mj99

Hi all...long story short my lease ended on a Toyota, and my wife and I decided to step up and buy a Lexus RX 350. I have only purchased and sold a couple cars in my 40 years on Earth, so this is still always a new experience.

We found a beautiful 2013 RX 350 with approx 45,000 miles. 2 owners. It has everything we want feature/cosmetic wise.

The ask was $25,500 which seems high based on KBB, but based on inventory at local dealers and private party only moderately so. I went to a dealership and looked at 3 Lexus' that were 4-5k more and they were not nearly as nice. Even if they came down to the same price I wouldn't have wanted the dealership vehicles.


So we agreed to a lower price of 22,500 after some major haggling, and I gave him a cash deposit.

I then pulled a carfax, and of course low and behold there is a report of damage(no accident) just prior to when he purchased the vehicle. The service records from the dealership also stop at 35,000 in 2015, and again there are only 45,000 miles currently. I of course questioned him on the accident and he insists it involved a collision that caused some deep scratches(according to the previous owner).

I pulled an autocheck report as well, but no mention of damage at all. It does rate the car on their weird scale of 83-88, it's scoring this vehicle as a 92.

There are some red flags here that at my age and this price(although minimal to many) I don't feel like I should overlook. While he does have my deposit, which I believe I could get back at this point, what next steps would you take to verify the integrity of the vehicle? I know when I sell stuff I don't want someone to be a royal pain in my *** making me prove stuff, but gave him the benefit of the doubt until the carfax came back with that issue(it doesnt give specifics or who reported it).

Is there anything else I can or should do with the VIN to verify anything?

He also claims that the local dealership offered him 20,000 for it but I have no real interest in that. There are brand new tires, and he has only owned it about 14 months.

Any advice is appreciated.

Nad1370

I personally wouldnt mind to have a trained technician to look at it thoroughly.
Meaning from test driving it, racking it up to see possible hidden issues (present or future) to checking pending recalls/bulletins it needs.
If its from an independent car dealer, see if they would let you drive it to a Lexus dealer and have them check it.
They usually charge an hour labor time.

takeshi74

Get it inspected by a reputable inspector. I highly recommend this with any used vehicle purchase.

vlad_a

Vehicle was in an accident. Unless you get an expert opinion as to the extent of the repair work and you're OK with it, walk away.

mj99

Got it inspected today and the person said it was a very good car. The only thing he mentioned was it that it has a bit more rust than he expected but not a huge deal. I am unsure if rust is a MASSIVE deal or typical for a car 5+ years old. He suggested it was likely near saltwater locally.

Anyone have opinions on this?

mandyfig

If the car comes form a saltwater area or from states where there's plenty of snow (hence salt on the road) then there is a probability that salt can be found in areas most hidden from ordinary. Does not mean it is bad. Some prefer to look at the origins of a car and most select cars that have lived in the southern portions of the US.

At the end of the day, it is always a gamble. The key is to lower the risk.

mcomer

Were any of the CarFax / Autocheck entries from saltwater regions...such as Houston or Florida or New Jersey
where weather events have occurred? Thought I read that those regional events would trigger an alert but
maybe a Zip code nearby would not. Have you seen the title, be sure it is not stamped Salvage or Total Loss.

mj99

No all local. He suspected the car may have been parked on one of the local islands here in the PNW. He didn't make a huge deal of it but it isn't an east coast vehicle or anything. It originated here.

Clutchless

Do not worry about the under chassis rust. That is typical of this vehicle. None of the rust will get bad enough to affect the integrity of the components and none of it will be on the body. I got mine after it was on Long Island for 2 years and it has lots of under chassis rust on axles, control arms, other suspension components and that is mostly just surface rust and these are thick metal components and will not rust out. Many have complained about this issue.

A final check would be to enter the VIN into the Lexus owners system online to see the service history at any Lexus dealers. A gap in service usually just means they went elsewhere. At your age and mileage all it would have needed are oil changes, engine air filter, cabin air filter and maybe a brake fluid flush, and maybe brake service or brake pad replacement.

Go to this link, join and enter the VIN as if you own it, the system allows this. https://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/

Enjoy your new ride if you get it as it sounds like a nice vehicle.

FilthyRich