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I found a no thrills LS430 at a sweet price.
But just got the carfax report and it lists 'accident reported' (no date specifed).
There is no other information other then the 'california police report reference number' (19653503392).

I am not sure how to investigate this any further - or even if I could legally get a hold of the report as it may be restricted to the persons involved in the accident. Therefore I have no way of knowing if this was a minor fender bender or a head on.

The dealer had the car in at the local Lexus dealership.
They performed a full 30k service check - they had to do the front and rear brakes.
I talked with the mechanic and asked if he noticed any evidence that the car had been in a accident (this was before I saw the carfax report). He thought the car looked sound and did not see any evidence of a accident.
My concern is the mechanic works for Lexus - and the dealer does a fair bit of business with them - so i understand where is loyalty resides.

Q1
Should I get an independant inspection ?
IE; I could take it to another Lexus dealer in the area and have them inspect for me.

Q2
Should a Lexus dealer inspection be able to detect that a car has been in major accident?
or should I just walk away from this deal ?

MoLexus

Once a car is wrecked it will never look or in some cases drive the same. Look at it at ALL angles with direct sunlight and look for small aip pockets. Pop the hood and you can notice any paint or frame damage in the engine bay.

drink300

Get an inspection from a trusted mechanic and do not buy the car until you have done so. It won't be such a good deal anymore if you start having serious driving or safety issues down the road.

As in all things, you usually get what you pay for.

geko29

Take it to a good bodyshop. They'll be able to see instantly what happened to it, and what was done to repair it. Shouldn't take longer than about 20 minutes, or cost more than $100.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

That accident report would no longer be with the police department as accident reports are held for only 30 days. It would be in the posession of the state DMV. Unfortunately, you will not be able to obtain the accident report on your own since you do not have permissible use under the Drivers Privacy Protection Act to obtain any accident reports pertaining to this vehicle. If you were a party to the accident, then you would be able to obtain the reports from DMV

benzo555

iTrader: (11)

I say it would depend. I got rear ended in a 4 car accident on my old Acura. Of course I was the 1st car up front so they just scratched my bumper. Nothing really happened to my car besides a re-paint for it, but it still showed up in the carfax. Car came back perfect, but I wouldnt say it drove any different or looked different from what some of you guys say.

DzaztrBUSE

What he said. On the opposite side of the spectrum it could have been something really minor like a bumper being cracked and STILL reported as an accident. i've driven some salvage vehicles (accord, F150, Mazda Millenia) and Bikes (GSXR750, Ducati 749) and learned alot about the salvage laws state to state. Ok so I've drifted from the topic a little, I digress. Have it checked out by someone else, they're usually good at detecting points of repair.