Purchasing an ISF - Advice needed!!!
04-25-17, 09:46 AM
#1
Purchasing an ISF - Advice needed!!!
Small intro... hopefully some of you know me either from here or some other social media. Anyways, I am on my second IS350 and have been in the market for a particular ISF in the last 6 months. I have found one but it is far away from me and I cannot personally inspect it - in fact it is in Canada.
Quick specs on the car, it is the color combo I'm looking for (blue/black), the MY I'm looking for (2011+), low miles (<30K) and in my budget. I spoke with the dealership today and they are able to assist me with importing it and shipping to me.... GREAT.
The downside is this, it has two claims on the car. The first in 2012: right front damage totaling 17,000 in repairs. The second in 2013 for vandalism with 33,000 in repairs. The dealer says the title is not a salvage or total loss (clean). I happen to know an F owner in the area that is able to test drive it and check it out, and I plan on getting a PPI from Lexus.
What are your opinions on this? Are the claims a big enough deterrent? What specifically should I be looking for/looking out for?
Thanks in advance! I'm hoping for a lot of feedback. Somewhat time sensitive!
Quick specs on the car, it is the color combo I'm looking for (blue/black), the MY I'm looking for (2011+), low miles (<30K) and in my budget. I spoke with the dealership today and they are able to assist me with importing it and shipping to me.... GREAT.
The downside is this, it has two claims on the car. The first in 2012: right front damage totaling 17,000 in repairs. The second in 2013 for vandalism with 33,000 in repairs. The dealer says the title is not a salvage or total loss (clean). I happen to know an F owner in the area that is able to test drive it and check it out, and I plan on getting a PPI from Lexus.
What are your opinions on this? Are the claims a big enough deterrent? What specifically should I be looking for/looking out for?
Thanks in advance! I'm hoping for a lot of feedback. Somewhat time sensitive!
04-25-17, 10:21 AM
#5
I agree the claims do make me stop and think...
- all of the costs are CAD so 17K is really 12.5 USD and the car was 1 year old at that point so I could see how it would be expensive if a bumper or headlamp was replaced. Same for the vandalism, 33K turns out to be 24K USD on a 2 year old car so I'm not sure what you could do to cause that much damage, but the numbers do seem inflated.
Does the fact that the title is clean, I have somebody to look at it and test drive it, and a PPI give you peace of mind?
The cost (after converting to USD) is about 30K
I have absolutely no intentions of ever selling the car so resale does not matter the slightest to me.
- all of the costs are CAD so 17K is really 12.5 USD and the car was 1 year old at that point so I could see how it would be expensive if a bumper or headlamp was replaced. Same for the vandalism, 33K turns out to be 24K USD on a 2 year old car so I'm not sure what you could do to cause that much damage, but the numbers do seem inflated.
Does the fact that the title is clean, I have somebody to look at it and test drive it, and a PPI give you peace of mind?
The cost (after converting to USD) is about 30K
I have absolutely no intentions of ever selling the car so resale does not matter the slightest to me.
04-25-17, 10:24 AM
#6
With my recent dealings with my accident:
Unless you know the shops that did the work for those two claims personally, I'd stay away. If you're going to keep it, that means you will have to spend however much to fix whatever is wrong with it, and that spells trouble since you don't want to bail if there is ever a chance to dump the car.
Financially and logically - this is not a good purchase.
Unless you know the shops that did the work for those two claims personally, I'd stay away. If you're going to keep it, that means you will have to spend however much to fix whatever is wrong with it, and that spells trouble since you don't want to bail if there is ever a chance to dump the car.
Financially and logically - this is not a good purchase.
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04-25-17, 10:40 AM
#8
I agree the claims do make me stop and think...
- all of the costs are CAD so 17K is really 12.5 USD and the car was 1 year old at that point so I could see how it would be expensive if a bumper or headlamp was replaced. Same for the vandalism, 33K turns out to be 24K USD on a 2 year old car so I'm not sure what you could do to cause that much damage, but the numbers do seem inflated.
Does the fact that the title is clean, I have somebody to look at it and test drive it, and a PPI give you peace of mind?
The cost (after converting to USD) is about 30K
I have absolutely no intentions of ever selling the car so resale does not matter the slightest to me.
- all of the costs are CAD so 17K is really 12.5 USD and the car was 1 year old at that point so I could see how it would be expensive if a bumper or headlamp was replaced. Same for the vandalism, 33K turns out to be 24K USD on a 2 year old car so I'm not sure what you could do to cause that much damage, but the numbers do seem inflated.
Does the fact that the title is clean, I have somebody to look at it and test drive it, and a PPI give you peace of mind?
The cost (after converting to USD) is about 30K
I have absolutely no intentions of ever selling the car so resale does not matter the slightest to me.
04-25-17, 10:41 AM
#9
Beautiful Car, for sure.
I would fly there to test drive it myself to get the feel for the front axle and all front suspension components, that would be my biggest concern with a front side accident.
If you have never drove 2011 ISF, I would test drive one locally so you can compare as ISF is very different than IS350.
Have the dealer lift the car for you in the service bay to see the front right side and everything else.
Good visual check is all you need to get over the vandalism claim, once again, with the $$$ they claimed I would want to see it for myself.
If you are NOT purchasing from an authorized Lexus dealer, PPI doesn't mean whole lot.
The airline tickets should not be too bad if you imagine the potential problems you might face. If everything check out, I say GO FOR IT.
I would fly there to test drive it myself to get the feel for the front axle and all front suspension components, that would be my biggest concern with a front side accident.
If you have never drove 2011 ISF, I would test drive one locally so you can compare as ISF is very different than IS350.
Have the dealer lift the car for you in the service bay to see the front right side and everything else.
Good visual check is all you need to get over the vandalism claim, once again, with the $$$ they claimed I would want to see it for myself.
If you are NOT purchasing from an authorized Lexus dealer, PPI doesn't mean whole lot.
The airline tickets should not be too bad if you imagine the potential problems you might face. If everything check out, I say GO FOR IT.
Last edited by Rossi; 04-25-17 at 11:06 AM.
04-25-17, 11:06 AM
#12
Again, I appreciate all the input. I'm hoping that my local connection can take it for a test drive and compare the ride to his F, I have only driven 2010s on a few test drives so I'm not sure I would feel it any better than an F owner. I can certainly request the car be lifted and have pictures or videos sent to me (my father is a mechanic but no longer travels) to look for anything suspicious or damaged.
Vandalism claim I'm not too concerned with, just trying to figure out what could possibly cause that much other than keying every panel and breaking windows, headlamps... completely puzzled.
The dealership is not an authorized Lexus dealer, what does that do to change the PPI?
Vandalism claim I'm not too concerned with, just trying to figure out what could possibly cause that much other than keying every panel and breaking windows, headlamps... completely puzzled.
The dealership is not an authorized Lexus dealer, what does that do to change the PPI?
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