well, i've been lookin on autotrader for a 98-99 gs 300. i'm finding all kinds of prices for around similar miles, and kelley blue book value and edmunds true market value are confusing me even more. basically both sites tell me that a 98 gs3 is worth around $19,000 with 70,000 miles. then i go back to autotrader, and these are the ones i'm interested in:

1)98 white gs3 - 70k miles, $17,995
2)98 black gs3- 80k miles, $17,995
3)00 black gs3- 77k miles, $17,995
4)99 green gs3- 77k miles, $17,995
5)98 champagne gs3- 61k miles, $17,900
6)98 beige gs3- 60k miles, $17,895
7)98 green gs3- 73k miles, $16,995
8)98 black gs3- 64k miles, $16,975
9)99 green gs3- 77k miles, $16,900
10)99 black gs3- 72k miles, $16,750
11)98 blue gs3- 58k miles, $16,500
12)98 black gs3- 58k miles, $16,250
13)98 silver gs3- 72k miles, $15,500
14)98 silver gs3- 99k miles, $14,900

now that you guys have an idea of what these are going for around my area, how much do you think i can talk the dealers down off the listing price? as you can see, i'm trying to keep it under $17,000. would you prefer dealer or private party purchase, and why(all of the above are dealer, though)? also, are there any that i should be suspicious of, that may be priced too well? like #11 or #12 on my list, since they're low miles and cost less? thanks for the help in advance fellas

 

IMO, get the one with the best price, lowest mileage, best body condition, maintenance records, most expensive option such as navigation package, and clean Carfax report. If you still worry about the car, have Lexus service check the car.

 

ill selig my 00gs3 for 20k, it has 75k miles but has navi, HID, spoiler , heated seats, everything!

 

I say figure out what you are comfortable spending on this car including taxes. Be reasonable and realistic. Decide on what colors, options, etc. you want and need. Then go out and look and do not budge. You'll of course see plenty of cars, but it will be better in the end to just be patient and don't buy on impulse. DO a little research online on how to spot repair work and looking at nuts and bolts and screws to see if anything has been turned or repaired. Look under the trunk mat and don't be afraid to ask to have the car put on a lift and take a look at what's under there.

 

I know having the car checked out at the Lexus dealer is a little more piece of mind for myself. The car I'm looking into is 800 miles away from me but goes into the dealer tomorrow for it's last checkup before I buy it if everything goes smooth.

I say get the most for your money. The cheapest is not always your best bet. As mentioned before in this thread be sure to check some of the other aspects of the GS. Good luck.

ken

 

the only options on the gs300 are spoiler, navigation, and hid right? or what else am i missing?

 

Heated seats, phone, chrome rims.

 

You can find all the details here: http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_library.html

 

so how much do you think i can talk these dealers down? i know they always raise the price of what its actually worth, to make for bargaining... i just wonder how much exactly

 

A good idea is to do an advanced search on cars.com and increase the search radius to "All" so you get the whole country. I got to the point where I would look every day for "ads placed in the last 1 day" so I'd see the new ones as soon as they were put in the paper.
It took a while but after a few weeks I found the perfect one-2000, spectre blue, 44k miles for $23,600. Shipping was another $400 but even with that added it was still a pretty good deal.

 

Almost forgot-Lexus will do a pre-sale inspection for $100 that is pretty thorough.
As far as talking dealers down goes, it depends on a lot of things. Ask how long they've had the car for, what their highest offer is, and where the car came from. Shadier dealers will lie, especially about the first 2, so try to confirm-I'm pretty sure Autotrader has the original date the ad was posted somewhere, cars.com definitely has it. If they've had the car for 2 months and say they've refused an offer $500 below asking price they are probably blowing smoke.
Don't make an offer until you've had the car checked out, as you can use that to your advantage. When I bought my LS400 3 years ago they were asking $12,500. I negotiated using the repair cost I was incurring and drove it away for $8500.
Just be creative and negotiate from a position of strength and be ready to walk away, remember-they need you far more than you need them.
Good luck!

 

how does the lexus pre-sale inspection work exactly? do they go with me to the dealer after i pay them? also, if i want warranty, can i just go to any dealer, or does it have to be a lexus dealer? i heard somewhere they charge like $2,000 for an extended warranty? how long is this warranty?

 

The car I was looking at was out of state so I asked the owner to bring it up there for me after I paid a deposit. I paid Lexus directly and got the results faxed to me.

I don't remember the costs of the extended warranty, I think it's around $1700.

 

so you have to take the car to the dealer? i'm just worried about getting a problematic car, so should i prefer the dealers that offer the warranty directly when i buy the car?

 

Have it taken to an actual Lexus dealer. They can't predict all problems of course, but will test as much as they can. Make sure to call Lexus with the VIN number too, they'll be able to tell you all of the times the car was taken to the dealer for service. If it looks as if the car has missed an oil change or transmission service, make sure to ask the owner for receipts showing that the work was done elsewhere. I would avoid buying a car that has missed a lot of oil changes etc as it says a lot about how the owner maintained the car overall.