XutvJet

I'm looking at buying a used 2012-2014 ISF (white, silver, blue or gray only). I'm willing to spend up to $50K if it's an extremely low mileage 2014. I'm in Kansas City and there aren't any ISFs within 200 miles of here. There's an L-certified 2012 in Tulsa for $41K, but it has two reported minor wrecks and the dealership won't respond to inquires about the wreck details. There's another L-certified 2013 in Oklahoma City for $49K, but it has a KN intake and they don't have the stock intake. I told them I'm interested if they reinstall the intake, which with parts, would amount to at least $800. They're not interested in doing that. There's a silver 2012 at CarMax in Chicago for $44K that I could have transferred for $300, but I had them send me pictures and the front bumper cover has a nice vertical 4" gash that they touched up with paint. It's clear the car hit something, not a rock. If it were a $30K car, I wouldn't think twice about buying, but for $44K, I don't want that. I inquired to them about dropping the price $1,000 so that I could respray the cover, but they're not interested.


Back story: My used car buying experience hasn't been pleasant. A 1996 Maxima I bought years ago looked to be mint, but after a month of owning it, it was clear to me that the two passenger doors had filler and had been resprayed. No reported wrecks on that car. Same goes for the 2003 G35 I bought after that. The rear bumper cover, rear quarter, and rear passenger door had all been reshot. No reported wrecks. I got the dealer to repaint those portions of the car for free, but it still pissed me off. Last year, my buddy and I went to Tulsa to buy a "mint" 2012 G37 for him at an Infiniti dealer. The dealer reported the car as perfect, no flaws. Pictures showed a very clean car. When we got there, the paint was terrible. Scratches, pits, dents, etc. I couldn't believe a 2012 could get so beat up. We got the deposit back and drove the 5 hours back home without the car. He ended up buying another G37 (Infiniti certified) in Iowa. He got it home and noticed a huge, but perfectly round and shallow dent in the lower portion of a front passenger door and you could only see it in certain lighting conditions due to the angle and position of the dent. At certain angles, it looked like factory body work, but on closer look and feel, it was a dent (likely from a basketball). The dealer wouldn't do a thing about it. He spent $2,000 fixing it because it couldn't be pulled.


So yeah, I'm picky and also a bit shell shocked. I'm a stickler for taking care of my cars and really look over cars before buying them, but a lot of respray work is not obvious until you get a car is certain lighting conditions. I now know what to look for now including using magnets to detect filler, but man, it seems like every ISF that's remotely local has issues. Given prior experience, I'm reluctant to travel to Texas or Chicago where are a lot of clean appearing ISFs for sale. So frustrating....

Reaper21

iTrader: (1)

Get the CPO in OKC and buy a stock intake from someone on here for $50. Done.

ZaxF

iTrader: (3)

Just be patient and don't let distance deter you. I bought mine from a private owner and had it shipped to Georgia from Cali. The good ones are out there. Most owners have good relationships with their Lexus dealer and for $125 you can have the dealership perform a multipoint inspection. You can also stop by your local dealer with the VIN of the car you're interested in and pull all the service records as carfax doesn't always tell the whole story. Good luck and stay diligent. It took me 2 months to find the right car for the right deal.

TranV

iTrader: (4)

I don't think you're being unreasonable at all. one thing you have to understand is that ISF are hard to come by because not many of them are sold during the 7 yr span. just hang in there with your search and you'll find the right one for you. good luck.

parasitius

I can't believe you're making a thing about the intake just negotiate the price down a few buck in lieu and get it done yourself. My Acura TL-S needed $1200 belt and water maintenance the 1st day I owned it, dealer wouldn't negotiate at all. My IS F I had to drop $400 on front brake pads immediately on the day of pick-up, it wasn't safe to drive 2000 miles home with 1mm imo.

empathy

i live in california and drove ~650 miles roundtrip to pick up my IS F.

nickj718

iTrader: (1)

Man all I can say is the same thing everyone else is saying. Be patient don't settle and it will pop up.

I drove 14 hours round trip to get my F and man was it worth it no accidents ever the owner babied it and had a whole slew of premium products he used on it. All Lexus records and its MINT

You will find one give it time

SoCalISF

As others have stated, patience is where it is at. I looked at 10-12 ISF's here in California, and none were as clean as I wanted.

Coincidentally, found my car in Overland Park, with 7032 miles on the clock, extremely well cared for. Sold new at Hendrick in Kansas City. Everyone there was EXTREMELY helpful, I spoke to the original salesman, and the Service Writer who took care of all the Lexus vehicles owned by the original owner, prior to purchasing the F. They also supplied me with all service records since I had the VIN on hand. Couldn't hurt to reach out to them with what you are looking for, you never know, particularly since you are local.

xaznx

Yeah man, be patient. I bought mine this last feb and it came from seattle. 08 with 6500 miles. Im in wichita and it was like 1200 to be trucked in an enclosed carrier.

lorenr

iTrader: (1)

Since they stopped building these cars in 2014, low milers are going to be hard to come by. Keep at it and be sure to buy from a legitimate dealer. Do the sale through your bank or credit union. I bought mine in Frederick, Maryland, sight unseen and had it shipped to Vancouver, WA.

Once you buy it and except for fraud, you own it.

I would pay extra to be sure the car was fairly represented. Stay clear of power adders like super chargers, turbos and particularly nitrous oxide. While I think that switching the rear catalytic converters and exhaust is a good idea (save the old parts) changing the headers may not be worth the trouble.

Also check out "LexusDrivers.com" it's worth it.

I also would look at the car with the add on intake, but would change it for the stock one. Buy that off the internet.

Loren

SoCalISF

One more thing... I am fortunate enough to work for a large corporation and have friends and colleagues all over the country. One of my good friends happened to live about five miles from where I found my car and was able to give it a thorough once over and test drive.

You may not be as fortunate as far as someone that close to look at a potential purchase, but certainly there are people willing to help if necessary.

Miqueaseli

Contact hayleybean he has a 2012 ultra white beautiful car for an awesome price. Also thataboy has a 2012 USB also beautiful but overpriced . Both on the classifieds section . Last one another 2012 white one for 39k psixtc I think his member name . One is in Texas other in Florida last one in Ohio or Kentucky

I8ABMR

I dont think I would let the intake issue on the local one deter me.

XutvJet

OKC isn't really local to me (6 hours) but I do have a work colleague there that could go look at the car for me. I just sent the dealership a "what's your best offer" email. It's a starting point in the game. They're asking $48,870 for mostly loaded silver/red 2013 with 16K miles, one owner, trade in,L-certified. The price is actually really good per KBB and NADA. It's been on their lot for 5 weeks. These cars just sit on lots because so few know about them. We'll see how interested they are in moving it. They know my concerns about the intake and are aware that I have a local "inspector" to verify condition. The car sounds really good otherwise.

F_Throttle

Stick it out. Many of us spent months searching.. You might want to check our 'for sale' section for a good one.. So as long as you do a PPI you'll be fine.

Used-car sales is a shark's game..