agiraldo

http://www.sewell.com/web/vehicle/45...year=All_years

Is this a bad deal guys?

How about 28k CPO for it?

Thanks,

LSGarry

I think you can do better. It's the base model with out nav and mark and while the mileage is good the price is too high. I bought my '05 almost a year ago and it is the modern luxury with the sport suspension and CPO. I only paid 25k for it with 50K miles on it.
They have a lot of room in that price IMHO so either work 'em or walk.

agiraldo

http://www.sewell.com/web/vehicle/46...year=All_years

That's the other one I am considering great condition and black.

Do you think 28k CPO is a good price for it?

Thanks,

Vpanin

Make sure your LS has the Nav system or else youre going to regret it

Jabberwock

I specifically wanted no Nav but I'm definitely in the minority. I wanted to keep mine for 10 years + and did not want all the extra gizmos that would add complexity, break, and look obsolete soon. If you keep cars less than 5 years Nav might be OK. Sewell in Dallas does a nice job of cleaning up the cars and making sure they are in good shape. A lot of lower price LS are available but lots are smelly, beat, worn, dirty, etc. Amazing how people mistreat these cars. I was looking and found an absolutely mint cream puff and that is very hard to find and costs a little extra but is well worth it in my opinion.

Also I would never buy a UL option model - waaayyy too many things to break. But that's just me others feel totally different - as they say ..different strokes...

V8_Fan

The '04 UL is a much better deal. The '05 is the base model (no nav). FYI, the base sticker was around $56K whereas the UL sold for $74K. I wouldn't buy a lexus w/o nav. People are paranoid about the nav breaking. The screen in the dash is merely a dummy touch screen display (the post office uses touch screens, the 777 uses touchscreens for climate control; do you see those breaking all the time? Do you see those portable garmin navi units breaking all the time?). The ECU/brains is in the nav player box in the trunk. If the ecu dies, you can replace the box w/ one from the junkyard for $400-900. As far as the rear goodies on the UL, the rear AC is merely a rear AC blower in the trunk that uses the same compressor as the front AC just like on any full-sized SUV. I have a rear AC on my LX, and we use it all the time here in AZ. The cool box isn't a fridge (that was my concern). Rather, it's an insulated box cooled by the AC duct from the blower in the trunk (so it's only on when the AC is on). The rear power seats are no less reliable then front power seats, so that leaves the massager and optical air purifier as the unknowns. Other than that, the air suspension is the thing that'll most likely fail, and you can replace the air suspension with the same springs/shocks on the modern luxury for about $1600 in parts plus labor (vehicle will ride 1" higher on the highway, so drag coeff will increase from 0.25 to 0.26).

The '05 isn't outrageous in price (it's priced fairly provided it's a texas or southwest vehicle). CPO LS's in So. CA (have the highest resale value) typically go for around $30K w/ 50K mi for '05 or $34K for '06, but that's with nav. I've never even seen a LS in CA w/o nav! Basically, the nav and levinson audio are free on a used car since the original owner has already paid for the depreciation. I would pick the vehicle that has the best service history, is in the best condition, and isn't from a state where it snows (road salt). I would have bought a 06 modern luxury but ended up with an '05 ultra since it was in far superior condition. Another thing to ask yourself is if anyone is going to ever ride in the back. If yes, the UL would be better. If no, it doesn't matter.

Jabberwock

There you go - a post from a guy that would never buy a UL (me) followed by a guy that recommends the UL. There are no absolute right answers - and so we are both right - just understand the differences and buy with educated eyes and you can't go wrong. With the LS options, it really depends entirely on what you want and need to enjoy your LS.

Just make sure you get one with good service history and avoid cars from states that use salt in the winter unless they have ultra low mileage. I got mine from a Chicago Lexus dealer, but it was a garage queen with 14 k miles and looked absolutely showroom new inside and out.

Vpanin

I guess the only thing you have to worry about in the ultra is the air suspension.......otherwise it should be just as reliable as a ML. Hey jabberwock how much did u pay if u dont mind asking? I bought my CPO 05 with 15k

Jabberwock

in August 09 - $34,000 total - drive out, they had been asking 34,900 plus fees. Not the lowest price I know, I paid premium price for a non nav car but thyats what I wanted and they are hard to find. I had actively searched for 4+ months, and looked at probably 50 different used 04-06 LS private and dealer cars plus hundreds in daily internet searching. Amazing amount of beat up, worn interiors, smelly cars, bad or unknown services histories, or prev damage - especially the auction sourced cars had issues or high miles. That's not my idea of a bargain.

I am extremely picky about having a mint cond car. I realized that 99% of the cars with more than 20k all seemed too worn, smelly, or had other issues so I knew I need a sub 15k miles car. My reasoning was how much could someone trash a car in less than 15k?

I am a very aggressive negotiator, a cash buyer, and can usually find and get the lowest price especially on simple items like cars. But I realized I wanted a mint car way more than I wanted the lowest possible price. I had almost given up hope of finding a mint cond LS until the 06 Cherry LS showed up. Except for a couple of small repaired paint chips on the front, the car looked like it was showroom new - inside and out like it had never been driven.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

True. I'm sure the super nice bargain cars are out there if you can search long enough, but from what I've seen it's very hard to find one if you are really picky on the condition. When I buy a car like the LS (actually, any car) I'm looking for one that could be put back on the showroom with the odometer rolled back to about 2K miles and nobody would question it. That type usually doesn't sell for one-half or two-thirds the price that a competitive dealer wants for his super nice one. And there's a difference between a car that's been ragged out and abused, then cleaned up and detailed, and one that has been kept pristine from day one. I can spot the former a mile away, unfortunately for my bank account....

That said, I think the one in question is plenty high at $28K....

d-cannon

I like how the dealer states that the sale price expires in a couple of weeks... lol

Do people really fall for that?

So, it didn't sell for months leading up to the holiday season and multiple mark downs (plus weeks of depreciation)... guess it is time to jack it up and certainly not honor the previous sale price.

I love dealers...

Budhah

Well, someone has bought both cars.. and they had been reduced from a higher price. I know that a couple of places around my area will not keep a used car more than 6-7 weeks. Then it goes on the auction block. I got a great little 02 Avalon XLS for my son like that. It stunk of smoke. We changed the cabin filter and installed an ion fan.. Walla... great car with 80k on her for 8k... What more can a 16 year old ask for?? Besides one of those tricked out vans with beds in the back like some of us old folks had back in the 70's LOL

I've only seen one car with nav system that did not work from a dealer, That was a Bently.. LOL.... Love the one in my LS430.. Much more than the Garmin nuvi 750 anyway. No I have not upgraded the nav disk either.. My older son used his Garmin and was taken through every small town on his last 100 mile trip. Got a ticket in some burg of maybe 800 people just inside city limits... 52 in a 35. while my lexus system lets me pick out one of three routes that might be best, I would have missed that town completely. Go figure.