Useless Rust Warranty & Arbitration

[BigE]

I am currently in arbitration with Lexus to try and get them to buy back my 2004 LX470 with only 16000 miles on it. The vehicle has an extreme amount of rust underneath it which was pointed out to me at a dealer when I took the car in for service. The Lexus crew handling the arbitration is a pretty nasty bunch, especially the Manager of Customer Satisfaction for the NorthEast territory. All he did was accuse me of improperly maintaining the vehicle, telling me that I have been driving it into salt water while towing a boat. I don't even own a boat and the car hasn't even been to the beach. They brought 4 people from Lexus and they claim that the problem is environmental and doesn't qualify for any type of Lexus repair. What does environmental even mean?

Well surprise surprise! If you read the warranty you will see that if the vehicle is exposed to salt, is near railroad tracks, has any chemical sprayed on it, etc. etc, they do not cover rust. I ask what was meant by salt and they said that if you live on the shore by a salty body of water, within a close enough distance to the water, and you have a problem you are NOT COVERED!! That would be the entire West and East coast of this counry as well as the gulf. Of course they don't tell you this or even ask you when you are buying the vehicle. I don't live near the shore but the allegations and accusations were brutal today at the arbitration. Hopefully I will get them to buy it back. The kicker is that I have bought 5 lexus', but they don't care. Additionally I found out recentl that all people at a certain level in Lexus get a new car either every year or every 5 months, as their spouses and depending upon the leve in the company it can be as high as an LS HYBRID! I guess the employees are more important than the customer.

To top it all of the jackass that was the manager drove off in a brand new LS 460 after the meeting.

[Step Hen]

Well all they have are accusations and allegations, but without any proof I would imagine that the arbitrator would see that they are pulling at straws.

BTW, who is the third party arbitrator?

[Lexusfreak]

Can you post some pics of the rust in question?

[BigE]

Can you post some pics of the rust in question?

How qouls I post the pictures?

[BigE]

Well all they have are accusations and allegations, but without any proof I would imagine that the arbitrator would see that they are pulling at straws.

BTW, who is the third party arbitrator?

I believe that it is NCDS

[SW03ES]

Where in NJ do you live?

You see a lot of surface rust on the underside of vehicles that live near the shore, NJ is particularly bad because most of the state is a high air salinity area even parts that are a significant distance from the beach and on top of that you have a lot of winter weather and road salt. Most of this surface rust is just that, surface rust and its not a detriment to the vehicle at all. The Lexus rust warranty is for perforation by rust, meaning that metal surfaces would have to be rusted through. Is anything under your vehicle perforated by rust?

Did you have a rustproofing agent sprayed under the vehicle when it was new?

How often do you wash your vehicle and do those washes include flushing of the undercarraige?

Environmental means the issue is caused by the environmental qualities of the area you choose to live in.

As a 2004 its almost 5 years old, and at only 16k miles it obviously doesn't get driven much. Its possible that if it sits outside and you're within 100 miles of the shore that the frame and underbody components would have significant surface rust that could have been avoided had the vehicle been washed and driven more regularly...

If you upload the pictures to a hosting site like www.photobucket.com you can link to them in your posts, that way we'll be able to see what you're talking about

First step in these things though is to be fair, the fact that Lexus gives their employees special deals on cars or free cars has nothing to do with your rust claim. All automotive companies do that for their employees above a certain level, its part of their compensation package. I don't work for an automotive company and my company buys cars for their executives above a certain level, my dad's company bought him his LS. Its part of these executive's compensation package. Does that mean my company doesn't care about its customers? Absolutely not, the two issues are totally seperate.

So what if the guy drove off in a new LS460? It was probably his company car. Is he not allowed to make a good living and have high quality things? Maybe he said the same thing about you.

Being spiteful isn't going to get you anywhere...

[thlsu]

I have the exact same problem with my 2004 LX470. My mechanic went as far as to call it a "rust bucket." The vehicle only has a little over 30,000 miles on it. I know that the vehicle has a 72-month/unlimited mileage corrosion warranty.

Lexus has now refused to cover several parts that have broken as a result of corrosion/rust. Lexus claims that any corrosion or rust as a result of road salt is excluded under the corrosion warranty.

Has anybody else made a claim for repairs, etc. under the corrosion warranty? This would mean in effect that there is no corrosion coverge for any Lexus driven in the Northeast, Midwest or anywhere else where salt is used on roads.

As a second point, they also want $950 for the 30,000 mile service. Does this appear to be in line with what others are paying?

Thanks

[AKLOKI]

The Finance guy offered you the option to purchase: extended warranty, GAP insurance, credit life disability, and a "coats" package that included rust proofing...

you declined, probably with a smug half grin. I am guessing you told him all of the stuff he offered you was "junk" and you never buy any of that stuff.

As a finance manager, i only hope the arbitrator sides with the dealership.

If i were the F&I guy on this deal, you would see the same smug grin on my face. you had a chance to protect your investment and you chose to "roll the dice".

you now think, after four years Lexus is obligated to buy the car back...please.

your basic warranty has run out as well, are you that guy? you know the one. throwing tantrums in the service drive because the dealership wont good will repairs to a guy that chose to "roll the dice"

the dice came up snake eyes, you lose.

[BillyShaft]

The Finance guy offered you the option to purchase: extended warranty, GAP insurance, credit life disability, and a "coats" package that included rust proofing...

you declined, probably with a smug half grin. I am guessing you told him all of the stuff he offered you was "junk" and you never buy any of that stuff.

As a finance manager, i only hope the arbitrator sides with the dealership.

If i were the F&I guy on this deal, you would see the same smug grin on my face. you had a chance to protect your investment and you chose to "roll the dice".

you now think, after four years Lexus is obligated to buy the car back...please.

your basic warranty has run out as well, are you that guy? you know the one. throwing tantrums in the service drive because the dealership wont good will repairs to a guy that chose to "roll the dice"

the dice came up snake eyes, you lose.

hmm. Troll much?

Assuming that you are not just a troll looking to stir up trouble, I will say this to you:

As the "average" consumer, I think that a reasonable expectation for a 72-month unlimited-mile rust warranty would be that I would be covered against rust-through for...........wait for it........72 months. Regardless of mileage.

Right?

Right.