fmalgapo

Gronemus

I wouldn't rule it out at all. I'm sure there are many on this forum that would never buy a car that had a incident of some type in the past but I look at it as a opportunity to get a great deal on a car. Call up the dealer selling the car and find out if its worth your time to go out and see it.

As far as the service records, go to the Lexus website here, linky, register and then enter the VIN number of the car you are looking at. You will be able to access the service records for items that were performed at Lexus.

It's not a top priority for me on seeing a complete service history when buying these cars. It's far more important to check out the actual condition of the car as its sits today...

BCT

I agree with Gronemus that I would not rule it out, and maybe it is an opportunity for a great deal. $6500 + needing timing belt replacement sounds high to me, but maybe that is the going price in your area.

I would find out exactly what kind of damage it had (what was replaced? did the airbags deployed?), and the condition of the car BEFORE driving 4-5 hr. Maybe hire on of those company that will send someone to look at a car, take pictures, and report back to you.

Mbodall

As Gronemus and BCT said, I wouldn't necessarily rule it out. It really depends on how bad the damage was before repair, and the quality of the repair - both quality of any replacement components as well as the quality of the labor.

I'd see if it's possible to bring it to a Lexus dealership for a pre-purchase inspection ($120-$200 depend, and advise the dealer that it has an accident on it's history and you want them to evaluate the extent of the damage, and if quality repairs have been completed. Obviously driving out there just for this isn't ideal, so tell the seller that you are very interested in the car and serious about purchasing it, and see if the seller is willing to bring the car to a dealer for you if you pay for the inspection. Otherwise, do all the investigating you can do remotely, and if everything check out as fine and you still think you'd want to buy it, drive out there prepared to purchase but tell them that you're going to bring the car to a dealership for an inspection before buying. There's a chance you may end up wasting all that time driving out there and back if the inspection results aren't good, but a wasted day's time is better than just buying it without an inspection and ending up with a money pit POS. If the dealer isn't willing to let you bring it to a dealership for an inspection, I would STAY AWAY. The only reason they wouldn't be willing to let it be inspected is that they know something about the severity of the damage and/or the sub-par repair job, and that the results of the inspection wouldn't be good.

For what it's worth, my car has an accident reported on it's carfax. The accident was reported only 3 months after the car was purchased in 2004, and apparently was very minor. When a Lexus dealer did my inspection, they weren't even able to tell the car had been in an accident. All replacement parts were genuine Toyota OEM parts and I've never had any problems in 3+ years and 40k+ miles of ownership that could have stemmed from a prior accident.

edit: Does the car have a salvage title? When was this accident reported?

Johnhav430

I would not, and my reasoning is that there could be a car "with" a clean Carfax, that did have an accident. But with the amount of used cars out there, why knowingly get one? Again, it's just me. I don't think there is a discount for accident cars, nor is there a premium for those without, so I'd rather have without.

And personally, I just can't stand that non-mirror look with body work. At the same time, if we were talking about a really low priced car, say one where you are not at all afraid of dings etc., then why not...as long as the price is low and the car drives fine....my .02

Mbodall

There most definitely is usually a discount for accident cars.

And just because it's been in an accident doesn't mean the body/paintwork has any evidence of that. My 2004 that has a reported accident looks flawless, and a 2001 Celica I owned 10 years ago that I was broadsided in and repaired looked the same as it did the day I bought it as well. As long as the body shop that repaired it did good work, you wouldn't even be able to tell it was in an accident unless you're looking really closely under the hood or under the car for factory welds or matching marked headlight housings.

Johnhav430

I am skeptical....when I see a new 7 series or S class, on a bright sunny day, and my reflection is not like a mirror, I know their vehicles were repaired...not having had body work myself, I'm not sure why they would accept that, but I have seen it so many times I believe they're not idiots, they just accept it. My uncle who was in the business, told me we're not doing those 200k restorations like you watch on tv. Anything is possible, but it's not practical to restore it to that level after an accident. I saw LS430s at Lexus dealers for sale where I could spot the body work with my eye, let alone a paint depth meter....jmo

aufenscuht

I would look into it for sure. RWD cars are much better to buy in terms of previous accidents. FWD are just never the same, the nature of the geometry and drive train does not allow for good results post-accidents generally speaking. I would take it and get it inspected. A good pre-purchase inspection (generally $130) or so, would yield all info needed to make an educated decision. Good luck.

Aleks

OG Member

iTrader: (1)

In my experience, it would come down to what type of front end damage? Was the damage purely cosmetic? Did the damage impact any of the electrical or mechanical components?

Having viewed online and in-person the precision in which vehicles are manufactured, one could surmise that the same level of precision at a world class facility like Tahara (where the LS is/was built) is difficult to replicate at most everyday, run-of-the-mill repair facilities. And the reason I mention this is because it appears you work hard for money (your budget is an indicator of someone who values money) and there are plenty of other vehicles out there within your budget of under $6500.

Maybe an '01 - '03 LS430 would be a better fit, from a price perspective? All while providing similar levels of comfort and reliability...

Mbodall

I'm not denying there are a lot of crappily repaired cars on the road. I've seen them too. I'm just saying from my personal experience with vehicles post-accident repair, you would never know (and I'm so very **** about even the smallest of details, so it's not like I just accept something or don't notice minute difference)

TriC

IMHO, it's not so much the difference between FWD and RWD cars, but between those with full frames versus unibody vehicles.

Johnhav430

I honestly don't know how I'd approach it...I would definitely tell the body shop I don't want anything but a mirror finish when you are done, but I already know what my wife's uncle said who was in the business. In their business, cars are lined up and backed up. Any time spent on your car, means another is sitting waiting to be repaired.

And I know that all those people whose cars I see every day with that ripply finish are not dummies (maybe they even lease and don't care). The body shop would say wth is that guy doing, he's looking over his car in the sun with a magnifying glass, trying to find anything we did wrong, get him the **** outta here!

TriC

Here's a real world example of the effect of crash damage. My wife's 2014 Honda CRV was damaged in a late 2015 crash. The bodyshop at a Honda dealer did a superb job in replacing the right quarter, right rear door, and rear bumper cover with the new body gaps lining up correctly. The car needed a few hours on their frame machine. The hatch was not damaged. No glass was broken. The dark cherry paint match (both color and texture) was very good. Their bill was $7600. It drove great after the repair.

Using a variety of sources, I calculated that the immediate diminished value was about $2000 and, not wanting to fool with possible issues down the road nor hassle with the insurance company of the responsible party, traded it on a new RAV4 at a Sonic dealership the night it came back from the shop. They gave $21,000 for it, a great number considering its crash history. When asked what the figure would have been if undamaged, the used car manager told me, "$21,800." When I expressed surprise at the smallness of its diminished value, he laughed and said, "Oh, I can sell this easily."

fmalgapo

Thanks everyone. Very good advice and points. I actually lost a little sleep over it last night but this morning woke up and am leaning to rule it out for lack of factory nav (no rear camera).
I also just located a 1-owner clean carfax, no accidents with timing belt service done on schedule but 150k i'm trying to check out today price the same as this one.

I did register on lexus.com and am using that to further research service history - thanks for that piece of advice too!

Mbodall