LegendIS

hey guys I'm kind of new here and i just wanted to ask you about buying a lexus is350 , i tried to buy a 2006 lexus is350 that i saw on craigslist which looked good to me, but my friend was spotting signs of heavy use and maybe even crash signs and also an engine noise that didn't sound good but the buyer claimed that there was nothing wrong with it, so a few hours later we told the guy selling the lexus to meet us at a mechanic that i am familiar with to check it for me, the seller kept telling me he will be there after 5 minutes for an hour but at the end he told me to meet him at a specific place so he won't come to the mechanic so i figured somethings up so i never replied back to him , anyway i am now looking for a lexus is350 and my limit is $15,000 max so what kind of is350 will that give me? (miles, year, options, etc).
i just signed up in club lexus and I'm happy to be in and i hope i become a regular member when i first buy my lexus , this is going to be the first car that was bought for myself as my first car used to be owned by another family member but too bad that i had to leave it at my home country because i loved it so much and have a lot of memories in it, ill upload a photo of it and also the lexus i was talking about at the beginning.

LegendIS

wow, i already have 80 views but no replies, why won't anybody answer?

LucianoLee

iTrader: (1)

I got my 06 is350 around 3 months ago for $15k flat. It had 78k miles when i got it. Mine was with clean carfax and service record tho. It also has premium package and navigation. About the Lexus that you were talking about, I would pass on that one. The owner was hesitate to come to your mechanic, so clearly the car has problem(s) that he doesn't want you to know. Keep looking, don't rush $15k is enough for you to get a decent is350

LegendIS

congrats man, so how is the experience of owning one, and are the back seats comfortable?

Gustavo621

Keep looking, got mine about a year ago $16k 39k miles luxury package with ML. No problems to this day im at 56k miles

LegendIS

seems like you got quite the deal, so what year is it, one of my reasons for looking at a lexus and not a european car is because of their reliability.

Gustavo621

its an 06 the price was around 18k but i was able to talk him down to 16k and i should probably also point out it was Christmas Eve and he probably wanted to leave lol. I really liked the guy i was dealing with he was very nice. The previous dealer i had visited had an 07 with 45k miles for $20k, which i was gonn get but the rep was very rude and lowballed my trade in so bad i could have slapped him and left.

this guy was very laid back, he even let me take it out as far as i wanted and he told me to drive it like i stole it to make sure i liked it, he didnt even tag along while i test drove it. im happy with my purchase and so far its been trouble free, lets hope it stays that way.

LegendIS

i envy you man, the guy that wanted to sell me the used lexus wanted $15800 saying that they have had an offer for $15000 but they declined so that i won't try to negotiate with him, but me and my friend were inspecting it very thoroughly and i guess he got worried we were gonna find something wrong with it later on that day he sent me a text saying he was willing to accept an offer of $15000 but like i said at the beginning of the post, he didn't want to take the car to the mechanic and I'm pretty sure it had some issues since he was scared to come, that lexus had 3 owners and had 85k miles on it, i wish i could find a deal as good as yours, how did you find your lexus? craigslist?

getafewliv

Good deals come and go quickly, so if you want a really good deal, you have to be willing to move quickly. This often means you may not be able to take it to get inspected. If the deal is good enough, there's a good chance there's someone else ready to pay right away.

For 15k, depending on where you live, you may have to go with something higher mileage. Or wait it out until the right car comes up.

I lucked out, not only did I get a crazy awesome deal on my car, it came with a lot of extras and was well taken care of. I wasn't even looking for a Lexus. I wanted a 335i and just happened to find the Lexus and figured it was worth a test drive. The rest is history

getafewliv

And as far as taking cars to mechanics to get inspected, I have never had to do that when selling a car, and honestly, it's a pain in my *** to have to go with someone to a mechanic, wait around, then get low-balled. But when I am selling a car, I know every little detail about it, and I go over everything with the potential buyer. I point out any flaws or potential issues instead of letting them find them for themselves.

I will NOT buy a car if I do not trust the owner or if it seems like they are being shady or hiding something.

Gustavo621

i actually found mine just looking on sites like Autotrader and Cars.com, i was looking every day though you gotta stay consistent in your search. When i found mine, it had been posted the night before and i called in to make an appointment for the following day. As i was waiting for them to wash it for me and get it ready, 6 different people came in asking for it. As the post above says, you gotta strike while the iron is hot. If it had been on craiglist for that cheap of a price, i probably wouldnt have trusted it. The dealer even gave me a 90 day bumper to bumper free of charge.

LegendIS

that's how I felt towards that seller, he tells me its in excellent condition but it had signs of New paint and parts that weren't installed correctly at the Windows, that's why I wanted to take it to the mechanic.

LegendIS

the thing is I'm in a small city so I usually have to get out of town for a car like this, that's why it's taking me time, but I will have the money ready to pay whenever I check the car out so that might help me.

getafewliv

You're going to have to pay more for a car then, no doubt or get really lucky. But odds are if a good deal comes up, you won't be able to make it there in time to snag it.

Your best bet is to find an ad that was poorly done. ie doesn't describe the car well, no pics, or a price too high and then show up and hope to get a better price.

LucianoLee

iTrader: (1)

this is the second 06 is350 that I had actually, the previous one was the same year 06 is350 with all the options I could think of. Got it for $15k5 about 2 and haft years ago with 89k miles. Drove it until 135k miles with no problems and got hit from the rear and side while I was sitting at a red light. Then I was actually looking for an 335i coupe, but this one pop up after months of searching on internet. Came test drove it and couldn't let it go..haha

after all that time, I sat in the back for like twice and never longer than 15 minutes. I'm only 5'9 so it fit me pretty well.