shynola

hello all, i'm thinking of pulling the trigger on an 07 ls460l with 89k miles. it is on a lot here in ga. now, but until recently it has been in Miami according to the carfax. It appears to have been well maintained and regularly at the dealership there. I do not know if any of the frequent problems have been addressed as of yet (bushings, amp, etc.). However, the dealer will let me do a 3 hour test drive, at which time I had planned to have a pre-determined appt. set up with the nearest Lexus dealer so that we could crawl all over it.
My question is: if it passes the inspection, should the fact that it has spent its entire life in Fla., make me hesitate? I'm concerned about possible rust, honestly. I know "methods and materials" have changed over time and usually for the better...just curious if I should consider a different one and let this one walk due to the saltwater/salt-air. They're asking $18.9k.

thanks guys, james

Dave144239

A PPI should find rust. For a Florida car, I'd also make sure the sunroof gasket is checked, and also interior trim, especially the armrests on the doors, which (if not previously replaced) could be degraded and sticky/tacky.

jmcraney

You should Google the VIN to see if there are any links to the Florida Attorney General's site. Florida is one of the few states, or perhaps the only state, that has an open data base of Lemon-Law buybacks. Many of the low-mileage '07s were wind noise buybacks. Being a wind-noise-buyback is not necessarily a problem as that defect is usually easily repaired.

Wandl

Purely my gut opinion but $19k for a 07 LS460L is a lot of money. Miles are not a big concern to many of us LS owners should you be afraid of the "100k mile" tag. Nonetheless, there are a lot of Ls460's in Florida - as long as the recall was done in the 2007, and invest ~$100 in a PPI to ensure you know what you are getting yourself into (I would recommend PPI even if this was a 2016 with 10k miles...$100 for peace of mind is priceless).

shynola

Thanks guys! I do appreciate the feeback and info. I hadn't thought about the gasket/seal on the sunroof...and yes! It is a bundle of money..i think thats the reason for this due diligence.

After reviewing the carfax report once more...the fuel rail was replaced by the lexus dealer at 7800 miles in 09 and the ABS modulator in 2014 at 50k miles by the lexus dealer.

again, i continue to welcome thoughts on whether or not rust would become an issue...realizing coatings and paint have changed over the years.

Thanks again!

Junglequac

$18900 provided the service history is complete is a fair price. Southern cars fetch a whole lot more money than cars from the Northern climes. It is for reasons such as these that most valuation guides/tools are tailored towards specific regions.

When I was looking for my 2007, I spent a fairly substantial amount of time finding a vehicle that was a one owner that had lived its entire service life in the South. Luckily, I found just that in Charlotte, NC and the PO had every single receipt going back from brand new until my purchase and better still he never once exceeded 5000 miles while using full synthetic the whole time. (totally understand those seeing the waste in having such short OCI's when using top tier oils)

Aside from a very noticeable dent from him somehow backing into a mailbox, the car had never been in an accident and the paint was entirely original (with scratch happy Obsidian Black, this might be a mixed blessing).

The PO listed it for $17000 and I happened to be the first person who called and offered $16,500 (after poring over the Lexus Drivers website and seeing there too that the car went in like clockwork every 5k and every single service had been preformed) which he accepted.

In the two days between our agreement and meeting him, he showed me his phone and showed me a dozen texts all offering his asking price. Thankfully, he honored our agreement and I could not possibly be happier. Did end up having to get the rear decklid repainted as the dent was pretty deep and worse was right on the angle on the lid.
$860 later, it looks perfect and the rest of the car aside from swirl marks that will be tackled in the next week of two.

I lived in SW Florida for a decade on a barrier island and would really not be too concerned about the sea air. Especially if garaged. Certainly should be part of the PPI, but unless the car lived large parts in the Rust Belt, you should be golden. Between the PPI and signing up for Lexus's owners website in order to see every single thing done at either Lexus or Toyota provided there are no glaring holes, I really think that price is quite fair.

I might have missed it, but what sort of options are on the car. With things like the quite decent Mark Levinson optional sound system and navigation costing thousands of Dollars above the entry price, I have come across dozens of 460's without either of these or any of the other options. That said, if wanting to go aftermarket, the standard stereo is a much easier canvas to build a killer quality aftermarket system with things like Android Auto/Apple CarPlay and much more. Had it in my prior LX470 where I pulled the surprisingly good sounding Nakamichi system that was in the truck.

As I spared very little in terms of budget in order to have a relatively high end setup and I really do miss it sometimes. Especially no longer having a high quality subwoofer.
So to recap, PPI, making sure that the car is a true Florida car, and about an hour spent going over the service history.

LS430FL

I am a little biased because I live in S. Fl. however I see nothing wrong with buying a car in this area. I would think that rust would be a much bigger issue in northern cars with the salt roads. Anywhere that gets snow. Down here heat takes a toll on some things mainly batteries and the interior. However, what I would think is that if it was actually Miami the city it may have been kept in a garage or parking underground at a condo. Also keep in mind that Miami is full of traffic so those are probably not all highway miles. Generally these are not bought brand new by young people, they are usually 50's and up and many are garaged and pampered and that is easy to tell by the condition. Of course I would do your PPI to make sure there is nothing but I think that every area will have some good and bad things. I bought a car from the California desert before. Obviously zero rust but the hoses and bushings were dry from the 0% humidity. However, I do think that the price is high for the market.

shynola

Thanks junglequac for that input!.
Ive copied and pasted the info below as to the options..it is an "L" and pretty much loaded (by my standards)., including mark levinson, preferred accessory package, air suspension, navigation, heated/cooled seats etc (even already has the windows tinted..due to the fla heat, im sure)..

Here it is:
Features:Navigation System, Preferred Accessory Package, Mark Levinson/DVD Changer, Rear Seat Upgrade Package, 10 Speakers, AM/FM radio: XM, AM/FM Stereo w/6-Disc CD/XM Satellite, CD player, DVD-Audio, MP3 decoder, Radio data system, XM Satellite Radio, Air Conditioning, Automatic temperature control, Four Zone Automatic Air Conditioner, Front dual zone A/C, Rear window defroster, Head restraints memory, Memory seat, Power driver seat, Power steering, Power windows, Rear Climate Comfort Heated/Cooled Seats, Remote keyless entry, Seatbelt memory, Steering wheel memory, Steering wheel mounted audio controls, Four wheel independent suspension, Traction control, 4-Wheel Disc Brakes, ABS brakes, Anti-whiplash front head restraints, Dual front impact airbags, Dual front side impact airbags, Front anti-roll bar, Knee airbag, Low tire pressure warning, Occupant sensing airbag, Overhead airbag, Power adjustable front head restraints, Rear anti-roll bar, Power moonroof, Lexus Link, Brake assist, Electronic Stability Control, Advanced Parking Guidance System, Intuitive Parking Assist, Delay-off headlights, Front fog lights, Fully automatic headlights, Headlight cleaning, High intensity discharge headlights: Xenon, Panic alarm, Security system, Speed control, Auto-dimming door mirrors, Bodyside moldings, Bumpers: body-color, Door auto-latch, Heated door mirrors, Power door mirrors, Auto tilt-away steering wheel, Auto-dimming Rear-View mirror, Compass, Driver door bin, Driver vanity mirror, Front reading lights, Garage door transmitter: HomeLink, Genuine wood console insert, Genuine wood dashboard insert, Genuine wood door panel insert, Heated steering wheel, Illuminated entry, Leather Shift ****, Leather steering wheel, Outside temperature display, Overhead console, Passenger vanity mirror, Rear reading lights, Rear seat center armrest, Tachometer, Telescoping steering wheel, Tilt steering wheel, Trip computer, Trunk Mat, Front Bucket Heated Seats, Front Bucket Seats, Front Center Armrest, Heated front seats, Heated rear seats, Leather Seat Trim, Power passenger seat, Ventilated front seats, Cargo Net, Passenger door bin, Rear-Seat Cool Box, Wheel Locks, Power Rear-Door Sunshades, Rear Window Blind, Rain sensing wipers, Speed-Sensitive Wipers, Variably intermittent wipers

shynola

I appreciate that so much about the rust...obviously im looking for a reason to buy it instead of not buying it.
Their asking price is probably a little high...lets hope there is a little wiggle room in the price!
Thanks again!

Junglequac

I lived approximately 20 years right on the coast and between Charleston, SC and Siesta Key, Florida and never once did I encounter rust. I really think it is the brine/salt/et al that is sprayed prior to and after snowy/icy conditions.

I too would have zero trepidation about purchasing a car from S. Florida. As there have been a few hurricanes in the preceding years since the car has been in service, it makes it that much more important to have a PPI preformed. Another key indicator would be largish gaps in the service history. That said, the dealers there tend to be quite upfront about such things and most dealers will not touch water damaged vehicles with a 10 foot pole.

In Tennessee, you cannot even do a rebuilt title on a flood damaged car which makes sense and electrical gremlins are an amazingly tough issue to overcome. Considering the price of the car you are looking at, the chances are infinitesimal for that to be the case.

DarKnight

iTrader: (3)

I honestly think rust would be more of a concern for a car that was from up north (I'm originally from NJ) not so much down here. As far as the asking price, I would say try to get them to come down. I paid $18k for my 2007 last year with 93k miles with regular Lexus maintenance it's whole life.

shynola

I agree. That's where I'd like to be myself...thanks!

lextout

the 07-09 ls460's can be had for less then 12k under 100k miles, clean title with 10k$ plus in dealer service invoices,just gotta be patient, happends once in a while, but the question is, how bad do you really want it?????

DavidinCT

I live in CT but, I was temped to go to FL to get a LS460.... In New England it's hard to get Dymamic Cruse on cars in the 2007-2008 models. I found a few LS460L 2007 models that were around 110-125k on them with tons of features including the dynamic cruse for under $15K...

I had a few saved that I wanted go to look at but, $250 for a flight on a maybe just turned me off a little and my wife gave me a big NO taking a few days out of work to go buy a car ( think she wanted to go to FL more, as when I was looking it was in the 20's out here).

Junglequac

Perhaps in the NE and maybe some auctions, but at least in the Southeast, I have not seen any. That said, I have not looked an Manheim in quite some time. I do know Black Book when I gave it to a friend who is a dealer, when describing my particular car, the BB was $17,000 and was considered "a high demand car" or somesuch.