Car Questions Lexus ES 350

sf_frankie

Well-Known Member
It was serviced at a Lexus dealership for the first 2.5 years then the Honda dealership bought it 6 months ago. It has basically 15k miles and 15 months left on the warranty. When the Honda dealer took it in 6 months ago this is what they did:
Vehicle serviced
  • Pre-delivery inspection completed
  • Recommended maintenance performed
  • Vehicle washed/detailed
  • Four tires balanced
  • Four tires mounted
  • Drivability/performance checked
  • Four wheel alignment performed
  • Cabin air filter replaced/cleaned
  • Outside mirror glass replaced
  • Safety inspection performed
  • Brakes serviced
  • Oil and filter changed
  • Emissions inspection performed
  • Emissions or safety inspection performe
I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet. For peace of mind, after you purchase it, take it to your local Lexus dealer and pay to get a basic oil change done. During the oil change the technician will perform a multipoint inspection and if they find any issues they will take care of them free of charge under the new vehicle limited warranty. I know it doesn’t need an oil change but oil changes are the cheapest way to get your car inspected by a dealer. You can’t just bring a car to the dealer and say “this car is under warranty, please look at it and fix any problems you find” but they’re required to do an inspection if you bring the car in for simple maintenance. However, if there is an open recall on the car, you can bring the car to the dealer and get the recall done for free and they’ll do the same multipoint inspection and find and fix any issues present. Either way, take it to the dealer at least once before the warranty expires so they can catch any issues before they end up costing you money. Lexus dealers and their service department in particular are the best in the business so establishing a relationship with them is a good idea anyway. If you’ve got a good relationship with them and you have an issue after the warranty expires then they’re more likely to fix it for you as a goodwill gesture. Bring a box of donuts with you on your first visit and they’ll treat you like a god
 

Meast21

Well-Known Member
I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet. For peace of mind, after you purchase it, take it to your local Lexus dealer and pay to get a basic oil change done. During the oil change the technician will perform a multipoint inspection and if they find any issues they will take care of them free of charge under the new vehicle limited warranty. I know it doesn’t need an oil change but oil changes are the cheapest way to get your car inspected by a dealer. You can’t just bring a car to the dealer and say “this car is under warranty, please look at it and fix any problems you find” but they’re required to do an inspection if you bring the car in for simple maintenance. However, if there is an open recall on the car, you can bring the car to the dealer and get the recall done for free and they’ll do the same multipoint inspection and find and fix any issues present. Either way, take it to the dealer at least once before the warranty expires so they can catch any issues before they end up costing you money. Lexus dealers and their service department in particular are the best in the business so establishing a relationship with them is a good idea anyway. If you’ve got a good relationship with them and you have an issue after the warranty expires then they’re more likely to fix it for you as a goodwill gesture. Bring a box of donuts with you on your first visit and they’ll treat you like a god
Car has been sitting for 6 months and driven 50 miles since last oil change. Is the oil still good or should I have them do a oil change??
 

Meast21

Well-Known Member
I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet. For peace of mind, after you purchase it, take it to your local Lexus dealer and pay to get a basic oil change done. During the oil change the technician will perform a multipoint inspection and if they find any issues they will take care of them free of charge under the new vehicle limited warranty. I know it doesn’t need an oil change but oil changes are the cheapest way to get your car inspected by a dealer. You can’t just bring a car to the dealer and say “this car is under warranty, please look at it and fix any problems you find” but they’re required to do an inspection if you bring the car in for simple maintenance. However, if there is an open recall on the car, you can bring the car to the dealer and get the recall done for free and they’ll do the same multipoint inspection and find and fix any issues present. Either way, take it to the dealer at least once before the warranty expires so they can catch any issues before they end up costing you money. Lexus dealers and their service department in particular are the best in the business so establishing a relationship with them is a good idea anyway. If you’ve got a good relationship with them and you have an issue after the warranty expires then they’re more likely to fix it for you as a goodwill gesture. Bring a box of donuts with you on your first visit and they’ll treat you like a god
About to have them inspect it bc it was last inspected May 2020.
 

sf_frankie

Well-Known Member
Car has been sitting for 6 months and driven 50 miles since last oil change. Is the oil still good or should I have them do a oil change??
Maybe it wasn’t clear to you or you didn’t read my whole post. The oil is fine and I said you don’t need an oil change...but unless you have an open recall, the an oil change is the cheapest way to have the Lexus dealer look at the car and make sure nothing is wrong. You don’t want the Honda dealer inspecting the car. They don’t know shit about Lexus.

edit: your other option is to take it to the Lexus dealer and pay them to do a pre/post purchase inspection HOWEVER a PPI is almost always more expensive than a basic oil change. When a dealer does an oil change, a multipoint inspection is included free of charge. There is pretty much no difference between a multipoint and PPI.
 
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GrassBurner

Well-Known Member
It's a dressed up Toyota, and Toyota makes quality cars. If it's still under warranty, go for it. I'd lowball them since it's been on the lot so long. They might have too much into it to let it go to auction. Don't pay more than Bluebook.
 

sf_frankie

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the world of TnT trolls. This is one of our regulars in one of his myriad incarnations.
It is always like this in here lol?
Guess I’ve never ventured out of the on topic forums. Is he a troll or actual person? I’ve run into people like him in the real world and figured there’s a lot more of them in some corner of the internet
 

Highlife42

Well-Known Member
Maybe it wasn’t clear to you or you didn’t read my whole post. The oil is fine and I said you don’t need an oil change...but unless you have an open recall, the an oil change is the cheapest way to have the Lexus dealer look at the car and make sure nothing is wrong. You don’t want the Honda dealer inspecting the car. They don’t know shit about Lexus.

edit: your other option is to take it to the Lexus dealer and pay them to do a pre/post purchase inspection HOWEVER a PPI is almost always more expensive than a basic oil change. When a dealer does an oil change, a multipoint inspection is included free of charge. There is pretty much no difference between a multipoint and PPI.
nah. Take it to a Toyota dealership and request An MPI.. Its free of charge. If you get a good tech-Washer fluid will be topped off, coolant and tire PSI. Its free. No need for an oil change. Besides-Toyota guys love those lexus's. The flat-rate techs should MPI the shit out of your car--why? Bc if approved-its hours/money for them..
 

manfredo

Well-Known Member
The ES350 is a pretty sweet ride, for an old man like me anyways. I damned near bought one just pre-covid...Made an offer they wouldn't accept and i regret not going higher...I think it was a 2016, with 6k miles. White with tan interior...and what I liked....a brown dash instead of ugly black with tan leather seats!! But yeah it's a pimped out Toyota Avalon...You might want to look at those too.

I was looking at new cars today too... Honda CRV's and Hyundai Sonatas.
 

sf_frankie

Well-Known Member
nah. Take it to a Toyota dealership and request An MPI.. Its free of charge. If you get a good tech-Washer fluid will be topped off, coolant and tire PSI. Its free. No need for an oil change. Besides-Toyota guys love those lexus's. The flat-rate techs should MPI the shit out of your car--why? Bc if approved-its hours/money for them..
Toyota dealers can do warranty work on Lexus? Audi and VW have a similar relationship to Toyota and Lexus but you can’t bring your Audi to a VW store and get work done. Maybe it’s different for Toyota and Lexus.

As far as German luxury brands go, around these parts you can’t just bring your car in and request a free MPI. Might be different where you are. If you can just go in and get a free MPI then I’d absolutely do that. If you can’t, an LOF is usually the cheapest way to get one unless you’ve got an open recall. None of this applies if the car has an actual issue that you’re bringing it in for.
 

Meast21

Well-Known Member
Toyota dealers can do warranty work on Lexus? Audi and VW have a similar relationship to Toyota and Lexus but you can’t bring your Audi to a VW store and get work done. Maybe it’s different for Toyota and Lexus.

As far as German luxury brands go, around these parts you can’t just bring your car in and request a free MPI. Might be different where you are. If you can just go in and get a free MPI then I’d absolutely do that. If you can’t, an LOF is usually the cheapest way to get one unless you’ve got an open recall. None of this applies if the car has an actual issue that you’re bringing it in for.
I put in my vin # in multiple websites and it says there is no recall. I then searched "2018 Lexus ES 350" and there is recall for the fuel pump. So what's up recall or not??
 
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