Buying A Used 2003 "certified" Or Not?

[LexKid630]

I'm looking into buying ANOTHER 03 rx300 but am not totally sure where or how... should i buy it from my Lexus dealer or from a private party or another used car dealership?

Fact or fiction? ex: In 2003 Joe Shmo baught an 03 rx300 and got a "5 year" warranty. <- Is this true for the "standard" waranty?

If so, would this SAME 03 rx be carrying this warranty TODAY? Therefore would it NOW have 3 years remaining?

Lets say Joe Shmo were to trade this SAME 03 rx in for a Saturn for ex. could that Saturn dealership try to sell this SAME 03 rx on their lot with the remaining 3 yrs left of original warranty?

so lets say i were to go to this Saturn dealership and see this SAME 03 rx. It would have a 3 yr remaining warranty?, and be priced at ex: 29,000 dollars.

lets just say that Joe Shmo traded this SAME 03 rx in for another Lexus. So Lexus would take this car, supposedly do an x point inspection on it, and try to sell it on their lot as "certified pre-owned" for ex: 31,000 dollars "b/c it's certified :o "

Now even if this car didn't have this certified thing going on, it still would have 3 years of warranty remaining. So why do i want to buy it from them rather than the saturn dealer? It still has the same warranty..It's not like thet're adding on a warranty. So pretty much i'm spending 2k more to have Lexus say it's "certified pre-owned" ??? It's not like the rx doesn't even have a warranty remaining; it does!

Am i confused or something?? Is this all correct?? Please help

[LexKid630]

also, are these "certified pre-owned" cars REALLY garanteed to be any better??? What inspections do they really do that need to be done after 2 years.....

Has anyone baught a "certified pre-owned" and still had problems? anyone buy from private party and nOT have probs?

Thanks for your input...

[Lexusfreak]

also, are these "certified pre-owned" cars REALLY garanteed to be any better???  What inspections do they really do that need to be done after 2 years.....

Has anyone baught a "certified pre-owned" and still had problems? anyone buy from private party and nOT have probs?

Thanks for your input...

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Yes they are actually.......they go through a very rigorious inspection. If the vehicle is not up to snuff, chances are they will either fix it to bring it up to standard or wholesale if off to a private used car lot (so I'd look for an RX on the Lexus dealers lot before any old used car dealer). As for a private party, if they purchased the Lexus extended warranty & it's much cheaper that would be something to seriously consider. However, if it's out of warranty with no extended & no service or maintenance history, find another RX. B) Good Luck!

[LexKid630]

That's another thing i found' Lexus has ALL the service history of most of the used cars on their lot! I looked at one 2002 black one that was there yesterday and the lady i talked to showed me ALL the records. All cervices, a little about the past driver (drivers in this case). But that was a good thing......From a private party they don't have all of that.....

[LexKid630]

Also can that saturn dealer for ex give me another warranty from them? Do they do their own inspections? If so, are thay as good?

[Lexusfreak]

That's another thing i found' Lexus has ALL the service history of most of the used cars on their lot! I looked at one 2002 black one that was there yesterday and the lady i talked to showed me ALL the records. All cervices, a little about the past driver (drivers in this case). But that was a good thing......From a private party they don't have all of that.....

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Well many do keep their own service records & warranty work performed (I have a file folder of everything from maintenance to warranty just in case & I got the Lexus extended coverage to boot). I could have bought the car with just the remainder of the factory warranty. With the Lexus Pre-owned extended warranty, the did over $1,100 worth of service & warranty work (mostly routine like new Lexus battery, some cosmetic etc, but nothing major or they wouldn't have kept the car as a CPO) to get the car to meet their 'extended warranty standards' The dealer bills Lexus for the work. B) There's something like a 150+ point inspection & they give you a very detailed report of everything. Like I said, your Lexus dealer will bill Lexus USA head office for all repairs when you purchase CPO. I'd buy another one that way personally........I was very happy with my dealers work & customer service. B)

[Lexusfreak]

Also can that saturn dealer for ex give me another warranty from them? Do they do their own inspections? If so, are thay as good?

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Not even in the same league. Who knows a Lexus better than the Lexus dealer? The Saturn dealer won't have a clue, nor will they be as 'attention to detail' as Lexus will be. :whistles:

What color RX are you looking at? You mentioned black? It's a georgous color, but a royal pain to keep clean.

[LexKid630]

Also can that saturn dealer for ex give me another warranty from them? Do they do their own inspections? If so, are thay as good?

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Not even in the same league. Who knows a Lexus better than the Lexus dealer? The Saturn dealer won't have a clue, nor will they be as 'attention to detail' as Lexus will be.:whistles:

What color RX are you looking at? You mentioned black? It's a georgous color, but a royal pain to keep clean.

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Well actually you're right about Saturn not knowing a lot..LOL Yesterday i was at a Saturn Herb chambers (i think hats the name) (ajacent to Inskip Lexus) and a man said there was an 03 silver rx (even though i could easiely see there wasn't LOL). So he came out with a key in his hand and said it was to this silver one, and that he needed to find it...i looked at the key (and i'm not lying!!) and i could tell it wasn't an rx key!! The panic buton wasn't red; it was a white button like a 330 etc...then he said well i'm sorry it's an es300!! i left....that was so funny.... I couldn't believe how he thought it was an rx300...I laughed so hard......oh well there you go....

Oh and i'm looking for the indigo ink pearl on tan rx300.... The black was an 02 i looked at... ;)

[LexKid630]

I guess if i still can't find an 03 blue one but this summer i'll go for a black i guess.....The blue is my preference though...

My aunt has a 2001 blue rx; i love it so much....but she has over 50k miles already; i'm looking for one with MUCH less.....I might be looking for a needle in a haystack but i need to try; i love the rx300's so much i need another that works!! LOL

[Lexusfreak]

Also can that saturn dealer for ex give me another warranty from them? Do they do their own inspections? If so, are thay as good?

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Not even in the same league. Who knows a Lexus better than the Lexus dealer? The Saturn dealer won't have a clue, nor will they be as 'attention to detail' as Lexus will be.:whistles:

What color RX are you looking at? You mentioned black? It's a georgous color, but a royal pain to keep clean.

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Well actually you're right about Saturn not knowing a lot..LOL Yesterday i was at a Saturn Herb chambers (i think hats the name) (ajacent to Inskip Lexus) and a man said there was an 03 silver rx (even though i could easiely see there wasn't LOL). So he came out with a key in his hand and said it was to this silver one, and that he needed to find it...i looked at the key (and i'm not lying!!) and i could tell it wasn't an rx key!! The panic buton wasn't red; it was a white button like a 330 etc...then he said well i'm sorry it's an es300!! i left....that was so funny.... I couldn't believe how he thought it was an rx300...I laughed so hard......oh well there you go....

Oh and i'm looking for the indigo ink pearl on tan rx300.... The black was an 02 i looked at... ;)

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Told ya! :D :whistles:

[LexKid630]

I should also mention that to make this search of mine even more specific :o i'm looking for the 4WD NOT the AWD model. I've owned 2 rx's with the AWD and it doen't seem to be very good for me....

Oh well let me stop lying; this rx won't be for me LOL I'm getting this for my other daughter Ali b/c SHE loves it soo much.... She's 14 now, 15 May 3rd (still a freshman) so i want to get this thing, store it in my 5th garage, and take it back out in 2 years LOL What a father does for his kids...yikes....

I wan't this rx to be the right one; i don't want to be having to take it back everyday to fix something else so i'm working on a good one...... That's why i'm asking all these questions about how to buy it...

[Lexusfreak]

I guess if i still can't find an 03 blue one but this summer i'll go for a black i guess.....The blue is my preference though...

My aunt has a 2001 blue rx; i love it so much....but she has over 50k miles already; i'm looking for one with MUCH less.....I might be looking for a needle in a haystack but i need to try; i love the rx300's so much i need another that works!! LOL

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Then just be patient until you find exactly what your looking for. By the way, 50k miles is nothing on that vehicle (RX or ES for that matter). They will pretty much go forever if maintained properly ;) 50k, the thing is just getting broken in. B)

I have a suggestion for you. Why don't you Fax all the Lexus dealers in say a 100 mile area of where you live, telling them exactly what your looking for in detail (including color choice & equipment). You never know......you might have one that hasen't even reached the lot yet that is going to be traded in or a lease return that has been well looked after. IF you contact say a half dozen dealers, & put the word out, they might just be able to find just what your looking for. Just a suggestion. B)

[Lexusfreak]

I should also mention that to make this search of mine even more specific  :o  i'm looking for the 4WD NOT the AWD model.

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You mean FWD (Front wheel drive) don't you? Not 4WD! B)

And if it's for your younger daughter, you should be able to be patient then since she's won't have her drivers licence for a while. ;)

[LexKid630]

already beat you..LOL Inskip (my lexus dealer aka the only one in little rhode Island) and 12 other used car dealers in RI already have me on a list for the 03 indigo ink rx300 4WD! And believe it NOT EVEN ONE of them already have an rx300 in blue; nevermind the other features!!

[LexKid630]

Wait..i thought the four wheel drive models were better in the transmission dept than the AWD? And i guess the two wheel drive is out b/c it doesn't have the standard "neccesities" our young Americans need nowadays, like spoiler (oh wow ) and xenon lights, "you know Dad, the blue ones!" ...LOL

[Lexusfreak]

already beat you..LOL  Inskip (my lexus dealer aka the only one in little rhode Island) and 12 other used car dealers in RI already have me on a list for the 03 indigo ink rx300 4WD! And believe it NOT EVEN ONE of them already have an rx300 in blue; nevermind the other features!!

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I'd stick with the Lexus dealers specifically myself.........and contact the Lexus dealers in Adjacent states too. Just my 2 cents. :)

Just to clairify, I think you can get the RX in 2 forms FWD (front wheel drive) & AWD (All wheel drive).......not 4WD as I don't beleive the RX has a low speed transfer case (at least not in Canada) for 'off roading' there is a difference between the two.

[LexKid630]

I should also mention that to make this search of mine even more specific  :o  i'm looking for the 4WD NOT the AWD model.

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You mean FWD (Front wheel drive) don't you? Not 4WD! B)

And if it's for your younger daughter, you should be able to be patient then since she's won't have her drivers licence for a while. ;)

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and i thought i'd get it early so i'd be in the best shape and less mileage. + i'm looking for this specific blue color. I think it'll take me a loonnnggg time to find it... and one year and 2 weeks from now she's 16....but of course this new law requiring kids to have this "permit" for a 1/2 year or something; Rhode Island sucks.... :P

[LexKid630]

i thought about asking the dealer i used to go in Mass. (right near where i work) but i kninda have a thing against them..LOL A deal gone bad....

[Lexusfreak]

Well best of luck in your search. Keep us posted if you end up finding exactly what your looking for. :D

[LexKid630]

Wow i thought there was the 4WD option with the rx300 too..shows how much i know..LOL so there's only a two wheel drive or All wheel drive?

weird....

[Lexusfreak]

Wow i thought there was the 4WD option with the rx300 too..shows how much i know..LOL so there's only a    two wheel drive    or      All wheel drive?

weird....

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Yup, I think you might have to try the LX or GX models for 4WD. Remember the RX is built off a car platform (Camry / ES) the others are pure truck platforms. B)

[LexKid630]

and the dealer in Mass i used to go to gave me a problem with the 99 rx300 i bought. I specifically ordered that maroon color, and i came in a week later and it was a purple/blue color. I don't mean the black garnt pearl; i mean a mix b/t blue vapor, indigo ink pearl, and possibly white? It wasn't even metallic.....Ewwwww i don't even rememeber what they called it.

also the deal for the Ls430 for my son didn't turn out as i planned. Long story believe me you don't care...

[LexKid630]

Wow i thought there was the 4WD option with the rx300 too..shows how much i know..LOL so there's only a     two wheel drive     or      All wheel drive?

weird....

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Yup, I think you might have to try the LX or GX models for 4WD. Remember the RX is built off a car platform (Camry / ES) the others are pure truck platforms. B)

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that does make a lot of sense now...wow i'm stupid sometimes..... I looked at the gx and Lx's before i got my rx330. I didn't like them as much.....They seemed too big...i had a toyota Lando cruiser in 99 but i sold it within a month b/c of the gas...I didn't know how bad it really was until i used it personally..lol

[LexKid630]

WOW talk about good mileage!! On eBay there's a 2003 es300 with only 3,426 miles on it!! I wich i could get this in an rx300 form

[Dave_02RX300]

Well, I just got my Lexus Certified Pre-Owned 2002 RX300 with 39k miles last Friday night, after about a month of searching (because I am picky).

The warranty was the number one thing driving me to get a LCPO car. That, and the near perfect condition of these vehicles. They are basically like new cars, except the odometer.

Basically, the leases come up, and the cars get returned or traded in to a dealer or a central depot. The local dealers bid in the ones they want.

Not all used cars can get certified. They can't have been smashed and crashed or used as submarines etc. Cars used as a U-Haul for the local dog show - not certifiable.

So only the best of the best can get certified. The dealer does not want to get you a factory warranty on something that will shortly break.

The dealer preps the car. They buy the factory warranty (and pass the cost on to you). They detail it. They change all fluids whether needed or not. If the tires are 50% worn, you get new tires. Mine are brand new (although a goofy off brand which I will replace with Goodyear or Michilin). If the brakes are 55% worn or more worn than that, they replace the brakes.

When I closed on the car, they provided me with a computer printout of ALL the stuff they did, for my maintenance records. For my vehicle, other than the detailing (cleaning and polishing stem to stern) they only had to do the tires and fluids and filters. The non-tire stuff was 150$ cost in parts to them and 500$ labor. They use these numbers in figuring out how much they can gouge, I mean charge, you in the bottom line sale price.

The dealers in my area all had about the same list prices and out the door prices but each car was prepped in a different condition. One dealer clearly had the worst conditioned cars, and one clearly had the best. I made a deal for the best.

The warranty is 3 years or 100k mi whatever comes first, and as I drive this thing only about 5-7k mi a year, it's a 3 year warranty for me. Factory bumper to bumper.

If the trunk lift piston fails, it's covered. If the dash light fail, covered. etc. Tires, belts, regular maintenance, and other wear and tear items are not covered.

I thought it was a great deal.