Hey guys,

I stuck this in car chat because, although only for GS's, I would like a varying opinion on the issue.

I don't know if any of you frequent ebay motors, but i pop in every now and again and take a look at some of the GS's.

Not only are there 90 of them on there (that is a lot at one time for ebay!), but also they are extremely low in price. There are at least 5 on there now with no reserve and the price at 9,000 or less with less than 2 days left and no sense of the price going too high.

Have our cars lost that much value? The new GS hasn't even had a final photo put to it yet!

-Anthony

 

As a ebay power seller, never assume it is going to end at that price with 2 days left. Bidding starts the last 10 seconds of an auction.

Bryan

 

I recognize that also. The thing is.. there are two (98 and 99) with a buy it now of 14,988. What is up with that?

-Anthony

 

eBay prices do not reflect actual worth because there are many cars on ebay. Sellers are forced to lower there prices to compete with others.

 

Also take into account that these are cars that you can see, drive, test, etc. I know someone that bought a car that looked MINT off ebay. Turned out to be a Lemon flavored MINT LOL.

Take it from a guy that just finished doing some EXTENSIVE car shopping, the 2nd Gens are still holding equity pretty well! Now its the 1st Gen that has eroded off the face of the equity earth!! sheeeeesh!

 

Acatully something I thought was odd... at the auto center bargin lot there are 2 1st gens and 1 2nd gen gs and for some reason its:

1996 GS3 114,000 miles - 11k
1995 GS3 78,000 miles - 15k
1999 GS3 74,000 miles - 17k

for a 4 year gap and damn close milage thats kinda odd. Is it like that elsewhere?

Perhaps its just ebay though

 

I've noticed that too. Over the last 18 months or so, 98's (my year) have lost a pretty large portion of value. When I was shopping for mine back the, average condition ones were going for about $28K and the 400's were pretty tough to find. Now, the market seems to be flooded with them. Must be all the leases are up.

Still, remember that Ebay cars are usually "wholesale", which means lower quality than you would find at a dealer or even a private sale.

 

im just pissed my dad spent 28k on this damn car (99 GS400 blk/blk) and its worth crap now with ebay selling them the way they are. guess ill just keep till the damn doors fall off to get money's worth out of it. ha

~ Stella

 

E-bay cars are usually not mint or near mint cars. Nor do they accurately reflect Blue Book prices.

If u bought a new GS 400 for say 48k, the blue book with right under 100k miles is 24k. So it retains half it's value and it's PAID for.

 

I would still like to see and test drive the car first

 

This is a key point!!

 

I could NEVER buy a car without seeing and test driving, its amazing how nice you can make a piece of junk look on the internet!! I went to see a couple cars that were advertised on Autotrader, and the paint looked so deep and shiny, got to the car, and it was a junk heap!!

Caveat Emptor when buying on the net!!

 

i wouldn't take ebay seriously, if u start 2 c these car prices that cheap on lexus dealership lots than we have a real problem...theres a guy on ebay selling a 98gs400 blue w/110k 4 $14.5k

 

I do think that the GS's depreciate a lot. One reason why especially high mileage GS's depreciate so much is that there does not seem to be a large demand for them. Those people who have enough money will go out and buy a new or newer, low mileage GS. Those who can't afford the higher price tag might be a little skeptical of buying a high mileage car due to the potential high cost maintainence issues. So there are only a few people that will be willing to take the risk of buying a high mileage GS. I just sold my 98 GS400 a couple of months ago. I'm not sure if you guys know about Carmax, a used car dealer, but they buy used cars too and their offers are usually higher that what one would get from trading in the car to a dealer for new/newer car. Anyway, they offered me $15000 for my car (98 GS400, Nak, HID, 70k). I finally sold the car locally for $18500. I might have gotten a little more if I had waited but not much more. You can check the values on KBB and edmunds too...our cars do depreciate a lot.

 

the reason i purchased my gs400 2 years ago off ebay was:
1. i am not going to pay twice as much for a car with half the miles.
2. The items i have done or am planning took care of any and all damage it suffered ( rock chips, scuff
marks on side skirts
3. It was cheap, and well maintained through lexus.
4. I purchased it to drive it, and mod it. So a warrenty would have not helped me anyway
5. Nothing but praises with my car, it was certified pre-owned when i purchased it, and not a single
problem with it at all (knock on wood)
6. Most cars on ebay w/clear titles just need tlc