Tharper1

InToyoda

Depends on you as a buyer and if that is THE CAR you are looking for. I would not be willing to settle on a car one bit at that price point ~ would probs be worth it to get it 151 point inspected before purchase by a local lexus dealer as well if you want the peace of mind, and if they do find something, It just means the price will go further down.

The longer you wait and that car does not sell however, the more he(seller) will be willing to knock off the asking price as well, on the same token if someone else out there does want it, it can get scooped up under your nose as well.

Legender

Not budging on the price? Seems he lied about the OBO in his ad. Hate it when that happens. It is over priced. In the end, if you're driving this next month, will you feel good about the price you paid? Are you more interested in the deal or getting the car of your dreams. I do love the mud flaps. The LS is one of the 1st cars I've had that did not come with them.

This one popped up recently in DFW area. Few more miles, but close to the same car for less money. And the TB has already been done.
https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/ct...527083853.html

Good Luck!!

ahxks1

According to carfax, this vehicle had 32k miles in 2011. That was the last servicing that appears in carfax. It was registered in December at over 60k miles. Red flag

bloomwcjkl

Send him the Dallas Craigslist post. Timing Belt -$1,000. 25k less miles is worth something, say $2,000. So $12,000 to $13,000 would be the price range to offer. If he won't budge, move on. More LS fish in the sea.

I bought a mint 04 (not Ultra) with 64k miles for $12,000. I probably paid a bit too much, but it was babied and the couple was in their 80s. They washed the car more than they drove it.

I like the white/tan combo. Tan is harder to keep clean, but if you are out of harsh winters, then it isn't much of an issue.

TriC

There are some red flags with that Dallas car. Described as an '02, it has a later rear bumper, wheels, and Smart Key. Although obviously an Ultra, it lacks headlight washers. Perhaps the bumpers and wheels were replaced, but the Smart Key thing is really strange unless I'm wrong about it not being available until '04.

zbimmer

AHXKS1 I'm looking at the Carfax report and there isn't a 60k mile reference anywhere. It shows last reported odo at 32k and change. So I don't know what you are looking at. Carfax guarantee's the odo, damage and lemon history.

I understand the concern for the timing belt. So I gather none of you feel that a TB that goes a reported 150k to 200k without a failure is going to fail on a 37k car? Or is this just something to use against the owner to get the price down more? The way I was looking at the car is that it only has 37k miles on the whole car, which is more valuable than just the TB. The owner even covers the car while it is in his garage along with his other BMW's.

I'm a little confused in that you guys seem to be comparing apples and oranges. Saying I can get a 460 for twice the price and two to three times the mileage and that is a direct comparison to this car. Not for arguing the issue, but is that really what you are telling me? I haven't seen the 460 listing so I don't know if it has the UL package or not. Carfax with their pricing puts the car at $14k with this mileage, though I don't think they give any value to the UL package. KBB is the only value reporting entity that even has a listing of the UL option package. NADA doesn't list it or even know about it.

Now if it was your car, what would you sell it for? I'm not trying to debate this, but I haven't found anything to compare this too at the $15k price point. All of the other LS cars I've looked at on ebay and autotrader have 100k plus miles on them. What is 37k miles worth? Not just on the TB but the whole car?

ahxks1

i'll message you privately.

Gronemus

You didn't do a very good job of telling KBB how it was configured. They state a range from $8455-$12,072.

TriC

The timing belt service is an issue in 2 related ways: the lack of such service impacts the car's value and it is leverage in negotiating the price. Only an unwise buyer would think that because a vehicle has only 37,000 miles there is no need to have it changed. The part is 16 years old and it would only be prudent to have the service performed ASAP.

As I suggested in an earlier post, this is not a unicorn car. Low mileage LS 430s come on the market with some frequency and they tend to sell promptly. In fact, due to the age of these models, optional equipment does not typically affect value. Unless the air ride has been changed, this is especially true of Ultras as the pluses and potential repair risk balance out for most buyers.

Here, you seem to really like this particular car, so go negotiate a price and pull the trigger. There's nothing worse than the one that got away!

zbimmer

Here's Carfax's number. $13,950.

InToyoda

Agreed, the timing belt is an issue. It could've snapped on you when you test drove it. have you not seen a 16 year old timing belt before?? http://pages.addisonauto.com/hubfs/I...569-edited.jpg

if the belt does indeed snap (can someone say, ticking time bomb?), these motors are interference and it will need valves at least, and the labor is not cheap. this is a lack of maintenance on the original owners part

InToyoda

I think KBB is a little low with this estimate, however, that's assuming proper TB maintenance. I would almost say 12k is spot on for this car

Gronemus

At $15k the car is overpriced coming from a private party, IMHO. If it was at a dealer you might be able to have them provide a warranty with the sale that would cover the car for a certain amount of time. Let's say you end up buying the car for the asking price. If you manage to keep the car for 10 years do you really car if you paid a few grand extra for it? It's hard to put a value on a car this old when it has low miles like this one. You can find better values out there but if having ultra low miles is important to you then your choices are going to be more limited.

You certainly can use the timing belt as a bargaining chip although I wouldn't be worried of the belt suddenly breaking any time soon.

As far as the seller lying about the OBO part of his ad, would you accept the lowest offer after only having the car listed for three days? I don't think so...

Gronemus

Me thinks you worry too much about the timing belt. Do you know the age of the one in the picture? What car is it out of? I can show you the picture of mine that I took out last fall that's 14 years old and it looks like new.

That being said, I'd still use it as a bargaining chip.

To the OP, are you looking for validation from the forum for your purchase? On the internet you will get conflicting answers to just about any question that you ask. Just do your homework as far as checking out the car. If you like it, make him a reasonable offer and if he doesn't take it. Move on...