Well, the search is back on, Passed on the car when I saw it...
02-06-05, 02:27 PM
#1
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Well, the search is back on, Passed on the car when I saw it...
My little adventure to New York City turned out quite dissapointing. Returned home quite empty handed. I think I made the right decision, though.
I had clearly asked if the car had any major dings, dents, or scratches, and the seller replied "not even minor ones". I had caught them in a lie or two already, but I was willing to take the risk. And FYI, I tried to have a 3rd party inspection done, but as odds would have it, the Teterboro Jet crash was the same day and traffic would not allow the inspector to get to the car.
When I got to inspect the vehicle at 9:00 PM in a dimly lit warehouse with a flashlight, I was befuddled to say the least. The ENTIRE, and I mean the whole thing - roof and trunk lid/spoiler was scratched TO HELL. It looked like a cat's claws had been drug up and down, back and forth. It reminded me of raw layers of fiberglass (very fibrous). You could feel it, too.
Anyway, they kept on discounting the agreed upon price, claiming it was getting late, and they needed to go home, they'd already stayed 4 hrs past closing. He tried to convince me to just take it, but if they lied about that I wasn't sure what else they lied about. Negotiations left with 1100$ off the price on a 98 SC400 97,000 miles, but I just couldn't make the commitment.
All in all, got out of the entire trip for under $400, so I don't think I did that bad, just pisses me off, that people can't be more honest. I mean, did they really expect that I just "wouldn't notice," or do people think that once you are there you will want to leave with something, and take it even if it's not what is expected?
Lesson learned: Get a 3rd party inspection, NO matter what the cost!
Off to search again for my 98+ SC400 Black interior...Don't know if I'll have it by Old Town or not...
I had clearly asked if the car had any major dings, dents, or scratches, and the seller replied "not even minor ones". I had caught them in a lie or two already, but I was willing to take the risk. And FYI, I tried to have a 3rd party inspection done, but as odds would have it, the Teterboro Jet crash was the same day and traffic would not allow the inspector to get to the car.
When I got to inspect the vehicle at 9:00 PM in a dimly lit warehouse with a flashlight, I was befuddled to say the least. The ENTIRE, and I mean the whole thing - roof and trunk lid/spoiler was scratched TO HELL. It looked like a cat's claws had been drug up and down, back and forth. It reminded me of raw layers of fiberglass (very fibrous). You could feel it, too.
Anyway, they kept on discounting the agreed upon price, claiming it was getting late, and they needed to go home, they'd already stayed 4 hrs past closing. He tried to convince me to just take it, but if they lied about that I wasn't sure what else they lied about. Negotiations left with 1100$ off the price on a 98 SC400 97,000 miles, but I just couldn't make the commitment.
All in all, got out of the entire trip for under $400, so I don't think I did that bad, just pisses me off, that people can't be more honest. I mean, did they really expect that I just "wouldn't notice," or do people think that once you are there you will want to leave with something, and take it even if it's not what is expected?
Lesson learned: Get a 3rd party inspection, NO matter what the cost!
Off to search again for my 98+ SC400 Black interior...Don't know if I'll have it by Old Town or not...
02-06-05, 03:50 PM
#3
Sadly, I had a very similar experience a month or so ago. I flew up to NYC to pick up my new '98 black SC300 - it was promised in perfect condition, and I had asked many times about specific details of condition. After booking my flight, and taking a 100$ cab ride to the lot - the car was miserable. Had scratches all over, and I thought there was a slight chance it may have even been wrecked (Although carfax said it was clean).
400$ and a wasted day of my life later, I returned home empty handed.
Sorry to hear , but be glad you left it. You will find the right one, and it will all be worth it!
400$ and a wasted day of my life later, I returned home empty handed.
Sorry to hear , but be glad you left it. You will find the right one, and it will all be worth it!
02-06-05, 04:27 PM
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Similar thing happened with me, except the guy was only an hr away. Drove up there to look at this 95 dakar yellow m3 and he told me the car was mint except the paint was faded well it had like "stress cracks" in the paint all over an I tried to negioate by 500 dollars even though he was already asking way too much (had 120k miles and a 95 for 12,500 when book value is like 9k with the paint like that!) so I walked away, and the car is STILL for sale 3 months later I bet he wish he would of took my offer now all over 500 measly dollars 
02-06-05, 05:12 PM
#5
Lexus Champion
sorry to hear about your luck. ill look around and see what i can find. i have had pretty good luck finding cars.... as i was in sales at one time. just pm me with that your willing to spend, and exactly what you want. ill do what can to help. hopefully we can get you in an SC by the 19th!!!
02-06-05, 07:08 PM
#7
This is funny to read about, 4 days before I leave to go to NYC to look at a car 
Hopefully I won't have these problems that you guys encountered. I plan on taking the car to a mechanic before I purchase - it's a long drive home and I got burned last time. This time I will be smart enough to walk away if necessary. But, I have a lot of faith in the seller as he is a goodstanding member of CL.
NY cars are getting a bad rap.
Sorry to hear about your wasted trips,
Jonny
Hopefully I won't have these problems that you guys encountered. I plan on taking the car to a mechanic before I purchase - it's a long drive home and I got burned last time. This time I will be smart enough to walk away if necessary. But, I have a lot of faith in the seller as he is a goodstanding member of CL.
NY cars are getting a bad rap.
Sorry to hear about your wasted trips,
Jonny
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02-06-05, 09:09 PM
#8
There are a lot of sc owners in the tri-state area, before venturing out here im sure if you ask maybe some club lexus owners may have seen this car or can even check the car out for you before you come down and make your decision. I went through something similar in searching for an SC for my friend. We drove 700 miles to Indiana from New York, with car rental costs and the fact that my friend had sold his car and he relies on a car to get to school, we were forced to take the sellers word that the car was in good condition with no accidents and the car was functioning mechanically welll. THE WORSE PART ABOUT THIS WAS THE FACT THAT THIS MEMBER IS ON CLUB LEXUS AND I AM SURE HE KNEW THAT THERE WERE PROBLEMS WITH THIS CAR BUT NEGLECTED TO TELL US IN ADVANCE.
Due to the fact that my friend had already spent $$$ on car rental and gas and time spent in driving out there we picked up the car anyway. The car has come along way since the day it was purchased but heres what happened since buying the car:
Rented a car, drove to Indiana leave at 9pm and arrive at 7:30am at sellers door that morning.
We take a look at the car, here i noticed the problem areas
1. Crack in windshield (as described by seller)
2. Bumper is not aligned, can easily tell car was hit before (not told by seller)
3. Power steering pump leak (not told by seller) but was told it could be leaking when i pointed it out.
4. Cd changer was not in the trunk, it was removed but seller gave us one he picked up and guaranteed it was in working condition (after mounting the changer, the cd changer does not work)
5. windshield molding is seen rubbing against the door and chipping away the paint as the door opens and closes. (was not told by the seller)
6. Brand New Headlights with HIDs, but HID bulbs are d2s and are not even retrofitted into the housing instead they are glued with silicon and you can see the bulb hanging out of the headlight housing.
7. Alignment badly needed for the car, Steering wheel is way off, lexus logo on sterring wheel practically side ways in order to get the car to drive straight. 2 weeks down the road after getting alignment back in the city turns out the rack and pinion is gone and needed replacing.
8. Needles on the guages were out ( was not told by seller)
9. Window controls are different colors, interior is tan, we had gray window controls, the passenger window acts up when rollling up and down, there are times when there is no power going through it. (not told by seller)
10. Interior, door panels were cracked , there were major signs that door panels were removed before and not placed back in the right place, Valve cover screws found in the cup holder.
The only good thing was that the engine still sounded smooth and transmission was smooth
When i got in the car to test drive it:: Car dies out, at the light, was told it was a loose battery connection by the seller sitting in the car. (this was not a good sign especially since we needed this car to drive 700 miles back to NYC.
Car was extremely low on gas at the time, we were practically running on fumes. After getting gas, the car never died out again. Seller still claims everything is mechanically functioning well.
I notice the steering wheel getting very tight, pop the hood, power steering is leaking at a very fast rate.
We ended up picking up the car but knocking off about 1200 dollars off the price, this was still not a good deal considering the problems that we encountered on the way home.
This was in the middle of November and temperatures must have dropped into the teens that night comming home from indiana, t he heat suddenly stopped working.
This was a nightmare driving the car home. A week later the drivers side window falls down and
that also needed to be repaired.
THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF I HAD ASKED SOMEONE ON THIS FORUM WHO MAY HAVE LIVED NEAR BY TO CHECK IT OUT OR TAKEN SOME 2ND OPINIONS FROM MEMBERS WHO MAY HAVE CHECKED IT OUT BEFORE DECIDING TO TAKE THE TRIP THERE.
THE SELLER GETS
The car is getting back to Lexus Standards as we are still working on repairing all these flaws listed above.
Due to the fact that my friend had already spent $$$ on car rental and gas and time spent in driving out there we picked up the car anyway. The car has come along way since the day it was purchased but heres what happened since buying the car:
Rented a car, drove to Indiana leave at 9pm and arrive at 7:30am at sellers door that morning.
We take a look at the car, here i noticed the problem areas
1. Crack in windshield (as described by seller)
2. Bumper is not aligned, can easily tell car was hit before (not told by seller)
3. Power steering pump leak (not told by seller) but was told it could be leaking when i pointed it out.
4. Cd changer was not in the trunk, it was removed but seller gave us one he picked up and guaranteed it was in working condition (after mounting the changer, the cd changer does not work)
5. windshield molding is seen rubbing against the door and chipping away the paint as the door opens and closes. (was not told by the seller)
6. Brand New Headlights with HIDs, but HID bulbs are d2s and are not even retrofitted into the housing instead they are glued with silicon and you can see the bulb hanging out of the headlight housing.
7. Alignment badly needed for the car, Steering wheel is way off, lexus logo on sterring wheel practically side ways in order to get the car to drive straight. 2 weeks down the road after getting alignment back in the city turns out the rack and pinion is gone and needed replacing.
8. Needles on the guages were out ( was not told by seller)
9. Window controls are different colors, interior is tan, we had gray window controls, the passenger window acts up when rollling up and down, there are times when there is no power going through it. (not told by seller)
10. Interior, door panels were cracked , there were major signs that door panels were removed before and not placed back in the right place, Valve cover screws found in the cup holder.
The only good thing was that the engine still sounded smooth and transmission was smooth
When i got in the car to test drive it:: Car dies out, at the light, was told it was a loose battery connection by the seller sitting in the car. (this was not a good sign especially since we needed this car to drive 700 miles back to NYC.
Car was extremely low on gas at the time, we were practically running on fumes. After getting gas, the car never died out again. Seller still claims everything is mechanically functioning well.
I notice the steering wheel getting very tight, pop the hood, power steering is leaking at a very fast rate.
We ended up picking up the car but knocking off about 1200 dollars off the price, this was still not a good deal considering the problems that we encountered on the way home.
This was in the middle of November and temperatures must have dropped into the teens that night comming home from indiana, t he heat suddenly stopped working.
This was a nightmare driving the car home. A week later the drivers side window falls down and
that also needed to be repaired.
THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF I HAD ASKED SOMEONE ON THIS FORUM WHO MAY HAVE LIVED NEAR BY TO CHECK IT OUT OR TAKEN SOME 2ND OPINIONS FROM MEMBERS WHO MAY HAVE CHECKED IT OUT BEFORE DECIDING TO TAKE THE TRIP THERE.
THE SELLER GETS
The car is getting back to Lexus Standards as we are still working on repairing all these flaws listed above.
02-06-05, 11:12 PM
#9
Lexus Champion
Dam_..sleeper... sounds like u found the deal from heck.. hopoe all works out in the long run.
Anyway... There are a number of members in NYC that will gladly help anyone out.. I know I will try to ask for help if looking for a car in another area. MOST of the members on this club get a
Anyway... There are a number of members in NYC that will gladly help anyone out.. I know I will try to ask for help if looking for a car in another area. MOST of the members on this club get a
02-07-05, 05:48 AM
#10
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Thanks for all the offers guys...I thought about having someone look. I actually had someone inspect a car for me in Philadelphia from CL, but the TriState Area is so big and hard to get around, I didn't really want to bother anyone.
Hopefully something else will pop up soon.
Hopefully something else will pop up soon.
02-07-05, 11:16 AM
#11
Zombie Slayer
Don't feel bad about asking for help from CL members. If you come across anything in NJ let me know. I'd be more than happy to take a look for you if I can!! 
I'll also keep my eyes peeled for any SC's for sale. 400 only? or 300 too? I have seen a couple at used car lots but I question the integrity of these lots so I wouldn't recommend them! I'll keep looking.
I'll also keep my eyes peeled for any SC's for sale. 400 only? or 300 too? I have seen a couple at used car lots but I question the integrity of these lots so I wouldn't recommend them! I'll keep looking.
02-07-05, 02:24 PM
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lol...aliga, you remember well my friend, but that was a different car, anyways - I already asked all to forgive my newbness on that thread.
I had to pass on it, because it didn't work in my school schedule to go pick it up.
But for those that are wondering, I'm looking for a budget 98+ SC400 only - Black Interior. If I'm going to spend the money, I figure I ought to pay the premium for VVTi and 5th gear.
I had to pass on it, because it didn't work in my school schedule to go pick it up.
But for those that are wondering, I'm looking for a budget 98+ SC400 only - Black Interior. If I'm going to spend the money, I figure I ought to pay the premium for VVTi and 5th gear.
02-10-05, 04:21 PM
#15
Lexus Champion
ebay, autotrader, cars.com, vehix, and the pennysaver and local paper are your best friends. i found my first SC on ebay and the second one on autotrader. good luck!! you have one week! 