Martin321

I am in the market for a slightly used GS 350 F sport. I was looking around and called a few dealers, was able to knock off the price by around close to 1k, but they all seem not to negotiate too much over the phone. What do you guys think, 36.5K for a Lexus GS 350 F sport, year 2013?, it has around 27K miles on it. I also noticed that not too F sport packages are available for some reason. I don't know the exact packages included but on the phone it sounded like it was pretty much loaded. I know GS in particular has a pretty good resale value. I used to own a GS 300 1998 with 178K trouble free miles before it sailed back to Japan during hurricane sandy, never saw it again.

islandbeef

An F-Sport without Mark Levinson stereo in my opinion, isn't a deal breaker. It may offer you a little bit more leverage to lower the price some. Check to see if this is part of the F-Sport package.

Martin321

Thanks, I will have to make sure they had included Mark Levison stereo. HUD would also be a big plus. Do the AWD 350's 13 come with staggered wheels? Thanks for the reply in the advance.

Martin321

I have the VIN number for the car, I was wondering if someone on the forum can check it out, so that it lists all the packages on the car. VIN: JTHCE1BL1D5013195. Silver with black and brown interior, F sports package.

islandbeef

HUD is another feature that's not too important = another price leveraging add-on. 2013's don't have the folding side mirror feature, that arrives in 2014, I believe.

LI Lexus

Lexus of Greenwich is great to deal with, however you're not getting the best price.. Ask to speak to Terry Finneson (203) 869-6700 x1172

here is your carfax report

http://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory...&partner=VSR_0

good luck

Martin321

Besides this, is there some other package that I should should ask for? Because when I called one of the dealerships, they just wanted me to come visit them in the other state, over 100 miles away. He made it sound as if back up cam, nav, blind spot monitoring, keyless start and remote access were all standard options.

Thanks in advance.

Martin321

Thanks for the into, it looks like the price dropped a bit today. Hmm, Is normal for a front brake pad change in 27K miles? I wish there would be a program that would enable to see all of the cars options when entering VIN # and also cars MSRP.

AJLex19

Depending on the use of the car, its possible to have needed new pads at 27k miles. Depends on the driving style of the previous owner.

I purchased my CPO '13 Premium from Lexus of Mt. Kisco which is Lexus of Greenwich's sister store. I would HIGHLY recommend that you scrutinize a lot of the wear and tear items. Two months after I purchased my car, i took it to my uncle who is a mechanic and he noticed that tires needed to replaced soon, rear rotors that were badly rusted/pitted and an out of round wheel.

None of these were covered under warranty but I didn't pay close enough attention to complain about these things before my purchase.

Remember that CPO tends to add thousands to the price but each dealership and its technicians have different levels of "tolerance." The dealership may slap a CPO sticker on a car adding thousands to the price of a car that may need a bit more reconditioning - reconditioning that most buyers don't really spend the time to consider.

Consider any wear and tear items, use competing dealers prices to help negotiate hard and don't settle - Good Luck!

Martin321

Thanks for the info AJ, will definitely keep that in mind as my first priority. I thought that the tires should have at least 50% of wear remaining, if not more. Tires should have been good for the next few years at least or 24K miles at least. That is exactly what I mentioned when I replied in the other thread. I don't want to fall too much for that CPO, CPO is nice to have but the customer needs to be aware of the things you mentioned. I would definitely check out the rotors, brake pads and tire wear. I know that those front rotors are hardcore and more expensive then regular.

LI Lexus

If the car has been certified, the dealer will have a 3 page document that lists all 160 points checked.. They will show it to you. most is silly stuff like headlights work, set belts work etc, but other line items like

in your cars case, has the 25000 mile service been done?
tire tread depth 5/32 is min allowable. That can be the difference of $1000 to you if you need to go buy tires..

AJLex19

Np - I also noticed that the car you are looking at over at Lexus of Greenwich has over 2years (until the end of 2017) remaining on the original 4yr 50k bumper to bumper warranty based on the Carfax date of registration of the first owner.

I would ask (just out of curiosity) how much would you save if you decided to drop the CPO?

Essentially, if you bought the car today, your full warranty would still be good until the end of 2017, and your CPO would be good until sept. 2018 - seems like paying the extra for the 1yr of certification is pricey and may be something you could certainly inquire about (just my an opinion of course).

islandbeef

F-Sports are usually standardized but some don't include Mark Levinson, HUD, headlight washers, "sleepy eyes" sensors, lane departure sensors. Mine didn't have any of these goodies (the dealership knew this) and priced the car accordingly. The lower price made it more attractive to me. In my past experience with luxury brands: the more the goodies, the more will need to be fixed. I just wanted to dodge that bullet.

Also, don't let the dealerships make you want to come and visit until you both agree on a number/price over the phone and/or email. All info/specs can be sent via email, there's no need to waste your gas and time going over there.

Keep your interests in mind and protect them. Don't settle, fight for a deal. Don't give the dealership the edge.

Martin321

Today I was at my dealership and they just got a 2013 Lexus GS white with black interior 21K miles on the car, looked like it was shipped in from N.J. White with black interior. MSRP 59.443 their price is 37K. It was not certified. Once I showed them the add from Greenwich Lexus, they would not budge to 36K, but would only have the car CPO'ed to include certification in that amount. Car has 7K less miles then the one in Greenwhich. Besides sport package it has HDD Navigation package, Intuitive park assist, Blind spot monitoring and Trunk mat, cargo net for a total of 8.748 in options. I know that it is not a great deal, but it sounds to me like it is a fair deal. It also did not have options like HUD or Mark Levinson sound system or lane departure warning.

The only thing that I noticed was when the sales guy went to get the plates, I was playing around with it. I was revving the car not too harshly when the odometer went down between 2-1, car was shaking slightly for a second or 2. I was not able to reproduce it when i tried once with a sales guy. He said, don't worry, car is under manufactures warranty.

AJLex19

Nothing beats how you feel when sitting in the car and going for the test drive. Test drive it a couple of times to see how you feel. I test drove a silver F sport, a black w/luxury pkg/cold weather pkg, and a premium (base). I felt the difference between all three were negligible so i went with the premium (base).

The price is pretty much right for a GS with the F-sport package with such low mileage. That's also a great color combination (starfire on black f sport) in my opinion. You should ask your dealer why they can't match or come down closer to Greenwich's price-point. They may indicate its b/c of the low mileage, but any of these '13 GS's with anywhere between 20k-30k miles that has been taken care of will feel and ride just about the same.

It really boils down to your tastes, your gut feeling, your budget and how that aligns with the car you want. Sounds like your hesitant because of the price point but it isn't a small purchase so you want to get the best deal you can.

Also, my advice is never to rush...sales people like to rush you into things, take your time and get YOUR car, the right car for YOU, not the right car to fill the salesman's monthly quota...