Check craigslist in the NYC area, Hudson Valley area, and Long Island area. When I was shopping for mine this summer I found alot of sellers that would've been decent choices. I was looking for a GS300 with a clean body, minor issues between 115-145K. I ran into a few with prices ranging from 5.5K-8K. I ended up finding a 01 GS3 with 118K for 7500. Body is in great condition, all maintenance had been done late last year with receipts, and the interior was in great condition. If you can pick up an OBDII scanner that would give you a little bit of an edge also (In case you want to check for codes. Great investment). If your price range is around 4K-5K you can find something but the mileage might be a little high. As long as the seller took care of the car properly you should be okay. Good luck!

 

I agree with him ^^^

 

Yeah i have actually been at it on CL for a few months now, honestly im trying to find a good car from a dealer, but they tend to charge a bit higher to put more money in their pockets. Reason being is i still have a 04 altima at the moment that i will be trading out that has 70400 miles on it, ive honestly always wanted a GS so i feel now is the time to upgrade. My price range is about 4k-6k
and with the nada value on my car being around 7k i believe i might be able to break about even beisdes paying dealer fees and the taxes. I will see what happens, i actually do have a OBD II scanner, so i will be taking it with me. Next weekend i found a GS300 at a dealer for 4600 i am going to take a look at.

@AristoKing i will see what happens, that car that i mentioned originally in the beginning of the post didnt last much long after i opened this thread. It was gone about a hour after this thread started.

 

Sell your car first then purchase a new one. At the prices your looking at, dealers will be trying to screw you over and you end up with a poorly maintained, problematic car. Also, car dealers are never inclined to do "straight trades" whether your car is worth more or not. It generally doesnt make sense for them.

Put the car up for sale on Craigslist. Detailed listing, lots of hi-res pics and a price a bit higher than what your bottom dollar is. Then wait. Once its sold, then you should look for a GS.

As for what to look for, a general car inspection would be smart. Look around for anything that seems awry. Try out all the door locks, windows, heat, ac, radio, etc. There are vin tags on almost every body panel that should be looked for. Off the top of my head, check the trunk, left and right side quarter panels (you can find the vin stickers under the trunk carpet on the sides), all 4 doors have them, left and right fenders you can see under the hood as well as the hood itself. Make sure the car comes with a master key. You can do this by putting the key into the ignition and watching the security light. If it goes off its a master, if it blinks twice then goes out, its a valet key. You want a master key, otherwise it is expensive to get a replacement. CHECK FOR MAINTENANCE RECORDS. Whether the person/dealer has them, or if you imput the vin # on owners.lexus.com to see if the work was done at the dealer, check to see that there is some certainty that the car has been taken care of. It wont necessarily show on a test drive that the oil hasnt been changed in 10k miles and the timing belt hasnt been changed either, but a month after you buy the car, the timing belt goes and the car is worthless.

Simply put, do your homework. All the questions have been asked and answered here.