Stevoe88

iTrader: (1)

So a friend of mine wants an IS350, and he found one with a salvaged title for pretty cheap. (He talked him down to about 17.3k over the phone) However there are some things fishy about the car. My friend carfaxed the car and it was in a accident where the drivers front fender was hit. Don't know how that caused it to be salvaged unless there was frame damage. He confirmed that the frame is straight but who knows. Anyhow the only thing that is bothering me is the last picture in the craigslist ad where it shows the Traction control/ECT power buttons. I thought only 08 and up had the traction control option? He said his car is an 2006 model. Thanks in advance, I'll post up the carfax report in a bit also.


http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/1581572435.html

edgeucated

iTrader: (4)

06 and 07 has the trac off button too. the only difference is if we holding the button only disables part of the traction control. while on the 08 models holding it will completely disable traction control

trixxx519

iTrader: (14)

i have an is250 06 and i have those buttons

Stevoe88

iTrader: (1)

ah i see alright we'll go check it out in person I guess. Heres the carfax link

http://www.carfax.com/viewEmailRepor...i3&language=en

radicalrev

iTrader: (2)

What is the mileage?

Infra

iTrader: (1)

Um. Sorry, but that's just the '06. The '07 will turn it off completely if you hold the button.

Initial G

iTrader: (38)

From the pictures, the OD says 32401, could be more by now.

To the OP, the car looks "ok" in the pictures but you should really check out and test drive the car in person before making any kind of decision. Good luck. Hope it works out for your friend.

giantdefy

iTrader: (1)

Some car repair shops will say that the repair bill for a damaged vehicle is so high that the insurance company will write it off as a salvaged vehicle. Repair shop buys vehicle for really cheap and repairs it at a low cost using the cheapest parts and turn around and sell it for a reasonable profit. This is how they make money. Im not saying this might have happened to the car your looking at. Things to look for are frame damage, deployed air bags. Some shops will not replace the deployed air bags to due high cost and your left with no air bags. Cheaper for them and you wont know the difference until you need it.

The car looks loaded with every option available and would normally sell around $25K-$30K.

Another thing to remember is that you cannot finance a Salvaged vehicle. You have to pay cash for it. If you convince a bank to finance the car, it will be at a very very high interest rate.

Car insurance companies do not like insuring a salvaged vehicle, so your stuck with higher than normal rates.

Resale value also takes a sharp nose dive and makes it very difficult to sell. Ive seen that ad on craigslist for a while when I was looking for my IS250. Hes been trying to sell it for some time. So if you buy it, its going to be very difficult to sell.