So I was looking for some viewpoints on a potential purchase

Both 08 and within 200$ of each other...

First one has:

57k miles
1 owner all service records
Will need rear tires by end of year
Immaculate condition in and out
But it has been in an accident (deer). Oddly enough not on the carfax.
Owner gave me the body shop work order so I know exactly what has been done. Basically new bumper, headlight assembly and some fender repair

Now the other has:

41k miles
2 owners all service records
New tires within 5k
But it was in a "left side impact with another vehicle" only info I have). This was with the first owner, current owner wasn't aware. By all accounts (high rez pics sent), this vehicle looks in great shape but I just don't know the extent of the repairs and its a 4 hour drive one way.

My dilemma is should I go for the low mileage one even tho I don't know the extent of damage or go with the first one where he is 15 mins away (first vehicle above). When I checked out this car it was impeccable. Not even curb rash. it looked and drove perfectly. And this guy was ****! Also has DVD players in the headrests. He has the original headrests as well.

As I was writing this it has occurred to me I should just go check the lower mile one out, even tho its a full day commit. What u guys think?

 

If it were me, I would go for the 57K one. I wouldn't touch anything with potential frame damage. Having a chance to meet the owner and see how careful he is with the car, that is worth more to me than a whole bunch of unknowns to save 16k miles. If it were any other car brand I might be more concerned about the miles, but the ISF is fairly bulletproof.

 

I would go with the low mileage one. First have a good look at it and maybe take it to a dealer or body shop to take a peak. Left side impact could just be a bump changing lanes in a blind spot. It would be worth the drive to me. But hey you asked for opinions.

 

its tough to choose like this i guess if the first car is really that good go with it.
how much is it if you dont mind me asking?

 

I see the SFP one with 57,000 miles you are talking about ..$38,000, private seller? ( only 4 's within 100 miles) lol

 

57k would get my choice. It might have more mileage, but if it's a good owner who's treated the car well, I'd choose that over one with less mileage and multiple owners, one of whom neglected to inform about some body damage.

Best of luck!

 

thanks for the input everyone. it is helpful

the higher one is 36,750, the lower one is 36,800 (because he was gonna split my one way rental).

know the former isn't the greatest deal, but i botched the negotiation from the get go, got too excited after i saw and drove it, ha. but i honestly don't mind paying a premium for how great of care has been taken of it.

stupid deer, if it wasn't for that i'd already be having my F! at least its dead

yeh man, all the f's seem to be in cali or texas, plus i been ruling out any cars from the midwest or northeast for the most part as well.

thanks man yeah. i'm pretty sure the other one was taken care of too, its just the low miles are so tempting. it has new tires to boot, but just hate not knowing the extent of body work that was done on it.

i guess i will probably end up driving to check it out.

 

I would go with the deer one. lol

 

With the information provided I would go with the 57000 mile ISF. Just have a trusted mechanic do a thorough inspection. If the owner disclosed an accident that isn't on Carfax and the car is clean, that is probably better than an owner the "didn't know" the vehicle was in an accident previously that was serious enough to make it on a Carfax report.

 

Carfax FTMFL again.

Without the full repair history on the lower mileage unit, and it being on second owner, the higher mileage car sounds a lot less risky.

 

Acquire the VINs, register for free on http://owners.lexus.com and put them in, you will see the entire service history. I've always been a fan of 1-owner cars, but check the extensive history before proceeding. If you left it to me I'd say neither and keep looking. Need to be patient when spending this much, especially since safety should also be a concern. The ISF isn't as common as other cars so you should be willing to travel to get a good deal.