PSA: Don't buy this IS-F from CarMax
09-12-14, 07:06 AM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
PSA: Don't buy this IS-F from CarMax
http://www.carmax.com/enus/view-car/...results%20page
So, I went to check out this IS-F the other day. I had it shipped over from another CarMax to the one nearest me. The pics are crappy, but in looking at the car 100 times before I was able to see it in person, I noticed that the driver's side wheels are black, whereas the ones on the passenger side are the stock color. Weird.
Regardless, it was a 2010 with 33k miles for $40k. A little on the high side, but it's a CarMax car, so the quality should be a little better than buying from a private seller, right? Well, no. Seeing the car in person, from a distance, it looks perfectly fine. Upon closer inspection, the wheel well liner behind both of the rear wheels was ripped/not attached. Maybe they just needed to remove the bumper to repaint it? Then, I noticed the mesh around the stacked exhaust outlets was silver, not the dark gray it should be. Then, I noticed the bumper trim area under the exhaust outlets looked bolted on. Then, I noticed the mis-matched tires.
Regardless, might as well take it for a drive to see how it runs. Sit inside the car, and notice the clear plastic piece that covers the PRND area had a TON of scratches. 33k miles, and this much wear? Odd. Start driving it, and notice the shifting is a little slow. I downshift and the shifting is SLOW. Put it into manual mode next. Where is the gear indicator? When I stick it into manual mode, the box lights up, but no number shows up. Must be a faulty LCD, right? Well for someone who has an IS-F already, you know there is no separate box for the gear indicator. I did not know it at the time, but after the test drive, I did some google image searches for the IS-F gauge cluster and noticed that the car did not have an IS-F gauge cluster...it had a standard IS cluster. Some further reading revealed that the mileage is stored in the gauge cluster.
So, I don't know what happened with this car, but it seems like some odd franken-car. Most likely, they pulled the old bait-and-switch with the gauge cluster of a standard IS at a junkyard. So this is my public service announcement- do not buy this car.
edit: I see the link says the car is no longer available...meaning the car either got reserved for someone, or someone is shipping it to a different CarMax. I hope the person interested sees this.
edit2: This link should work-
http://www.carmax.com/enus/transfers...P&loc_num=7128
So, I went to check out this IS-F the other day. I had it shipped over from another CarMax to the one nearest me. The pics are crappy, but in looking at the car 100 times before I was able to see it in person, I noticed that the driver's side wheels are black, whereas the ones on the passenger side are the stock color. Weird.
Regardless, it was a 2010 with 33k miles for $40k. A little on the high side, but it's a CarMax car, so the quality should be a little better than buying from a private seller, right? Well, no. Seeing the car in person, from a distance, it looks perfectly fine. Upon closer inspection, the wheel well liner behind both of the rear wheels was ripped/not attached. Maybe they just needed to remove the bumper to repaint it? Then, I noticed the mesh around the stacked exhaust outlets was silver, not the dark gray it should be. Then, I noticed the bumper trim area under the exhaust outlets looked bolted on. Then, I noticed the mis-matched tires.
Regardless, might as well take it for a drive to see how it runs. Sit inside the car, and notice the clear plastic piece that covers the PRND area had a TON of scratches. 33k miles, and this much wear? Odd. Start driving it, and notice the shifting is a little slow. I downshift and the shifting is SLOW. Put it into manual mode next. Where is the gear indicator? When I stick it into manual mode, the box lights up, but no number shows up. Must be a faulty LCD, right? Well for someone who has an IS-F already, you know there is no separate box for the gear indicator. I did not know it at the time, but after the test drive, I did some google image searches for the IS-F gauge cluster and noticed that the car did not have an IS-F gauge cluster...it had a standard IS cluster. Some further reading revealed that the mileage is stored in the gauge cluster.
So, I don't know what happened with this car, but it seems like some odd franken-car. Most likely, they pulled the old bait-and-switch with the gauge cluster of a standard IS at a junkyard. So this is my public service announcement- do not buy this car.
edit: I see the link says the car is no longer available...meaning the car either got reserved for someone, or someone is shipping it to a different CarMax. I hope the person interested sees this.
edit2: This link should work-
http://www.carmax.com/enus/transfers...P&loc_num=7128
Last edited by hapasaiyan; 09-12-14 at 07:10 AM.
09-12-14, 08:34 AM
#5
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
09-12-14, 08:43 AM
#6
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
The wheels are 2010 (and 2011) wheels.
Trending Topics
09-12-14, 11:36 AM
#12
Pole Position
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: AZ
Posts: 254
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
That car is suspect as hell.
One thing. That damn plastic window over the "pnd" indicator must be super crap material because everyone I've ever seen on a used isf has some degree of scratching. I've seen a few with fairly low miles, mint interior, yet that piece was scratched up.
One thing. That damn plastic window over the "pnd" indicator must be super crap material because everyone I've ever seen on a used isf has some degree of scratching. I've seen a few with fairly low miles, mint interior, yet that piece was scratched up.
09-12-14, 11:37 AM
#13
And you're right, any knowledgeable buyer would/should noticed. I got more research to do since I'm window shopping too
