I am thinking of buying a 2008 ES350 from my cousin I know it has pretty much every option including Navigation but does not have the Marc Levinson sound system.

It has 18k miles on it, and the dealer offered him 23.5k for trade-in, but he's willing to sell it to me for 23k. He figures it's worth 26 because the sales tax in NY is high, and says he's doing it as a favor.

How expensive is the regular maintenance for these cars? I'm not very mechanically inclined.

I know the car has been in a minor accident with a deer, they changed the door though. It is not reported on carfax though.

I also am not completely sure about how well he kept up with the scheduled maintenance, I believe he got the first one which is complimentary, and then waits till 10k between oil changes. It currently has 18k miles on the car.

What do you guys think, is the car worth it?

 

In my market (TN) the car is worth 22,500 - 23,000 wholesale if the tires are good and maintenance has been kept up. Long term ownership costs are very reasonable.....do some research on the website of intellichoice.com and you can compare Lexus ES favorable ownership to other brands/models

 

I'd buy it for 23K, assuming there's nothing wrong with it.

 

23K sounds very good. Usual price for this car/year is upwards of 27K+. If he trades it in the dealer will mark it up to that at least.

 

i just bought mine (2008/19000miles) from my neighbor for $22000. no base model+ bluetooth. dealer offered him $21000 for trade-in so I pay him $1000 extra to cover his tax that saving.

 

Hmmm, involved in an accident, a questionable service record and depending on the in-service date perhaps only 18-24 months left on the factory warranty, I would pass.

We just purchase a Lexus 2008 ES 350 CPO, 20,000 miles, perfect condition with a spotless Carfax report for $23,000, (before tax and fees) Probably could have got them down another $500-1000 but the wife was impatient and wanted to close the deal fast.
Oh, and 2.9% Lexus financing for 60 months, (currently 0.9%).

Shop around, bargain hard.