I'd avoid buying an Illinois car (especially Chicago-area), cars take a beating there from the lousy roads, extreme weather, road salt, etc

 

I will second this. I'm from Illinois, and I had to search forever to find a clean Lexus around here. Rust is a major problem for cars in the Chicagoland area, and most LS's are daily drivers, so the salt and crappy roads are unavoidable. Cars from Tennessee on south tend to be cleaner.

 

Find one owned by a retiree. I found my LS with 25k mi last yr, meaning just 4-5k mi/yr. That, with all the service records shows the car was rarely driven and well maintained.

But yes, avoid high mileage cars from the rust belt.

 

^ If thats most people's thoughts, my car will never sell haha

 

I'm much more referring to the avg rust belt owner. I'll bet you take good care of your pride and joy though, so I would feel safe buying from someone like you . I always run my car through a touchless wash with undercarriage spray ASAP after going out on a slushy winter day.

 

^I get a car wash at least every two days haha