sarantis

I have put down a $500 refundable deposit on a 2007 LS460L for 43,000 sight unseen on eBay. Before you say what's wrong with my head, it has 7,800 (not 78,000) original miles on it. 42k is the high KKB value. The person that owned it is well to do and has a stable of cars. In fact she even sat on a towel while she drove and they didn't have kids so the back seats were rarely used. It has ML sound, and every other option minus the Exec package. Originally it was around 85k. It's got a clean car fax.

My first question is should I pull the trigger? I'm coming off an '02 Q45 that I've put 100k trouble miles on. I just want something new now. I've test driven the newer BMW 750Li and it was fine but I'm concerned about the reliability of the 07-08s.

The other question I have is aside from the wind noise (which seems like a fairly easy DIY fix) should I be concerned about anything else, especially '07 being the first iteration of that LS design?

Thanks in advance,

Nospinzone

If you are paying $1000 over the KBB high value, I would say you are definitely paying too much. I am also wondering if you haven't seen the car, how do you know all those facts about the car and the owner are accurate?

You do need to be concerned about the reliability of the BMW. There are several recent threads of new owners who came from troublesome bimmers. The only thing you need to check on a 2007 LS is if the recalls were done on the car. If they weren't you can still get them done at a dealer for no cost.

You might also check Edmunds and NADA for suggested values.

Welcome, good luck and keep us informed!

CJITTY

43k?!??! That seems extremely high to me considering I got a 2008 600hL for a little more than that with CPO warranty back in 2012

robert1408

My only concern is the extreme low mileage. If the car was garaged in a warm dry climate area, no problem. Road salt and/or a rainy, high humidity climate can cause some problems. Use the VIN number to check for Lexus service records and completion of a few recalls.

Tires for these cars can have lots of rayon and nylon cord in them. That makes them sensitive to flat-spotting from being parked for extended periods, sometimes permanently so. Some Michelins use polyester and polyamide which is less of a problem. You might budget a grand for new tires if needed.

Reading through these forums might make you think all these cars are ticking time bombs for expensive maintenance and repairs. Yes, these are large, complex and heavy cars and parts can be pricy. As on all car forums, you hear all about the problems but much less about the relatively trouble free experience most owners have. A sometimes overlooked thing about LS 460's is that problems that leave you stranded are very rare. As an '07 owner, I don't worry about "issues" on these cars. The wind noise thing is very common. I did the fix yesterday on mine. It was easy, fast and it worked.

waynedog

Regarding the wind noise, I purchased a 2007 last year with the wind noise, did all the fixes proposed on this forum, and they did not help at all. So now I drive a 460 with more wind noise than my kids 10 year old camrys. So do not assume the wind noise is an easy fix.

roadfrog

I am one of those. I just traded my E65 (745i) which was a NIGHTMARE with only 50k miles (burning oil, blue smoke, oil leaks, coolant leaks, transmission leaks), etc.

Wind noise? BRING IT ON! I welcome the relief from more serious issues, I suffered at the hands of my otherwise beloved, BMW. :-)

amit1947

Its funny reading about the wind noise problem and control arm replacements. People on this forum make it sound like the end of the world.

On the other hand, on the BMW forums, you have people with oil leaks, water pump failures, turbo failures, electrical problems etc. who act like everything is fine. Replacing control arms at around 50k miles is considered normal maintenance.

RodT

@sarantis,i put in the specs that you listed on kbb and nadaguides both are saying in the ballpark about 38k to 40.4K so at 43k you definetely are over paying. From those specs that owner must just purchased the car to say that he/she has one.For as pulling the trigger on it i would definetely have that car throughly inspected by a dealer due to fact that mileage that low means that the car basically sat parked the entire time which means you can have some serious issues within the motor like seals probably being crack ( not saying so but could be possible) due dry rotting. This is just something that I would be leery of before purchasing the vehicle.

RandyV

Was she leaking?

That price is waaaay high for that model year - even with those low miles.

sarantis

I believe she wore Depends so she was good to go. Might be way too high but again, it's got 7500 miles on it. Still has the new car smell. And I'm just crazy enough that I pulled the trigger. I'll let y'all know how it works out. In the mean time I'm excited to be part of your online community of LS aficionados.

Nospinzone

Hey sarantis, in the scheme of things paying a little more for something you are really happy with is no big deal. If you lost the car because you tried to get it cheaper you would end up kicking yourself.

We are looking forward to your active participation here. Keep us updated.

I believe she wore Depends so she was good to go.

BTW, love your sense of humor. You will fit in very well here!

Michifan12

iTrader: (2)

You should've bought this one:

http://www.hoffmangm.com/VehicleDeta...-MD/2153008113

I had them down to $33,800 but still felt I was overpaying a few thousand due to KBB and NADA. I think someone put a deposit on it.

There was another 2007 LS460L with 6,800 miles listed at $37k in Michigan.

CJITTY

I am selling my car for thousands more than it should cost..let me know if you have friends that are willing to do what you did...wow, good luck but I think you paid entirely too much. Money to burn I suppose. Welcome to the big body club..you'll enjoy it for sure

sarantis

High KBB on mine was $41,500 private party (remember L model and I gotta have it since I'm 6'6" and my kids are getting bigger) so paying $1500 over is not too bad especially since I'm buying from a used car dealer. Having said that, the next time I need to buy a car, I'm coming here for sure.

korlexus

Like most of people here said, the car you are planning to purchase is bit too high.