I am going to drive 4 hrs tommorrow to look/buy a 03 LS430 with the ultra luxury package. The car is silver on black and has 39k miles,asking price is $33,950. Autocheck does not show anything and the salesman says it is in excellent condition!
This price seems tooooo low to me. Any thoughts?

Regards,
Hardmix

 

sounds like an awesome deal....4 hours is not bad if it is indeed a keeper.

I drove almost 30 Hours going home after I bought mine in IL... Of course I flew from here

Mike

 

Not too low by a long shot. I wouldn't pay over $31k personally, and not because it's not worth it. We all know the LS is "worth" far more than that.

But the reality is that the LS is a horribly slow seller on the secondary market, enough to where they're accurately priced even when -25%-35% below blue book. My non-Ultra 02 LS430 with Levinson/Nav was $26k with 58k miles and I considered that price "high" versus what the true demand for the car is.

Look before you leap. And don't expect to get anywhere near that $33k price if you need to get out of it yourself in the next year. You'll take a $5k bath on it, at least. If you're going to drive the wheels off the car over the next decade as I am, then the price is irrelevant.

 

What do you guys make of this history report?




Event Date Event Location Odometer Reading Data Source Event Detail
12/16/2002 FL 14 Motor Vehicle Dept. ODOMETER READING FROM DMV
12/16/2002 SEMINOLE, FL Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
01/03/2003 SEMINOLE, FL Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #:0087102423)
10/10/2003 SEMINOLE, FL Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
02/10/2004 CLEARWATER, FL 17,756 Dealer Record VEHICLE IN DEALER INVENTORY
02/29/2004 FL 17,757 Motor Vehicle Dept. ODOMETER READING FROM DMV
03/11/2004 SAINT PETERSBURG, FL Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE (Title #:0087102423) (Lien Reported)
03/11/2004 SAINT PETERSBURG, FL Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
05/26/2005 SAINT PETERSBURG, FL Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
05/05/2006 SAINT PETERSBURG, FL Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
07/18/2006 CLEARWATER, FL Dealer Record VEHICLE IN DEALER INVENTORY
08/08/2006 FL 39,966 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
08/15/2006 FL 39,966 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION AS DEALER VEHICLE
08/28/2006 FL 33,976 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
08/29/2006 FL 33,976 Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION AS DEALER VEHICLE
09/05/2006 DAVIDSON, NC 39,982 Independent Emission Source PASSED EMISSION INSPECTION

 

How many times has it been purchased and sold? This thing has a history. Not necessarly bad, just not sure what some of the entries mean.

 

Looks to me that it has had 2 owners. This does not bother but what does concern me is that it was at 3 auctions before it sold.

 

Seems like the car was bought and sold at Florida Auto Auction of Orlando four times in one month of August. I couldn't find your specific car's history at FAAO but the highest paid 03 LS in October was $35,400 and the lowest was $22,800.

 

yeah kinda fishy with it beiing in previous multiple auctions. You have to ask yourself why the car has been thru so many auctions. Big legit dealers will usually keep the keepers and and get rid of the lemons thru auctions.

if this dealer is advertising it for 33,000, this means they got it at around 27,000 - 30,000 dollars either as as a trade in or as a auction find, either way they are making money off of you.

I hate buying from dealers because all they are is the middleman. You should bypass the dealers and go straight to private owner sales.

 

Well I just got back, 8 hrs on the road. I bought the car from a wholesaler for 30,500 out the door. Ultra luxury package is nice but could prove a problem down the road. For now I will enjoy it!
I agree with previous posters about the multiple auctions, concerning but not a deal breaker in my mind. I will post some pics if anyone is intersted.

Regards,
Hardmix