drseth

Hi,

I wanted to share an experience I had a couple of weeks ago looking at an LS400. The Craigslist ad was for a one owner garage kept 1995 with 118k miles. It looked very clean, but was a 3 hour drive from my home in Va. The car was in Southern Maryland, and photos looked nice. I texted the guy, and he replied with his address. I plugged it into Google Maps and off I went with a friend, cash, and some plates to drive the car back to VA.

After 3 hours driving, the address was a 7-11 convenience store, not a residence!!!! I called the guy, and he said he was in the military and lived on base, hence the 7-11. I didn't have a good vibe about it, so I drove back to VA without even seeing the car. What I couldn't figure out was how could someone who lives on a military base be able to buy a 1995 Lexus new. Any thoughts?

I have been following Colin Flaherty's on YouTube, and a few days ago, he posted a news story about a robbery at a 7-11 where the clerk was murdered, the same one I was sent directions to in MD. The guy may have planned on robbing me!!! Or worse!!!

From now on I am going to check Google Street View before driving to look at a used car.

96UCF20

This should be the first thing you do after someone provides their address to you. Good call on not sticking around the 7-Eleven!

dicer

You should have gone to the police station and given him that address to come to.

96UCF20

This is actually a great idea! I've heard, on more than one occasion, of police departments creating a "safe exchange zone" for buying/selling goods either inside the police department's parking lot or inside the lobby of the police department.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...ea1_story.html

lextout

next time just have the seller take the car to the lexus dealer and do pre buyer inspection, pay for the inspection over the phone via credit card, i did this before.

mappo

I'm assuming it's this car: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/m...745603553.html
You posted previously about the car here https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...995-ls400.html and I said at the time that there's no way it's a one owner car. Nobody who payed $50K for a stodgy old-fashioned luxury sedan in 1995 put chrome 20's and window tints on it in their old age 20 years later. Either it's a straight up lie about the title or somebody passed it on to their shady grandson without transferring the title. They probably weren't going to rob you, but you can bet the car isn't being represented honestly. BTW, Maryland is a two license plate state, but that car has a decorative chrome plate on the front.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

I've bought cars from parking lots before without issue, you just have to be careful and aware.

Craigslist isn't any different from buying cars from print trade magazines, it's up to you to pick a reasonably public and safe location during daylight regardless.

dicer

Hmm mappo you got something there. He's in the military ? I don't think there are garages to keep cars in there, that's a lie. 21 year old car and how old in 95 to be able to afford a car like that? Maybe 35 ? 56 and in the military? I think not. Lie number 2

GH5T

It could have been his fathers' car and they share the same name so he never reregistered it. Highly unlikely but possible.

mischief7

where are you in VA? I see plenty of decent cars all the time

Losiracer2

I bought my LS on CL without a problem. I went and checked it out before hand, obviously, and drove it and spoke with the owner etc. Luckily he was only a 20 min drive away, not 3 hrs. The previous owner was actually registered on here too, KOZY, I found out after the fact which is nice since I didn't get any maint. history or records for any recent major service work, just his word that the T-belt was done 50k ago. So I was able to search his name and found some stuff about when he bought it (new trans mount, shift solenoid, exhaust work he did, alternator issues)

In cases like that, you really have to rely on your gut feelings since you really don't know. Speak with the seller for a few minutes about the history of the car, what maint. he's done on it, what you can find on the VIN and make a decision based on the information you gather after driving the car and testing things out.

I thought I made a good buy based on the condition of the body, interior and the amount of recent maint. the seller did and put into the car. But little did I know, since the T-belt was probably done 50k ago, the Cam and crank seals weren't and 2k miles later, I was forced to do another Tbelt/WP due to oil covering the belt and leaking out the front seal non-stop when running. I don't necessarily consider that a loss since I probably was going to do that in the next 3 months after purchase anyways.

I would feel more comfortable buying off Auto Trader or a site like that, but when cars are this old and they sell for <5k, most people don't justify spending money on a dedicated auto posting and just list it on whatever is available and convenient to them (CL, OfferUp).

But yeah, like others have said, going off of the 20" wheels on the car, (I'm 29 and I put 20s on mine ) no way in hell an older guy who would've been able to spend 50k+ on a car back in the mid 90s would've done that or would do that on a car he's had for that long, it doesn't make sense. It may be the son of the father who inherited the car and judging by being in the military, that's probably the case, so he made a white lie out of it saying that its still technically a 1 owner if its in the family.

If it is that car in the link a few posts above, I would say it would be a good deal. Suspension and all that can be swapped out rather easily and a set of KYBs doesn't cost that much.

If you're willing to drive 3 hrs, spend gas money there and back, I would run a Carfax on it and ask the seller for the VIN. It'll give you additional information that'll be invaluable, especially regarding mileage history, or any minor bodywork, or accidents the vehicle may have had. If he's willing to lie about being a 1 owner then who knows what else you have to be suspicious about.

Legender

Can't tell you how many cars I've purchased off CL and who knows how many off the classifieds in the daily newspaper before that (for those that remember that process).
It is always buyer beware on car purchases. I don't care if your purchase from a dealer or an individual. You've got to do your due diligence. Here are some quick lessons learned.

1. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
2. CL ad with a gmail account showing in the picture is probably a scam.
3. If you live up north and see a local car advertised with palm trees in the background, or housing styles that don't match your area, probably a scam.
4. Pedigree of the seller is just as important as the condition of the car. Those in higher end neighborhoods and those who purchased new are more likely to have done all maintenance on time and taken care of the vehicle.
5. In Texas, cars with no registration sticker in the window or with paper tags are generally straight from the auction in Grand Prairie and should be avoided as seller has no history and trying to flip to make a buck.
6. Cars that are not titled in the sellers name could fall under the same category as 5 above. Again, should be avoided.
7. VIN tags should be visible on all fenders, doors, hood and trunk...otherwise might have been replaced. Look for over spray areas and fender bolts that have paint scraped off. Telltale signs work has been done.
8. I have found carfax information to be worth about as much as the paper it's printed on.
9. Lexus site is great for seeing dealership activity on a possible purchase.
10. Be willing to put some footwork into your investigation and have a standard set of questions to ask each seller. When you don't get answers you want, or seem suspicious, walk away.
11. Buying a vehicle is not an emotional decision. If it is, it could be a very poor financial decision down the road. Check your emotions at the door.
12. Save time by asking all the pertinent questions up front on the phone/email to avoid the travel and view time looking at a car that didn't meet your purchase criteria.

Just some of my lessons learned...I'm sure there others could add to this list.
Good luck with your purchases....