Second hand 2020 IS 300H with paint correction from dealer

Christian89 · May 19

Hi all,

Purchased a used 2020 Lexus IS 300H in black from Lexus Cambridge as an approved used car with 40k on the clock about 6 weeks ago and was very happy with it until today.

The past few occasions previous to today when washing the car, i noticed scratches appearing. Now ive been dead careful with this car and it doesnt get parked anywhere often where other people will come into contact with it. Its on a drive at home and the office car park during the day. I just figured i needed to be more careful, but ive never had issues with scratches from washing before. I use the two bucket method with grit guards and hose the car down before washing.

I bought some better shampoo for the car and was washing it today and noticed scuffs and scrapes appearing, as well as areas of white haze as if someone has applied tcut in the wrong way. Following the wash the drivers side was displaying horrendous scratching and scuffs, in addition the rear arch/boot panel appeared to be a dull brown with quite a noticeable difference in colour between the adjacent panel. Its fairly clear someone has performed a very poor paint repair in multiple areas, and the shampoo has just washed it off. The passenger side is fine except for a few of these strange white smear marks to the panel in between the roof and window.

When i check the service history on lexus link, it does display an entry at Lexus Cambridge a few days prior to my purchase which only states 'Repair'. I hadnt seen the car until the day of the sale as it was transported from Lexus Burnaston, which is odd because im not even sure theres an actual dealership there. I believe its the Toyota factory. Lexus Cambridge just told me a previous Lexus employee who worked at the factory had the car.

Sadly, i turned down their paint protection during the purchase, not expecting such a mess as this with a car sold by the dealership. The whole thing was very dodgy now i think about it. The car didnt have service history, which lexus didnt tell me until i realised through checking lexus link. I enquired several times about the service history and was told id be able to view it on the app once i had the V5, turns out the only service was a month prior to my purchase. I was so desperate for a car for work due to my old car being an absolute car crash with mechanical problems, i just accepted it after some very angry phone calls. I intended to make use of their service warranty until 100,000 miles anyway. The other odd thing was they told me theyd post me the second key as it was still with Lexus Burnaston. I called back weekly and eventually they said they do not know where the key is and they will provide and program another free of charge which im due to go in for this week.

Can anyone tell me if im likely to be lumped with the cost of repairing this, or what has happened here? Something really has not been right with this sale and i cannot believe ive been suckered by a dealership. Does anything in the warranty protect me? Im worried they are going to say ive caused the damage, but i have not used anything abrasive like polish.

I saw something stating the manufacturers warranty prior to 2021 cars is 5 years or 100,00 miles, is this correct?

Thanks

Christian

IS300FSPORT · May 19

Try contacting the Lexus head office I'm sure somebody on this forum will have a contact email address? Failing that try researching names of Execs/senior positions on Linked in.

You may well face the usual line "You should have checked the vehicle at hand over, all our cars are quality checked & approved with 101 checks at point of sale etc"

Unfortunately once the sale is done the salesman is usually not interested.

I suggest leave a review on Trust pilot & Google & hopefully you will get a response from the branch manager they wouldn't want negative press it has risk to their reputation & potentially impacts their sales.

How did you pay? If on credit card your protected, even with finance etc there must be a consumer protection clause where you can get the credit companies to fight your case, how you prove it didn't happen post the sale will be your biggest challenge.

All the best hope they sort it out for you, keep us updated.

Christian89 · May 19

I paid with a 5k deposit and the rest on finance, through Lexus. I will go to the branch some time over the next few days and request to speak to the branch manager. If that doesnt work ill work my way up.

Now that i think about it, when i cleaned the hybrid Battery filter out, not sure if the door arch looked like it had been welded. Ill have a look again in the morning.

Thanks

Christian

Thackeray · May 20

One thing to check is whether all the VIN stickers are in place, or possibly painted over. Each metal panel should have a VIN number sticker on the inside edge. This includes the bonnet, boot, the inside edge of all four doors and the central pillar. If panel repairs are done, Lexus workshops will replace the VIN sticker if that's necessary because of respraying. Other workshops may not bother because each sticker costs something like £100.

This may not be relevant to your problem but it may be worth checking as an indication of whether repairs have been done.

If you decide to reject the car, which I suspect you can still do, I believe the key phrase to get their attention is "Not of Satisfactory Quality" which can be included in an email subject line, as well as the text of your complaint.

Spock66 · May 20

18 hours ago, Christian89 said:

I saw something stating the manufacturers warranty prior to 2021 cars is 5 years or 100,00 miles, is this correct?

No it was three years, but if an approved Lexus vehicle it should have a 1-year warranty that covers most things.

Thackeray · May 20

The Which? magazine website has a useful guide to Consumer Rights. It looks as though the website will also help you draft a letter of complaint if necessary.

Maxz · May 22

TBH when I went to buy from the Lexus dealership they showed me an F-Sport with crash damage repaired, that was not mentioned until I asked for the history and saw it, plus it had to be jump started as the 12v was clearly on it's way out. Also an advance with a poor unrecorded minor body damage repair and Supagard that had been applied by the dealership to an undetailed car, so bird mess marks were sealed into the roof. Buying from a dealership is no guarantee of getting a clean car or a decent experience. As with all things in life it is down to who the individual (salesperson) is and making your own checks as best you can before buying. A lot of dealership cars are ex-finance that the previous driver has no intent of looking after for the long term, so sometimes they have been "rinsed" for lack of a better word.

Christian89 · May 29

Hi all,

Just to provide an update on this, the dealership were not interested and tried to pal me off. Took it to several body shops, one of which was a Lexus approved centre, and they have all stated the majority of the car has been poorly resprayed. With filler in the rear wheel arches to several areas. At least one of the wheels was replaced on the last (only service) so it would appear it has been in an accident of some kind. Ive raised an official complaint and left a review, over to Lexus for now. If i dont get any joy its through the ombudsman. The approved body shop quoted £6,500.00 to fix as pretty much the whole car needs respraying.

agent_dess · May 29

2 hours ago, Christian89 said:

Hi all,

Just to provide an update on this, the dealership were not interested and tried to pal me off. Took it to several body shops, one of which was a Lexus approved centre, and they have all stated the majority of the car has been poorly resprayed. With filler in the rear wheel arches to several areas. At least one of the wheels was replaced on the last (only service) so it would appear it has been in an accident of some kind. Ive raised an official complaint and left a review, over to Lexus for now. If i dont get any joy its through the ombudsman. The approved body shop quoted £6,500.00 to fix as pretty much the whole car needs respraying.

Do you have photos?

Notamech · May 29

Sounds to me like the dealer broke consumer protection laws by not disclosing the accident. You can potentially threaten legal action. But i think the hard part will be proving the car was in an accident. Things like body filler new wheel etc., while indicative of an accident may not qualify as conclusive proof.

Christian89 · May 29

It’s hard to see the paint spotting on the camera, but the scraping smudged areas can seen. Dealer couldn’t polish them out, although may need a heavier compound.

The marks are literally every where. Think my boot lid is okay except for some overspray from another panel being repainted.

I should have checked the car better, I was more concerned with mechanical items after my last experience. Just didn’t believe I would be buying a car in need of a full respray I guess. I think the previous owner washed it with a Brillo pad.

Christian89 · May 29

2 hours ago, Notamech said:

Sounds to me like the dealer broke consumer protection laws by not disclosing the accident. You can potentially threaten legal action. But i think the hard part will be proving the car was in an accident. Things like body filler new wheel etc., while indicative of an accident may not qualify as conclusive proof.

Yeah it will be hard to prove, main thing will be that it’s not of satisfactory quality for the price paid. I know there’s a good chance I won’t get my money back, but I’m going all of the way to court if I have to on this, not being mugged off on another car.

Spock66 · May 29

Legally your contract and hence complaint is with the supplying dealer.

However, if you can get Lexus UK on your side (the vehicle should never have been sold as an approved Lexus) I think that will help your case.

Christian89 · May 29

9 minutes ago, Spock66 said:

Legally your contract and hence complaint is with the supplying dealer.

However, if you can get Lexus UK on your side (the vehicle should never have been sold as an approved Lexus) I think that will help your case.

Thanks, yeah I’ll exhaust all other options and try to go through dealership first, but I suspect I may have to escalate it. They’re getting back to me on Friday.

agent_dess · May 29

Thats pretty shocking for an approved car.

In all honesty you should have rejected the car when it was delivered, thats poor repair you can see for example the clear coat peeling on the door edge and it's like someone washed the car with sandpaper 😕

Hope lexus resolve the issue.

Christian89 · May 29

Thanks. Now that I think about it everything about the sale was dodgy. I couldn’t see any of the damage at that point, they presented the car to me wet, dealers trick im told. It had also been waxed and polished a lot. Took several washes to really show, each time it looked that bit worse. The only thing I initially noticed was a few holograms but i didn’t realise what they were at that point. Some of the damage is sealed underneath clearcoat. The bonnet has been partially resprayed twice I’m told based on the pattern and the paint thickness.

steve2006 · May 30

Looking at the pictures, no damage marker, the lack of service history and the missing key it’s very suspect

Unfortunately you only have 30 days from purchase to reject the car and this period has passed. You do however still have rights under consumer law to request the dealer to repair the car ( in your case the paint job) and within the first six months it is the seller that has to prove the paint defects were not present at the time of sale.

After being given one chance to repair the car if it is still unsatisfactory you can then at this point request a refund or a partial refund if you wish to keep the car. The dealer may also make a reasonable deduction for the use of the vehicle during your ownership.

I would also contact the finance company and inform them of the situation and if you paid the deposit by credit card your card provider as they are jointly liable for any purchase over £100.00.

Keep a record of all correspondence particularly telephone calls (if possible record them).

Be interesting to find out who the previous owner was as Burneston is indeed the Toyota factory just outside Derby.

Notamech · May 30

Yeah unfortunately wet cars hide defects very well. I learnt this the hard way too and will never buy a car that is shown to me wet or has pictures where the car is wet. The reason we notice defects is when light bends / reflects differently off damaged surfaces vs the rest of the car. When a car has water droplets on it that sort of different reflection/bending of light is happening at every water droplet that is sat on the car making it much harder for your eyes to separate a defect from a water droplet especially small dings, stone chips, small scratches, clearcoat defects etc. are very easily hidden.

One more option to consider if you want to peacefully resolve this is to ask them to buy back the car at a closest possible price to what you paid and sell you another car. Then you can decide what amount of loss you think is acceptable vs fighting it out in court which will also cost you i presume.

Thackeray · May 30

Just out of interest, are all the VIN stickers present and undamaged on the inside edge of each metal panel? Or are any missing or painted over? There should be about eight of them.

Christian89 · May 30

Thanks all. I checked the vin stickers and they are there, at least on the rear arches. Not sure the panels have been replaced but definitely repaired.

I'm expecting a call from them tomorrow but im fearing the worst and that I’ve got a fight on my hands.

I’ve attached the video they sent me when they received it. Looked immaculate at that point except for the few holograms you can see on the rear wheel arch, once again didn’t realise what they were, I just thought it was the light playing off the arch at an angle. Funny thing is all of the alloys are spotless, not a single scratch on them. Either repaired or replaced I’m guessing. Just noticed the heavy mud on one tire in the video, seems a bit much even for our poor roads. Almost like it was taken from a building site or a scrapyard!

steve2006 · May 30

TBH if I was video presenting a used car to a customer I would have done so after the valet not covered in raindrops ( as you mentioned these can hide a multitude of defects) and having muddy tyres.

The emphasis of the wheels as the camera flashed by the panels was class!

IS300FSPORT · May 30

Looking at that video it seems like the previous owner may have pulled a fast one had a Polish or detail done on the car before the sale or part ex. The dealer that sold it to you may genuinely not have any knowledge of it being that bad a couple of washes later & you discover it as the Polish or wax has washed off. Regardless if it has been repainted they should have picked that up during the inspection they can measure the paint thickness & have a trained eye to pickup any blemishes. Press on with challenging it use social media to its potential with the threat to expose them if they don't plan on sorting it out.

Christian89 · May 30

Think they had the car for a while, the service after im assuming when the car was traded in was about 2 months before I purchased it. Seems odd that it wouldn’t sell unless there was an issue. Also that it was at Lexus Burnaston, where no used cars are offered on that particular Lexus website as it’s the Toyota factory.

steve2006 · May 31

Interesting that Toyota employees get good discounts on buying and leasing Toyota cars. I’m wondering if this is an ex lease car from a factory employee hence why it was located there.

Christian89 · May 31

They did say it was owned by an ex Lexus employee, although they clearly didn’t want me to see the V5C and the previous owner.

Cambridge Lexus have contacted me today basically saying I’ll have to go through the ombudsman. Contacted Lexus GB head office and they have contacted the dealership, but it’s more of courtesy from them, they don’t seem to have any sway with the dealerships in these ‘small’ matters.

I spoke with Lexus Financial Services and they seemed more helpful and are doing an investigation, not sure how long that is or the sincerity of it.

Lastly I’ve contacted someone from the ombudsman page for a report, seemed helpful enough. I think this is the only way I’ll get anywhere. There was a similar case where the buyer of a 20k Audi A6 won against the dealer so that’s some hope.