So as I wrote in my previous post, during my research I quickly realized that there were very few ISFs out there that had all of the factory options, and while I could continue my search at the wholesale auctions or with other car dealerships, the fact that the Lexus CPO dealership network had an ISF with "everything" that I could buy NOW gave me little choice if I wanted to buy a fully loaded ISF as quickly as possible. There would be a premium, yes, but it might actually be worth it, depending on what a Lexus dealership (or at least this CPO program) offered compared to buying direct at wholesale or from a regular used car dealer.
After sending in a request for an estimate, and then getting, the next morning, a phone call from the local Lexus dealer, I decided to swing by on the weekend just to see what else I could learn about the car.
Of course being met and greeted at the Lexus dealership was, a first class experience. Even though I showed up on my wife's "mamachari" bicycle, lol. After exchanging pleasantries, the salesmen explained to me what the
Lexus CPO program was all about, as well as showing me what "faults" this particular car, located at another dealership in Saitama prefecture, had.
Near the entrance, they had this particular thing parked:
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Very tempting... too bad it's a 2 door coupe!
It's also just SLIGHTLY out of my price range... but still, only 6000kms... |
The best aspect of the Japanese CPO program is, Lexus (supposedly) only sells what they consider to be the "best" used models they can find. Generally that means a vehicle less than 6 years old and with less than 100,000 kms (although most are LESS than 60,000kms, with some even less than 10,000km!). I also realized that Lexus had an exclusive source of high quality used cars - from current Lexus owners who trade in their cars for a new one! From what they told me, cars offered through the CPO program cannot, for example, have any repaired body damage (other than scratches) and of course no accident cars. Not just the "R" grade (= major accident and repaired) cars found at wholesale auction, but ANY accident whatsoever. There are other minutiae as well, but knowing how Japanese in general tend to be very, very picky and demand an exceedingly high level of service and quality, I wasn't worried to the point where I was going to spend time having them list out everything they inspected.
I DID of course compare the Japanese CPO program with the
CPO program American Lexus dealers offer. I also found the
American inspection checklist, which contains an impressive 161 inspection points. Interestingly, the American program has a 3 year comprehensive warranty from time of purchase, compared to 2 years for the Japanese program (although one can buy a third additional year).
In the Japanese CPO program, a CPO car, before delivery to the customer, undergoes a final 90 point inspection, and depending the results, up to 12 parts are replaced for new. The customer is then given a print out of the inspection. These twelve items include:
1) tires - replaced if tread is less than 4 mm
2) brake fluid
3) battery
4) engine oil
5) engine oil filter
6) wiper blade rubber
7) V-belts - power steering, fan belt, air conditioning
8) timing belt
9) brake pads
10) spark plugs
11) air cleaner element
12) navigation software
* oil, oil filter, and wiper blades always replaced; other items depending on level of wear.
Here are other differences which I learned upon comparing both programs:
1) Maintenance - Japan CPO offers 2 years of free maintenance, at 6 month intervals; free oil change every 6 months, and then free oil, filter, air filter and wipers change every 12 months.
- US CPO offers only first free maintenance (oil and filter change, etc.)
2) Japan CPO has several services under its "
Car Life Support"
a)
G-Link - akin to Enform in the US, I think? Provides maintenance reminders, calls police and ambulance when there is an emergency or accident, etc. Accompanying app on one's smart phone. Part of Toyota's
G-Book system.
b)
Lexus Owner's Desk - a 24 hours, 365 days per year concierge service (trip directions - direct input into the car's Navi, restaurant and hotel recommendations and reservations). Can be accessed by calling from your mobile phone or via a button on the Navi.
c) Lexus Owner's Website - just like in the US
d) Lexus Owner's card - basically an ID card to expedite transactions at Lexus dealerships/calling the Owner's Desk/accessing G-Link from home/office, etc. Only for new and CPO car purchases.
The salesman then proceeded to show me photos of the "defects" on the car. Most of these were small scratches, some no larger than a grain of rice. The worst seem to be on the edge of the hood and then upon entry to the right rear seat area.
For example:
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Looks worse than it actually is. I think most of these can be buffed out by a professional detailer... I hope.
Note also the wheel - bad curb rash. |
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| Close up of one of the scratches |
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| Amateur application of touch up paint. I wonder if anything can be done to fix this? |
Biggest problems were the wheels. All 4 showed curb rash. Likely they can all be repaired, but at this point, I began to wonder - who buys such an expensive car, and drives like this? Further, what effect would this have on how the engine was broken in, etc.?
Luckily, all of this seemed cosmetic. But one thing they could not show me was the interior (no photos taken!?) as well as how the car sounded when the engine was on, how well the A/C worked, the stereo, etc. This would require a trip to actually see the car.
Fortunately, the other dealership was within driving distance. Although that meant a 4 hour (round trip) road trip the following weekend. So on a hot summer Sunday, I drove up to Lexus Tokorozawa.
Again the hospitality was great.
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| Some fancy mineral water... just what I needed on a hot day! |
There was also a very interesting Lexus vehicle on display there.
I did look at the car in person, and it seemed even better than in the photos. The blue color is stunning (a welcome relief from my GT-R's silver)! The interior was fine too, and everything worked. I did notice some wear on the driver's seat (to be expected and probably easily repaired) but most importantly, I was able to get information about the previous owners. First, I learned it was a couple in their mid 40s who bought the car new, from the Tokorozawa dealership. Second, I learned that they had faithfully had ALL of their servicing done at that dealership (they showed me and I verified all of the records). Third, I learned that it was mostly driven by the wife. Not being sexist, but clearly she wasn't the best driver with the amount of curb rash on the wheels, and other scratches on the left side of the car suggesting a minor sideswipe. And likely, those sensors in the bumpers had saved the bumpers from major scratches, as there were only a few I noticed on the bumpers.
I also saw that the plastic piece in front of the windshield was faded - clearly this car was not kept in a fully enclosed garage, likely it was left outside or partly outside (which is NOT unusual in Japan, as most houses don't have enclosed garages). So likely this, as well as the windshield rubber, will have to be replaced as soon as I get the car.
So, I now know that the car wasn't owned by a 20 something who would, for example, track the car. 55,000 kms over 5 and a half years is about 10,000 kms a year. Also the tires were all evenly worn, 6mm of tread left on each wheel. Pretty normal if the car is used mainly on weekends for shopping, some road trips, etc. Also, despite the fact that the car has a "cold climate package" the car was NOT sourced from up north where winter is a snowed in event. (In Japan they don't use salt on the roads, so rust isn't a concern, but snow and rain generally mean a higher chance of accidents as well as water spots in the paint.)
Despite the long drive, the trip paid off. Now the only thing to do was to return to my local dealership and begin the paperwork process...
