GSmonseur

So I'm finally ready to purchase a 3GS. I'm set on either an '06 GS430 or '07 GS350. A black/black color combination and Mark Levinson are absolutes.

As are fanatical attention to scheduled maintenance, and near flawless mechanical and cosmetic condition. Chrome wheels are a nice touch, and something I've always wanted (even if I must exchange them myself).

The problem?

It's very difficult for me to find the car I want under $24k, unless they have ridiculous mileage.

Take this GS for example: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/ctd/3446394461.html

It's got everything I want and only 53k miles but for $26k? That seems awfully expensive. The salesman wouldn't budge.

I've talked to several dealers with '06 430's and '07 350's in the color combo I want and with under 70k miles and none will negotiate on price.

What do you guys think is a fair price for these cars?

Thank you.

xRYD3Rx

Oh boy same situation we were in. We were looking for a 2010-2011 Lexus gs 350 between 10-20k miles for around $35k there was a lot of good ones for $38-$40k + tax comes out to be $42-43k in total. Whichever dealer I want they didn't want to negotiate a lower price the most they lowered was $1000. I figured that the Lexus gs price value is very high and they are great cars and price does not drop a lot. So don't be surprised at them not negotiating with you.

Also, how much down are you will to put? I was putting $5k down no one was negotiating.
Decided to raise the down saw a car at the Lexus dealer went told them putting $10k down and I want to finance it thru your bank "Lexus financial" oh boy never seen a salesman that happy in my life. They agreed to negotiate but only lowered $2000 of the price, it still wasn't bad the car had great miles and overall well kept. I saw a lot of cars with scratchs and so on that wasnt worth buying it but the one I purchased was really clean. Good luck!

My uncle purchase a 2006 gs300 fully loaded from carmax a month ago with 99k miles for $20k.
They are very expensive cars. Also very reliable.

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

have you considered looking outside of your area? maybe see whats in surrounding states and take a drive assuming its worth it or check out our classified section where other members can vouch for the seller and the condition of the car.

I personally wouldn't pay more then 25k, assuming pristine condition, but for your average used GS430 I would expect to be closer to 20-22k.

Another reason some of these dealers may not be budging is they have been sitting on the cars and took the deprecation hit when the new model was released. If possible just take your time and keep looking. IMO you can find a much better deal.

I also wouldn't look at the mileage, I would look closer at the service history. I would take a high mileage car that has seen regular service over a car with low mileage, even if it had seen its service. Its not a collectible so toss out your worries of high mileage.

rld14

I'd say that car is "fully priced" but not as insane as you might think. I did a quick check... 100k milers are doing $13-14k at auction, ones with around 80k are doing $15500-16k, perhaps more.

I'd say that car, if its mint and its the right color combo... I'd say out west it hits $20k maybe closer to $21 at auction which means you should easily be able to buy it for under $25k depending on what they had done to it.

But then I looked at this...

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...rch=true&Log=0

Cheapest one in the country is $23,995. In Miami.

Market on GS350s is more competitive, but an 07 GS350 with low miles is still $20+ wholesale, so retail prices are going to be up there... With miles in the 40s dealers are paying $22 easily when you factor in fees and transportation, plus Black/Black cars and Pearl White ones bring a premium.

What sort of miles are you comfortable with? Low miles skyrocket the prices of these things. However prices are down $2k in the past couple of months on them.

silverone

i know how you feel, i spent a couple months at the end of last year looking for my GS430. the ones i found that were reasonable always seemed to either be only in fair shape, out of state auction cars or missing the features i wanted. i finally found a black on black GS430 with 43,000 miles that had every feature i wanted, 1 local owner and all service records. i was willing to pay a little extra because of all those things. i guess it all comes down to what you feel is the most important thing to you, getting it a little cheaper or getting exactly what you want. i can tell you i have no regrets when i make my car payment each month as i love my car!

Asav

iTrader: (2)

Hi All,

I just registered and wanted to add perspective to this thread. I just bought a certified used 06 onyx blue GS300 AWD fully loaded, with the lexus extended 6yrs/125k miles warranty, for 21,900 .

1k for the extra 3 years/25k miles warranty. The car had 56k on it and was in mint condition. I had been looking for 2 months for the right car as they just don't pop up much in impeccable condition. There was not much room for negotiation in my previous 2 experiences during the 2 month time frame and i ended up losing out on both cars prior to this one because dealers would not budge.

I think if you are buying a GS430, with what you are looking for, you wont really find much wiggle room on price. The dealers know these cars don't come around much.

My personal advice, stick to dealers that are in really high end locations. The typical cars they receive may come in via dealer auction or trade. However, the trades they likely receive are from high net worth people that usually have multiple vehicles/homes and they only drive them when they come back to that area. The net effect is you get a car that has been meticulously maintained because some old fart had it to cruise to the grocery story and took it to the dealer to switch out light bulbs let alone regular service. Every time i go to buy a used lexus(me) or BMW(wife), this is route I take and i have had no issues. Let them know what you are looking for and be straight up about what you want to pay. They will get back with you just to move a quick car. I ended up going this route with my old dealer after the two bad experiences losing out on hard to locate cars due to haggling.

GSmonseur

Thanks for the replies.

I can spend up to about $23k in cash, but would ideally like to find something in the $21 to $22k range.

And frankly, after reading about all the reliability issues with the 3GS on this forum, I'm leaning toward a CPO.

It is my understanding however that Lexus won't assign CPO status to a car over 5 years old? Considering it's about to be 2013, that means most '06's and '07's are definitely out.

When I look up CPO cars in Texas (not GS models) they all seem ridiculously over priced--to the point where they are within several thousand of their as-new MSRP.

What's the value proposition there?

I'm starting to think I can't afford this car!

Blacknot

I bought my 06 Gs430 with ML/Navi about 5 months ago for $23,500. I bought it with 42k on it private party. The car was one owner and had every single service record since new. I feel i got a good deal since every other one I found was 25-26k. I have alwayswaited to find the right one and was willing to drive to get it. I got mine about 200 miles away from my house

maficrock

Dealers need to obviously make money on used vehicles, so yes you are going to pay a premium on a used GS. I bought my 06 GS430 with only 22,000 miles about 4 years ago, so I am the 2nd owner. It was a lease return with ML sound system, navigation and fully loaded that I purchased through a wholesale buyer in Los Angeles. I have purchased several cars through them over the past 8 years. All the cars are graded and mine was a grade 5 "extra clean". It's been a great car, and I still enjoy driving it. I'm not positive, but the KBB on my car right now is only about $21K at most and I only have about 75K miles on it.

There are several wholesale auctions that occur nationwide, you just need to find them out there. All the local dealers are in attendance and this is where some of their used inventory comes from. The dealer found my car at an auction in the Bay Area which was only an hour away from me so it saved me from flying to LA and driving back home with the car which I have done about 4 times. Process is very easy, but it's also a way to get a great bargain (just depends on who you're bidding against). Good luck!!

swtjlsy

iTrader: (6)

if you need to ask then the asnwer is yes

SLOW4DR

iTrader: (2)

Mine was 22 for an 06 gs430 with 55k. It was the only 430 I could find in Minnesota at the time. Everything else were awd 350's that were priced around 30-35

cubandi

What do you guys think I could get for my 2006 GS430? It is Glacier Frost Mica, Mark Levinson, Navi, FSport Springs, 19" aftermarket wheels...but is had 100k miles. It has EVERY service record from day 1 at the Lexus Dealership and the car is 100% perfect condition. No door dings, perfect leather, freaking MINT!! Any ideas?!?!