Herofmine

I was looking for 08 is350 in good condition, I fined one at lexus dealership they advertised price was $25990, today I e-mail to him with my offer 24k he saying its too low, and he got me a deal $24661 plus 399 doc fee* ( I don't know what a hell is that) plus tax and registration fee $375which 4 times higher than regular $80 fee, total came up to $27563.66 including all,
Color is smoky granite mica fully loaded navi, black leather, but no ml, mileage is 31K, this car is not certified it's Pre-owned one owner car, I test drove it, drives good interior is in great condition as exterior no scratches anne no dents clean title.
What do you guys think? Is this fair deal or no? Maybe I can find for same price, one that certified?
I would really appropriate your help. Thanks

Authorize

Seems like a decent deal. Mileage is pretty low for the year. See if you can have a mechanic check out the car before you go for it.

carlos3366

its certified, go for it!

robbieca

I would try and figure out why they didn't certify it. It costs them $1000 to certify but it increases the price by at least $2000. Here in Atlanta we have 4 Lexus dealers (2 companies though) and if a car isn't certified, something is preventing it from getting the certification.

What package does this car have? (X, Premium, Sport, Luxury)
If it's luxury or sport, it's priced too low (does it have memory seats?)
I know the dealer is probably telling you "fully loaded" but in all honestly, there is no such thing.

Herofmine

i test drove it and didn't see anything abnormal i used to work at electric/mechanic/body shop's, but for sure before making any decision i'll check it out again but still i need second opinion too.

it's not

I don't know what kind of package is but it has memory seats, bumper sensors, headlight washers, AFS headlights, rain sensor, power tilt steering wheel and navi. i think its a "premium package" .
That's what i asked from them "why its not certified, is there anything prevents it?" they said "we didn't do it because price of the car could go up to $3,000 more and it would be hard to sell, and it would be really hard to sell for that price you know this days selling a car it's like pulling a teeth"

also car has 4 brand new tires, only thing i didn't like previous owner was a smoker ( i didn't see any signs of burn from cigarette) but it smells. cant in other hand it still 4 years old car and price they are offering seems high?

they should call me tomorrow, i don't know whats a rates for financing pre-owned (none certified) cars from lexus.

thanks for replies

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Certification in no way means a car HAS to increase in price by $2000, $3000, or any other set price. It's simply whatever the dealer decides to charge up for the added benefit. This just gets factored into the overall price, which is negotiable.

Don't take all those BS fees. Ask them what the fees are they're going to tack on and negotiate a price you want to pay in total. There's nothing worse than negotiating a fair price for the car then having them try and tack on $800 in fees. That's when I walk out, and that's when they usually say OK we'll drop the X fee.

Have you done a search online? I just did a very quick Autotrader search nationwide for 2008 IS350s less than $28k and came up with these:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false
CERTIFIED, 37k miles, lux package, nav
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false
CERTIFIED, 29k miles, nav

Those were just the first two I clicked. Clearly there are Certified cars you can get for the same or lower price with the same or lower miles. If certification adds $1000-2000 to the price, then based on the above comps, this car is priced too high by about that much.

Do some more searching. I'd highly recommend finding a Certified car. I'd even take a car with slightly higher mileage or a model year earlier that was CPO over one that wasn't but was the same price. I don't think there were too many significant changes to the car between 2006 and 2008, and when you're talking about a car that CL members have shown can last 250k miles or more, what's the difference between 30k miles and 50k? If moving up from 30k to 50k miles means you can get it CPO for the same or lower price, I'd choose CPO.

Herofmine

you are right, today i find out there is 2.9% APR for certified used from lexus.
thanks for respond it was really helpful ,

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

One offer you could make on this car is say you'll pay the above price but have them certify it first. That would put it squarely in line with other cars I'm seeing on Autotrader. If they balk, show them the listings you find for similar cars at the same or lower price that are Certified. If they still refuse the deal, walk away. But if they take it, I think you'd be getting a good deal.

tBayBoi20

exactly what i was going to say...

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Since it's non-CPO, it's too much. For the exact same options (though mine was a '06) and 31k miles I paid <$21k OTD. I would look some more.

I would also be VERY curious as to why it didn't meet the CPO criteria. Perhaps a well-dress accident that wasn't reported. Be very careful!

juvi22003

iTrader: (2)

I would look around some more, that seem over priced if you asked me. Those fees also sounds ridiculious and a rip. Also make sure you check the car fax.

and8376

You should definitely inquire as to why it wasnt certified, and ask them to pull the Carfax and maintenance logs. I just bought an 08 IS250 for $24.5K with 41K Miles that was certified pre owned. So getting an IS350 with less miles at $24.6K seems like a really good deal, but a little skeptical as to what happened with it in the past. Mine came out to about the same with taxes & fees (Stupid CA or govt in general).

I was comparing the one I was going to buy and trying to leverage a very similar one in another dealership (same year, options, and miles) but for $1K less. The dealership ran the maintenance logs and found out it didnt get its 30K maintenance (Bummer for me that they found that out, otherwise, they probably wouldve matched).

Hope that helps.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

The 30k maintenance is a brake fluid flush ($100), oil change ($50), and filters change ($30). So I sure hope they didn't use that as an excuse for why it was $1,000 less, since performing the 30k mile service costs $180 (and those brake fluid and oil change services are dealership prices).

It's important to know it's totally at the dealer's discretion to certify a car and sell it as such, and just because one isn't Certified doesn't mean there's something wrong with it.

To answer this question though, I recommend:

1) Check Carfax
2) Check Autocheck
3) Check Lexus dealer service history (get a printout from the selling dealership, not just from Lexus.com, since the former shows more detail)
4) Get a thorough pre-purchase inspection at a Lexus dealership and ask specifically to check for evidence of accidents

I recommend checking both Carfax and Autocheck because there have been multiple CL members who have bought CPO cars only to find later they had been in accidents that hadn't been reported on one of the two reports (but was reported on the other).

Taking the negotiating tactic I advocated above (asking them to sell it to you for that price but CPO) would also help answer this question. If they say they can't certify it or won't at any price, then yes, something might be fishy.

my95tsi

iTrader: (2)

To give you an idea I bought my 2008 IS350 with the Sport Package in October 2010 for $29.5k out the door. This is $2k more than your offer with more than 20,000 miles less. At the time I bought it it was 1.5 years newer and it only had 8500 miles on it. I would say that can do better than this. $25k out the door would be more reasonable.

Herofmine

Wow you got great deal then!!! I couldn't find for that low price, today I went to other dealer 08 is350 with 32k ml, it's certified bumper to bumper 3 years 100k ml, $25000 got 3.9% apr, they also going to install clear shield protecting film, so monthly payment going to be $380, I test drove the car drives great body is good only thing is 2 small scratches on rear bumper, it's a luxury package everything but without mark Levinson*

Used car prices are very high right now, this is my first loan, I have short credit history I think I got great offer on financing.