So I went out checked out a car today. Looks good. Two deeper scratches about 1/4 inch long, very small chip on edge of trunk lid, slight paint chipping on rear bumber down to primer(scares me the most due to possible future chipping). Bird **** stain on hood, not to visable with the silver paint. Interior was clean except bezel under nav was missing some "paint" which you can see in the pics. Said he will get it replaced per manf warranty prior to purchase. Not perfect like I was hoping, but it is 3 years old. He is also going to swap the silver sport wheels with chrome 5 spokes.

Checking on financing through him and through Eloan. Any suggestions for bad credit/high income with a good credit/low income cosigner?

After that comes back, i'm going to have him take it to Lexus for a Pre Purchase Inspection.

All goes well, she will be mine! Got an acceptable deal. $29k. He's still making money on it, but I'm okay with the price (and i liked he was willing to swap wheels) Still has a little more than 9k left on stock warranty which I like. I really liked Tan/Ecru/Saddle Interior but i think I will be much happier with the black in the long term.

Wish Me Luck!


http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...4&aff=national

 

wow thats a clean LS..
good price looks good



good luck bro i know how much you love your LS's lol

 

I already know what I want for my birthday!

http://www.l-tunedparts.com/product/?id=971

Anyone have any LS pics with this Fab spoiler?

 

Congrats BigCory on the potential purchase, sounds like you're getting a pretty sweet deal.... as far as recommending a finance company goes there are a few to choose from. Although I don't know how this economy has affected them at this point in time since I haven't been in touch for some time. My first recommendation would be to look at a credit union in your area. Whoever is reputed to be the biggest credit union in your part of the world will be your best chance overall. Of course you will have to become a member and open an account but it's not really a big deal. (That is assuming you're not already a member.) If that's not an option then I would consider Nuvell, Triad Financial, AmeriCredit, HSBC, or Cap One (In no particular order) I imagine if you went to a big dealer they will find financing for you, just realize if they do get you financed at one of the above listed lenders there may be a fee involved that will be tacked on to your loan. It will vary from 3% to as much as 15% depending on your credit/financial situation. The last thing I would advise you on is to avoid any extended warranties, insurance, paint protection, etc. The only item I would recommend is GAP insurance. Of course, this is just my own experience and opinion. I'm not fully aware of your situation but I hope this gives you some good direction. Good luck with the buying process!

 

Thanks for the advice 430R, I appreciate it!

I gave the sales rep rom the lot my credit info to have him look into financing through Bank of Stockton. He said with my Fico situation my rate will be high. low/mid teens. I have a 580 Fico (perfect credit prior, just an up and coming forclosure due to coowner of my home losing their job) and near 6 digit income. My cosigner has 700+ fico with no income. Is the interest rate negotiable through the dealer? I also applied on eloan.com. I'm using 72 month and financing about 21k(29k + 8.25tax=31392.5) plus any DMV fees.

That why I wanted an LS with a little manf warranty left. I bought one for my previous car and they went bankrupt and I lost the 1k I paid. I think i'll be okay on GAP insurance since I'll be putting 10k down.


What do I need to know about the Title of the vehicle other than salvage? Like making sure it's been signed by the pervious owner? That needs to be done right?

 

Most dealers will tell you that the rate isn't negotiable, but it is. Typically what happens is the approving lender will give the dealer a "buy rate" that's the rate that you can buy the vehicle at but the dealer will only make a "flat" on the loan. (That just means they will make a flat fee for patronizing the lender.) However, if they convince you to buy the vehicle at a higher rate then they will get the flat plus a portion of the interest the lender anticipates collecting from you as you pay for the vehicle. (Of course, I am explaining this to you in the simplest of terms.) I would say if what your saying is true about your score, situation, and co-signer you should not accept anything in the double digits. (10% or higher that is.)


10K down is significant and you will probably be OK without GAP if your vehicle is stolen or totaled within the year. What you don't realize is that you will be getting a higher rate and financing for 72m. That means that your vehicle will be depreciating faster than you will be paying it off in spite of the large downpayment. GAP is cheap, like a $350 or so, (Even if it cost $500 that equates to less than .25 cents a day over the life of the loan!) I strongly encourage you to take advantage of it. (Again, that's just my opinion)

As far as the title goes, the dealer should handle all of that for you as part of the transaction. If you haven't already done so, I would request a "CarFax" report from the dealer. (AutoCheck is OK too, but nothing else is acceptable!) I wouldn't buy the car without it. I would also ask the service department if they could show you all the service history on that vehicle. They can do that based on the VIN and you can compare it based on the mileage There isn't any reason why they can't show it to you. If they hesitate, I would just walk away! On a final note, buying a car is an emotional experience. Make sure you do diligence and follow these steps so that you don't make a decision merely based on the beauty of the car. I used to sell cars with my dad and we lost alot of car deals to "pigs" because they were pretty. (Pigs were older high mileage cars that had shiny wheels and nice paint but were mechanically rough.) We had a saying "You can put lipstick on the pig and make it look pretty but it's still a pig! If you follow these steps the car should serve you well and there shouldn't be any surprises.

 

thank you sir! Once again I appreciate your help and advice! First time really buying a car (on my own) and every bit of info help to make me feel better.

 

Congrats on the new purchase.

If it's not tooo late, make sure there are at least 2 master keys, and 1 valet key. The wallet key you can live without since the other 3 smart keys are expensive to replace.

That should also give you some bargaining leverage there

Check for the spare tire and tool box. I was surprised myself when some cars I checked didn't have one

Seems like 04 Ls430 R answered the financial questions

 

Very clean LS. I'm really starting to like the brushed 18" wheels... more then my chrome ones. :/
At any rate, love the interior color, and silver with those wheels looks very thoughtfully conceived. Congratulations! And you sure got a better deal then I did!

 

Good choice on the color scheme, these wheels, and silver on black is my fav.

I will be buying one of these exact same cars in a few months in cali. I am hoping to find a euro with this color scheme. I am thinking an 04 to save a couple bucks.

I can't believe the previous owner ruined that area under the nav. What did he/she have big fingernails? I really find it annoying when car owners mistreat the interiors. It is one thing to have some door dings and parking scratches and those are pretty fixable, but interior blemishes are really close to impossible to fix, since most of it is plastic.

I would be curious to see the lexus dealer service report, if the guy/girl mistreated the interior like that, you wonder if he/she took notice of a blinking service light. You have a warranty so you are probably fine.

 

If you get the spoiler don't forget to order your $200 toyota pillow. Hilarious they sell this stuff.

http://www.l-tunedparts.com/product/?id=22

 

Kink in the financing!!!!

They won't approve the loan easily due to the upcoming/pending foreclosure. They want me to prove where i will be living after all is said in done. This will allow them to take into account the new rent payments (even though those beotches will be half what i'm paying for my portion of the house). Won't be in a lease for a few more months. So I need to try a differnent bank and see what I can find. It really sucks being financially responisible but get F_u_C_k...d by someone elses mistakes.




GS3Tek: Didn't check for a spare! Smart Man! The spare is a full size if I remember correctly. Should the rim match or is it a black/generic color? Car had three keys, not sure if the valet or wallet was one of them. Wallet key sounds like the one to have!

combres: I've actually noticed that wear on a number of LS's. I've really only looked at two of them, but online I see it alot. The trim piece is painted so one scratch and then it's down hill from there. Probably gets worse and worse. I figured the owner was left handed and wore a watch on his/her right hand. Or maybe a braclet.

 

BigCory, I still encourage you to look into a credit union. They are way more forgiving than most banks. About the living situation... do your folks live close by? Are you still living in the house that's getting foreclosed? That freaks out the lenders because they want a good address in case they have to repo the car. (That's their thought process.) I would say if you have kin folk close by use their address and go to the local DPS office to change the address on your license. The lender may ask for some form of proof that you live there (like a bill), just change the billing address on your cell phone to go the new address. Once you make the changes you can supply proof of residence by the copy of the license renewal that is issued by the DPS and print off the info page from online via your local cell phone provider. Most lenders will accept that, once that is done you shouldn't need a lease agreement because you are "living" with kin folks since your home is being foreclosed. That should suffice. Good luck, do this and you should have your issue solved. Hopefully the dealer has an aggressive financing officer. Trust me, I've done this before so I know what it takes.