smardav

Been trying to sell my 2gs for a couple of months. I tried the vehicle classified here, cars.com, craigslist, but still no interest by far.

why is it so hard selling 2gs?
anybody have the same experience?
any suggestion where I should ad this car?

I am located in Houston, TX

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

its just the market and economy IMO... most people don't have 7k, 10k, or 15k laying around to pee away on a vehicle.. There's some great rides for sale including yours and i think its harder times now than it was a few years ago. It will sell it just may take longer than expected..

Sevenevez

iTrader: (2)

there is a fine line between people that have cash on hand that they have saved, and people who do car loans. most people that get a loan resort to a dealership. and if you are asking a high number, it goes into a range of so many other vehicles / options. i paid $5 cash for my 400. but sometimes i see them go for just over $3 in beat condition on craigslist. sometimes you cant find them at all. the more you are asking or the more it is worth equates to the longer it will take to sell. i have purchased vehicles i have seen on craigslist for 8 months straight. then finally pulled the trigger. i have sold vehicles within 48 hours though too.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

**** is worth what people are willing to pay.

I like the 2GS but sometimes some of these guys need to give their head a shake, thinking their 98 400's are worth 7k because they have a double din, a knock off pretzel hanging, some xxr wheels and depo tails.

An SD can be had for 8k and much cheaper at the auction block, so why would I pay someone more than 5k for a 99? Or a 00?

Gimme a break. That's why **** doesn't sell. Not to mention mods =/= value increase.

When you look at the 01+ category 430's too, it makes me wonder who is dropping 12-15k on a 04+ with avg mileage, when an 06 gs430 is in the same range?

rgarjr

iTrader: (1)

Could be that many people don't want to spend coin for a 10+ year old car.

AVSRacing

It also depends on location, condition, and history of the car. 2gs are pretty hard to come by here.

10SecLS1

Your exterior and Interior color are not one of the more desirable options out there.

Also these cars are 15 years old, and unless you have a prime or low mileage car your not going to get much more than 4500-5000 for a 98-00 GS400/GS300

EDIT; Just read your classifieds ad. The ad is very well written, in my opinion you should put it back close to stock and price it closer to private party blue book value if you want it to sell.

abounly

iTrader: (27)

Everyone wants black on black GS430s.

Luckily thats what I have

RamAirRckt

Trying to low ball yourself to sell in a hurry often will attract a crowd you don't want (who will try to get you lower), did that once and it just pi$$ed me off a lot at most people who were trying to get a steal cheaper. Don't put yourself through it. Expect to come down some in price, but don't be unrealistic. Like when I bought mine, I paid $6900 for a 138k mile car with some minor issues, and a great history. No mods, no signs of abuse, and the car was originally a corporate car, and lots of highway miles (owner lived 50 miles from work).

But also people don't want to "pay for your mods" so be very careful there, mods are a sign of likely abuse. If I see a car with aftermarket wheels, I will steer away. They are often heavy wheels (especially large rim size) and accelerate suspension wear. So now I have to expect is has worn ball joints, bushings and shocks.

I found a sharp 150k mile GS430, out of town for me, but really nice car that I had wanted, but the guy didn't want to deal on price at all, I found my GS400 closer for nearly $2k less than he was asking, but I did give him a fair offer considering the miles, and he did come back to me a month later, but I had already bought my GS4. This was 2 years ago and he wasn't finding many buyers.

Remember too, it is a low density car, meaning less than 30k a year EVER produced. Uneducated people think is is nothing more than an optioned out Camry. So most people don't look. With the current administration you aren't going to see fuel prices come down, so most people are looking at the new cars now with better mpg (and car payments to handle the steep price tags). So that narrows your focus groups a lot.

Advertising is everything. You can't reach a market that doesn't know you are there. I do use cars.com, but I found my GS and this other GS430 on Craigslist. I found another out east that I really liked a LOT, great price, but my wife was very uneasy. So make sure Craigslist is well utilized. Don't write a Craigslist ad like you are angry and the people who will "virtual kick tires" and not come through. Just suck it up and accept that it will happen. A lot.... But it only takes 1 person to have the resources. And it might take a serious buyer some time to find the cash if he/she is very serious. See if you can line up someone to finance if you can, making that available might get it sold much faster.

I haven't seen your ad, so I am not sure how it is written. But tips I see are signs I wouldn't trust the car are owner. "New Battery, new alternator, new battery cables, new blah blah blah", that was put on 2-3 years ago. It isn't new anymore. If someone put on a new battery and alternator, they were guessing and throwing parts at it. "only needs ..... that is only $50" oh, so someone is too cheap to put on a needed part, again, I steer clear. Just warning signs I see in ads. Look at CL, there is an abundance of bad ads, read and don't write it like that. Think of what you would want to see. If there is a maint item that needs to be done, it IS a Lexus, make sure it is done. If you can get the history of the car well documented, again, plus for the car. Most people aren't willing to take BillyBob's junk so he can upgrade to the next car he will wear down to junk.

Check every ad for a similar car in around a 100 mile radius, a serious buyer will travel. I bought my 454 Suburban in Maryland, I lived in Wisconsin at the time. I budgeted a trip to go see and buy it. Price in the median of what you see that is similar.

repugnante

This. Folks aint droppin 7-8k on a 13+ year old whip. Just not cost effective.

vbieds

Pretty much summed up all of the good info in this thread. Trade it in on a new prius lol.

porn-adkt

iTrader: (37)

I paid @ 9K for each of my GS4. one being fulling modded with RMM SC. and the other in mint condition. like everyone said you have to be realistic about pricing.. What gets me is that, the same lowlife crowd that wants it for 3k is the same douches that ask 15k when its time to sell.. I guess stretched tires and Stance sticker with Curtains up the value..

MattyG

I've noticed that in my part of the world the older 2nd generation GS', as few of them as there are, linger a long time on Auto Trader or other ad sites. I agree with other posters who say that you're really looking for a special buyer/audience.

I bought mine for 8K and the owner really waited it out. He wasn't that eager to let it go for less but it's a clean car and reasonable miles. There are a couple of other sellers also selling 2nd gens and boy are they being unrealistic compared to what the market says.

One of them has a 98 GS4 for over $11K while the other guy is completely out to lunch and demanding over $16K for his 2004 GS430!

I think it's really a function of what the market will bear and who's looking at the time. These cars really don't sell on looks or snob appeal alone, like some cars do.

bigegg

WOW!
A '98 GS300 in the UK would be over-priced at £2K (about 3.5K U$) a GS430 the same age would be overpriced at litlle more than that (maybe +US$1K)

J$mooth23

iTrader: (14)

All I know is that if you want a GS400 lets just say, with 100k miles(more or less) in good condition expect to pay $8-9k for it.
Now if the seller has $15k+ in mods then its fair that he/she will get half of it back best case scenario. So stop crying like a baby if they ask $14-15k for it. Look at their mods and evaluate whether those are close to your specs and just go for it geez.