onejrp

Am getting ready to buy an ES330. Great condition with low miles but the seller is hesitant to give me a CarFax. He says he buys from dealers such as Lexus of Belllvue, Wa at their auctions and then resells. When I asked him why they wholesaled this car, he stated that the dealer only retains trade-ins of cars for dealer resale which are of a minimum age and mileage. Can someone help with a CarFax? Vin: JTHBA30G655080269.

Also, I know that the car needs an alignment and front brakes, which I can install. Any tips beyond a typical brake job? Lastly, there is a very slight click that you can feel in the steering, almost center when you turn left or right slowly. Otherwise the steering is great. Any thoughts?

Thank you for your help. J.R. onejrp@aol.com

PuReChaos

Wait, you're not willing to spend 40$ that could potentially save you from spending the money on a car with known accidents, damage, etc?

Oro

I thought they could do a one time car-fax for like $15. Or at least they used to.

You can input the vin at lexus and it will show all dealer work.

As to their sales policy, yes, that's how they decide to hold cars for dealer re-sale. Also a key point is that 10 model years is far as most credit agencies will loan against, so it is getting ready to tick off the loanable list, so that might be influencing the decision. that is whay a there is a huge drop at 10 years in used value.

I would worry a bit about the steering issue. Typically bearings or worn suspension components appear at full lock. A spot at the middle usually indicates worn gear components in the rack I think.