Oh Oh Rust Forming

[spirits]

Hi Everyone. I am a proxy member. By that I mean I love searching on the internet. My husband equates it to going to the dentist. However he is always interested in what I find. So I search and he listens :whistles: Here is our dilemna. We are the proud owners of a 2005 LS 430. Bought from the dealer this fall, beautiful condition. 100k. Previous to that he owned a 1992 400 that the (430) dealer asked to showcase at their anniversary celebration because it was in such pristine condition. (My husband loves and looks after the vehicles...I appreciate and drive them.) Last week he was so angry. He noticed rust forming on the drivers door underneath the paint. :cries: The dealer is basically not being very responsive. It is in the preowned managers hands right now and we are considering going higher. My husband restored vehicles previous to this and I consider him to be very knowledgable about spotting any problems. Any insight would be appreciated. PS. Up to this point the dealership has been excellent. We have never bought from them before however and are less than inthralled with this example of customer service

[jac430]

Hi Everyone. I am a proxy member. By that I mean I love searching on the internet. My husband equates it to going to the dentist. However he is always interested in what I find. So I search and he listens :whistles: Here is our dilemna. We are the proud owners of a 2005 LS 430. Bought from the dealer this fall, beautiful condition. 100k. Previous to that he owned a 1992 400 that the (430) dealer asked to showcase at their anniversary celebration because it was in such pristine condition. (My husband loves and looks after the vehicles...I appreciate and drive them.) Last week he was so angry. He noticed rust forming on the drivers door underneath the paint. :cries: The dealer is basically not being very responsive. It is in the preowned managers hands right now and we are considering going higher. My husband restored vehicles previous to this and I consider him to be very knowledgable about spotting any problems. Any insight would be appreciated. PS. Up to this point the dealership has been excellent. We have never bought from them before however and are less than inthralled with this example of customer service

I think there is a 12 year guarantee for certain rust problems. This guarantee is with the vehicle and transferable to next owners, so it still should be applicable. If the dealer you bought the car from is not a specific Lexus dealer, you could ask advise from a (real) Lexus dealer.

Hope this helps you a bit further...

Jac

[SRK]

My understanding is that starting in '05 Lexus offered a 72 month, unlimited mileage rust perforation warranty. That may or may not be expired, but it applies only to perforation, not surface rust. As well the selling dealer no doubt allowed you to inspect the car at your leisure, and you made a deal based on that inspection, on a six year old car. That means you are now responsible for any pre-existing defect, not them. They would be very generous indeed to offer any compensation of any kind. And that's only if they are a Lexus dealer - any other dealer cannot be expected to do anything.

[steve2006]

Could it have been previously poorly repaired after an accident? Anything on Carfax?

[spirits]

Hi. A few months have gone by and since the dealer was not going to do anything about the rust we just got through the winter. Today we were having coffee with a friend who is a retired mechanic. Mentioned the rust problem to him and we all went to have a look. Now there is another spot of rust forming. It is just above the plastic running strip that runs along the whole bottom portion of the car. To prevent rust. We think that a section may be poorly glued down and so water has gotten in behind the strip and is perhaps rusting the whole bottom part of the door. Have not talked to the dealer yet but it seems to be a manufacturing flaw. Any advice? I think we should approach the dealer, point out the issue, let them know it was neither of our faults but that something should be done to protect us as buyers and them as reputable Lexus dealers. I propose they fix the problem in their shop and we pay half?

[pj8708]

Hi. A few months have gone by and since the dealer was not going to do anything about the rust we just got through the winter. Today we were having coffee with a friend who is a retired mechanic. Mentioned the rust problem to him and we all went to have a look. Now there is another spot of rust forming. It is just above the plastic running strip that runs along the whole bottom portion of the car. To prevent rust. We think that a section may be poorly glued down and so water has gotten in behind the strip and is perhaps rusting the whole bottom part of the door. Have not talked to the dealer yet but it seems to be a manufacturing flaw. Any advice? I think we should approach the dealer, point out the issue, let them know it was neither of our faults but that something should be done to protect us as buyers and them as reputable Lexus dealers. I propose they fix the problem in their shop and we pay half?

As has already been stated, if the rust through perforation warranty ran for 72 months, yours is likely to be expired. Even though your disappointment may be understandable, it certainly not the fault of you dealer. They didn't make your car nor determine the length of warranty. I'm not sure why you feel they should pay you to fix the rust. If in fact there is a defect wasn't it pretty obvious over time?

Paul

[landar]

These things can happen to any car.. even a Lexus. It is up to the buyer to perform "due diligence" before a purchase. Including identifying rust areas. The original warranty is for rust-through, meaning a hole. You seem to have surface rust which is not covered. I know, that seems to be spitting hairs but thats how car companies keep from paying for all but the worst of rust conditions. Unless it is a CPO you probably have little recourse other than trying to goad the dealer into some sort of settlement.

I am curious as to where the car spent it first 100k miles? Salty environment, I gather.

[TA in KC]

On a car of this age, I think the most likely cause of rust would be prior collision damage that was not repaired correctly. I seriously doubt it is a "manufacturing flaw" or the problem would have shown up much earlier. The rust must not be very noticeable or you surely would have seen it before you bought the car- so why let it keep you from enjoying it?

[spirits]

We live in Edmonton Alberta. Known for rock chips due to the boom and bust economy. We previously had a 1992 Lexus 400 that was an original car to Edmonton. We were the second owners, bought through a dealer as a local trade in. Absolutely no rust. Just sold it this year and bought a 2005 local 430 also a trade in through the dealer.I own an Acura TL local car, no rust. We have owned a number of vehicles, mostly American and Mercedes, now Japanese. Always happy with them. My concern is that Lexus may not stand behind their product. I think there is a flaw here and a serious one. I was just wondering if other owners have problems with rust forming near the strip running the bottom of their cars. I see on forums that the Lexus 350 has paint problems and just checking out if this is common. Lexus dealers did not have problems with our money. It was good. I do not expect to have problems with a premium car. If it is their problem I expect them to stand behind their product. They are not the only car people who got complacent with their products.If their quality is based upon a reputation that may be based in the past I would like to know for future consideration.

[SW03ES]

Look...the car is almost 7 years old now, with over 100,000 miles on it. You can't expect Lexus to guarantee that nothing will happen to a car forever. Its an old car, and its a car that you don't really know the history of before the start of this year, you don't know if its ever been in an accident and repaired, and you live in a salty wintery climate. Lexus and the dealer will do, and should do nothing to help you. My guess is the car was repaired in this area at some point, that repair was of a substandard quality, and the rust is a result of that.

If you want a car that will be covered by a warranty...then buy a new one next time.

[spirits]

By the way my Acura TL is a 1999 car with no rust. I don't mean to sound snippy but we really like to look after our cars. We use premium gas, synthetic oil and do maintence and cleaning as pride of ownership. A rusted out driver's door along with other future rust problems is something I would like to avoid if at all possible.

[spirits]

I think there is a misunderstanding. The car has 100000kilometers not miles. It was a local car, bought through the Lexus dealership, traded in for a 460 and we bought it from that dealership. There was a clean report, no accidents. Sorry for any confusion.

[TA in KC]

By the way my Acura TL is a 1999 car with no rust. I don't mean to sound snippy but we really like to look after our cars. We use premium gas, synthetic oil and do maintence and cleaning as pride of ownership. A rusted out driver's door along with other future rust problems is something I would like to avoid if at all possible.

Then you should probably avoid buying high-mileage used cars. Like I said earlier, the rust must not be very bad or you would have noticed it before you bought the car. The fact your other cars have no rust reinforces my and SW03ES's belief that your car was probably had some collision damage that wasn't repaired quite correctly.

Clean "Carfax" or other accident reports don't mean anything- half the accidents that happen never make it onto them. My previous 92 LS 400's Carfax and Autocheck reports I pulled when I sold the car were still clean even though it had been involved in a rear-end collision and then the front fender scraped by another driver in a parking lot during the time I owned it.

If it was a manufacturing defect, the problem would have surfaced much earlier in the car's life. If there was a widespread problem that affected all LS 430's, we would all know about it by now.

Personally, I would just consider it a lesson learned and forget about it....agonizing over it isn't going to get you anywhere. In the end, it is still a nice-looking, comfortable car that will give you years of great service- a few rust bubbles isn't going to change any of that and you shouldn't let it get in the way of enjoying your car.

[SW03ES]

Whether its 100k miles or 62k miles...its still nearly 7 years old living in a harsh climate, and you still really have no idea what its life may have been like for the 6 years before you bought it. The fact that your other cars have no rust is meaningless because we simply do not know that this vehicle has never had any bodywork done in that area. The carfax report wouldn't turn up minor repairs...and might not turn up major repairs...maybe the car was never washed...

Is the car certified? Is it still under any sort of warranty from Lexus?

Unless theres some sort of warranty you're out of luck. Have you talked to a body shop about having the rust addressed?

[spirits]

No, this is just a wife going on line to get some information for her husband. He is the car nut ooops enthusiast who is a little shamefaced at not being able to spot this when he bought the car. Yes, a little rust does not hurt. I just wanted information from a knowledgable source and I thank you all.

[pj8708]

No, this is just a wife going on line to get some information for her husband. He is the car nut ooops enthusiast who is a little shamefaced at not being able to spot this when he bought the car. Yes, a little rust does not hurt. I just wanted information from a knowledgable source and I thank you all.

Well you've done a great job as a surrogate for your husband, and he should be very appreciative to have a wife so willing to put up with all of us "experts".

I hope you enjoy your Lexus in spite of the small blemish, as the LS430 is a great automobile.

Paul

[landar]

Well you've done a great job as a surrogate for your husband, and he should be very appreciative to have a wife so willing to put up with all of us "experts".

I hope you enjoy your Lexus in spite of the small blemish, as the LS430 is a great automobile.

Paul

Well said, Paul.