spawar

Hi,
I did a test drive for a lexus es330 2005 , while driving i noticed the security red light was blinking, is this normal what does this mean ...

what checks should i do before buying the car.
is the extended warranty necessary can i purchase it later.
can someone sugest a good company for extended warranty. I was told it would be around 2500$
The carfax eport was clear, how reliable is that ...

any suggestions would be great ,

regards

rlx101

Are you buying from the private party or a dealer? Do not buy from dealer, save yourself $$ and find ES from private seller. There are plenty on the market right now, expand your search area if needed. Clean, well maintained ES is worth driving to.

Call your local Lexus dealer and schedule PPI inspection (pre purchase inspection) if you really like this car. It costs 165$ at dealers around here. They will check the car out for you and provide you with a condition report at the end. Also, dealer can pull maintenance records for you if the car was serviced at Lexus dealer.

If the car was involved in the accident which was not reported to the police - it wont show up on any report. PPI Inspection may reveal if the car had body work performed.

p.s. are you sure that red blinking light was security and not seatbelt warning? they are on the same panel i believe...

spawar

Thank you very for the reply ...

I am buying from a dealer ... I tried looking from a private seller, but did not find one .. looking for atelast a month .. but now i have to decide .. i am in dallas ... I am 100% sure it was the red security light, this is the first time i am buying and notcied that the dealers do a lot of talking on the test drive and do not let you check the vehicle ... I have schedule a check up with lexus dealer which was sugested by the same same dealer i am buying the car ... any advise is helpful.. and one more question is the extended warranty necessary currently i know i cannot afford one ..

rlx101

are you sure you can afford this car??? lexus is reliable generally speaking, but i would NOT spend all of my $$$ on a car, no matter how nice it is. Especially considering the economy these days... job loss/sickness (knock on wood) etc. I say buy something cheaper and put some money aside as an emergency fund. At the end of the day its just a car.

p.s. during test drive you can always politely ask salesman to shut up/turn off radio or anything that distracts you.

spawar

Thank you for your advise ...wish i had tried getting it before ..

you are 100% correct about the economy etc that is worrying me a lot .. let see how this deals goes if it does not work out and going to back off and buy something cheaper ...anyway i have to buy a car this week ... somehow the market has not affected the used cars the rates are same and no bargaining whether it is a Lexus or Nissan Maxima

regards

rlx101

the thing with used cars is that they are ALWAYS in demand and these days more people are going good used car route vs buying new (to save $$$) --> hence the market is strong.

were you planning to buy for cash or finance??

Fritz330

You only live once. I say go for it. damn the economy.