kombucha

Hello Club Lexus,

I am looking to buy a used car. I saw a 2008 ES 350 Pebble Beach edition. It has 123 k miles on it. It was bought as a CPO, so that would make me effectively the third owner. The drive was pretty decent. To be honest I am not much of car enthusiast so I would definitely get it checked by a mechanic. It had two big scratches, the owner said that was from parking and said it would be touched up before the sale. When I asked for service records, I was assured that it has been serviced regularly at Les Schwab and jiffy lube, which was kind of red flag for me. Apart from that it has been garaged and has been used less for the past year.
The owner is demanding $8 k for it. The KBB is showing a value of $7232. Is this is a good deal or should I walk away from it?

ESh

2008 350 with 123000 miles $8000 only in mint condition

Andretbloc

I was able to haggle a dealer from 6999 to 5999 on a 2010 with 148 k and still purchased a warranty for another 1500 that’s already payed for itself if I was you I wouldn’t pay anything more than 6500 for this car . And make sure to get a buyers inspection.

CQRT

I'd say he's way high for the apparent condition of the car and miles . . . .$6-750 to repair the side fender correctly and if all the rims are curbed, figure $200 each to repair/repaint if they're not bent.

IMO, he's a grand to $1500 above what the car should bring and if he tries to play hardball- walk.

CustomSC

I wouldn't go through with it. I feel like you might find one in better shape for that price. If you have time to wait, I expect the seller will call you back honoring your offer.

kombucha

Thank you yall for your great inputs.

I tried waiting but the seller never called. Even I believed it was over-priced and the way our conversation went I didn't see any room for negotiation.
Meanwhile, I got my old car serviced so I will wait for a couple of months for good deals to buy.
Apart from Craigslist and facebook market place, is there any other place I should look for.

Thank you.

Andretbloc

Cargurus and truecar are good I would recommend to try and find one from a reputable dealership instead of a buy here pay here personally. And don’t limit yourself to only one model of Lexus. Good Luck!!!

kombucha

Thank you for the suggestion.

At this moment I have kept a budget of $9000, for a good deal, I don't mind stretching it to $10000.
So what Model/ Year/Mileage you recommend me to look for.
I am a guy who doesn't really fancy modern gadgets like, backup cam, navigation, etc.
I basically want a reliable car, with not so expensive maintenance.

Andretbloc

With that type of a price range I wouldn’t do anything older than a 2010 ES/IS and no more than 150k miles and I would definitely get a warranty for the first year for about 1500. And the reason I recommend the warranty even though these cars are reliable is because **** happens . I traded in my 2012 Camry with 135k simply because Lexus is my dream car. So I literally researched for months the most reliable Lexus model in my price range . Long story short I watched my es350 initially listed for 8900 and I waited until it was 6900 the dealer would only give me 5000 for my trade in and I talked the es350 down to 5900. I didn’t want to pay extra for a warranty but my dad insisted it would be smart even though I got a thorough Pre purchase Inspection done to the car. So I payed another 1700 plus tax and title. The next week I took my car in for a AC check and found out that I had a leaking Rack and Pinion which is $3000 to fix and I didn’t have to pay nonthing but $100 out of pocket .My advice is only purchase the car if they’ll give you a full warranty because even though these cars rarely break when they do it’s expensive!!!

kombucha

Thank you very much for the detailed reply. You got a solid deal. I tried to employ the same tactic, but the dealer sold the car here. I am a patient guy, I will wait.

Regarding warranty, did you purchase the warranty from Lexus dealership or it was from a third-party? Also, if you could, please elaborate on how the warranty works. Like, price, time-covered etc.

Thank you

Andretbloc

The warranty was sold at the dealership through AUL and it was the Sterling Warranty so it covers the whole powertrain the AC system , cooling system , and various other parts. I paid 1700 dollars for it and it’s good for 12 months or 12k miles whichever comes first. And to use the warranty you can only take it to a ASE certified mechanic shop. Luckily I found a trusted mechanic who Specializes in imported vehicles who had experience with warranty companies . I was able to get my wife to drop the car off to the shop. And I coordinated everything else from almost 1000 miles away (I’m a truck driver) so the process was easy.

P.S you can also haggle the price of the warranty

kombucha

Thank you for the info. Learned a lot.

kombucha

I have rounded off to two models
2008 Lexus IS250 with 86 k miles at $10500 and 2010 Lexus ES330 with 150k miles at $6000

These are the only two deals I have found around my place.

What do you guys think of carbon build-up issues in IS models? How serious is that?
And also, is ES330 that old reliable? If I buy it what kind of repairs I am looking at.

mrsteve7

I assume the IS is direct-injection, in which case it'll be due for valve cleaning at some point due to carbon buildup. My VW CC is direct-injection and I had that service done around 80k miles in which the car was exhibiting hesitation on acceleration (and accompanying cylinder misfires). The work was around $250 or so though YMMV with a Lexus. Direct-injection design doesn't provide for fuel to wash over the valves to keep them clean and hence the carbon buildup. The ES350 is port injection.

John U

My sister has an IS, my wife drives an ES. If you a large person, the ES has the room.