Shopping for an ES for around $9k. I've mostly been looking at 5th gens (and some 4th gens), but here's a 6th gen. I don't really care about tech. features. I'm more interested in mileage and overall condition. Any thoughts on this car, asking $9.5k? Going to take a look tomorrow. My main hesitation is the mileage. I'd prefer something around 70k, but the price seems reasonable for the year. Any tips for issues to look for?
https://boston.craigslist.org/sob/ct...061627265.html

 

I’d definitely run a carfax on that for the price and features of the vehicle.

 

And keep in mind that a clean carfax does not mean the car has never been in a wreck. You should also get it inspected by an independent mechanic.

 

$9500.00 sounds like its very low for a 2013 Lexus. I'd be suspect that there's a hitch somewhere... Wreck? Salvage? Flood? Just be aware and careful. Eslader suggestion to get it inspected is a good idea...

 

Let's assume the inspection eliminates the worst scenarios (flood, salvage, etc.). My original plan has been to look for maybe a 5th gen, under ~80k, hopefully for around $9k. But would an upgrade to a 6th gen be worth taking on a car with higher miles, like this one? My instinct is to wait for lower miles, although I still think this car is worth a look.

 

Sure, take a look but be aware that there's no free lunch... GOOD LUCK!

 

theres lots of 80k cars out there in worse shape that 120k cars. Carfax, service history, inspection etc will tell the tale. My last car (not a Lexus) bought at 120k, with only regular service was at 266k when I sold it 8 years later and was still running fine. You’d be getting quite an upgrade with a 6th gen over a 5 gen.

The best time to buy a car, is when you don’t need one.

 

Ran the Carfax. A few things I noticed slightly out of the ordinary:

-Car has had 2 personal owners, plus it was a dealer loaner car. So Carfax counts that as 3 owners. This would make me the 4th owner if I bought the car. That's starting to look like a lot of owners, for resale purposes?
-It failed a safety inspection in 2015 around 30k miles. Carfax has a "Damage Reported" notice around this time. It passed the safety inspection shortly thereafter. About 6 months later, it was listed for sale in a "Dealer inventory", although no mention of this dealer's name. Sold rather quickly, at 35k miles, in 2015.
-There's not a lot of major maintenance reported, especially during the time of this 3rd current owner (who bought it in 2015 and drove from 35k to current 120k miles). Plenty of regular oil changes though.
-Has about 20k miles per year since 2015. Good chance those could be highway miles, which is a positive.

Still worth a look, for $9.5k? It's a bit of a drive for me.

 

On the Lexus owners site there is nothing listed as service done at a Lexus or Toyota dealer after 34,000 miles. It all could have been done but no one knows. The mileage would not scare me if all the service had been done on the Lexus site and no major repairs done. I would pass.

 

I think that many of the points made by people in this similar thread apply to your situation.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...se-please.html

 

The car is already 7 years old, and realistically probably closer to 8 since they start selling the new model years as early as 6 months before January. Unless you plan to keep it for less than 3 years, don't worry about it. People shopping for 10 year old cars aren't worried about how many owners it's had, they're just worried about how much it costs and whether or not it's in decent shape for the age. And some of them aren't even worried about that. I guarantee there's a high school kid somewhere that will buy the most ragged out example of a 10+ year old ES just so he can show off his Lexus to his friends.

 

Thanks for the tips. On the Carfax, I do see one service at a Lexus dealer after the current owner bought it in mid 2015. It's just an inspection and oil change. I do see he changed the oil religiously. The owner says he now uses an independent mechanic in town (will indie work always show up on a Carfax?). The owner also said that he too was surprised to see the January 2015 "damage" listed on the Carfax report (btw, that's before he bought the car in mid 2015). That's actually consistent, because Carfax says the damage wasn't reported to them until 2018. He says he called the dealership where the previous owner had the car serviced, but they didn't have any record of damage.

I guess I'll go take a look. If he has some documentation from his mechanic AND the car looks completely clean, drives perfectly, etc., I'll get it inspected by a mechanic. I'll make sure they take a hard look for whatever this "mystery damage" in the report could have been. Whatever damage it was, it was enough for the car not to pass an MA Safety Inspection. Maybe the best case scenario is a broken headlight?

Keep the advice a'comin'!

 

If you are somewhat budget conscious, the ES called for premium fuel from 2006-2011 I believe. This would include all but the last year of the gen 5. Something to consider in cost of ownership.

Aside from having an experienced tech check out a car, pay attention to the condition of the interior and exterior. That can often be a good proxy for how well a car was mechanically maintained.

 

Two thumbs up!

 

Had mechanic inspect. Car is in excellent condition. BUT, when I opened the hood to check oil at beginning of meeting, the hood latch was stuck and it wouldn't close. The guys at the shop got it to close vy releasing the spring. The spring was stuck, probably needs a new latch. But unfortunately the CAR still thought the hood was open, and made this very annoying and constant beeping. Guys at the indie shop couldn't figure it out. Anyone have this problem or know cost to fix? The owner drove off to the dealership to see if he could get it repaired...would have made an offer, but the sound was just too annoying!