Hello all,

Brand new member, long time Lexus fan. Always wanted to buy a Lex and now I can finally buy one.

I've been searching for the perfect Lexus gs f sport and finally found one but at a private dealership. It's been sitting on autotrader for awhile which got me thinking "is something wrong with this car??" Is there any advice you can give me and or info from looking at the carfax?

Thanks in advance guys and I'll keep you posted. The car is a 2 hour drive away to check out so that's why I can't just go check it out really quick or anything.

Here's the carfax

http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/p/Report.cfx?partner=AMF_0&vin=-16|83|31|-119|-41|20|-111|-25|83|-68|-115|9|-99|-24|-47|106|-62|-106|14|-87|1|-93|31|-123|

 

Welcome! Post up a link to the car from autotrader. It has a helluva lot of miles on it for a year old car but that's because it was em running fleet duty. That may be scaring potential buyers away (for you benefit lol). The fact that it was certified with Lexus and listed for sale for a brief time as a CPO car IMO means you should have nothing to worry about. It was probably just taking up space on Lexus' lot and they decided to send it to the auction.

 

Thank you for your input!!

Here's the posting from the dealer's website and autotrader.

http://www.westcoastauto.com/pre-owned-cars/detail/2013-Lexus-GS-350/13064

http://m.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=372702968&zip=92126&endYear=2013&pageLayout=list&sortBy=distanceASC&startYear=2013&searchRadius=200&offset=90&mmt=%5BLEXUS%5BGS350%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D

Anymore input is greatly appreciated

 

You just really want to know if it has ever been in an accident. Ask to take to your mechanic to put on hoist and fully inspect.

 

I would take it to my mechanic buts he's an hour away from the dealership.

Have any of you bought from a 3rd party dealership?

 

Personally I'd never buy from a small dealer that gets cars from the auction. They get the cars the big dealers don't want...with a FEW exceptions.

 

would you recommend asking the private dealership taking it to Lexus for an inspection again? The salesman said that lexus did the inspection about 100 miles ago just like the carfax states.

Any other recommendations or advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance guys

 

The only place I would highly buy used car from Carmax or dealer CPO, especially this price range. I would not jeopardy any problem. When you walk out that place then you're done. That time when you think saving 1,2 grants will cause you more time and money. As for Carfax, I don't always trust it 100%, there are ways that they can make it clean Carfax. Good luck!!

 

With the advice from this forum. I decided that patience is a virtue. I will not be buying this car due to the advice. I guess I'll keep waiting till one pops up at the lexus dealerships around my area.

Thanks guys!

 

^^I think that was probably a good decision.

 

Ok I called the dealership to cancel my appointment to check out the car and told him I'm not going to spend that kind of money on a car in having doubts about. He told me I could take it to the Lexus dealership and get a full inspection to give me peace of mind if I'm having doubts. I know most wouldn't buy from private dealerships but I'm wondering what if the car came back from inspection with no problems and everything was good to go. Would you still buy it from a private dealership?

What would you guys do?

Sorry for all the questions but just want to make sure I did my homework before committing to a big purchase.

 

I would probably buy it if the inspection by Lexus came back ok. If it was CPO'd by Lexus' standards before, you *should* have nothing to worry about.

 

I'd feel better buying a certified vehicle from a Lexus dealer even at a higher cost over a used car lot.

 

I'm kinda torn on whether purchasing it or not.

Anymore advice is appreciated. I'll keep you guys posted

 

Speaking from experience; I KNOW most private dealers get about 80% of their cars from auctions. Some are trade-ins, others are dealership swap for a car that wont sell in a specific area. I usually WONT buy these cars because either they are reposessed cars, cars thats been in an accident and fixed, or (dare I say it) Flood cars.

Another reason is because the cars are either over priced, or the financing is a crap deal. I know someone who financed a 15k car at 8.9% which is terrible by financing means.

Its kind of buyer be-ware. To play devils advocate, Every now and then you would find a Gem in a lot that you wont find at a dealership so if you can avoid all the hassles, get them down to a decent price, do your own financing through a bank as well as inspect the car, it's worth a look. If not, then HARD PASS