Another Newby - Car and Pricing Advice Needed
06-12-14, 09:11 AM
#1
Advanced
Thread Starter
Another Newby - Car and Pricing Advice Needed
Hi all,
1st time poster. I have previously owned a 2004 ES330, but have been away from Lexus for some time. I am considering a used CPO LS460. Some considerations:
- Age of car from 2010 to 2012
- No more than 50k mileage
- Want AWD as I live in Massachusetts
- Options I prefer are upgraded stereo and cooled seats (at a minimum)
- My price range is no more than $45k, but prefer less ($40k?)
So, what do you think I can get for a car - year, mileage and options for $40-$45k? I prefer less $$$, as I am on a budget.
Here is a link to a car that looks nice and is only about 50 miles from me. http://www.hoffmanlexus.com/VehicleD...-CT/2226130833
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. I am in no rush to buy, just looking for a great car at a reasonable price. I plan on keeping the car until it dies or until it costs too much to maintain. Thanks!
1st time poster. I have previously owned a 2004 ES330, but have been away from Lexus for some time. I am considering a used CPO LS460. Some considerations:
- Age of car from 2010 to 2012
- No more than 50k mileage
- Want AWD as I live in Massachusetts
- Options I prefer are upgraded stereo and cooled seats (at a minimum)
- My price range is no more than $45k, but prefer less ($40k?)
So, what do you think I can get for a car - year, mileage and options for $40-$45k? I prefer less $$$, as I am on a budget.
Here is a link to a car that looks nice and is only about 50 miles from me. http://www.hoffmanlexus.com/VehicleD...-CT/2226130833
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. I am in no rush to buy, just looking for a great car at a reasonable price. I plan on keeping the car until it dies or until it costs too much to maintain. Thanks!
06-12-14, 11:01 AM
#2
Looks like a nice car. Maybe a little on the high $ side.
"I plan on keeping the car until it dies or until it costs too much to maintain."
Get a car with the longest warranty you can, then. CPO with extension or Platinum with the highest years/miles you can.
"I plan on keeping the car until it dies or until it costs too much to maintain."
Get a car with the longest warranty you can, then. CPO with extension or Platinum with the highest years/miles you can.
06-12-14, 12:00 PM
#3
Instructor
Looks to me like a slightly high price, but not totally unreasonable for a CPO. I bought a 2011 LS460 AWD non-L with 33K miles Certified Pre-Owned from the local Lexus dealer here in Nebraska for $40,800 in April. The stretch version adds a few thousand to the price, I imagine.
This particular car does not have the Air Ride suspension, but that may or not matter much to you. The rear side sunshades are nice. Looks like no back seat entertainment system, which may or may not matter to you.
Overall, a nice clean LS. If you buy a 2011 stil under factory warranty, you'll have the option to do either an Extended CPO (Wrap) warranty or a Lexus Platinum Extended warranty. You can price both to see which makes more sense for you.
In that price range, you could also consider looking for a CPO LS600hL. I ended up trading up for one of those after I had my LS460 for 2 months. The additional luxury features in the LS600 are truly amazing (semi-analine leather, hybrid drivetrain, radar cruise control, reclining rear seats, rear-seat entertainment system, Air Ride suspension, special headliner, etc. etc...). I was averaging around 18-19 MPG with the LS460, and am now averaging closer to 23 MPG in the LS600hL with the same type of driving.
Good luck in your quest!
This particular car does not have the Air Ride suspension, but that may or not matter much to you. The rear side sunshades are nice. Looks like no back seat entertainment system, which may or may not matter to you.
Overall, a nice clean LS. If you buy a 2011 stil under factory warranty, you'll have the option to do either an Extended CPO (Wrap) warranty or a Lexus Platinum Extended warranty. You can price both to see which makes more sense for you.
In that price range, you could also consider looking for a CPO LS600hL. I ended up trading up for one of those after I had my LS460 for 2 months. The additional luxury features in the LS600 are truly amazing (semi-analine leather, hybrid drivetrain, radar cruise control, reclining rear seats, rear-seat entertainment system, Air Ride suspension, special headliner, etc. etc...). I was averaging around 18-19 MPG with the LS460, and am now averaging closer to 23 MPG in the LS600hL with the same type of driving.
Good luck in your quest!
06-12-14, 12:39 PM
#4
Advanced
Thread Starter
Thanks for the responses. I would like to drive an LS with the air ride suspension and an LS without it just to see if the difference is that great.
I would prefer to keep purchase price in low $40's, if possible. Hopefully I find something that was well maintained, but I'm in no rush and can afford to wait until the right one comes up. I hope to be in an LS by September, at the latest.
One other quick follow-up question. Do CPO rates change or are they usually constant at 1.9%? A dealer I emailed stated 1.9% up to 60 months, but offer ends 6/30/14.
I would prefer to keep purchase price in low $40's, if possible. Hopefully I find something that was well maintained, but I'm in no rush and can afford to wait until the right one comes up. I hope to be in an LS by September, at the latest.
One other quick follow-up question. Do CPO rates change or are they usually constant at 1.9%? A dealer I emailed stated 1.9% up to 60 months, but offer ends 6/30/14.
06-12-14, 01:04 PM
#5
Instructor
The CPO rate of 1.9% does not apply to LS purchases, only ES. However, if you have good credit you should be able to get somewhere right around that rate anyway. I got 2.24% for 72 months on a 2008 LS600 this week.
06-12-14, 01:38 PM
#6
Hey mbarron37, it is nice to welcome another Massachusettsian to the forum! 
As far as knowing if you are getting a good price on a particular car, I would plug in all the specifics in Edmunds, KBB and NADA and average them out to get an idea of what you should be paying.
Since you are planning to keep the car for the long haul, I would strongly recommend you buy the furthest out Platinum warranty from Lexus. Call Troy Dietrich at Greenfield Toyota for a great deal on a factory warranty 413-772-0231 (assuming he's still there).
Be sure to read the sticky at the top of this forum. I joined a month before I bought my LS and the info was invaluable.
As far as knowing if you are getting a good price on a particular car, I would plug in all the specifics in Edmunds, KBB and NADA and average them out to get an idea of what you should be paying.
Since you are planning to keep the car for the long haul, I would strongly recommend you buy the furthest out Platinum warranty from Lexus. Call Troy Dietrich at Greenfield Toyota for a great deal on a factory warranty 413-772-0231 (assuming he's still there).
Be sure to read the sticky at the top of this forum. I joined a month before I bought my LS and the info was invaluable.
06-12-14, 04:12 PM
#7
Lexus Test Driver
And welcome from another one from Mass. There are a ton of buying tips I can give you, and will post them in this reply later on as I'm off to bed. (midnights)
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06-12-14, 05:09 PM
#8
Advanced
Thread Starter
Hey mbarron37, it is nice to welcome another Massachusettsian to the forum!
As far as knowing if you are getting a good price on a particular car, I would plug in all the specifics in Edmunds, KBB and NADA and average them out to get an idea of what you should be paying.
Since you are planning to keep the car for the long haul, I would strongly recommend you buy the furthest out Platinum warranty from Lexus. Call Troy Dietrich at Greenfield Toyota for a great deal on a factory warranty 413-772-0231 (assuming he's still there).
Be sure to read the sticky at the top of this forum. I joined a month before I bought my LS and the info was invaluable.
As far as knowing if you are getting a good price on a particular car, I would plug in all the specifics in Edmunds, KBB and NADA and average them out to get an idea of what you should be paying.
Since you are planning to keep the car for the long haul, I would strongly recommend you buy the furthest out Platinum warranty from Lexus. Call Troy Dietrich at Greenfield Toyota for a great deal on a factory warranty 413-772-0231 (assuming he's still there).
Be sure to read the sticky at the top of this forum. I joined a month before I bought my LS and the info was invaluable.
06-12-14, 05:14 PM
#9
Advanced
Thread Starter
I will take any and all purchase advice. I am pretty good at new car buying, but used cars I am just not as comfortable with. Add to that CPO, extended warranty and I need as much assistance as possible.
06-12-14, 09:30 PM
#10
Lexus Test Driver
1) Adaptive cruise...Get it. You will regret not getting it.
2) Mark Levinson...Get it
3) Check out the wheels. Look around the center caps for paint flaking. Make them fix it beforehand
4) Check to see if the glove box lines up. If it is sagging, or appears that the lines of the box or leather don't line up, make them fix it.
5) Try every single switch and button and make sure they work.
6) If the car you are looking at needs tires, or they just put new ones on, make sure they are not Bridgestone Turanza's. If you can get them to put Michelin's on it would be worth the extra money. Turanza's are very loud tires and take away from the ride of the 460.
In my opinion, you want to try to get every option you can. Looking back, I would have bought a 460L or a 600. Don't get me wrong, I love my 460, but I now look at the 600 and think I would like the size better, along with the better city gas mileage. Highway my 460 gets 27-30 so I win there, but I think I just want the wow factor when people see the rear seats. I have almost every option on mine so I'm not missing much, but I am missing the adaptive cruise and REALLY wish I had it.
2) Mark Levinson...Get it
3) Check out the wheels. Look around the center caps for paint flaking. Make them fix it beforehand
4) Check to see if the glove box lines up. If it is sagging, or appears that the lines of the box or leather don't line up, make them fix it.
5) Try every single switch and button and make sure they work.
6) If the car you are looking at needs tires, or they just put new ones on, make sure they are not Bridgestone Turanza's. If you can get them to put Michelin's on it would be worth the extra money. Turanza's are very loud tires and take away from the ride of the 460.
In my opinion, you want to try to get every option you can. Looking back, I would have bought a 460L or a 600. Don't get me wrong, I love my 460, but I now look at the 600 and think I would like the size better, along with the better city gas mileage. Highway my 460 gets 27-30 so I win there, but I think I just want the wow factor when people see the rear seats. I have almost every option on mine so I'm not missing much, but I am missing the adaptive cruise and REALLY wish I had it.
06-13-14, 05:46 AM
#11
Instructor
I concur with the comment about considering the LS600hL... I'm much happier with the 600 than I was with the 460. The adaptive cruise is incredible, and the overall silence of the 600 is pretty unbelieveable!
I just spoke to Troy Dietrich last week, and he's definitely still selling Lexus warranties at a great discount.
Have a fun search!
I just spoke to Troy Dietrich last week, and he's definitely still selling Lexus warranties at a great discount.
Have a fun search!
06-13-14, 09:14 AM
#12
Advanced
Thread Starter
Couple more questions for the experts here:
- How does the AWD do in winter driving? Living in Mass where it can snow a lot, I need a car that can go through normal amounts of winter precipitation.
- The car I linked to above with an asking price of $46,789 and an original MSRP of $80,024 with an original dealer cost of $71,780. This is a 2011 LS460L AWD with 39,954 miles.
The dealer says it is already priced to sell. What would one of you pay for this car? This is a CPO vehicle from a Lexus dealer. Thanks.
- How does the AWD do in winter driving? Living in Mass where it can snow a lot, I need a car that can go through normal amounts of winter precipitation.
- The car I linked to above with an asking price of $46,789 and an original MSRP of $80,024 with an original dealer cost of $71,780. This is a 2011 LS460L AWD with 39,954 miles.
The dealer says it is already priced to sell. What would one of you pay for this car? This is a CPO vehicle from a Lexus dealer. Thanks.
06-13-14, 10:13 AM
#13
AWD is nice to have in the northeastern states - saves having to swap tires twice a year on RWD cars. Bear in mind this isn't 4WD - the power bias is still heavily toward the rear wheel. But it's still a plus. Ask the dealer to throw in a CPO extension from 3 to 6 years and go for it!
06-13-14, 11:58 AM
#14
I did a rough check of Edmunds, KBB and NADA. It is fairly priced, but since you are not in a rush I would offer $42K. They will laugh at you (and that's OK I'm sure you been laughed at before, I know I have).
Simply leave them your phone number and tell them to call you if they want to sell the car. Don't negotiate with them on the spot in the store. Simply walk out. If they can't sell the car, they'll get back to you. However be prepared that they do sell the car and you need to move on (don't get married to this car).
The problem is you don't know what they own this car at. It could be $39K or it could be $34K or even less. The important thing is that you always negotiate up from your price, not down from their price.
Simply leave them your phone number and tell them to call you if they want to sell the car. Don't negotiate with them on the spot in the store. Simply walk out. If they can't sell the car, they'll get back to you. However be prepared that they do sell the car and you need to move on (don't get married to this car).
The problem is you don't know what they own this car at. It could be $39K or it could be $34K or even less. The important thing is that you always negotiate up from your price, not down from their price.
06-13-14, 12:35 PM
#15
Instructor
I did a rough check of Edmunds, KBB and NADA. It is fairly priced, but since you are not in a rush I would offer $42K. They will laugh at you (and that's OK I'm sure you been laughed at before, I know I have).
Simply leave them your phone number and tell them to call you if they want to sell the car. Don't negotiate with them on the spot in the store. Simply walk out. If they can't sell the car, they'll get back to you. However be prepared that they do sell the car and you need to move on (don't get married to this car).
The problem is you don't know what they own this car at. It could be $39K or it could be $34K or even less. The important thing is that you always negotiate up from your price, not down from their price.
Simply leave them your phone number and tell them to call you if they want to sell the car. Don't negotiate with them on the spot in the store. Simply walk out. If they can't sell the car, they'll get back to you. However be prepared that they do sell the car and you need to move on (don't get married to this car).
The problem is you don't know what they own this car at. It could be $39K or it could be $34K or even less. The important thing is that you always negotiate up from your price, not down from their price.
You didn't mention how long this particular car has been sitting at the dealership. If it's been for sale for longer than 30 days, you can almost be sure the price will start to drift down. Also, keep in mind the Used Car managers tend to get more aggressive towards the end of each month (as they try to meet their "quotas." This gets amplified somewhat at the end of a Quarter. Luckily, June is the last month of the second quarter, so I"m guessing the price will get better the closer you get to the end of the month. Just be poised to strike before someone else does when the price does drop.
Good luck!
