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I'm in Puerto Rico so I'm thinking like Canada, at the time they just left out the Nav for the island. Cars here are kinda terrible. They either cost too much or are in bad shape. I'm now considering buying two LS's. I'm mechanically inclined. I probably will leave the timing belt to a indy shop, but everything else I'll do myself. This 04 just had the suspension replaced and they say it has 73K on it. The ad says it's a UL and looks like it form the pics except there's no Nav. Anyone ever seen that before? I'm going to see the car in a couple of hours. Just thought maybe I've found some type of rarity here. Or they rebuilt it and nixed the Nav. The dealer also says it has 73K on it. But I ran a Carfax on the tag (not very reliable) and it says it actually has around 120K on it! But I was once a dealer and sometimes we swapped tags on same model year cars just to drive it around. I'm going to check the VIN once I get there to see if it matches the Carfax.
Has shades on the door over there and the buttons by the handle. that's on CL and UL only right? Zoom in and you can see there are might be 3 buttons there to adjust ride height. There is also a button that looks like it reclines the rear seat. I know that's a UL option.
Also, the steering wheel is cracked up on this one too if you can see that. I'm thinking that might just be an island thing as well. Suspensions don't last as long here as in the states as well. But unless you are right on the water, rust is something you never need to worry about. I'd rather tango with replacing a part then trying to get rid of rust. In my experience it's a cancer and is virtually impossible.
It seems unusual but I have seen or heard of a few of these before. My understanding is that the UL's sold in Hawaii were the same way, everything except for the Nav system. It would not surprise me that those sold in Puerto Rico and a few other similar places were optioned in a similar fashion. They show up on Autotrader, Cars.com and similar sites from time to time.
I would look for the rear seat a/c unit by looking for the filter housing on top of the trunk and the flat square back of the trunk floor (no bump). I would also be curious about the rear seat controls, just pull down the armrest. Also, you might check the sticky threads as there are several postings that detail the difference between the various option packages.
Thanks for the confirmation! The only thing to check now is on the mileage. I sure hope they aren't running a scam. I'd still be open to buying the car but for a substantial discount. I don't want to black mail anyone, but I'm going up there with the Carfax I pulled. If the car seems to be in good shape I hope they get scared and offer me a deal I can't refuse. If it all checks out though (which would be preferable) I think I can get the car for around $8,500.
If an Ultra, it should have either Laser or Radar cruise; front end view shows neither is there.
My thoughts as well. But, being its potentially spec'd for PR, maybe they omitted the PCA and radar cruise systems? It does appear to have, at the very least, the switch panel from an Ultra...
plus, you can seat controls on the rear right door. Unicorn...?
On my LS I relied upon Carfax and the price....the next time around I am going to ask to see the car on a lift and take it for a couple of hours....and this is assuming from a new car dealer selling a used car....I think not only does this allow for us to find out stuff is broken and get it addressed prior (new car dealers seem to be ok in fixing them after the sale), I think it gives us more bargaining power. The salesman doesn't need to see how impressed you are and how badly you want it. Say that 37k 2006 in Cherry Hill where the Lexus dealer said it was the best in the Western Hemisphere, you claimed it, now let's see it on the lift, and let me take it for 2 hours. No? No dice! (although it sold in days, 5 Carfax owners and all.. hehe)
p.s. when they see you pulling in with your 3rd gen LS, and you're looking to buy another, they know a) you're serious b) you know more about the car than they do, if it's good, you will sell it to yourself....
So I just got back from seeing the car. Let me say I agree with all of you, you should be allowed to take the car for a while. If they don't agree to that you know something's up. There's also likely a reason the radar wasn't on the front bumper. It's because this was absolutely a project car. It was totaled at some point. The front and rear bumpers have been replaced, the dash cluster has been replaced (probably plucked out some bulbs too, but I didn't check for that). It is indeed a UL, the rear seats are pretty awesome. Massage works recline works. even from the front. The door close button doesn't work... either that or I was pushing the wrong button. I pushed the "c" button on the door. A light turned on but the door didn't close. Not sure what that was.
But the interior gets a 6/10. The arm rest was broken. The entire front end was replaced.... not sure if that's a good thing or a bad one. The air suspension is gone, replaced with coils. New upper and lower control arms at a quick glance. The VIN matched the Carfax.... this last august it was reported to have 117K on it. As you can see in the pictures that dash says 73K. Guy tells me, "1 owner! New suspension and new engine distributor" Distributor? Probably his poor English so I let that slide. Clearly had 4 owners as well. So I'm going to pass on this. My wife boldly tells him, "If you take 6K we'll buy it right now" LOL. I could work on it myself, but we have a neighbor who we agreed on $7500 for his 02 ML? CL? Not sure exactly. And his just needs maintenance and that's it. I also suspect this one had flood damage because I smelled mildew in the back a bit.
Tired of the shady dealers here in PR. Very, very poor business practices throughout most the island. That's why I'm overpaying for this 02 because it's been a headache trying to find anything reasonable. We're about to meet someone right now about a 2000 GS400. I owned one of these before so I know what to look for. It also has 108K on it. He's asking 4K obo. Says he needs to sell it immediately.
Based on experience not impressed w/ Car Fax. I pulled a CF when I listed my last LS for sale. No mention of Lexus dealer service I had done. Asked my service advisor who said they don't report for confidentiality reasons. No mention of indy service done for past owner. Buyer liked my typed service history (all owners). Cf is good for number of owners and accident history (if it's reported).
You do have to beware of CF. I once had a Acura RSX that was paid for and thought "Well, I can afford to take a total loss on this car, worst case", so I dropped comprehensive and carried only required insurance. Stupid move. My daughter ran it into the back of a truck. The estimate for fixing it from several places was way more than it was worth. So I negotiated a sale with one of the body shops that estimated on it. They were very willing to deal on buying the car because,, since it wasn't covered by insurance, they could buy it AS IS from me personally and the title would not reflect that it was basically a total'd car. If I had had full coverage the insurance company would have 'totaled' it and the title would forever after reflect that. These guys rebuilt it on their dime and then flipped to some poor sucker who probably had no idea the front end was completely replaced. Probably on the cheap, too, so they could make more money.
02-15-17, 04:02 AM
2004 UL with no Nav? Pics attached
