaction truckster...i am thinkin certified so wife can get loaner, service etc and should make a long distance purchase easier i would think?? any thoughts??

....is my logic correct?? seems to be more 04s but am worried bout the nav issue?? and from reading here has been some quirks with the MY05+ so seems '03 is sweet spot with maybe a stretch to '04...can i feel safe to assume a certified vehickle will be a safe choice?? anyone know of a plum out there...prefer darker color with gray int, hitch...no bling pls

also thoughts on a fair value price?? 35-40k sound fair??

thanks again for the help
bill
 
Hi Bill...I am new to this site and this is actually my first post. Currently have a 2004 LC...just learning that there have been problems with the NAV...I have not had any issues and will keep my fingers crossed. I may inquire about the TSB with my dealer.

I previously had a 1990...and consider it a transition year. Toy improved the transmission and upped the HP shortly after the 1990 model year.

2nd LC was a 1994...which I kept for 10 years a 210K trouble free miles...was a great vehicle with an improved transmission and a more powerful inline 6...and got a little better gas mileage.

3rd LC is 2004 with all the goodies...as they seem to come that way. I like the V8 Ok but I acutally liked the low end tourque of the '94 inline 6 fine too. Currently have about 45K miles and no problems to date.

I PREFER the LC to the LX...as others have mentioned...I do not like the cladding and probably still would prefer the looks of the mid 90s LC...a bit less "soccer mom". But I am fine with my 2004.

So far from my thread reading I am considering Bilsteen (sp?) shocks as I like less sway and a bit more stifness is OK with me...and I probably will check with the dealer regarding the TSB on the Nav system. I don't really use the Nav part...just the other functions that are "hooked" up to the touchscreen.

Not sure if any of this is helpful...but FWIW...Thanks TomR
 
boze_man said:
hey guys...yes i am back and still looking...has been tuf as there has been no real supply of vehicles offered locally...i have decided to expand my search nationally and not try to trade-in her vehicle etc...

i am focusing on findin a certified '03 LX... will be wifey daily and family vaction truckster...i am thinkin certified so wife can get loaner, service etc and should make a long distance purchase easier i would think?? any thoughts??

....is my logic correct?? seems to be more 04s but am worried bout the nav issue?? and from reading here has been some quirks with the MY05+ so seems '03 is sweet spot with maybe a stretch to '04...can i feel safe to assume a certified vehickle will be a safe choice?? anyone know of a plum out there...prefer darker color with gray int, hitch...no bling pls

also thoughts on a fair value price?? 35-40k sound fair??

thanks again for the help
bill
Click to expand...

I bought the '03 since it was the first year w/ the 5speed and the last year w/ the tranny dipstick. The loaner car thing saves lots of time...in and out in a few minutes. My Toyota dealer here took half a day to do a ATF exchange. Lexus dealer had it done in 2 hrs including the car wash, but I had a new '07 ES freebie loaner to take to work, so I was in no hurry. Once you install the aftermarket steel bumpers up front & back, it'll lose some of it's luxury car status. FYI, I paid the KBB price w/ options one year ago on my '03 (had 49.8K mi, CPO for $42K). They wouldn't budge below that price, but I did manage to bargain them down on extending the CPO warranty from 3/100 to 5/100 for only $350!! (I figure I'd drive 10K mi/yr max)

If you get the '03, make sure the steering wheel is centered when driving straight on a normal (flat) road. Some of the early '03's like mine would have the steering wheel 5-10 deg to the left while driving straight. PO probably never noticed. Dealer said the VGRS ECU had been updated since and changed it on the CPO warranty for free. It's been fine since. I didn't notice this during the test drive since the road was reversed cambered (center was lower), and I was concentrating on getting the car up to 60mph on surface streets to see if there was any vibration in the steering detectable (none, but I checked in case since the GX470's and 4Runners have been plagued by it). Also make sure the steering wheel retracting motor runs smoothly. You might want to disable the auto-retract feature to save the motor (I did). Also make sure they deliver TWO master keys. Mine only came w/ one and the valet, so wife and I were dismayed to have to spend another $240 to have a new master key programmed after shelling out all that cash on the rig. Also have them delete any missing keys from the ECU. Salesman said lexus is only obligated to supply two keys w/ CPO vehicles.

There are also multiplex features you can program, like to not have the doors unlock when you put it in park, etc. Hoser posted a link to a list of options for the '06 way back (options are the same from '03-07). Have the dealer customize do all this stuff as a condition to take delivery, so it's all on their dime!
 
The CPO LX is a great way to get a used 100. There is a general assurance that the vehicle is in excellent condition. The dealer will not spend so much money to make one certifiable that it places it out of the marketing price range. They typically want a repair history, otherwise they will perform a 30K mile service on it. A couple trips for service warranty and your wife will love that Lexus CPO. My wife now thinks the LX is a bargain, not a luxury. Quite a change from her initial response to my even considering an LX instead of an LC.

While the 03 is the sweet spot for the 100, an 04 with CPO will be fine. The NAV will be covered by the CPO. The NAV added the backup camera in 04, a handy feature. One thing my wife would like that came out in 04 is the lumbar support for the passenger seat.

Living in Houston you have ready access to Sewell Lexus next to Love Field in Dallas via Southwest Airlines. I found them to be up front in their dealings, reasonable, and generally have good inventory. You can contact them via internet and tell them what you are looking for and they will give you a heads up when something close to your request is coming in. They like to sell cars, so they will discount their prices to move them out.

Beware of northern vehicles being sold in the south for high prices because they have low mileage. The Lexus service history is real handy to check on such things. Also, drive and look it over well. Many people turn in a new car in 2-3 years, some dump it because of problems. Some people take good care of short term vehicles, others trash them. A dealer sends them to a detail shop, so you have to have sharp eyes to check them out. A Sewell, the salesman was able to show me what areas they had fixed - most vehicles also indicated as much on their sticker.

Best wishes in getting the 100 you want!
 
The fleet manager at the dealer I bought from told me the average new lexus customer changes cars every 2-3 years. About half lease, half buy. Some put near the max miles allowed by the lease in much less time and have to dump the car to avoid huge mileage fees. Others get scared since the warranty is about to run out at 50K mi and fear massively expensive repair bills like on other luxury brands or to avoid paying $$$ for the 60K service.

I'd look for a newer vehicle w/ higher miles (e.g., 2-3 yrs old, ~50K mi) and full service records. I'm always suspicious about older vehicles w/ low miles. It either means it sat in the garage (interior would then be mint w/ no signs of fading, rubber would be in excellent cond) or was driven on zillions of 1 mile trips to the grocery store (bad on the engine/head gasket).
 
I agree with the Sewell thing. I have found them to have several good deals. Just need to be able to flyout/fedex the check faster. If your close, very worth it. Check KBB.com and Edmunds.com before you buy. Know that when you pull it off the Lot your LX/LC is worth Wholesale, so that is your goal. If they haven't certified it because "still low miles" Doesn't Need it, beware. Lexus Certification is strict and fallable. But the reason most Lexus dealers won't certify is because it "looks great, has low miles " and hasn't been maintained well enough for them to do the work in house to Lexus Standards and sell the car at the 5-9K profit they like to make on used. If they are cutting you a deal, there is still usually 3K in it for them. Understand that lots of Luxury buyers that Walk In(ups as they are called in the Business) have no real Idea what wholesale is. So they get screwed on thier trade in trying to act like they can afford a new luxury vehicle. You can use this to your advantage. Know that the 3k is for lots of dealer stuff. Most Lexus Dealerships add 1k to every vehicle that comes throught the door for advertising, then what ever they need to do that they can charge for service, upgrades etc. then you have the salesman's commissions plus his income tax and the dealer profit. It is funny to see how different dealers justify costs to thier sales staff's.
 
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My dealer told me all lexus certified vehicles have full [lexus] service records. Even if it's not certified, you can have the dealer download the records if you provide the VIN. If they have good service, they won't hesitate to pull the records for various vehicles you are considering, even if it's from a competing dealer.

IIRC, I took the KBB trade-in price for the given options and mileage for a vehicle in excellent cond (if the vehicle is CPO, it should be in top cond), added about $1.5-2K for the certification, then about $1.5K for dealer expenses (advertising, detailing, blah, blah). Their final price (wouldn't budge below it) came very close to the total I estimated, so I thought it was a fair price and manged to further negotiate an extension to the warranty for cheap. No regrets over 1 yr later. Looking at autotrader recently, it seems the prices for a '03 LX CPO w/ about the same miles I got on mine when I bought it are $3-5K MORE than what I paid a year ago! Maybe the recent fall in gas prices have made buyers forget why SUV's were in low demand a year ago?

There will always be more used '03+ LX's for sale than LC's since LX's outsold the LC 2:1 in the later years, plus most lexus buyers/leasers change cars every few years, hence most of the cars have 30-50K mi on them. When I was looking, the CPO LX's would typically have 30-50K mi while the same year LC's for about the same price but no warranty had 60-70K mi...crazy! (this was the So. CA market, early '06)
 
Aftermarket warranties can be problematic...you have to lay out the cost for the repair and fight to collect your money....hoping they approve it. Sometime they pay, sometimes they don;t., There are a lot of loopholes they build in.

The Toyota Warranties are solid...they always take care of what they are required to without any fuss or muss.

The Toyota Extra Care Platinum Warranty is available only if the vehicle is still under the original warranty. Platinum provides bumper to bumper coverage same as a new warranty.

If it is out of warranty, then the Toyota Extra Care Gold is your only option. This covers major drivetrain and all that...but not the NAv or electronics....which is more likely where you are going to encounter a problem.



boze_man said:
or I guess i could push for a after market warranty on the LC...just not sure what the deal is with those...are they any good???
Click to expand...
 
That is negotiable, their cost is probably about $2,100...for Toyota I think it is exactly $2,025 for a Platinum Warranty.


boze_man said:
WOW...regarding the 2003 LX470 w/62k miles...the dealer wants $3225 for a plaitinum, 0 deductible, 3/36 warranty...WTF???...warranty price seems insane to me...would make the price 37900+3225=$41125 for a NON-certified 2003???

and yes the 60k service was done on this NON- certified vehicle...

anyone know the real cost of a Lexus warranty??

also can I purchase a Lexus warranty if I buy a private party LX470 w/ time or mileage out of the standard factory warranty...??

thanks again guys
Click to expand...
 
Certification is $500...warranty is about another $2,000



Jim_Chow said:
I believe to certify a vehicle, the dealer has to pay Lexus about $2.5K, plus it has to do the 200 point service check and it has to have a complete Lexus service history. If the PO didn't have Lexus perform all the service, that should disqualify the vehicle from being CPO; doesn't mean it's not as reliable, but you just don't know who did the service. It could have been a Jiffy Lube mechanic who added brake fluid to the AHC resevoir, slowly destroying the AHC damping membranes over months.

Somewhere I heard if your vehicle is below the factory warranty limit in miles/years, you can extend the original factory warranty for a lot less than if it has more miles than the limit. Can anyone confirm this?

Anyways, I think your dealer is asking too much. Is this a Southwest-only vehicle?
Click to expand...
 
One last thing, used cars have a lot more margin in them then new cars. Depending on the market you are in (some markets have a tough time selling these vehicles), there is room to negotiate. I figure that the average dealer has 20% margin on a used car....at the least.
 
boze_man said:
I dont feel comfortable driving a vehicle with the LEXUS badge on it...can I strip the truck of much of its LEXUS badging??? (my apologies to those who are proud to own a Lexus....hopefuly no offense taken, just not my style...sorry sorry sorry) :whoops:

Thanks again for the advice
Bill
Click to expand...

Bill,

All of the safety and mechanical issues previously discussed are the most important issue, but since you mentioned the re-badging, I will tell you my experience, and mine was easier than yours, since I just went from LC to LC. Going from Lexus to LC will have slight ghosting/fading issues depending on paint color and condition.

I purchased my LC and it had the Gold treatment. Every badge had been plated gold, which I did not care for. So I thought, no big deal, they are just glued or screwed on. So I went down to the Toyota dealer and bought all new chrome badging for about $150. Not bad.

Got home and swapped the front grill badge. Easy, just three screws. The back though, that took a good three hours. I had the rear of the vehicle facing the sun to warm the glue, plus a hair dryer. I used dental floss ( I read about it in a thread here) to cut between the glue and the paint without damaging the paint. That took about 40 minutes alone to remove the badges.

The hard part was cleaning the foamy mess of glue that was left behind. So it took about two bottles of Disolve-it ( a citrus-based cleaner/degummer) and another two hours of sweat to rub/disolve the glue. Then 10 minutes to use a cleaner/wax on the lift gate prior to applying the new badges. Luckily, there was still enough ghosting/fade to re-apply the stickers in the exact same spot (yours maybe tricker). So yes it was worth it for me, but it took alot of time. Not to mention that terrible feeling during the de-gumming process that you might have just really screwed up the paint.

I have since come to understand it would have been best to just use a cleaner, without wax for best badge adhesion, then apply a good wax.

All that being said, I would just keep the Lexus badging if that is what you buy/bought. When it comes time to resell it, you either have to reverse the operation, another $150 or so, or you might feel silly explaining to the potential buyer why you changed the badging to begin with.

Enjoy
 
hey, you could buy the LX and order the Land Cruiser Cygnus emblems/grille from japan. That way you have a LX with toyota emblems.
 
CameraCruiser said:
BThe hard part was cleaning the foamy mess of glue that was left behind. So it took about two bottles of Disolve-it ( a citrus-based cleaner/degummer) and another two hours of sweat to rub/disolve the glue.
Click to expand...
This eraser wheel will take off that foamy adhesive in less than a minute.

http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/...?itemID=1914&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=1914

p63.jpg
 
I used my cordless 18V drill and it worked fine. ;)
 
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