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I wonder what happened to that '06 in Cherry Hill NJ? They said it was the best in the Western Hemisphere, and it had like 37k. Think they were asking 17.9k? Was listed only a week then gone...my thing was the 5 owner carfax hahahahahahaha
Thanks for the suggest. If they had another Briarwood, might be worth it. Hope yours is working out well.
. On that car's carfax, it says timing belt replaced, no mention of water pump, and says coolant checked. My point is it is documented by a dealer, yet not consistent. Either they forgot to list that the water pump was replaced, or they did not replace it. This is why I think the so called dealer serviced is a lot of fudge factor. We've all been to dealers and know they often don't perform things. My multipoint inspection has my clutch fluid checked off as ok. I don't even have one, my car is an auto.
Well, I got the price down closer to 10 but they won't go under. Took the car to a mechanic today for an inspection and he said that the car looked flawless and the car didn't even have a drop of fluid anywhere. He said that he had not seen one that well maintained in years. All suspension parts checked out well also and tires are in excellent shape. Every feature is in working order too. It has every major service outside the routine 5k's, The last one was at 150k.
I've been talking to Nalley about the silver 06 mentioned earlier, but they won't move off the price much. The car is sitting in my driveway right now and I just can't make a decision. I think it's a good car but another side of me is saying look at the mileage. At the same time, I think it will be hard to find many in as good of a condition for what I'm looking to spend on one.
One thing to point out, again, I spent 14k, and some people who said, "nice car," mistook 14k for $1,400. The price is on the high side for used LS430s. And it's a decision that we make consciously. Would you rather have a11 y.o. 2006 LS430, or a 2014 Toyota Camry CPO, with 30k? Let's be honest, the conventional wisdom says to buy the 3 y.o. Camry as it will potentially take care of your transportation needs for 12+ years. We are a very special breed who are willing to buy cars on avg with 80-100k and pay 5 figures for them. So unlike hot real estate, imho there's nary a reason to rush out and buy the first LS430 one sees. Ask yourself if you see yourself driving it daily--if any reservations, hold out and look at the next one.
The main reason, I believe, is the underlying belief that these are overengineered, overbuilt Toyotas, that CAN last 200k easily, and possibly 300k. If this is not true, then we are all fools to pay 5 figures for 11+ y.o. cars.....I hope this is not true!
You're exactly right, there is nothing "conventional" about shopping for a high mileage used luxury car . I can only hope that the reliability holds up to everything I've read about them. One thing I have going for me though is that my commute to work is 14 miles round trip. It would barely see 10k a year.
Again just my opinion....I paid $4k more and have 80,000 less miles. Not from a Lexus dealer but a new car dealer. When the door actuator was broken and the front brakes pulsated, they took care of it no questions asked. A Lexus Is still a car, miles are its enemy, though I think everyone here believes they can go 200k, even 300k. Regardless, I believe that $4k is worth it to remove 80,000 from the odometer. It might take me 5 yrs to get to 155k, so my extra payment bought me some time....my .02
edit...if you are confident about the car, I would tell them $8500 and leave. The next day they call and offer $9500, and you settle at $8750....
Last edited by Johnhav430; Jan 31, 2017 at 07:09 PM.
Again just my opinion....I paid $4k more and have 80,000 less miles. Not from a Lexus dealer but a new car dealer. When the door actuator was broken and the front brakes pulsated, they took care of it no questions asked. A Lexus Is still a car, miles are its enemy, though I think everyone here believes they can go 200k, even 300k. Regardless, I believe that $4k is worth it to remove 80,000 from the odometer. It might take me 5 yrs to get to 155k, so my extra payment bought me some time....my .02
edit...if you are confident about the car, I would tell them $8500 and leave. The next day they call and offer $9500, and you settle at $8750....
Sound advice. 8500 is exactly what the mechanic suggested I offer. I think the fact that I'm having such a hard time making a decision should tell me something. It's not the car that bothers me.....it's the price.
I've purchased 2 LS430s from this dealership and I can say that they have high standards for the ones they keep on their lot. The one listed above seems to have a thorough service history, including the TB change at 90k.
FYI, I bought my current LS from Nalley last month. It was meticulously maintained and is in excellent condition (so says my local dealership).
This car was actually at Nalley Lexus Galleria Smyrna before it landed at the lot its on now. Still has the Nalley Galleria license plate frame on it.
FWIW, KBB shows a fair market range for a 2005 UL with 163k miles at $10,939 - $12,788.
It also shows a fair market range for a 2005 UL with 80k miles at $14,279 - $16,128. Meaning that it costs you about $3340 less for the extra 83k miles hypothetically.
What is the max amount that you want to spend on a car (not necessarily this one)? Just for a little perspective, right now on cars.com there are one hundred and two 2001-2006 LS430's with at least 160k miles for sale...
FWIW, KBB shows a fair market range for a 2005 UL with 163k miles at $10,939 - $12,788.
It also shows a fair market range for a 2005 UL with 80k miles at $14,279 - $16,128. Meaning that it costs you about $3340 less for the extra 83k miles hypothetically.
What is the max amount that you want to spend on a car (not necessarily this one)? Just for a little perspective, right now on cars.com there are one hundred and two 2001-2006 LS430's with at least 160k miles for sale...
Really only looking to spend about 11,000 max. I'm not looking for a long term vehicle, just something to last me 3-4 years. The only reason I'm shopping at this moment is we are about to have a third child and need another vehicle with enough of a backseat for 3 kids (6,3, and newborn). We have about 2 years left to pay on our family car (2014 Traverse) and then I'm going to get something newer. The plan was to drive my little single cab truck until them, but the situation has changed.
Last edited by BravoMcFox; Feb 1, 2017 at 04:58 AM.
. On that car's carfax, it says timing belt replaced, no mention of water pump, and says coolant checked. My point is it is documented by a dealer, yet not consistent. Either they forgot to list that the water pump was replaced, or they did not replace it. This is why I think the so called dealer serviced is a lot of fudge factor. We've all been to dealers and know they often don't perform things. My multipoint inspection has my clutch fluid checked off as ok. I don't even have one, my car is an auto.
The first LS430 I bought from Nalley in '14 had the TB replaced at 90k but not the water pump. I understand that some customers were told that they could hold off on the WP until 180k (unless it started leaking beforehand). I think that was stupid advice. In any event, the '05 I bought in Dec. had the TB, WP, idler, and cam seals replaced at 90k.
Really only looking to spend about 11,000 max. I'm not looking for a long term vehicle, just something to last me 3-4 years. The only reason I'm shopping at this moment is we are about to have a third child and need another vehicle with enough of a backseat for 3 kids (6,3, and newborn). We have about 2 years left to pay on our family car (2014 Traverse) and then I'm going to get something newer. The plan was to drive my little single cab truck until them, but the situation has changed.
Notwithstanding your first communication with them, I think that the Nalley folks will budge on the price. I bought my car for $900 below asking price. I negotiated the whole deal over the phone and told them that I'd drive down on the spot and buy the car pending a satisfactory test drive. It might just depend on which used car sales manager was on duty. My car had been on the lot for less than 1 week, but it was toward the end the month so maybe they wanted to move inventory.
The first LS430 I bought from Nalley in '14 had the TB replaced at 90k but not the water pump. I understand that some customers were told that they could hold off on the WP until 180k (unless it started leaking beforehand). I think that was stupid advice. In any event, the '05 I bought in Dec. had the TB, WP, idler, and cam seals replaced at 90k.
That's really interesting, I thought I read something about tensioners and idlers being every other, i.e. 180k. And when I was quoted $1,400 at Lexus (my car was at 81k at the time), it was definitely timing belt and water pump, but I'm pretty sure NO idlers and tensioner. This inconsistency defies common sense, because I had always thought (this is my first car in my life with a timing belt) that it's not necessarily the belt that breaks, but something else could seize up causing a belt problem.
I have also found online, with dealers who post their service prices, where the 90k service is like $600--that can't possibly include the timing belt, and it's not listed either. Seems like Lexus dealers can be inconsistent.....I believe I have heard that cam seals are not necessary when there are no leaks, which should be the case at 90k...
That's really interesting, I thought I read something about tensioners and idlers being every other, i.e. 180k. And when I was quoted $1,400 at Lexus (my car was at 81k at the time), it was definitely timing belt and water pump, but I'm pretty sure NO idlers and tensioner. This inconsistency defies common sense, because I had always thought (this is my first car in my life with a timing belt) that it's not necessarily the belt that breaks, but something else could seize up causing a belt problem.
I have also found online, with dealers who post their service prices, where the 90k service is like $600--that can't possibly include the timing belt, and it's not listed either. Seems like Lexus dealers can be inconsistent.....I believe I have heard that cam seals are not necessary when there are no leaks, which should be the case at 90k...
I think you're right about the inconsistencies. When I bought the '06 back in '14 I just assumed that the WP was changed at the same time as the TB. But I asked the dealership to pull the invoice and it wasn't. Further research revealed that some dealerships have the policy that if the WP shows no sign of leakage to leave it alone. That's ridiculous. As for the cam seals, I thought that they were not usually changed until the second TB service (180k). It looks like the service writer for the previous owner of my '05 advised doing everything.
I think you're right about the inconsistencies. When I bought the '06 back in '14 I just assumed that the WP was changed at the same time as the TB. But I asked the dealership to pull the invoice and it wasn't. Further research revealed that some dealerships have the policy that if the WP shows no sign of leakage to leave it alone. That's ridiculous. As for the cam seals, I thought that they were not usually changed until the second TB service (180k). It looks like the service writer for the previous owner of my '05 advised doing everything.
It's cool that we seem to know our cars, even newbies like me....the Japanese indie told me, "You know more about your car than most." The context was he said I'm glad you do your oil yourself...
I asked if they were familiar with the LS430, and the response was I did 2 timing belt jobs on my own Tundra, and we are familiar with your car.....GOOD ANSWER!!
