Looking for quality and peace of mind? Don’t buy a car from Lexus of Barrie, LOOK ELSEWHERE. I bought a Lexus Certified Pre-Owned vehicle. Here is my story of a misrepresented LCPO car with collision damage – read to the end.
1. In April 2019 I took delivery of my 2016 ES350. I drove it off the lot and noticed that it reeked of cigarette smoke. After several attempts of smoke remediation, it still smells like smoke a year later. From the 175 point LCPO checklist item #137 the vehicle is to be “Free of odour, including heavy fragrance”
2. Immediately after delivery I noticed there were no owner’s manuals in the glove box. The dealer refused to give me hard copies and told me to download .pdf copies from the Lexus website. From the 175 point LCPO checklist #172 “Owner/Warranty/Maintenance Manuals in glove box”;
3. Driving home from the dealer on the day of delivery I noticed a sever pulsation in the steering wheel when applying the brakes. I had to take the car back for repairs where they simply resurfaced the rotors. This car should never have been signed off as LCPO in this condition. This is contrary to checklist items 19 “Operate (pedal effort/height appropriate, no pulling, PULSATING” AND checklist #80 “Rotors, drums at least 50% of original thickness spec, not scored; RUN OUT WITHING FACTORY SPECS” After the repair at Lexus of Barrie, the brakes started to clunk when stopping in reverse. Lexus of Barrie stated this is “normal”
4. Within the first month of ownership I was changing the carbon cabin air filters every week to help mitigate the smoke odour. The first filter I took out was covered in dirt, pine needles and debris. Smaller amounts of debris kept coming out with every filter change. I cleaned out the outside air intake under the windshield wiper arm which was also filled with the same type of debris. This should have been examined on checklist items 111 “Cabin air filter. Replace if necessary” and 151 “All crevicies are clean”
5. In August I took my car in for its first service at another Toyota dealer as I lost confidence in Lexus of Barrie. While performing the oil change, the Toyota technician showed me a dead mouse under the engine cover and all the foam material was chewed up. This ought to have been verified at checklist item 35 “Under hood area clean, dressed and touched up as required”
6. Also during my first service at Toyota, the technician looked at my brakes as per paragraph 3 above. He said Lexus of Barrie sanded my callipers too much and allowed too much play for the brake pads. This is what was making the clunking sound. They applied a special brake lubricant on the sliders which took up the slack. I must go back when it wears out/washes away or replace the calipers with new ones.
7. Also during my first service at Toyota, the tech had the wheels off. He showed me a significant amount of paint overspray in the wheel arch and all over the suspension strut. When the car came down off the hoist, he showed me panel gap between the right front fender, bumper and front right quarter panel and how the headlight assembly is not flush with body panels. This is evidence of damage repair and very likely that this car was involved in a collision. Going back to the Lexus Certified Pre-Owned checklist items 37 “No evidence of collision repair”; 57 “No visible damage, NO SIGNS OF PREVIOUS REPAIRS...” and 86 “Body and bumpers FREE from damage, rust and MISALIGNMENT”.
I could not believe how negligently the Lexus Certified Pre-Owed checklist was performed on my car. Anyone of the above items could be overlooked. But collectively they overlooked a total of 9 important items. I have no doubt in my mind that Lexus of Barrie management knew about this car having previous damage and it being a smokers car.
I wrote a letter to the dealership in August asking for them to assist me. They never acknowledged the above and refused to return my calls and emails. I just went through the process with OMVIC. They refused to enter into arbitration with me. They have violated OMVIC principles of business ethics by not even attempting to resolve my concerns with respect to the repair damage. This repair damage, which is obvious to the trained eye, has devalued my car significantly.
I was given a CARFAX as part of my purchase which gave me confidence. The fact that this car also was Lexus Certified Pre-Owed gave me confidence. I trusted the brand and the dealership.
I regret purchasing a car from Lexus of Barrie. If you do decide to buy from this dealership, be sure to get a Pre-purchase inspection from a trusted mechanic before giving them your money. They do not deserve your trust.
Lexus of Barrie Reviews
Looking for quality and peace of mind? Don’t buy a car from Lexus of Barrie, LOOK ELSEWHERE. I bought a Lexus Certified Pre-Owned vehicle. Here is my story of a misrepresented LCPO car with collision damage – read to the end.
1. In April 2019 I took delivery of my 2016 ES350. I drove it off the lot and noticed that it reeked of cigarette smoke. After several attempts of smoke remediation, it still smells like smoke a year later. From the 175 point LCPO checklist item #137 the vehicle is to be “Free of odour, including heavy fragrance”
2. Immediately after delivery I noticed there were no owner’s manuals in the glove box. The dealer refused to give me hard copies and told me to download .pdf copies from the Lexus website. From the 175 point LCPO checklist #172 “Owner/Warranty/Maintenance Manuals in glove box”;
3. Driving home from the dealer on the day of delivery I noticed a sever pulsation in the steering wheel when applying the brakes. I had to take the car back for repairs where they simply resurfaced the rotors. This car should never have been signed off as LCPO in this condition. This is contrary to checklist items 19 “Operate (pedal effort/height appropriate, no pulling, PULSATING” AND checklist #80 “Rotors, drums at least 50% of original thickness spec, not scored; RUN OUT WITHING FACTORY SPECS” After the repair at Lexus of Barrie, the brakes started to clunk when stopping in reverse. Lexus of Barrie stated this is “normal”
4. Within the first month of ownership I was changing the carbon cabin air filters every week to help mitigate the smoke odour. The first filter I took out was covered in dirt, pine needles and debris. Smaller amounts of debris kept coming out with every filter change. I cleaned out the outside air intake under the windshield wiper arm which was also filled with the same type of debris. This should have been examined on checklist items 111 “Cabin air filter. Replace if necessary” and 151 “All crevicies are clean”
5. In August I took my car in for its first service at another Toyota dealer as I lost confidence in Lexus of Barrie. While performing the oil change, the Toyota technician showed me a dead mouse under the engine cover and all the foam material was chewed up. This ought to have been verified at checklist item 35 “Under hood area clean, dressed and touched up as required”
6. Also during my first service at Toyota, the technician looked at my brakes as per paragraph 3 above. He said Lexus of Barrie sanded my callipers too much and allowed too much play for the brake pads. This is what was making the clunking sound. They applied a special brake lubricant on the sliders which took up the slack. I must go back when it wears out/washes away or replace the calipers with new ones.
7. Also during my first service at Toyota, the tech had the wheels off. He showed me a significant amount of paint overspray in the wheel arch and all over the suspension strut. When the car came down off the hoist, he showed me panel gap between the right front fender, bumper and front right quarter panel and how the headlight assembly is not flush with body panels. This is evidence of damage repair and very likely that this car was involved in a collision. Going back to the Lexus Certified Pre-Owned checklist items 37 “No evidence of collision repair”; 57 “No visible damage, NO SIGNS OF PREVIOUS REPAIRS...” and 86 “Body and bumpers FREE from damage, rust and MISALIGNMENT”.
I could not believe how negligently the Lexus Certified Pre-Owed checklist was performed on my car. Anyone of the above items could be overlooked. But collectively they overlooked a total of 9 important items. I have no doubt in my mind that Lexus of Barrie management knew about this car having previous damage and it being a smokers car.
I wrote a letter to the dealership in August asking for them to assist me. They never acknowledged the above and refused to return my calls and emails. I just went through the process with OMVIC. They refused to enter into arbitration with me. They have violated OMVIC principles of business ethics by not even attempting to resolve my concerns with respect to the repair damage. This repair damage, which is obvious to the trained eye, has devalued my car significantly.
I was given a CARFAX as part of my purchase which gave me confidence. The fact that this car also was Lexus Certified Pre-Owed gave me confidence. I trusted the brand and the dealership.
I regret purchasing a car from Lexus of Barrie. If you do decide to buy from this dealership, be sure to get a Pre-purchase inspection from a trusted mechanic before giving them your money. They do not deserve your trust.