I'm thinking about posting this in the 3IS section too...

Anyways, I currently have a 2010 IS250 6MT. I lease it through TMS so I get their killer lease deal that includes insurance (my dad works there so I'm lucky enough to get it through him). However, he's going to retire soon and I'm going to lose the lease deal.

The original plan was just to buy the car, but I've had a series of unfortunate events over the past year and a half that may have derailed that plan. A brief history:

I got the car new in April 2010. All was well...

Unfortunate Event 1: I got rear-ended by a huge F150. It was bad enough that the Lexus enform automatically went off (on-star equivalent) to see if everything was cool. I was OK, but the rear end was destroyed. Estimated damage was around $13-14K if I remember correctly.

Unfortunate Event 2: About a year later, my co-worker hit my car while it was in the parking lot with his early 2000 model year 4-Runner (featuring the metal bumper since it was 4WD. lucky me). This one hit the passenger side front axle/quarter panel area. Now, this doesn't sound bad since it's a parking lot, but he basically gassed it right into my car, so it kind of rode up above the wheel well and around since his 4Runner sat high and the IS is pretty low (I have pictures of this one). Damage was around $10K.

I've had the car for a little over 3 years and only have around 35K miles on it. If I were to buy it, I would pay $21K. Is it worth it despite the damage? I haven't had any issues since the last accident which was in April of 2012 and it seems to drive OK.

I know the 6MT isn't particularly common, but does anyone know of any foreseeable issues that I may not know of yet? If I don't get this car, I'll probably go with the 3IS, which will obviously be considerably more expensive.

The $21K that I would buy my car for would be the same amount I'd put on a down payment if I were to go with the 3IS, so it obviously makes financial sense to just buy my car since it'd be paid off. However, I don't want to run into any problems down the line that I should have seen coming...

Thanks in advance guys!

 

Once a car has been hit, let alone twice...and 20K+ worth of damages...holy ish...it'll never be the same...it'll be in the back of your head...for 21K i would return that lease back to the dealer in a heart beat...


21K can get you a decent is350, you should look into that...3IS will be 2x as much s forget it...but if you got money to swing then go for it.

 

I wouldn't buy your car. 21k for a damaged IS250 manual is a lot.

With 21k I would buy a used is350. Since you are familiar with the car, with a little research, you should be able to easily pick out which IS has been meticulously maintained or not.

 

Since you're in CA also, 21k should land you a pretty nice 350.

 

Yeah, that's the thing...it's already in the back of my head haha. It sucks because they don't factor in damage when giving me the purchase price. The thing is, the car has been driving fine for the past year...and some people I've talked to say that most problems from damage would have surfaced by now.

And yeah, the other option is a 2014 IS350, which is definitely a sweet ride. It's just that not having a car payment is also nice, especially for a car that (other than my string of bad luck) is great.

EDIT: Sorry, I didn't notice the recommendations for a used IS350. This is also a good option that I haven't thought of. I'll definitely consider that as well...