dmmoroney

Hi everyone. New here. I am looking at a 2003 LS 430 with 225K miles. Original owner is selling, he says it was well maintained and that it is all highway miles. He's asking $5K, which seems high to me considering the mileage. My annual commute is about 5,500 miles, and I will be driving under 10K miles per year most likely.

Here's the listing: http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/5578920195.html

Any thoughts from you guys? Thank you.

Legender

Initial thoughts are this pricing is high for that many miles, but then I'm comparing it to DFW area.

I'd want the full service history and to verify the timing belt/seals/pulleys were changed also.
Along with regular / fresh fluids.

Any used car will require you to put some additional monies into it to get it up to your standards.

Can you find one with lower miles on it?

If it's been well cared for and the seller has the records it might be worth a bit less.
What is the interior like? Worn? replaced?

Here's one for only maybe $2k more (or less) with 100k less miles. This one appeals to me more than the high mileage one. You may end up paying less up front, but may have more repairs later.

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/cto/5551318493.html

dmmoroney

I'm going to see it in person tomorrow afternoon, it's about 30 minutes from me. Looks to be in great shape though. He listed new tires & brakes, and he says he maintained it regularly at a Lexus dealer, but had oil changes done at a local garage. But there's an 02 I'm looking at with 110K miles for $6K, but it's about 2 hours from me.

Bocatrip

Even without looking at it, what decent used car out there is selling for $5,000? Then take into consideration the amount of money you will probably be pouring into the car to keep it running ( and of course not replacing/repairing everything). Might be better off paying 7-8 Thou for something with 100K less miles.

Tom57

Be aware that when you get up over 200K+ miles, there can be other than maintenance items that may need attention which the 100K - 150K miles LS's don't need yet. Examples: camshaft seals that leak, radiator leak, catalytic converters, shock/strut, etc.

dmmoroney

Yeah, maybe if it was like $3K I'd pull the trigger, but the last thing I need is to get a car for $5K that needs another $5K in work over the next year or two.

Bocatrip

High mileage is high mileage. An old car is an old car regardless of the record it might have for reliability,. Once you are going over 200K be prepared to spend money and some items can be very pricey. Even if the car was given to you, at some point your full time job may very well be maintaining the car in running condition. If your ok with that, you can try to steal the car.

2KHarrier

FWIW, It's worth taking a look at. See if you can get the VIN from the owner and run it through the Lexus Owners site. You'll see any and all maintenance that was done to the car, outside of the oil changes, which I would hope he would have record of.
The car does look clean, but looks aren't everything......

Coulter

It depends on the condition and maintenance history. And EVERYONE likes to say its "highway" miles.

Even though these are really reliable cars, things wear out and you should budget for repairs. The entire suspension will likely have to be rebuilt for one. If you're not doing that work yourself, you could easily be looking at $2,000.

Personally, I'm at the age where I'm just not interested in fooling with a daily driver with that many miles and would rather pay more for one that's nicer. If say $7k buys a really nice one with half the mileage, that's the direction I would go for.

SonicMotor

iTrader: (19)

My old LS430 had 235k on it and ran like a top. Check your maintenance records as said by just about everyone else in here.

If the car has been maintained, you can use the mileage as leverage to bargain more. $5,000 seems cheap to me, and still way cheaper then what you can touch out here in CA imo.

yoitskenn

iTrader: (4)

Seems like the better choice might be the 2hr drive.

MikeFoxx

iTrader: (8)

All good points ^^^^ just comes down to maintenance details and how much money you have budgeted for after the purchase. Almost any used car will need some love after the exchange.

Buy lower miles at higher cost spend less in the refresh or buy high miles lower cost and spend more to get it solid. When you look at that then lower miles usually will win the vote... unless the high miles has SADDLE INTERIOR ^_^

rld14

PM me the VIN and I will check service history if you'd like,.

dmmoroney

Here is the car that's 2 hours from me........http://www.michaelsmotorcars.net/veh...nj-id-12917277

I love the color combo of the higher mileage car, but 225K miles vs 110K is a HUGE difference.

dmmoroney

Here is the info pulled from Lexus Owner site on 2002 with 110K miles. All @ 102K miles on 10/4/13:

CD PLAYER FUNCTIONING AT THIS TIME CUSTOMER STATES CD WAS STUCK IN CD PLAYER, CD CAME OUT BUT DISPLAY NOW READS ERROR

MISC CUSTOMER STATES REAR SPEAKERS ARE NOT WORKING

NOISE FROM FRONT BRAKE PADS, NEEDS FRONT BRAKES CUSTOMER STATES THAT WITH THE STEERING WHEEL TURNED FULLY RIGHT OR LEFT THERE IS A KNOCKING NOISE IN THE VEHICLE. TEST AND VERIFY AND CALL WITH A REPAIR COST.

NEEDS LEFT ACTUATOR/MIRROR ASSEMBLY THE CUSTOMER STATES THAT THE SIDE VIEW MIRRORS ARE NOT WORKING. TEST AND VERIFY AND CALL WITH REPAIR COST.

NEEDS CATALYTIC CONVERTERS CUSTOMER STATES CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON

NEEDS TILT MOTOR CUSTOMER STATES THAT THE ADJUSTMENT FOR THE STEERING WHEEL UP AND DOWN IS NOT WORKING. TEST AND VERIFY AND CALL WITH A REPAIR COST.

LEXUS QUALITY VEHICLE NSPECTION - 0 CAR NEEDS - FRONT BRAKES $489.00, CATALYTIC CONVERTERS $2995.00, STEERING TILT MOTOR $1291.00, LEFT OUTSIDE MIRROR ASSEMBLY $1133.00, RESEAL ENGINE LOWER OIL PAN $426.00, WHEEL ALIGNMENT $157.00

REPLACED FRONT BRAKE PADS AND MACHINED ROTORS - CUSTOMER DENIED SERVICE - REPLACED FRONT BRAKE PADS AND MACHINED ROTORS

CATALYTIC CONVERTER - CUSTOMER DENIED SERVICE - CATALYTIC CONVERTER

MOTOR FOR UP DOWN TILT ON STEER COLUMN - CUSTOMER DENIED SERVICE - MOTOR FOR UP DOWN TILT ON STEER COLUMN

REPLACE MIRROR REMOVE DOOR PANEL TO ACCESS MIRROR HARNESS - CUSTOMER DENIED SERVICE - REPLACE MIRROR REMOVE DOOR PANEL TO ACCESS MIRROR HARNESS

ENGINE OIL PAN LEAKING - CUSTOMER DENIED SERVICE - ENGINE OIL PAN LEAKING

CHECK FOUR WHEEL ALIGNMENT AND ADJUST AS NEEDED - CUSTOMER DENIED SERVICE - CHECK FOUR WHEEL ALIGNMENT AND ADJUST AS NEEDED


Service history obviously goes much further, but this is most recent. I have concerns about the Catalytic Converter issue. No mention of it being replaced that I see.