Deposit Almost Paid on RX450h but a few questions

[Jag-1978]

Hi All - I've just been to a independent trader to look at a tasty 2014 RX450h Premier with about 70k miles and 3 owner. All looks good and am thinking of putting down a deposit on Monday, after I speak to my insurance. To see what I'll be paying pro rata before my policy expires and also what a new policy would cost. 

Anyway my question is after doing my due diligence  on the car looking at the MOT which is due Dec 2024, it mentions the following advisories. Not being mechanically minded can anyone elaborate on how critical the following things are and ball park figures on what it would cost to get them repaired. I appreciate they are advisories so things to keep an eye on.

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):

• Offside Front Lower Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement perishing and starting to become detached from bonding (5.3.4 (a) (i))
• Nearside Rear Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement Trailing arm bush perishing and becoming detached from bonding (5.3.4 (a) (i))
• Offside Rear Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement Trailing arm bush perishing and becoming detached from bonding (5.3.4 (a) (i))
• Nearside Rear Lower Shock absorbers has a slightly worn bush (5.3.2 (c))
• Offside Rear Lower Shock absorbers has a slightly worn bush (5.3.2 (c))
• Rear Brake disc worn, but not excessively (1.1.14 (a) (i))
• Nearside Rear Outer Tyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (5.2.3 (d) (ii))
• Offside Rear Outer Tyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (5.2.3 (d) (ii))
• Nearside Front Anti-roll bar pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement D bush (5.3.4 (a) (i))
• Offside Front Anti-roll bar pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement D bush (5.3.4 (a) (i))

Secondly the trader concerned gives a 3 month warranty. Which is fine for 3 months should I looked to get something more substantial with an independent. I know Lexus do a Relax warranty post 10 years for approx. £600ish but not sure if i can get that as I'm not buying the car directly from Lexus, It does have an up to date service history from a Lexus Dealer. Previous conversations with Lexus in the past have revealed that they use RAC to cover the Relax Warranty. So maybe going directly to them?

To give me some options on my viewing search today I also viewed a 2011 RX450h Premier at a Lexus dealer for similar money with 50k miles 4 owners. This does come with a 12 month warranty. Seemed more dated obviously the 2014 has had a minor facelift. Saying that this didn't drive as well, was pulling to the left constantly and the drive wasn't very smooth. I wasn't happy with it so disregarded it and walked away. .The only appealing thing was the 12 month warranty included

The RX450h is a totally different animal from my 2001 BMW 7 Series, but was impressed with it and how it handled my 6'3 height including all the comfort features There is a lot of cream interior which is a bit scary even cream carpets!. A bit retro with the design aspects internally but I can live with it..

Many thanks for your advice in advance

Jag   

[ColinBarber]

If you purchase from the trader then you have 6 months where they must fix any fault or prove it didn't exist when it was sold - them offering only 3 months doesn't remove their legal obligations.

 

I image all the rubbers on a vehicle of that age will show some signs of cracking - was it an over zealous MOT inspector or is this vehicle worse than others?? Difficult to say unless you get an independent inspection carried out.

[bigglesfllesundone]

Hopefully someone else will come along with pricing for the items.

If they need doing in the future I imagine they will be an awful lot.

The car is easy to find on auto trader, the previous mot history has only shown a headlight aiming issue previously. So the mot inspection may have been by a very over enthusiastic tester, but it may not.

If the car was serviced by Lexus within the last 12 months/10k miles it should have a Relax warranty until the next service. Ring a Lexus dealer, preferably the one it was last serviced in and confirm what has been done to the car and if it is covered by the relax warranty. Before you ring, find the posts about the 10 year+ warranty and discuss it with them if needs be, (they may not be aware about it. )If the car is serviced at Lexus before it is 10 years old, it should get a year relax warranty.

The relax warranty is with Lexus. 
 

I would arrange for you to take it to a Lexus dealer for an inspection of the mot advisories to get an opinion on them, or second choice, to an independent garage that you trust.

I would be wary of believing what you are told by a dealer.

As well as any warranty, you also have protection under the sale of goods act.

Pay for some or all of the car with a credit card to give you Section 75.

I think it is the newer RX models that are currently being stolen. The cost of insurance may well go up in the future.

[Spock66]

28 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

If you purchase from the trader then you have 6 months where they must fix any fault or prove it didn't exist when it was sold - them offering only 3 months doesn't remove their legal obligations.

But enforcing that may be a different story, I think too many issues and walk away unless you are a DIY mechanic.

[Jag-1978]

I took it for a test drive and it was sharp and on point. No obvious signs of warn bushes or excessive road noise. Granted I didn't look under the car and check all the listed items on the advisories. 

It's a shame my trusted mechanic is in Birmingham and the car elsewhere in the country. Obviously I'll get it looked at independently but would mean buying the car and getting it to my local garage in the first instance. Funding the car via credit card is a good idea and I'll try and do that just for extra cover but not sure if they do accept it over a bank transfer. I know they were happy with a credit card for the deposit. I'll also get the trader to get the car up on a ramp and give it an overview of the mentioned advisories before I buy. 

I wasn't aware that having the last service done at the dealer would mean the there would be an additional years relax warranty. Think the car will be 10 years old next month March, then I believe the Warranty would be up unless I'm mistaken. After viewing I spoke to my local Lexus dealer in Birmingham and they checked the computer and said that it was last serviced at lexus (interim) and is due a major service around Dec 2024, coincidentally same time as the MOT. I don't believe wear and tear would be covered under the remaining Warranty which a lot of those advisories are in guessing.. 

Lots of food for thought over the weekend

J

[ColinBarber]

26 minutes ago, Jag-1978 said:

I don't believe wear and tear would be covered under the remaining Warranty which a lot of those advisories are in guessing..

Relax won’t cover any of those advisories. Firstly because they are wear and tear/excluded items and secondly they would need to be at an MOT failure level before they would be considered. 

[katabrontes]

I would estimate about £3K for this lot.

 

i have slightly worn bushes on the suspension arms on my 2006 RX350 Na was quoted £1K to replace these.  The bushes can't be replaced separately and the arms are expensive and about 5-6 hours labour to do one set.  I would ask the sealer to fix all of it or walk away.  I doubt the Lexus warranty would cover this lot as it is clearly pre-existing and mostly normal wear and tear rather than a part failure.

As they are only advisories the argument for doing this now is a bit weak as well and any warranty would claim exclusion as the defects were know before it was taken out.

Does this dealer underwrite the warranty himself (unusual but I would prefer it as it makes them more careful about what they buy in) or is it one of the standard insurance based types in which case I think the repairs would certainly be excluded.

[Bluemarlin]

Here are my thoughts.

You could ask the dealer to replace the two worn tyres. However, if he does it'll probably be cheap ones, so ask for a bit off instead and see it as opportunity to fit 4 decent tyres.

Bushes can look worn failry quickly and yet still function fine. 2 years ago Lexus said I had worn front bushes and quoted £2k to replace (the arms have to be replaced too). Since then I've sprayed them annually with silicone spray and they've never mentioned them since.  Consequently you won't know if they actually need replacing without a proper look. For reference, I remember reading on here that someone got their bushes replaced under the 10yr plus waranty, possibly because it required the arms too, so worth having a hunt through the forums.

The car will be eligible for the 10 year plus warranty through Lexus when the time comes, although they might want to do an inspection first. On that note, some Lexus dealers also offer a free winter health check. Third pary warranties are often worthless and wouldn't cover anything on your list.

For reference, when I bought my car I used a mobile mechanic (Clickmechanic) to do an inspection. Mine was very good, but it depends on the individual, so if you do consider using them check the reviews for the mechanic in question.

Ultimately you could see the advisories as a reason to walk away, or an opportunity to haggle over the price.

[Jag-1978]

Many thanks for your input guys really insightful stuff from you knowledgeable folk.. To be honest the last thing you want to do is spend a another couple of grand on top of just buying a nearly £16k car, seems like false economy and you are creeping into Gen 4 models pricing. I want to buy the car and be able to have a comfortable year or two without any work needing done. Taking the bushes issues out of the equation I've got a definite bill for £300 plus for a new set of rear tyres, garage will probably chuck on part worns I'm sure. Prior to the MOT research and knowing all this info at the time of viewing, the best I could negotiate at the time was a couple hundred off the price and maybe another couple of hundred if I ask them to skip the service on the car. which they do on all the cars they sell before they leave the garage. Doesn't make sense to service if it was done by a few months ago by Lexus with the next Major service due Dec 2024. This was all before even finding out all the stuff about the advisories.

There are a couple more Premier models out there which I can look at so. Will speak to the garage tomorrow and my insurance to get an idea of what it will cost to insure and see what they have to say and then maybe walk away unless they do something crazy with the price. For sure no warranty will cover the advisories mentioned. No Lexus dealer will even entertain me until I actually buy the car.

Will update the post if something amazing happens.. 

Thanks

J

[Bluemarlin]

Definiitely get them to skip the service.  All it will be is an oil and filter change, with god knows what oil, and then they'll stick some random garage stamp in the service book.

[Jag-1978]

I've got an option to go see another car today same spec and age a few thousand more miles so I'm going to see how this goes....

J