NOT A NEW LS430 OWNER!

nickd · March 31, 2017

Oh deary me, soooooooo disappointing as not a new owner.

So that was a lesson in how a dealer should not sell a car. The dealers set up was very impressive indeed, a lot of high end expensive metal in very pleasant surroundings. However I had a call from the dealer when I was about an hour away saying they were a little delayed and still finishing off the service and the belt change. No issue and I was happy to wait. Arrived, met the dealer and went to look at the car in the service area. I was very happy to do this as I would get to see all over the car. As we all know first impressions count......

The car hadn't been cleaned and was fairly mucky and obviously hadn't been valeted to my standards, not saying mine are massively high but I'm sure we all agree we like a good fettle and polish and know how a car should look. They were still working on the car but it wasn't up on ramps so I had a look at the inside and thought it's ok. A few scuffs here and there but ok. One of the seat runner rail caps was missing and a small 1" tear in the rear seat leather. So the car went up on the ramps and I had a good look at the underside, first thing I noticed was four different tyres and all of the budget variety. Two of which should have been MOT failures as had cracks in, pointed these out and was told could be sorted. At this point my heart was sinking, as this should have been sorted beforehand. The service was finished and I was left alone with the car so had a thorough look over with my check list in hand (printed off this site) went over the car. Suspension ok, two keys, full dealer history and mostly ok. However the cd player didn't work (wouldn't load and displayed "CD Error" and the LED display on the rear armrest was blank and the rear heated seat light's didn't come on. Am I being picky? At this point I didn't think it would be wise to buy the car but I did test drive it. It drove as I expected, but we're in Stamford Hill and the traffic was heavy and I doubt i got over 35mph. Then the dealer did let slip it had been a wedding car....... not sure why but this put me right off.

So after another look over and finding a few other minor issues I went to the office and asked for my deposit back. The salesman didn't seem surprised and immediately refunded me and I drove home in my business partners Audi Q5 which we had collected that morning.

To be fair to the dealer he was very busy. I had though sent him an email asking him to check that certain things worked and i would be checking when there. It was I think at best a £4995 car. So I will keep looking.

Nick

Beejay55 · March 31, 2017

Sorry this did not work out for you. If it is any consolation I think you did the right thing. I am sure you will find a better car.

lockeyboy · March 31, 2017

You made the right decision, there are other good cars around.

some of the costs to rectify would be very expensive, and as you say, should be reflected in the price.

If nothing else, you've come to the right place for advice from the users on here, which is worth it's weight in gold alone!

MLW · March 31, 2017

It is often hard to walk away, but not as hard as having made the purchase and then sitting at home feeling a bit iffy about the whole thing. If your stomach said walk, it is a 99.7% chance that walking is the best thing. When you see the correct car, your stomach will say 'I think I am lucky to get this one'.

ambermarine · March 31, 2017

Nickd

You have made the right decision,The fact the car was not ready when they had days of notice you were coming to pick it up would have been enough for me to ask for my deposit back without any further involvement.

I have a very low tolerance to bad service and customer respect.

Michael sums it up correctly and I for one had that feeling.

PJD · March 31, 2017

Four different budget tyres, dear oh dear. That really does reflect the owners attitude towards the car.

They'll be loads of others :)

Chris Skelton · March 31, 2017

The Avantime lives on!

I've got a LOVELY Citroen XM 3 litre you can have........

(last ever sold in UK, etc.....)

steve2006 · March 31, 2017

17 minutes ago, Chris Skelton said:

The Avantime lives on!

I've got a LOVELY Citroen XM 3 litre you can have........

(last ever sold in UK, etc.....)

Only gold members may offer to sell Citroens on the LOC forums, I've a good mind to give you a French warning point Chris for this suggestive post .

Must admit they are good cars I had J reg I think 2 litre version, fully galvanised body but the suspension was a load of spheres as Citroen called them.

messi · March 31, 2017

Regarding the cd player not working, your going to have to expect that as it will happen to all mark levinson cd players in the ls430 and sc430, not sure about other models, in my opinion they are just rubbish, and I prefer the lexus premium sound system, it sounds much better. So far in the one in my sc430 is working, but I will be looking for an after markethe cd player because im 100% sure it will stop working.

ScousePaul · March 31, 2017

12 hours ago, nickd said:

Oh deary me, soooooooo disappointing as not a new owner.

So that was a lesson in how a dealer should not sell a car. The dealers set up was very impressive indeed, a lot of high end expensive metal in very pleasant surroundings. However I had a call from the dealer when I was about an hour away saying they were a little delayed and still finishing off the service and the belt change. No issue and I was happy to wait. Arrived, met the dealer and went to look at the car in the service area. I was very happy to do this as I would get to see all over the car. As we all know first impressions count......

The car hadn't been cleaned and was fairly mucky and obviously hadn't been valeted to my standards, not saying mine are massively high but I'm sure we all agree we like a good fettle and polish and know how a car should look. They were still working on the car but it wasn't up on ramps so I had a look at the inside and thought it's ok. A few scuffs here and there but ok. One of the seat runner rail caps was missing and a small 1" tear in the rear seat leather. So the car went up on the ramps and I had a good look at the underside, first thing I noticed was four different tyres and all of the budget variety. Two of which should have been MOT failures as had cracks in, pointed these out and was told could be sorted. At this point my heart was sinking, as this should have been sorted beforehand. The service was finished and I was left alone with the car so had a thorough look over with my check list in hand (printed off this site) went over the car. Suspension ok, two keys, full dealer history and mostly ok. However the cd player didn't work (wouldn't load and displayed "CD Error" and the led display on the rear armrest was blank and the rear heated seat light's didn't come on. Am I being picky? At this point I didn't think it would be wise to buy the car but I did test drive it. It drove as I expected, but we're in Stamford Hill and the traffic was heavy and I doubt i got over 35mph. Then the dealer did let slip it had been a wedding car....... not sure why but this put me right off.

So after another look over and finding a few other minor issues I went to the office and asked for my deposit back. The salesman didn't seem surprised and immediately refunded me and I drove home in my business partners Audi Q5 which we had collected that morning.

To be fair to the dealer he was very busy. I had though sent him an email asking him to check that certain things worked and i would be checking when there. It was I think at best a £4995 car. So I will keep looking.

Nick

No you're not being picky. You mentioned in the other thread you were paying £6995? You can get a fully sorted well looked after 430 for less than that. I did not too long ago. You were right to move on.

cruisermark · April 1, 2017

Well thanks to your visit the price has risen by £500 😕 - what did you do?

Chris Skelton · April 1, 2017

18 hours ago, messi said:

Regarding the cd player not working, your going to have to expect that as it will happen to all mark levinson cd players in the ls430 and sc430, not sure about other models, in my opinion they are just rubbish, and I prefer the lexus premium sound system, it sounds much better. So far in the one in my sc430 is working, but I will be looking for an after markethe cd player because im 100% sure it will stop working.

Surely the actual 6-pack bit is....pioneer? Levinson won't make the transport-they are pretty generic.

messi · April 1, 2017

It probably is Pioneer with Mark Levinsons name on it, but again in my opinion its absolutely rubbish, and 100% guaranteed it will fail.

Also the ML speakers, again absolutely rubbish, you'd think they'd use better material to make them due to the high price the dealers charge for them, but nooooo, they use paper, hence why the speakers fail too, especially the subwoofers

Chris Skelton · April 2, 2017

Paper IS best for speakers.....in hi-fi. But maybe not in a car interior; damp etc!

Feastrex speakers are made with mulberry paper, hand created by a Japanese Paper Master, for example.

Cost a fortune-but sound sublime.

My Ocellia units cost about 1000 euros each, made with paper- carefully! Bliss.

But neither are in a car!

Never had a problem with the Lex system in my Ser 3 or 4.

In Setright's review of the Ser 3 he rated the hi-fi highly.

messi · April 2, 2017

You wont have problem with speakers in the ls400, only the ls430 and sc430as it has the ML name on it using cheap material but lexus charge extortion amount of money for the ML speakersand knowing that they constantly tear or blow. Also the ls400 premium sound is way better in my opinion, even in the Gs300 I had, the premium sound was way better than this ML rubbish.

Bluesman · April 2, 2017

I love the system in my LS400 almost as good as my indoor set up.

Spacewagon52 · April 3, 2017

16 hours ago, Bluesman said:

I love the system in my LS400 almost as good as my indoor set up.

That is praise enough for me! I find I have to be careful not to have it too loud, the neighbours might complain as I come in the drive ......... also going a bit deaf too.