Gville350

iTrader: (10)

So I've been debating on what "new" vehicle to purchase for some time, and after much research and reading up on CL here I've narrowed it down to a used 2IS. Before I pull the trigger I want some expert opinion/advice on what I'm looking at right now. Being in SC kinda sucks for the used Lexus market...period; everyone thinks their Lexus's are gold and want top dollar + $2k. I'm always been a bargain shopper and not afraid to step outside of my area to find a deal.

So after I found a little treasure of a 2IS up North. I called up the dealership to get further detail on it. Here's what they've got :

*2006 IS Lexus, $21k, non-CPO
-30k miles
-Metallic grey and black leather interior
-Adult-owned
-NAV
-All stock
-Not sure of the "pkgs" yet, if any
-Clear title and CarFax
-KBB says w/o ANY pkgs its valued near $28k

I had the nice used car mgr guy there look over the vehicle for me MORE closely and he says the panels are all cherry and minimal surface imperfections. No rust in sight, and no torn interior.

The ONLY thing that I found that throws up a red flag is that on the CarFax it says that the water pump was replaced at 27k miles. Perhaps it was loaded in error, but I'm sorta concerned...should I be? I don't recall seeing a TSB for it.

If everything goes well I should be a proud, new owner of a sweet 2IS!

***EDITED for addition of pics (ah man, what gives...I rotated these pics before uploading to Imageshack...Errrrrr!) :












Thanks for your advice/input/coments.
Dan

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

$21,000 is the asking price? If so you can probably get it for closer to $20,000. That's a pretty good price for a 350 with Nav and low miles!

It should still have some powertrain warranty on it, since its 6 years/70,000 miles. It's probably close to that 6 years though. Depends on when the car was manufactured.

What the used car manager says shouldn't matter to you. They are always going to tell you its perfect. Check it out yourself before pulling the trigger, if you can. Carfax says the water pump was replaced at 27k? That probably wouldn't worry me except for the fact that 3,000 miles later the owner has choose to sell it.... makes me think something else is wrong with it. And because of the cheap price, that very well may be so.

See the car in person, get it inspected by a mechanic over there before buying if you really want it. Mechanic might cost you an hour of labor, but it may save you thousands in the long run.

NAMco

I have the same dilemma my friend. Except yours is a much better deal. The one I'm looking at has 60k miles and asking price was 24k. I talked him down to 20k so you can probably get it down for even less than 20k. I would say around 17-18k + tax. Anyways, goodluck. Let us know how it goes!

kamileon88

Water pump replacement is common

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't be concerned about the water pump being replaced.

Jeff

AaronN

Yeah, I actually had the water pump replace on my 08 on Friday, and I have 32k miles. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

WHITE93GT

If it is clean as it sounds I say buy it for anything close to that price A huge plus would be if it is still eligible for a Lexus Platinum extended warranty.

For some reason in SC these cars are really holding their value pretty good I say jump on it before it is gone.

Batmobile

iTrader: (2)

nav is nice although just FYI there are plenty more options

Rear sunshade
Memory Seats
Auto Tilt Steering column
Mark Levinson
Headlamp washers
Bumper sensors
Illuminated scuff plates

I recently just picked up an IS... and there were some changes between an 06-08 and 09-10 that you'll want to be aware of too.

Just to name some...

Bumper
Grill
Tail light
Interior cosmetics (nav trim, etc)
Actual nav software

What was important to me just FYI is

Rear sunshade
Memory Seats
Auto Tilt Steering column
Headlamp washers
Illuminated scuff plates
Bumper
Grill
Tail light
Actual nav software

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Thanks for all of the advice and comments about the water pump. Definitely eases my mind that this is a usual occurrence. Guessing on this motor the water pump is spun via the accessory belt, and not the chain?

A little on my background...I've built my own Honda motors for my race cars and DDs for years. So I'm versed in car mechanics in general...just have to learn a new motor I guess. I'm confident in my knowledge of what I should and shouldn't hear/feel/smell that I'd purchase the vehicle w/o a mechanics assistance. If anything, I'll ask the dealership to throw the car up on a rack, so I can have a good look-see at it.

Regarding the comment about the Lexus extended warranty, I did look into that briefly and something about people getting theirs for around $1600-1700 from someone at a specific dealership. I forget whom and the details surrounding that.

I guess Lexus' hold their value really well in SC, thus me having to go out-of-state to find one for a good price. This is a good thing, cuz for what I'm buying it for I could (if I wanted) resell...probably for a profit! LOL

Thanks again all. If you've got additional info on that extended warranty, please enlighten me as to whom it was I read about that gets us such a good price on them.

Dan

lamar411

sounds like a good deal, but if your still unsure take it a mechanic or a dealership for a inspection that should run about $100 but give you peace of mind. good luck

AaronN

Regarding the extended warranty you're probably out of luck. The car would still have to be within the original 4 years to qualify, and I doubt an 06 is within that time-frame.

Sffd103

iTrader: (16)

Good luck in what you decide. It's pretty quick!

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

So since I'm outside of the 4-year window I won't be able to get a Lexus extended warranty? Hmmmmm, I guess I'll want to start researching other alternatives.

As for my Lexus purchase, I've already confirmed with my salesman that he'll gladly pick me up from Philly Intl airport...so that will DEFINITELY help me out, since I'll fly in from Charlotte, NC. Oh, he said only a $1000 deposit will be needed to "reserve" the vehicle for me as well. All thumbs up so far; I'll keep everyone updated!

Dan

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Actually I'd check on that, because I bought my 2007 IS350 with 56k miles so it was out of factory warranty, but they still offered me the VSA warranty (which I took). This was a Lexus dealer I bought the car from though.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Yeah, mine is some Chevy dealership. But I'll definitely double-check on that...thanks!