The gold emblems are very easily replaceable FYI. Walking away from a good pre owned LS because the emblems are gold is silly.

 

Don't be afraid to look on lcpo.com nationwide, where you can find exactly the car you are looking for at the right price. Then, have it shipped. I did this last year with my '11, and it only cost $1000 to have it shipped from CA to IL. The only downside was that since it was a CA car from day 1, I could not bring myself to drive it in salt - so I store it Nov-April.

 

My car was brand new from day 1, it'll get driven in the salt

I'm just saying, its a nice car but don't let how nice it is keep you from driving it and enjoying it.

 

For when I find my LS I did find they gut that puts these on for the dealers, 2-300 less and 1/2 mile from my home. One more thing out of the way.

 

Sorry I did not directly reply. Yes I have lugged in the numbers. This is NADA

Total Base Price $28,837 $31,562 $33,862 $36,437

The dealer is Hoffman, not a great dealer rating. I am actually concerned that this car was not driven enough with less than 2,000 a year. Maybe that is nuts. I am thinking more now of a '12 at the 40k price point (maybe a bit more)... I fo want low miles as I intend to keep the car for a long time. The last number from NADA is retail for 7800 miles.

 

I wouldn't worry about the car not being driven enough...

 

See, I am getting nuts.

Here are the negatives
7 year old car when '16's roll our
Silly things, some can be addressed like gold emblems, gold pinstripe
Tan interior ( I don't like the light colored carpet)
New Bridgestone tires dealer does not want to hear about
Not evaluated yet for Windnoise
$36k seems like going retail, still might be high but it is CPO


Positives
$36000 seems to be retail price with low miles
Low miles
CPO


I have continued to read these threads here and info on the net. If I can get a '12 with low 20k miles for $40k, up to $42k or so it seems I will get some added things in the car, Wind Noise issue possible resolved, control learn issue not as prevalent from my readings


So I sit here on my 64th birthday like a confused kid.

 

Happy Birthday!

Yea, sometimes these things can get you a little nuts. Just step away and breathe for a while. Sure someone could buy the car from under you, but there are plenty of other deals to come.

Besides, the dealer needs to sell the car more than you need to buy it.

 

IMHO, great deals don't come along every day with popular cars. So you need to decide if you're OK with a fair deal in short time, a good deal in longer time, or a great deal for even longer time.
If patience isn't part of your make up, then you better have deeper pockets. Everyone would like a great deal on the first car they find. Life just doesn't always work that way.
You really need to decide what makes you happiest now that you've be given many opinions and resources.

 

Thanks guys... You both correct. Patience is a virtue that I am getting a bit better at and taking that much needed deep breath.

 

When I started looking for an LS, I also saw a car that I thought I should buy and was a little bummed when we (my wife and I) decided to pass on it. But in the long run it worked out for the best by a long shot. For your reference, I bought mine exactly a year ago. It was a 2011 LWB with 32k miles and has every available option with the exception of the executive seating. I didn't think that I would be lucky enough to find such a car but I did, and it was mine for a bit over $40k. I was the first person to see it after it was taken in on a trade at a Benz dealer and the dealer reluctantly came down $5k from what they were asking. So it is possible to find good deals on the color/option combo that you want. Just takes time and effort.

Generally speaking, I would offer two tips.

First, make a list of options that you absolutely want in the car. After looking at the first LS, we decided that we absolutely want a LWB car with dynamic cruise/PCS, ML, air, and rear seat upgrade package. With this list I knew that if I end up with a different car I will always regret missing some option that I really wanted, and it made it much easier to discount cars that simply didn't fit the bill.

And second, don't focus on the ultra-low mileage cars especially if you're going to be driving it any appreciable amount of miles. Not only are miles are not always indicative of car care, those 10,000 miles could become 20,000 during one year of your ownership with the car being no different in terms of its shape. Ultra-low miles also command a premium that is typically hard to justify in the real world unless you are resorting to the "feel good" factor. These cars age very well, and a well maintained but regularly driven LS should deviate very little from one that has very low miles. (As a side note, obviously my comments should be considered in context of comparing a ~10k/20k mile car to a 30k/40k mile car and not in the context of comparing a 10k mile car to a 110k mile car.)