rhettnash

Been lurking on this forum for a while researching and want to first off say thanks to all those that respond to members questions and for a car forum, it is very active ( I usually stay on gun forums but that's another story!!)
Anywho, I do marketing 3 days a week where I work, and currently drive an 09' civic SI that's been paid off 3-4 yrs ago. Problem is, not only is it crap, very disappointed in this Honda , I have 3 kiddos. I have narrowed down to a used ES due to the normal reasons of owning a Lexus. I want a used car due to many cost effective reasons and I hate debt! I found a 2013, 23 k miles, silver lining UL at a small independent dealer, noticed it via cargurus while looking for a GS (back seat too small) a month ago, still there-been 113 days on lot. Carfax has maintance done every 5 k miles at Lexus dealership, leased and sold at auction. Recent battery check and replacement at local Lexus done 3 months ago. Went and looked at it and was prestine. Only issue was the seats were cracked on drivers door, left lower cushion and the lateral bolster. It was however, re-dyed by the dealer it is at now- The sales guy said they took in for check up at Lexus ( which co-insides with carfax). Test drove by my self in traffic and highway and of course, coming from a civic night and day. Far better then the MB E430 I had before civic and 2 more children!!
I was told it was ok to take home for a night and take to get evaluated.
Asking $28,900 which is high, was thinking shooting for $25k and no more than $26k.
Anyone bought 13' recently chime in with price?
Any suggestions? Any recommendations? Any encouragement or dis-couragement is fine too!!
thanks in advance!!... and sorry for long winded first post!!

jollick

You can use https://www.truecar.com/#/ online to get an idea what people in your area are paying. Are you sure it is a UL? Does it have memory settings on the door on the passenger side and the seat extender on the drives seat and a glass roof (assuming it is a 350 not a 300h)?

rhettnash

Yes - def. a UL. Like I said, this site has been great for research.
Black pano roof, driver seat extender, every option but remote start up. ML was definitely in there!!!

Gekko

also check out TMV from Edmunds.com -

https://www.edmunds.com/tmv.html

good luck!

lesz

I traded in my 2013 ES about 2 months ago when I bought a 2017 ES.

The dealer to whom I traded the 2013 had it on their lot until just a couple of days ago when it finally sold. The car was a well-equipped Luxury package ES with navigation and a good number of other options. The original MSRP for the car was right around $45,000, and it had just under 25,000 miles on it. The dealer sold it as a CPO vehicle. When it finally sold, the dealer's advertised price was right around $26,000. I'm guessing that it sold for somewhere right around $25,000. Also, note that the car was in virtually perfect condition. It pretty much looked like it was brand new, both inside and outside.

The car that you are looking at is an UL car, which should make it worth, at this point, about $2000 more than the Luxury package ES that I traded in, but, also, the dealer that sold mine was selling it as a CPO vehicle, and the CPO warranty likely added about $2000 to the price. Depending on how bad the cracks are on the seats and whether there are other signs of wear inside or scratches, dings, etc. outside, I would say that your target of $25,000 is probably right in the ballpark, assuming that there are no other significant signs of wear on the interior or scratches, dings, etc. on the exterior.

With a used car, my thinking has always been that, if you find the car that you really want, don't lose it by quibbling over a few hundred dollars. Unlike with new cars, if you lose the used car that really meets your needs, it could be a while before you find another one that similar.

rhettnash

Thanks all- yea printed off both KBB and edmunds and they both are in the 24 ish to 25k It had a couple of chips up front that were filled in but expected. Other than that, not a single ding. I also noticed it has new tires but never mentioned this to dealer. He mentioned more than once it was the UL pkg and it was rare etc . I played it off that though options make it more valuable it still a 4 year old car and options depreciate as well. Hey.... I was nice about it! I live near Memphis TN, so there are a lot of car dealers. Funny thing is, I found a 13' UL literally across the street that was black with the same Ash grey interior and it had the same leather cracks. I believe their price is more inline with a CPO from Lexus.
They had a 16' UL mica red and tan interior with less than 5 k miles for $39k. I used that for an example for the options depreciation. It was good to see the difference side by side though. The 16' interior is def. improved and I like the bigger grill.
I agree with the comment I better act, I plan on discussing and making decision this weekend with the wife, maybe the wine and Anniversary dinner will swade her to my side!!
thanks again!!

Gekko

maybe offer $22K, leave your number, and walk away. good luck!

rhettnash

So I used true car and it says it's $28900 price is in line with what others are paying. Strange such a difference in price than KBB and edmunds with all the options I included...
Now Gekko is my kind of negotiator!!
Im thinking my civic and a $19 k already written check.
In my younger days I knew the most I was going to pay for a beautiful 3 year old boxster and didn't feel like going through negotiations so I got the bank to OK the check and just put the already written check down. After 10 minutes the dealer took it. Ahhhh, the single years, I loved that car!!!

lesz

My experience has been that the numbers that True Car gives are high. Since they are supported by dealers, I've suspected that the prices that they show are more in line with what dealers would like to sell cars for and not what they are realistically selling them for, and I don't buy the "what others in your area are paying" claim. On the other hand, I've found that both Edmunds and KBB are much more in line with reality. With the 2013 ES that I traded in, for example, the KBB and Edmunds CPO values were both within a few dollars of each other, and what the dealer ended up selling that car for was right in line with what both KBB and Edmunds said a CPO 2013 ES Luxury package car with 25,000 miles and in excellent condition should sell for.

ut2sua

I have just paid less than 40K for a new car costing 47.7K
My previous Lexus was bought 9.5K below MSRP
So don't be afraid to bring the price down a bit more than your intended purchasing price if you want to save $
Walk out of the dealership if needed since they need your business more than you need the ES.
But up to a point, your happiness is above all else.
Good luck

Freds430

Love the fact that you stated hate debt and our buying used. Just to confirm your purchase and justify paying a little more than you want below are some kudos for Lexus and the ES however stay firm. Show them you are very interested but will walk away from a $500 difference. Leave your name and number and tell them to call you when they are ready to sell at your price. One reason the ES might be higher than you were expecting is it's high resale value. It is highest in it's class.
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/autos/2...ue-cars/6.html

Lexus is rated #2 behind Toyota as the least expensive to maintain.
http://twocents.lifehacker.com/the-c...ver-1781639773

Lexus has been #1 in the J D Power’s dependability study for five years in a row. In 2011 they were ranked #2, 2010 #4, 2009 #3, 2008 #1, and 2007 #2.

J D Power ranks the 2013 ES #1 in reliability in the compact luxury class.
http://www.jdpower.com/cars/awards/V...ategory/843ENG

bc6152

I would do exactly what Gekko says. Make them an offer of around $22 - 23k and see what they say. Most they can say is NO. Thank them and just walk away. I've had a dealer literally grab me by the arm and make me a better offer when I turned to walk away. Thing to keep in mind is that this car has been on the lot for almost 4 months! I'm quite sure that they'd like to move it as soon as possible. However, use good sense if the car is outstanding and the price is fair, and you want it, then make a decision. GOOD LUCK!

Gekko

i like Silver Exterior with Black Interior. i think it wears/stands the test of time the best, hides dirt/dings/scratches the best, and is a classic popular color combo that most people like (resale value). i paid cash for my new ES with NAV/ML back in 2004 and i still have it and it still looks great. i like to pay cash, buy quality, buy exactly what i want (color/features) and drive it forever. i will keep it until it's no longer nice or it costs me too much to fix. don't settle for anything less than what you want, negotiate hard and with some rationale, and drive it forever.

rhettnash

Agree- I love silver and black, this particular car has the gray ash. For some reason I am digging it. I am trying to use my civic in play as well. Unfortunately, 2 and 4 gear syncs are off and have been as soon as the warranty went out. Honda re- painted the whole thing about a year ago and everything else I have maintained 123k miles on it. I'm hoping to least get 5K worse scenario on trade in-
My wife's pilot we bought, was the 2nd dealer and we walked off, the salesman stated the usual " what can we do to get you in this car today " and I was like man, you never buy on first day. So he kept on. So I said some 5 grand off the sticker, give me a wheel warranty and give me some number ( don't remember but it was 2 grand over trade in for my wife's car at the time) , I something like .09% interest rate and just kept walking - we were driving out waiting for traffic to let out and he ran out to the car out by the road and said they would take it!! We paid $2 a month more than my wife's Honda Element, ( don't ask) for her fully loaded pilot!! It's silver and black interior by the way. Not my choice but it's what she wanted and she loves the pilot.

bc6152

So apparently you're good at the game. Go for it and come back and let us know how you make out if you go through with it. GOOD LUCK!