I made a list of 7 ES350’s I was interested in checking out this weekend. I receive the great news that all except 3 of them are gone. Even from those 3 one already has a deposit on it but the dealer says the deal will most likely fall through.

2 out of the 3 ES350s are being sold by a “luxury car” dealer. These type of dealers scare me but the reviews are good and BBB gave them a B+.
The two cars at this dealer are priced at $21.990. Car #1 is a Gray ES350 with 34k miles that’s loaded with everything except navigation/backup camera. Car #2 is a Black Sapphire with 32k miles that’s also loaded with everything except navigation/backup camera. Both these cars were purchased from auction and have warranty until 2013.

The third car is being sold at a Lexus Dealer. The car is base and is also $21.999 but has 25k miles. The rear and front bumpers are severely scratched and the car is keyed on the left side and has 3 dings on the right side. For $21.999 they will fix the bumpers but that’s it. Before they told me they would do the bumpers and touch up the dings and key marks.

Out of these 3 cars which is a better deal? The 34k mile car looks good but it has 34k miles and this will be a DD. Will these cars last 100k+?

 

I would go with either one of the cars from the 'luxury' dealer. Although the mileage is a bit higher, you really don't have to worry about mileage on these cars. With a Toyota engine, they will run to 200k+ easily with regular maintenance. Either one is a solid deal, just depends on color.

The one at the Lexus dealership isn't a good deal since it's the base model, and has (by your description) pretty severe paint damage and a few dings.

 

None of them. They are all base models. You want one with Nav/backup camera, HID's and parking sensors at the very least. Those will be the features that future buyers will be looking for when you go to sell your car. I would not buy one that needs any paint work of any type. Bumpers are one thing, but key marks and major dents/dings are something else. When you talk about painting several panels on one side of the car to cover up key marks, that costs $$$$+. These will go 300k-500k miles if maintained. They will easily reach 100k, even with poor maintenance. Just about any car, even $10k Hyundai Accent's will exceed 100k miles. This isn't 1954 anymore.