The Dude

Well, this is my first post here after months of lurking. I've been a Honda nut for years now and finally ready to make the jump...or should I say leap....into a GS400

So I found a vehicle from a private party. It's a 99 GS400, Cinnabar/tan interior, 16" wheels(silver) with 58,000 miles. I drove the car and thought it was great, and decided to take the next step. I got a car fax and found that it was a fleet lease vehicle, then sold at an auction and purchase by the current owner. CARFAX = clean

Now onto the mechanical shakedown. I had it looked at by a highly reputable service facility. These are the notes:

SMALL DINGS ALONG RAIN MOLDING LEFT AND RIGHT.
BASE AUDIO SYSTEM.
OPEN DIFFERENTIAL FROM FACTORY.
NO CURB RASH ON EXTERIOR OF WHEELS.
HEADLIGHTS FADED AND OR YELLOWED.
NO TAG OR STAMP FOR TIMING BELT SERVICE.
CUSTOMER STATED IT HAS NOT BEENDONE.
NO TAG OR STAMP FOR 60K SERVICE.
CUSTOMER STATED IT HAS NOT BEEN DONE.
TIRES NEW.
NO SIGNS UNDERNEATH CAR OF IMPACT, DAMAGE OR PAINT.
RIBBED ACC DRIVE BELT STARTING TO CRACK.
P/S FLUID FULL AND CLEAN. NO LEAKS.
BRAKE FLUID FULL AND CLEAN.
NO LEAKS.COOLANT FULL AND CLEAN. NO LEAKS.
MAY NEED TO BE CHANGED BEFORE NEXTWINTER.
ENGINE OIL FULL AND CLEAN. VERY NEW. NO LEAKS.
TRANSMISSION FLUID FULL AND CLEAN. DUE FOR REPLACEMENT SOON.
DIFF FLUID FULL AND CLEAN.
AIR FILTER FILTHY. LOTS OF DEBRIS IN BOTTOM OF BOX.
FRONT TENSION ROD BUSHINGS CRACKED. NOT BROKEN, BUT KEEP AN EYE ON IT.
BRAKE ARE ORIGINAL AND IN GOOD SHAPE. @ 50% REMAINING.
NEW LEFT REAR TOE LINK INSTALLED RECENTLY.
HAS HAD ALIGNMENT RECENTLY.ADJUSTMENT BOLTS SHOW FRESH MARKS.
LEFT REAR AXLE SEAL AT THE DIFFERENTIAL IS SEEPING.
NO OTHER LEAKS FOUND.
RIGHT REAR SHOCK IS BLOWN AND LEAKING OIL.
LEFT FRONT FENDER LINER IS DAMAGED.
LEFT FRONT FOG LAMP LENS CRACKED.
PULLED #1 AND #8 SPARK PLUG. STILL OEM. NO INDICATION OF POOR RUNNINGCONDITION


So, I personally felt that was a great write up and I am definitely interested in the purchase of the car. The owner is asking $18,500........what should I offer him?


Thanks ahead of time for the input. I really enjoy going through this forum, everyone is respectful and always gives positive input, I just hope to be able to add onto what I have seen.

corkycal

iTrader: (8)

total up the cost to have things fixed and negotiate from there. 18.5k is fair and the miles are low for a 99. Possible offer is from 17.5 to 18k. again, if they go lower, better for you.

let us know if your going to be in the family

minty99z

its got all that that needs attention and money this guy is saying to only offer him 1k less than asking? I would offer 15.5. It needs a LOT of money to get it right......was the 45k even done? Sounds like the car was not kept well in my opinion...

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

Sounds like it needs to be caught up on the maintance part.. Other than that with a 99 with 58k is a nice deal and maybe you can work out the price a little bit.. My car just turned 57k on my GS400.. My 60k is right around the corner... Good Luck..

Tony

98GS430

Dont listen to minty99z, he obviously knows nothing about the G4. A typical 45k will cost $350 at the dealer, I know I work for the dealer as a manger. A low ball 15.5k offer, what the heck is he thinking? If I was the owner of that car that would **** me off, I wouldnt be worried about all that, it can all be fixed and reconditioned for a very reasonable price. Id say 17k is very fair for that car. Check out mine if your interested, its available now and is in perfect shape, again I work for the dealer and the swapping work I did to this car is unmatched!!!!

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/car/163673751.html

e-man

This is about to get interesting. I can tell you that Minty won't take kindly to those words. And, for what it's worth, you should probably reconsider your tone. I see you're kind of new around here, and you should probably show Minty a little more respect.

minty99z

No....? I dont know anything huh? Im only Master Certified under the lexus program...Oh gosh no, I dont know a damn thing....maybe you want to sell your car but only a fool would pay that much for a car that wasn't maintained properly which is VERY obvious.....Do yourself a favor, if you want to try to sell your car to a person, just post the link. Dont come on here like you know all, cuz you DONT know jack( proof on this link you think you know but you dont...typical https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...36#post1918836). I love how you say the 45k costs $350....except for the fact ....well I dunno but maybe it needs a 60k??????? I was only asking about the 45k to see how badly it really was kept....
Lets go on with the details though since you are SO smart on everything..
Know how much its going to cost to get new Headlights? If they aren't HID's he can get them used for a few hundred, if they are HID's then they will be about 1k...
Fender liner is around 50-75...part number starts with 53876....
Fog Lamps used could be cheaper, dealer possibly only sells in packages of two, I'll have to check to verify...if two then its a lot of money if they are HID's lights....
Right rear shock is around 100-150 plus labor which is what, 1-2 hours? Left rear axle? Who knows what that will cost without checking it out.
So add it all up smart ***......
60k....700
fender liner....75 to be safe
HID headlampts 1k regular headlamps 500ish(used can fluctuate in price)
fog lamps 200 new? used 100?
right rear shock 100-150
Drivebelt 100 ish installed depending on dealer?
left rear axle? who knows
door dings...100-200?
Also, who is to say what else might be found at the 60k mark....Sludge issues when the valve cover is pulled? Trans problems from non-maintenance? Its all the stuff you CANT see right away when you a buy a car that you have to be careful of....not the things you CAN see...thats why you buy from someone who took care of it and has proof. This car has NO history, therefore you DO lowball to some degree. Is 15.5 too low? Thats up to the seller to determine, not YOU...you have difference circumstances...your circumstances are you are a jackass who thinks he knows all about the GS market and no one else does....


PS...MY GS430 has less miles, IS a True GS430(not a knockoff like yours to command more money....or so you wish it would) and has nicer wheels than yours....and wasn't purchased through the master lease program which you should be aware of as a "manager"....Not surprised though, most managers in the car business are asses....Thanks for clearing that up to us YET again...
One more thing about YOUR car....why didnt you do the 105k service? I read your listing saying the 90k was done with timing belt etc....why not do the 105k, leaving it to the buyer to take care of?
I think that about sums up what I know or dont know about GS' ...etc............


My first post in this topic is to help someone purchase a car without getting headaches afterwards.....but nooooooooooooooooooooooo....we got mr. bigshot KBB on the other line over here........
He's probably the manager of the car wash bay...... or...."manger" as he put it....

One MORE thing LOL...
I could be wrong but I dont think I am...You are selling your 98' GS400 that looks like a " 05 GS430" and you put "platinum badges on it".....Why exactly would you do that? Im pretty sure the only 01-05 GS cars to have a platinum package were the 300's....if ANY of them had it. I have never even seen a 01-05 GS Platinum car......Nice 98' car there SPORT!

LEXUS_KID

iTrader: (4)

"98GS430 What a way to make a name for your self on here



And WELCOME DUDE

minty99z

Not surprised....hes either...
A) trying to sell his car....

OR

B) Proving that managers of all types at car dealers are ******.


possibly

C) ALL OF THE ABOVE

Gs Dreams

well hell i got a question since minty99 ( i think that his name) work at a dealership. how much lower can i go on a GS 430 at a lexus dealership. i remember i went to one dealership and the guy was like "we don't negotiate prices on pre- owend vehicle, what ever the price is u gotta pay" once again i don't wanna thread jack i was just curious because i seen a 02 Gs 430 at a lexus dealership going for 29,995 and i was wonder how much cheaper can i get this car if i come with cash? the got another one on the lot for 25,995 same black but this one have tan interior vs. black. i want the black interior but paying 4,000 more? i dunno about that. Minty, u work at the one in Naperville?

4GRAINR

Now .. now .. children. Play nice.

Minty - you elevated sarcasm to a new level. Thanks for the good chuckle tonight!

A "Faux 430"? Hmm....

ShaneC

fun thread..

i give credit to e-man for telling the future.

heres what i think of the 99 gs400, it depends on how bad you want the GS. i paid more then the asking price for your car for my 2000 gs with 80,xxx miles and there are others who paid A LOT less ($14000 or so) but i know the car i got was well taking care of and hasn't brought me any major problems. the car your looking at has good mileage but looks like there are quite a few things that need to be fixed. well let me just say... i think the price would be reasonable if you can get it for 16,500 or less because if the things that need to be fixed. i know i paid on the expensive side for my car. but better then buying a cheap car that keeps on breaking on me.

thats just my 2 cents.. take it or leave it...

minty99z

The only dealer in the COUNTRY that I personally am aware of that has NO haggles is Carmax. If the sticker on the car says 20k , then its 20k....Period. They dont haggle on prices. If you are at a Lexus Dealership than there is budging on the price. That "we dont negotiate" stance is typical of all salesmen...I thought everyone knew that .... Hell, even the new cars get sold under list LOL.....Im not at Naperville no.....I think you should know that you paying "cash" wont help either....they prefer you dont actually since they make money on the financing... so don't throw that out there....I think that ebay can be a good indicator of what some cars should sell for...or at least the market of what buyers are looking to pay for cars....I love when people tell me that autotrader says this, or kbb says that.......Well last time I checked KBB or Autotrader dont write out checks to buy cars. They are to be used as indicators and the circumstances vary from car to car. I wouldnt buy this car on this post for more than 16.5 ....it needs to much...I personally wouldn't buy it period because the history of the car is shady to me and seems to not have been taken care of.

As for your example....I would tell them what you'll pay for it and see what they say...worst they can do is say no and you look for a different car. They might say yes....always start LOW......Personally I like buying private party for 2 reasons....1) the owner of the car knows about his car and you can gauge more than by buying at a dealership where you dont meet the previous owner....2) in Illinois if you buy private party you can register the car and tell them you paid 100 bucks for the car and not worry about taxes...example. If you purchase a 20k car and go to currency exchange and tell them you bought an '02...all 02's require a certain amount around 300 bucks for taxes....BAM, you just saved 1000 bucks on taxes...
Funniest thing about cars and taxes...its one of the rare items in this crazy country where you can pay tax on the same item 10 times even LOL

Gs Dreams

i thought usually people haggle about the price is at mom and pop dealership not something like lexus or benz etc. i thought there attitude would be like "if you can't afford the asking price, there is a honda dealership down the road" not like someone said this to me but i just assume that's there attitudes on their cars. the car im looking at is 29,995 it's 02 no navi with 49k on the clock. i would like to offer 25k but then again i don't want to look stupid, u think this is to low ( i know it's up to the salesman but im trying to get a general idea). i always thought if u have cash you would get a better deal? dam, i guess u learn something new each day
so i should just put down a low amount of money you saying? in order to get a better deal?
well if you got anymore tips let me know, im trying to get two cars by the end of this summer. A Gs and a supra to be exacted. i know that i may have to pay cash for the supra and use the change to finance the Lexus

The Dude

It's good that your learning something It seems that there are alot more GS's than Supras left in the world, therefore your dealing with a little supply shortage. A nice Supra is going to be a little bit more difficult to negotiate as opposed to a GS, due to the percieved abundance of GS's on the market compared to Supras.

Well from what it seems from the postings, I should offer 15.5 and ceiling it at 16.5. The car has pretty good paint, which is very important to me(aside from the rain molding)....because I hate body/paint work.

Thanks for all the input guys, you only confirmed my ideas on pricing. The car is close to home which makes it very convienient...but I know that this should not be my only factor in purchasing a car, but albeit, it can be important. Looking at 10 GS's across the midwest could get expensive.

I'll let you know how it goes.

The Dude