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Yeah, that white 2006 in Maryland is over priced for what it is. Wheels don't look right on that car, maybe the tires are too short.. But for that kind of mileage, it should be cheaper.
Is there a premium in the Maryland/DC area?
2 years ago, I picked up my 11 year old LS with 42K on it that really was very pristine. I paid 19K for it and was happy to do so. Because I bought that stupid Hyundai so cheaply, they paid the whole thing off when I traded it in. Saving grace I guess...
That's what I'm basing my opinion of CarMax on.
My only other experience with them was in Atlanta back about 1999 or 2000 when I wanted to sell a 1996 Taurus with a boat load of miles on it that we inherited from my mother in law's estate. They offered what I thought was a pretty good price for it ( something like 4800.00 iir ) so we walked out of there with a check and not a care in the world, but I feel this is getting a little off the topic at hand...
One thing I learned, when I looked at a 2005 at a Lexus dealership. It had a clean carfax, yet I could see it was hit both sides, and even had paint on the rear right rim (even on online pics!), and the right exhaust was crooked. It wouldn't start when I was there. The salesperson gave up, he said cars this old will often have inaccurate carfaxes, if you think it was in an accident, it could have been. imho--accident that is known, means no dice whatsoever. That's me.
I thought dealers get $840 for a driver door actuator? OP said $1428, ouch....believe me, the GMC dealer had my car for all of about 40 min. when they fixed it as part of my sale. Dunno if their part was OE or aftermarket, though, claimed it was special order and took 4 days to get it. prolly aftermarket lol
There are so many cars for sale, and these are not popular cars, imho, get a 2006 and get one where you are not aware of anything wrong. How much more can a 2006 be over a 2004 at this point...and if anyone wants carmax prices, don't even entertain them, steer clear...me, I would try to get a used car dealer price, at a NEW car dealer. Just feel there could be a little more recourse if the day you pick it up, things are wrong...keep on huntin'!
edit I diy'd my ABS/DSC hydro on my BMW for under $500, it's $4,200 at the dealer. I know Nissan gets over $4k for this job as well. So if a Lexus has this issue documented, move on imho, as with the Japanese, I don't know there are DIYs (because they don't typically fail, whereas BMW they do).....
I bought a Carfax report on a car I was considering. Other than the number of owners, very little info for the price. Lexus dealer supplied a Carfax for the latest LS. Again, very little info. No mention of any of the work the dealer had done. LexDrivers is a lot more useful and no cost.
I bought a Carfax report on a car I was considering. Other than the number of owners, very little info for the price. Lexus dealer supplied a Carfax for the latest LS. Again, very little info. No mention of any of the work the dealer had done. LexDrivers is a lot more useful and no cost.
Carfax reports have me alerted me early on with accident histories so I was able to steer clear. Their cost used to be reasonable, but they are now pricing themselves out of the market.
I bought a Carfax report on a car I was considering. Other than the number of owners, very little info for the price. Lexus dealer supplied a Carfax for the latest LS. Again, very little info. No mention of any of the work the dealer had done. LexDrivers is a lot more useful and no cost.
I noticed on my wife's car, which is a GM, there is no service history whatsoever from any GM dealership. There are entries from the mom and pop shops who inspected it for safety/emissions, as well as the three stooges replacing the battery. My BMW has some info from BMW dealerships, but not much. My 1998 Nissan? It has every service going back to 2000, uncanny. This was so long ago, I remember some dealers hand wrote service orders back then. I dunno the rhyme/reason for who participates, who doesn't, but it definitely has to be taken with a grain of salt. What cannot be inaccurate, imho, is the mfg's warranty records, which, at least with BMW, the owner is not supposed to have access to (sometimes a person in the dealership will "forget" that they left it on their desk, and the customer "accidentally" walks off with it--this happened to me. It's like an Experian credit report, says proprietary, and not to be shared with any customers/owner)...
Again, no accidents on the report doesn't necessarily mean no accidents, however, if there are accidents, those likely did occur...lots of anomalies, like that "best LS430 in the northern hemisphere" car in Cherry Hill NJ that had 5 owners...where most here believed it wasn't 5 actual owners....
Carfax reports have me alerted me early on with accident histories so I was able to steer clear. Their cost used to be reasonable, but they are now pricing themselves out of the market.
I hate the chrome aftermarket wheels on this one, though. How much does it cost to purchase nice clean OEM wheels for the LS430?
The car looks clean as can be (great photos, too). The Carfax looks fine, two owners, with the latest owner having the car for the past 10 years. Miles are crazy low, which could be good or bad. Lexus service history is pretty sparse once the second owner bought it - the owner must have had it serviced at a non-Lexus dealer. I've attached the service history below. No indication of whether or not the Timing Belt/Water Pump has been changed, and w/only 46K miles, I'd guess they have not.
The price seems okay if the car is truly as immaculate as it looks in the photos and everything works (door locks, mirrors, etc.).
It would definitely look right at home next to my 2006 SC430...
That one is comparable to the 05 I bought 2 years ago and I paid 5500 dollars more... But, mine did have a thorough Lexus service history from Lexus of Clear Lake in Houston, which made the sale for me. Being it was a car outside the rustbelt added to it's value as well.
This one is very nice and the price is hard to beat.
Wheels can be had.. Keep watching sites like Ebay, Craigslist and even our own sale listings here on Club Lexus. Direct from Lexus you can expect to spend north of $500.00/wheel.
It looks like approx $230 ea is the going rate for OEM rims/remanufactured rims.....there seem to be knock offs for less. I'd rather have original. The only hesitation I'd have with that car is it seems to have been in Pittsburgh (salt), but the miles are low....
Personally, I would not consider buying from a used car dealer absent an EXTREMELY compelling reason. There is a reason it's for sale there. That reason could be as innocuous as a new car dealer sent it to auction or something darker. If you're willing to spend 12 grand, there's no reason you can't find a low mileage one owner with service records and no (or minimal) damage history.
Personally, I would not consider buying from a used car dealer absent an EXTREMELY compelling reason. There is a reason it's for sale there. That reason could be as innocuous as a new car dealer sent it to auction or something darker. If you're willing to spend 12 grand, there's no reason you can't find a low mileage one owner with service records and no (or minimal) damage history.
Regardless of age, as our cars get older, the Lexus dealerships will be more reluctant to market them on their lots, as opposed to wholesaling them out. Perhaps it was a trade at a GM dealership and they didn't want to sell it?
Depending on what kind of used car lot it was, I wouldn't be too concerned. Buy here/pay here lots are ones to avoid, unless you're destitute. Pickle lots, or lots where they advertise "cars starting at 1995.00" probably wouldn't be a good choice either.
This particular dealership has a few high end cars, which isn't a bad thing...
Regardless of age, as our cars get older, the Lexus dealerships will be more reluctant to market them on their lots, as opposed to wholesaling them out. Perhaps it was a trade at a GM dealership and they didn't want to sell it?
Depending on what kind of used car lot it was, I wouldn't be too concerned. Buy here/pay here lots are ones to avoid, unless you're destitute. Pickle lots, or lots where they advertise "cars starting at 1995.00" probably wouldn't be a good choice either.
This particular dealership has a few high end cars, which isn't a bad thing...
This one is a 1-owner with an extensive Lexus service history (although there seems to be a gap between 2014-2017 for some reason). Looks like the Lexus dealer totally refinished the rims and fixed numerous dings on the exterior before offering it for sale. Battery was also just replaced. No indication of TB/WP change, though... The price is $1500 higher than the other gold-colored car, but the wheels look perfect with nice Michelin tires, and it's 1 year newer. Both came from Pennsylvania, though, which uses a ton of salt in the winter! It would be a bit more reassuring to buy a Lexus from an actual Lexus dealer, I think...
Personally, I would not consider buying from a used car dealer absent an EXTREMELY compelling reason. There is a reason it's for sale there. That reason could be as innocuous as a new car dealer sent it to auction or something darker. If you're willing to spend 12 grand, there's no reason you can't find a low mileage one owner with service records and no (or minimal) damage history.
Did you ever have a buddy who flipped houses, or actually ran a used car dealership? That would likely be good reason to not buy from a 2nd tier dealership, or a house knowing that a DIY'er were flipping it (my bro would not listen). Again, imho, the spread is little or even non-existent if you compare a Lexus dealership or GMC dealership, to a used car dealership, through haggling. And the latter auctions anything they don't feel they should be sellling. The 2nd tier always gets cars at auction, that they think they can sell for the most profit...
This one is a 1-owner with an extensive Lexus service history (although there seems to be a gap between 2014-2017 for some reason). Looks like the Lexus dealer totally refinished the rims and fixed numerous dings on the exterior before offering it for sale. Battery was also just replaced. No indication of TB/WP change, though... The price is $1500 higher than the other gold-colored car, but the wheels look perfect with nice Michelin tires, and it's 1 year newer. Both came from Pennsylvania, though, which uses a ton of salt in the winter! It would be a bit more reassuring to buy a Lexus from an actual Lexus dealer, I think...
That's the dealership my wife and I rushed out to, where the car would not start lol They are a sister to the one near us (4 miles). It's a nice dealership. FYI, they "WILL" do the timing belt/water pump inclusive of their asking price. I asked, and they called me back the next day to tell me yes. But we were already on our way to buy the one that I ended up purchasing. I still feel strongly, the caliber of cars at a Lexus dealer will be a cut above (as a general rule, for whatever reason this one above was not)--someone at the dealership made the decision they could sell the vehicle rather than send to auction.
That was also the dealer who told me carfaxes can be inaccurate for cars this old, when I said the car had been in an accident....
edit haha just had a random thought--my son was still 2 at the time, and he immediately sat in the salesperson's seat, so the salesperson had to sit as if a customer. Not a bad place imho to buy a car from what I could see. If you contact them, they will email you the internal work order for what they did since they took the car in trade. If tires, take it with a grain of salt. The order had the Dunlop SPs, but the car had made in China tires when I got there...
Last edited by Johnhav430; Feb 7, 2018 at 01:04 PM.
