Buyer advice
06-07-10, 12:32 AM
#1
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Buyer advice
Im considering a 350. Any tips on what to look for besides the usual obvious stuff? Not very familiar with the 3GS, so any pointers would be appreciated. Thanks!
06-07-10, 06:24 AM
#3
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I'm waiting for mine to get delivered, a used 07, I checked everywhere, what I can tell you is to make sure if it "looks" like a good deal to pull a carfax, all the lowest priced cars had accident history or even salvage titles, where the advertisement mentions NOTHING about salvage.
If you are looking new, diff story.
If you are looking new, diff story.
06-07-10, 06:48 AM
#4
That's a blanket question you're asking.
Make sure all the TSBs have been taken care of. There have been problems with both side mirrors (not a TSB and covered by warranty). If you're buying from a private party, check all the fluids and make sure they are the color they are suppose to be. No matter what the manual says, brake fluid should be changed every 24 months/30K miles. Some say the same for coolant.
If you're buying new, no worries. I think the last year before a model refresh is the best year to buy.
Make sure all the TSBs have been taken care of. There have been problems with both side mirrors (not a TSB and covered by warranty). If you're buying from a private party, check all the fluids and make sure they are the color they are suppose to be. No matter what the manual says, brake fluid should be changed every 24 months/30K miles. Some say the same for coolant.
If you're buying new, no worries. I think the last year before a model refresh is the best year to buy.
06-07-10, 06:51 AM
#5
Other than that the car is fantastic. Only thing to check for is that some of the cars have some rattles (usually pre-2008 cars). Drive it on a bumpy road first.
06-07-10, 07:23 AM
#6
Lead Lap
AWD looks like a Jeep, in terms of suspension. if you're planning on lowering or changing out wheels, the AWD has a lot more limitations.
06-07-10, 08:05 AM
#7
If you want I can post some pics... but if you are looking at the car:
Rule #1: Take Carfax reports with a grain of salt. I've seen PLENTY of cars with "clean" Carfax reports that have had serious damage and just as many cars with carfax accident reports that have never really been hurt.
Rule #2: Don't buy one of these cars with paintwork on it. Period. You're not buying a super rare or nearly unique car, there's tons of these out there, buy a nice one. You probably don't wanna spend $600 on an Elcometer, but paintwork is easy to spot.
First, make sure that the VIN stickers are on all the body panels.
Second, check the bolts on the front end.. fenders and hood. Make sure none of the fasteners securing these panels have tool marks on them.
Checking for paintwork takes some skill, I do this for a living so i can usually tell if a car has been painted by a quick glance, but feel the edges of the panels, they should be as smooth as the surfaces, if there's roughness, the panel's been painted. You'll see tape lines on door jambs when a panel has been painted, look for mismatched color, fish eyes, sanding marks under the clear coat or dust/debris in the paint. Lexus tends to have very high quality paint so imperfections are a HUGE red flag.
These cars are also VERY stiff on the market without Navi, ML doesn't help to sell them as much as you might think, but without Navi they are very stiff. I made the mistake of once buying a no-navi car for the lot once because it was cheap, I lived to regret that decision.
If you guys want, i can take some pics of previous body repairs to show you what to look for.
Rule #1: Take Carfax reports with a grain of salt. I've seen PLENTY of cars with "clean" Carfax reports that have had serious damage and just as many cars with carfax accident reports that have never really been hurt.
Rule #2: Don't buy one of these cars with paintwork on it. Period. You're not buying a super rare or nearly unique car, there's tons of these out there, buy a nice one. You probably don't wanna spend $600 on an Elcometer, but paintwork is easy to spot.
First, make sure that the VIN stickers are on all the body panels.
Second, check the bolts on the front end.. fenders and hood. Make sure none of the fasteners securing these panels have tool marks on them.
Checking for paintwork takes some skill, I do this for a living so i can usually tell if a car has been painted by a quick glance, but feel the edges of the panels, they should be as smooth as the surfaces, if there's roughness, the panel's been painted. You'll see tape lines on door jambs when a panel has been painted, look for mismatched color, fish eyes, sanding marks under the clear coat or dust/debris in the paint. Lexus tends to have very high quality paint so imperfections are a HUGE red flag.
These cars are also VERY stiff on the market without Navi, ML doesn't help to sell them as much as you might think, but without Navi they are very stiff. I made the mistake of once buying a no-navi car for the lot once because it was cheap, I lived to regret that decision.
If you guys want, i can take some pics of previous body repairs to show you what to look for.
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06-07-10, 08:22 AM
#8
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If you want I can post some pics... but if you are looking at the car:
Rule #1: Take Carfax reports with a grain of salt. I've seen PLENTY of cars with "clean" Carfax reports that have had serious damage and just as many cars with carfax accident reports that have never really been hurt.
Rule #2: Don't buy one of these cars with paintwork on it. Period. You're not buying a super rare or nearly unique car, there's tons of these out there, buy a nice one. You probably don't wanna spend $600 on an Elcometer, but paintwork is easy to spot.
First, make sure that the VIN stickers are on all the body panels.
Second, check the bolts on the front end.. fenders and hood. Make sure none of the fasteners securing these panels have tool marks on them.
Checking for paintwork takes some skill, I do this for a living so i can usually tell if a car has been painted by a quick glance, but feel the edges of the panels, they should be as smooth as the surfaces, if there's roughness, the panel's been painted. You'll see tape lines on door jambs when a panel has been painted, look for mismatched color, fish eyes, sanding marks under the clear coat or dust/debris in the paint. Lexus tends to have very high quality paint so imperfections are a HUGE red flag.
These cars are also VERY stiff on the market without Navi, ML doesn't help to sell them as much as you might think, but without Navi they are very stiff. I made the mistake of once buying a no-navi car for the lot once because it was cheap, I lived to regret that decision.
If you guys want, i can take some pics of previous body repairs to show you what to look for.
Rule #1: Take Carfax reports with a grain of salt. I've seen PLENTY of cars with "clean" Carfax reports that have had serious damage and just as many cars with carfax accident reports that have never really been hurt.
Rule #2: Don't buy one of these cars with paintwork on it. Period. You're not buying a super rare or nearly unique car, there's tons of these out there, buy a nice one. You probably don't wanna spend $600 on an Elcometer, but paintwork is easy to spot.
First, make sure that the VIN stickers are on all the body panels.
Second, check the bolts on the front end.. fenders and hood. Make sure none of the fasteners securing these panels have tool marks on them.
Checking for paintwork takes some skill, I do this for a living so i can usually tell if a car has been painted by a quick glance, but feel the edges of the panels, they should be as smooth as the surfaces, if there's roughness, the panel's been painted. You'll see tape lines on door jambs when a panel has been painted, look for mismatched color, fish eyes, sanding marks under the clear coat or dust/debris in the paint. Lexus tends to have very high quality paint so imperfections are a HUGE red flag.
These cars are also VERY stiff on the market without Navi, ML doesn't help to sell them as much as you might think, but without Navi they are very stiff. I made the mistake of once buying a no-navi car for the lot once because it was cheap, I lived to regret that decision.
If you guys want, i can take some pics of previous body repairs to show you what to look for.
Do not trust Carfax. A dealership can do a body work in their own shop and not report it so the car may have "clean title", but it might have been in an accident. I've seen too many of these.
06-07-10, 08:52 AM
#9
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I agree the carfax isn't the end all be all of the car's condition, but, it's really easy to narrow your choices by removing cars that DO show problems on carfax, especially for me where the car was purchased 1000 miles away there's no chance to do so.
Carmax has a 5 day return policy so I figured it's not too much risk if I get the car and there's something wrong that's not covered under warranty I can just return it, no harm no foul.
I also fought back and forth with the navi, but ultimately went without it, my folks have had the 07 es and the 10 rx 350 with nav, it's terrible compared to google navigation on the phone, my 05 acura nav isn't great either, it never recognizes a place by name, so if you don't have the address you're SOL, perhaps the lexus works better with names of places but, for around $1500 - $2000 more in the used market, I couldn't justify it. just my .02
Carmax has a 5 day return policy so I figured it's not too much risk if I get the car and there's something wrong that's not covered under warranty I can just return it, no harm no foul.
I also fought back and forth with the navi, but ultimately went without it, my folks have had the 07 es and the 10 rx 350 with nav, it's terrible compared to google navigation on the phone, my 05 acura nav isn't great either, it never recognizes a place by name, so if you don't have the address you're SOL, perhaps the lexus works better with names of places but, for around $1500 - $2000 more in the used market, I couldn't justify it. just my .02
Last edited by ASILVER; 06-07-10 at 08:56 AM.
06-07-10, 09:23 AM
#10
A good thing that Carfax is finally picking up is whether or not the car ran across an auction block with a "frame damage" or "unibody damage" announcement. Sometimes it's minor, sometimes the car was BADLY hurt. These are to be avoided.
Don't report the accident to the police? No show on Carfax. Wreck your car in one county in Jersey? No show on Carfax. Until 3/08 Accident reports from Westchester County, NY wasn't selling their data to Carfax.
06-07-10, 09:24 AM
#11
I agree the carfax isn't the end all be all of the car's condition, but, it's really easy to narrow your choices by removing cars that DO show problems on carfax, especially for me where the car was purchased 1000 miles away there's no chance to do so.
Carmax has a 5 day return policy so I figured it's not too much risk if I get the car and there's something wrong that's not covered under warranty I can just return it, no harm no foul.
I also fought back and forth with the navi, but ultimately went without it, my folks have had the 07 es and the 10 rx 350 with nav, it's terrible compared to google navigation on the phone, my 05 acura nav isn't great either, it never recognizes a place by name, so if you don't have the address you're SOL, perhaps the lexus works better with names of places but, for around $1500 - $2000 more in the used market, I couldn't justify it. just my .02
Carmax has a 5 day return policy so I figured it's not too much risk if I get the car and there's something wrong that's not covered under warranty I can just return it, no harm no foul.
I also fought back and forth with the navi, but ultimately went without it, my folks have had the 07 es and the 10 rx 350 with nav, it's terrible compared to google navigation on the phone, my 05 acura nav isn't great either, it never recognizes a place by name, so if you don't have the address you're SOL, perhaps the lexus works better with names of places but, for around $1500 - $2000 more in the used market, I couldn't justify it. just my .02
They are pretty picky about what they buy, they do not retail cars with excessive paintwork, unibody damage, etc. So chances are the car's a good one.
06-07-10, 10:51 AM
#12
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It makes sense b/c they offer 30 day 100% warranty coverage so I'm sure they don't want the hassle of selling a car that's going to come back in a week with a $2000 repair.
06-07-10, 06:02 PM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
check for any dash rattles or rattles from the sunroof while driving or when slamming the door. The GS350 is an excellent car but it has a few issues with minor rattles .
06-08-10, 12:49 AM
#14
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Thanks you guys for all the great feedback! Ill make sure to check for all the vin's. Are they on all the panels on the GS? On my Supra I made sure to look for the vin's everywhere I could, fenders, hood, doors, etc..
06-08-10, 04:26 AM
#15
I have been meaning to do a pictorial of the various locations as a reference as I don't think any such thing currently exists. Would be useful as the cars are getting older and used specimens are more likely to have had panels replaced.