UDel

I am looking at a few LS's now, 2 stood out as more what I want but they both have red flags.

1) is a 2011 grey Touring edition, around 38K miles, it has good service history at dealerships but after it being taken in for not blowing hot air(they refilled coolant) and not holding a charge(put it on a battery tender) the car just went straight to auction a few hundred miles later before being bought by a smaller used car dealership. Seller says it was bought at a Carmax auction, carmax would not give me any info on the car or even confirm if it was sold at the auction of course but they said it is not a selling point and there is normally a reason it went to auction and they did not sell it which has me concerned, carmax said they give the buyers information what was wrong with the car after a inspection but the seller says nothing was wrong, tried to say carmax does not sell many Lexus cars which is not true or they don't sell cars over 4 years old which is not true either, said he did not do anything to the car. I have paid attention to LS460's for sale and have never seen this one for sale so I don't understand why the owner would just put it in auction instead of selling it him self or trading it in or why carmax did not want it to sell. The closest Lexus dealership won't do PPI's for a vehicle you don't own for liability reason so I would have to take it to one further away. It is priced kind of high too, close to 26K and in a different state. Dealer says no warranty aside from a 3 month drivetrain.

2) is a 2012, grey with light tan interior, RWD and has ML with 53K miles being sold at a Caddy dealership but it has pretty much no maintenance history from carfax/Lexus owners club, a oil change at around 5K miles and a drivability check at 12K miles after hitting road debri, says engine cover was replaced, and really nothing else, had what I believe is a fuel injection service done within a year at a Chevy dealership but nothing else. Dealership says he found nothing of any other maintenance, not even in the owners manual which sounds very odd someone would only take it once for service at the dealership or any place that reports to carfax for the first few years of ownership. At one point the car I believe was put in auction too. This one is not very close either and also pricey at around 26K.

Would these be cars you would even consider or do they set off too many alarm bells, do you think they are worth taking a trip to check out or do they seem like trouble, ever bought a similar history car with issues/no issues. I do like them, the Touring edition more but they are both priced too high especially considering the red flags/where being sold.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

My current 460L went through the auctions once or twice, and my previous corvette Z was actually a REPO which also went through auctions, and I had no problems with either.

At the end of the day just make sure you check out the car, with auction cars id watch for damages and repairs, and mileage rollbacks.

roadfrog

Agree with *****. Just pick the one that you like, and get it checked out. FWIW, it sounds like the second car is the better option.

SW17LS

I also wouldn't worry about auctions. Most time the decision to sell it at an auction just has to do with inventory, or what they gave for the car, if they gave so little they can turn a quick profit at auction, thats business.

I would have them inspected by a dealer, and if all checks out go for it.

Nospinzone

Mbbarron

I think both of these particular vehicles may have red flags. In my experience, cars like this at non-Lexus dealerships are the ones that have problems. I would steer clear. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't buy a car that went through auction. But I would do my homework to find out as much as possible about the history and definitely do a PPI.

satiger

iTrader: (1)

Both good and bad apples end up in auction. Once I was in Lexus dealership looking for a Lexus car. Noticed a nice jeep on the lot. Asked the sale guy about that and he told me it was trade in and after the trade-in they found a transmission problem with that jeep and pulled out of sales and selling to an auction. Same token, even a good condition car will end up in auction depends on surplus/market conditions.

car 1 - no heat was reported due to low coolant. How services were done on that car?. With regular maintenance such wouldn't have happened unless there is a sudden leak. I am just stating this as an example for type of maintenance that may have been performed on this car. Either previous owner could've been ignorant of maintenance or didn't want to spend money on it.

Car 2 - may have been maintained at non Lexus dealerships. Not knowing any such history would put me into uneasy owning it. If one spends $ > 70k to own a car, why can't they spend $150 to do an oil change at Lexus?.

As Paul stated, seems like you are not comfortable with either of these two. Why not look other cars?.

SW17LS

satiger

iTrader: (1)

Having the service records is important regardless of place of service. Having done at Lexus will automatically maintenance digital records. I don't have to collect and file it. At the least if it done at other places and having records is important to me.

I have tried Lexus, Toyota, national chains and indys. Based on attention to detail and perfection (of course with right tech - getting such is at Lexus is higher probability), I prefer Lexus dealership.

SW17LS

Mbbarron

SW17LS

213374U

I'd be willing to bet the 2012 was a fleet vehicle for a black car service.

UDel

Thank you guys for all the replies and suggestions. We all have your own instincts and experiences but it is always helpful to get second opinions from other people and listen to their experiences.

UDel

Car 1 has very good service history and one owner, every 5K at the dealership, hardly any issues, last time at the dealership in Dec 2017 owner complained about no heat and not holding charge/starting. Said low coolant so they filled with coolant, say they saw no leaks and they used/gave it a battery tender, then just a few hundred miles later it was put up for sale and was bought at auction. Just sounds odd it would go straight to auction or Carmax did not want it for their own sales. Last thing on carfax is a duplicate title. I don't mind buying cars that were sold at auction if there is maybe a little information why, this just seems odd that what looks like a good car/service history/low mileage/one owner went to auction and was not sold privately, traded in, or sold to a dealership first.

Car 2 I have the same feeling, why no history or documentation anywhere, it is a one owner, very recently sold at auction after going for sale at a Chevy dealership in February 2018,it had a Induction service about a month latter at same dealership, and then it went to auction in April 2018 where a different dealership bought it. I do a lot of DIY but I still keep receipts and write down all the services and the dealers says there is none of that. I don't mind if the owner did DIY or took it to a local mechanic as long as there is some confirmation/documentation so I would not be concerned it went so long between oil changes.

I am looking at other cars, these 2 just stood out recently, they are priced high though to me. Car 1 is the one I was leaning a little more too just because of the interior color combo and darker grey and solid history, I can live without ML though it would be nice, only thing I really want ML for is the DVD video hack/playback.