p0lo8

Ok guys, so i test drove a car. No dash rattle! Gauge needle looked good too.
Interior is in superior condition, rims has some curb rash (he will include winter tires+wheels as well), rear bumper some scratches. Never drove the 2IS before so don't know whats the engine noise should be. It had like a silent tickling, is that normal?
Also front tire noise was pretty loud, but probably because they are really bad and needs to be changed.

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

lol "silent ticking", but yes the ticking is most likely the direct injectors on the car. 2IS is known to have that slight ticking sound all the time because of the direct injectors. You will get used to it Also, If the tires are really bad, they will definitely make noise.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Sounds good, glad to hear things went well. Did you take a closer look at the door you thought looked odd? My guess is that it was just the picture.

Great news that there's no rattle, that's a huge pain if it's there. I'd expect rims to have some rash at over 100k miles, it's great he's providing winter wheels/tires as well.

As KillaIS250 said above, the ticking is normal and is related to the direct injection.

The front tire noise should just be the tires, I'm sure once you swap them out you'll be good.

p0lo8

The doors was just the picture. Also the car still has 3M sticker on half of the hood and all front bumper, and a sticker on auto trans shifter (D, R, N..) lol.
I was surprised there was absolutely no steering wheel or leather wear on the seats.
So i offered him 14k, he asked 14,5k. On Monday i should get an answer. Anyway i'll take it for 14,5k if he decides not to sell it for 14k. He is a second owner and still owes 20k so that is weird.
Did not take to a mechanic yet. Thinking to go before we close the deal in bank, but the car looks really clean.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

You definitely want to take it to a mechanic BEFORE making the deal. After the paperwork's signed and money's exchanged, you have no recourse if you find there's major damage or something else unexpected.

Call a dealer nearby and schedule a pre-purchase inspection, they should charge you an hour's labor or so ($120ish). Ask them to take a look over and inspect everything, also check rotor and pad thickness, tire tread depth, etc. If you do the inspection and they find it needs new rotors for example, then you'd be in a better position to get him to stick at $14k instead of $14.5k. An inspection will also turn up any problems he might not even know about - something about to go bad, a CEL code in past history, etc.

lexuslivin

Definitely do an inspection, preferably at a Lexus Dealer. You can call up the Lexus Dealer and give them your info and credit card, and tell them the owner of the car will bring in the car to be inspected but that you will pay for it, and they should send you the inspection report and not to the owner. That way you don't have to wait around all day at the dealer. Just have the owner go to the dealer and do the inspection himself.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

This is an option, but I personally would take the car there myself. If the owner wants to come along too that's fine, but I would not leave it all in the hands of the owner. You could go to his place, leave your car, and then take the IS to the dealer.

There are a few reasons you want to be there yourself, but here are the main two:

1) You want to be sure you're seeing and hearing about everything. The owner of a car for sale has every incentive to keep something hidden or not disclose something. It's not an ethical judgment on any one owner, it's just a statement of fact. Whether an owner acts on that incentive and obfuscates something is up to their moral character, but why leave that up to chance?

There are so many things that could work against you by trusting the owner to take the car for an inspection and you just paying for it remotely. He could not ever take it to the dealer. He could take it to the dealer and tell them just to check the brakes and tires, nothing else. He could take it to a dealer where he has a friend and ask him to do him a favor and write up a report saying everything's fine. He could even take it to a dealer, get the full inspection as requested, then when the report arrives tell the guy "Oh you don't have to put water pump failure on there, I already talked to him about that". You see what I'm getting at.

2) You want to be there to ask any and all questions you have. Text on an inspection report can't and won't give you the detail you want. You don't want to get a report back that says "Belt noise" or "Water pump issue" for example and have no idea what that is, then have to call the dealer and try and get in touch with the mechanic who actually inspected it. Also, when you're at the dealer you can ask them questions about how serious it is, how expensive it is, if there are other solutions, etc.

Be there in person for the inspection.

sqa4life

Take it easy buddy. I was only sharing my mistake :-)

p0lo8

Inspection went fine, it was done at Lexus (they charge $159 here in Chicago). No problems, just maintenance stuff. Parts dealer said need to be replaced: all brake pads, rear rotors, drive belt, air filter. Not worried about this stuff since i am going to do everything by my self so its gonna be ~$250 for parts. Also need to change front tires and do an alignment.
So picking up the car someday next week for $14k.

p0lo8

The guy has the title but it says that is has the lien on it. Never heard about that before. What kind of title it is?

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

In my experience the lien on the title just means it's not a clear title in his name, the lien means someone else "owns" the car, which in this case is the bank he owes. That's why going to the bank with him and having him pay it off in person and having the bank acknowledge it is so important. I can't speak to the process for how you actually get a clear title in hand after that.

p0lo8

Thanks.
They should send me a clear title once it paid off, we will work that out in the bank, but i was just curious about the title. Like i said never heard about those before.

NitrousNik

I'd say go for it. I just bought my is350 with 100k for $18k last Wednesday. Just make sure you get it checked out before you buy it. Always do a PPI on a used car.

p0lo8

Already did it. Car is in good shape, and I'm going for it. Just waiting for the seller to take care of his payment part, since he owes more than I'm paying. So when we go to the bank i will pay off the car in full.

MyIS350G

iTrader: (6)

looks good to me, thats a great price too