jonas's RX

Hi there

I wanted to ask you guys opinion but I just found a 03 silver black 60K for about $18,000 from a Porsche dealer . I have not seen it but carfax shows it is a 1 owner car serviced at lexus

The concern I have is the dealer said they repainted the hood and front and rear bumper due to nicks

I did not realized dealers repaint even the smallest nicks and what is your thought on it matching well ? Is this a good buy and worth the 300 miles trip to possibly buy?

Cheers

Yes

The quality of the paint depends on the quality of the shop that painted it. It could be an exact match, or not even close. Silver is probably the most difficult color to match. Also, aftermarket paint is thinner than factory paint. Even the best shop won't use nearly as many coats. So expect a lot of rock chips on the hood and front bumper if you put a lot of highway miles on it.

1sWt2GS

iTrader: (6)

you cant just describe it to us. you have to post some pictures. as liquid sc said, the quality of the paint and whether its good depends on the shop that did it.

any CORRECT paint job should be color matched. (for example, if you paint the fender you also gotta paint the front bumper and door)

jonas's RX

Yep, I know painting silver to match is very difficult . I am about 300 miles away from the dealer and getting the car inspected is easy but it is a 1 owner car with clean carfax but you know about carfax ..it is only as good as what has been reported

What is odd is the dealer said they typicially repaint the hood and bumpers if there are any imperfections .

IcEnPinKi

iTrader: (1)

Check under the hood to see if any of the bolts looked like they were removed or clips missing. Check to see if bumper, fenders & hood lines up. Take your time and look carefully. Things like the radiator/support/headlight tabs. Sometimes like you said the carfax only shows what was reported. Im not saying there was but there could have been a light front end work done. Good Luck.

tfischer

The car is 10 years old. I would not buy such a vehicle without having my own mechanic (meaning a person I hire - I don't keep one on staff) to inspect it first. Reputable sellers of used cars have this happen all the time and should be glad to have someone you send over inspect the car, on a lift.

FLYCT

Bumper cover repaint are very common. Here dealers use mobile shops that will squirt the covers for about $125 each.

The proper way to paint the covers are to remove them,apply the paint color and clear coat and then bake them. Done properly the results are pretty robust.

Painting the hood properly usually requires the color be blended on the fenders and both fenders and hood clear coated. Done properly you would never tell unless you used a paint depth gauge.

JR

MDames2

iTrader: (1)

I bought my wife's 2003 back in 2007. The Lexus dealer we purchased it from also repainted a couple of areas for the same reason. To this day, people comment on how great the paint looks on this 10 year old car. So, if done right, you won't be able to see where it was painted. By the way, the color is Egyptian Sand Pearl (gold)

kennylexsc

I bought 03 130k mile for 9k from a private seller, not perfect but it's good so far. no regret,

thanks

Harold57

Also, do an on-line customer review check of the dealer, you never know what you will find out about them. They may be a super, spectacular, customer service oriented dealer, or not. Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

jonas's RX

So now I am debating on a another " 1 owner" no accident silver 02 39K black with Momo wheels . I have not seen the car but from the pictures, it looks very clean ! The guy want $19500 after negotiation and it looks like that the price he want is almost at retail and above private party .

He also need motor mounts, probably timing belt and water pump just due to age as the pre purchase Inspection was already done by lexus by the owner . So what do you guys think?

Go for the 03 with hood and bumpers repainted ( will go check out) or should I bite the bullet and buy 02? Looks like the KB book on the 03 is probably a better bet on resale

Chime in Lexus SC experts

barncat

Dealer repainted my bumpers before delivering it to me. If done well, I see no problem with this. The sc430 does tend to get chips with normal driving unless a garage queen! You can also consider the clear-coat shields available out there. Plenty of threads referring to these.

jonas's RX

The problem is I asked the sales guy to look at it and without actually saying it, the guy tells me bumpers can never match the body which leads me to believe it does not Match . I then took a look at the shop they had it repainted and it did not look like a high end body shop

So what do you guys think of buying a low miledge 02 for $19500 with 39k 1 owner car ?

tfischer

People buy cars long distance all the time now, but you have to be careful. Since you surely will not get an inspection condition in your contract that would allow you to return it, you have to either inspect it before taking delivery or have someone else do it for you. Driving 300 miles to inspect a potential purchase clouds your judgment. It is far cheaper to hire someone to look it over. I recall seeing a number of services that now offer this service, which makes sense, given the ease of internet car shopping. Look one up and get someone on board. Unlike this forum, these services are not free, but I would never buy a car without either seeing it or without an independent inspection by someone I have hired my own self.
Good Luck.
PS: I have had an '02 for over 10 years, and these are great cars, and it is worth shopping around to get a good one (which is, I think, most of them), paint jobs aside.

jonas's RX

Good tip

I am actually leaning toward the 02 with 39K 1 owner car . The owner has already did a pre purchases inspection at lexus and I have a call in today to see what they say . So I think I might be able to not do another one . But even on low mileage cars, the timing belt , evaporator hose, motor mount need replacing so this could add up fast is my guess . But they are both around $20 -$23

I just hate the bumpers not matching and I think the one at the dealer is