mandyfig

Good luck and let us know. Post pics!!!!

Carver

...and join us tomorrow as the next episode of "As the 330 Turns" brings us the drama, tears and pain we have come to expect from our young attorney heroine. Will mom rush in and take over negotiations? Will BF bump his head? Will the evil dealer and his oily minions prevail? Tune in and see! Now a few words from our sponsor...

hypervish

This thread is epic!
I think 10k is a good deal, based on the information you've told us.

ripster

KBB lists trade in value with that mileage at 9725 excellent 8725 good and 7025 is fair. Auction prices will be generally about the same or lower depending on what part of the country you are in. I think you have considerable clout as most people will shy away from the mileage, which puts you in a very good position to get the car in the 7k range if you have 1k worth of maintenance to be done to get it to the good stage. Options help some, but with that mileage, the dealer paid less figuring they would have to do something to the vehicle.

VAttorney

I cannot get KBB to give me those numbers given that it's AWD, navigation, etc. Though at this point regardless of KBB - I understand your point regarding the market for such a vehicle.

I cracked up at Carver... he hit the nail on the head, I actually DID ask my best friend to step in and do negotiations (she's the one I referenced before as being savvier than I). When I did she just sat there and laughed. I have her on speed dial tho.

Sheesh, this thread is epic? Everytime I open it now, I expect people to be posting about how self-absorbed I am and to just go and get the car (OR NOT) already but shut the **** up about it!

I will try to get some pics today.. doubt she looks any different than any other you've seen tho.

lexus114

That was pretty good carver!

hypervish

It's a good thing your taking your time, 10k is a lot of money! You don't want to rush into a purchase, without thinking and end up regretting it.

Adamjeeps

IMHO, $10,000 is not a lot of money for a vehicle, especially a 2004 entry-level luxury vehicle that VAttorney is considering. Sure it has high miles, but it must be a well-built machine to make it that far, right? I don't see any reason it should no go till at least 300,000 miles, especially with mostly highway driving. For that kind of money, it would be hard to find a fairly nice vehicle that included any type of long-term warranty, besides the econo-boxes, of course. So, unless she plans to spend more $$$, which she does not want to do, it doesn't seem like such a huge gamble to me. Just my $.02

VAttorney

So I contacted local Credit Union - even with that mileage (and yes they asked) - it qualified for full financing of its retail value - namely $18,875. WHEW! I was surprised at that... still, haven't returned it yet. The day got crazy so they said I could bring back tomorrow (as if that won't be crazy enough since it's moving day for me! LOL).

Anyway, when I called to let them know I was having trouble getting it down there, the sales rep asked how I was liking it.. and I admitted to him that I liked it but that I didn't like the mileage or needed work. Told him I could see myself paying in the 8-9 range for it but I didn't know that I could stretch to 10,200. He said - we'll work something out.

Oh, as per Credit Union - whatever loan I take will be at just 3.99% for up to 60 months... which seems REALLY crazy to me... If I want to finance it for up to 3 years, the rate is only 2.99%! Pretty sweet...

LexFather

Nice thread. My family and myself have high mileage Lexus. They are driven but not often and they all run but need repairs for various items. Three were over the 200k mark, the RX 300 with 212k (bought with 64k I think) needed a lot of work so it was traded in for a HS.

I've seen some very clean Lexus over 200k miles and if the car was taken care of and it wasn't tough mileage (stop and go, towing) it should be fine. I would have a maintenance stash though, in case something crucial went. We had a guy here Morris who put a TURBO on his GS 400 after it hit 200k . They are strong vehicles.

Good luck!

Carver

You are deeply involved in what is known as the "puppy dog close" in sales lingo. They have let you take the "puppy" home in hopes you will not want to return it after having it pee in your driveway for a couple of days. Anyone who has ever taken a puppy home for a couple of days can attest to the efficacy of this method.

All told, it sounds like things are coming together if you decide to do it. Just a matter of price!

VAttorney

Yea, prior to studying law I did a stint in sales (I love the references to the young attorney-heroine - but I doubt that I qualify in the young or heroine department - at least in a classic sense) so I am aware of what he did. I even called him on it when we were driving over to get the car back from the mechanic that checked it out.

Still, I'm more than prepared to return it tomorrow.. make a low ball offer and leave. Just haven't quite decided what that would be...even if they decline the offer and don't call me back, I can call them Monday. They won't sell it on Sunday, I know! LOL

VAttorney

What makes a steal on something like this? I dunno, but I offered 8 and they weren't impressed at all. Sales rep said he thought he could do something like high 9s and then he let me leave without any further attempt at dickering. Not sure if he's doing a classic take away close or what now.

He did suggest another mechanic that he said could do the timing belt work for less than the guy that I'd sent it to for the inspection... not sure how much of a difference that was supposed to make. But he suggested I call the 'new' mechanic on Monday (shop was closed at that point) and let him know.

He seems either very confident or doesn't really care if the car sells. He told me last week that he was on salary ... which is possible I suppose and could explain his general attitude. I suspect they do alot with people who have poor credit and are just desperate to get some vehicle at all. I base this on the comments he's made about the financing he can get - first he told me he worked with a CU that was as low as 3%, then as we got closer to the 'sale' he told me first that the year of the vehicle would probably mean that they wouldn't do better than 4% on it (the year of the vehicle might influence term... not interest rate), then today he said that the miles would probably mean a higher interest rate (the miles would be more likely to influence how much they would loan not the interest rate or for how long).

Well, MY CU approved it for up to $18875 (yes, nearly 19,000) even with those miles. I think I prefer working with the mechanic my uncle recommended - just cause I know my uncle wouldn't recommend him if he weren't good and honest. So I bite the bullet, offer 9700 and do the maintenance?

to be continued...

Rainbird

With that $18875 credit line you could get a later model with much less miles. Just sayin...

RX330inFL

Bail. Go out and find a lower mileage, newer, model.