BB11

I have been looking for a very quiet and comfortable car. I have pretty much ruled out the ES and RX due to road noise and in the ES seat comfort as well. The LS gets high marks on this. This car has under 10,000, yup Ten Thousand miles. Asking may be a bit high at 38k.

What is it worth, how will it depreciate, I drive about 8,000 miles per year?

What issues (reliability) might I expect? It is listed as Certified. Dealer is not stellar but I would not use them.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. If I do this I will do it quickly.

Thanks

BB

swfla

iTrader: (1)

Good to have a warranty as the front control arms are known to wear prematurely. But that's about it for expensive repairs. See the FAQ at the top of the LS 460 section. With the miles, that's an OK price. Don't be afraid to offer less. Go to lexusdrivers.com and enter the vin# for maintenance history. Have the car looked over for body repairs. That'll lower it's value.

BB11

Thanks for your reply. I just found it online, calling the dealer today. I planned on taking it to a body shop and have a mechanical evaluation if I get that far. First would be an offer of course. They did not list the carfax for the vin (Say it is clean but still will have it checked as much as I can. Thanks again.

Doublebase

I think you had better look at it from a financial stand point - you'd be paying 38k dollars for a car that is 6-7 years old - and you'll only be driving it 8k miles a year. Yes it has low miles, but these things handle miles pretty easily and you won't be driving it much.

I'd think you could certainly try to get it for 32k, or you could spend $10k less and pick one up with 50k miles or so. At 50,000 miles - if it's been cared for - you'll save $10k and not notice a thing in terms of repairs, etc. And even if you did have to repair a couple of things, it wouldn't cost you ten thousand. Just my two cents.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

If it helps, for comparison, I paid $29500 for a '10 w/69K miles CPO in FL 2 months ago. If you can find one with higher miles, it'll be less money. Here's a Lexus website that'll list all available CPOs for sale in your area. http://www.lexus.com/lcertified/
Some folks here prefer to buy without the CPO to save money. The car is very reliable and I can't argue their point.

Nospinzone

I think they are asking way too much, but plug in the specifics at Edmunds, NADA and KBB and see what values you get. My guess is they are playing on the low mileage, but mileage is not so important with these cars.

I see you are in MA, which dealer has the car?

BB11

I am in the western part of the state. The dealer is high, but if I am interested I will see if they change, I will today if possible

Tec80

Agree with the others that the price is very high. Another datapoint: I paid $36k in May for a 2012 CPO AWD with 58k on it.

For CPO, what you need to do is calculate the number of miles you will drive per year vs. the 3/100 CPO coverage period, combined with the likelihood that all "bugs" will be worked out before the CPO coverage runs out.

In my case, I drive about 12-15k per year - so in 3 years the 58k will be 96-103k. I consider this optimal use of the warranty, since I will hit the mileage and time expiration points at the same time.

Trade value is the other side of the equation. Not an issue if you plan to keep it forever, but if you will replace it in 3 years, it will still be a low-mileage car when you do. But as they age, low mileage is worth less as a value bump.

I plan to drive this car well past 100k, maybe over 920k like Matt Farah's LS400.
https://twitter.com/hashtag/millionmilelexus?src=hash

R Z

Yep I agree with others that is mighty high. For that money I'd find a 2010 or 2011 with 40k miles. Then u may have warranty left. Also there are a few more features than 07-09.

BB11

I went and test drove the car today, I really liked it, quiet and comfortable, I would need an extended ride to make sure on comfort, but noise which is a huge issues seemed very well contained. The price was high, I agree with the comments, I asked the manager what we could do, he said basically nothing, maybe a couple of hundred. I explained that it was just too high for the car and he said as you all have it was about the mileage. I want a couple of additional things on the car, like plastic hood protector (he wanted $900) and simonize dirt dropping protection (i call it), just the outside, other dealers would do it for free, he wanted $900, and winter matts... He was not going to discount at all. I thanked him for his time, told him if he does come down to please call me, not much more I could do. The care is clean, very clean, it is certified (just on the fringe as almost 7 years old) but you know I am thinking as others have suggested of going a few miles up and an 2011 or so and see what I can find. Thanks again, maybe I will find something, I am looking.

BB11

one other question, they put new ties on this car (7 years is a long time) and they were bridgestone's, I do not like Bridgestone tires as I believe they are nosier than Michelin. I was told that Lexus knows the best tires for their cars (well ok, Subaru sure as heck did not), but I would still prefer another, so what was the tire that Lexus was using on the 09 LS? Also, what are your thoughts on tires, since they were new I would have thought this would have been a no brainer, so as you can tell I was not very impressed with this dealer and this was not the first time I walked away feeling like this.

CarGuy89

As others have already mentioned, that 09 is priced quite high. Yes you're paying for mileage and warranty, but I think you could do better. As another reference point, I picked up my '12 460 AWD in the color I really wanted (Nebula) with 17k mi in May 2015 for $40.5k. Got it from an Audi dealership who were great to deal with, made sure everything checked out with the Lexus service website and got the car. It is a late build '12 as well (which in theory has all the little bugs worked out) and as a result I still have factory warranty for a bit over a year. I have been nothing but thrilled with the car. There are better deals out there. If you're looking to spend roughly 40k you can get a nice example pretty easily.

As for tires, I believe OEM were Bridgestones. I do agree that Michleins are far superior. My LS430 had Bridgestones on them, which I replaced with Michlein Primacys...the best tires I have ever experienced. I liked them so much I plan on getting a set for my 460 in a few yrs time.

Lastly, don't work with a dealer that you feel uncomfortable around. If they don't treat you with the respect you deserve, or they don't make an effort to make you happy, then they don't deserve your business. Just my .02

Good luck! Hope you find the perfect one

dlbuckls10

Low miles but the LS is overpriced. You will find a better deal. I think you did the right thing by walking away.

Doublebase

I don't know what the stock tires were for that year, but you're right, Michelins are the better tire. The original tires were probably dry rotted and the dealer threw on the cheapest thing they could find. It is also ludicrous that they won't work with you on the price, chances are the car hasn't been on their lot for long, but as time goes on, the price of that car will drop and drop and drop. Expect return calls, but don't bite until you get what you want. This is not a good time of year for dealers - people are on vacations, and parents are worrying more about back to school shopping than car shopping. You have all the leverage.

BB11

Thanks again all. You have helped to confirm my observations on working with this dealer and as they say patience will be a virtue. A 17,000 mile '12 for 40k or so would be perfect. I will have to research to find out what the issue were with the early '12's.