Hi All,

I have been looking for awhile to get a 350C IS. They sell pretty quickly at crazy prices lately.
So I am an out of state buyer but came across a white on beige with 103,000 miles. It has 36 Lexus services and at one point was a certified Lexus car.
So the known lot dealer just bought it from Lexus. Lexus just did a Inspection a month ago. I called to confirm.
But when the lot dealer got it the transmission errors came on with several codes. I talked to them and they are deciding this week to just put in a new transmission from a local person they use. It will have a warranty but I am out of state so not sure how that works. They are not charging more for the car and it is $16,000.

Second issue which is minor it has a area on the drivers seat that the leather is like rubbed off in a circle. One salesperson said they can repair it for like $100-150 which is fine my me. The drivers seat needs some serious Griots love which I can do.

So, My mechanic wanted to know the codes and he said just negotiate a lower price and he will just fix/ replace the trans. He is a master mechanic and he has every car in his shop. If not, he just said make sure I get a warranty on it etc. They sent me a video showing the codes but if they are going to replace it then it doesn't make a difference I guess. Anything else I should be leary of if the trans is going?

Suggestions? Should I move forward on the purchase?

Totally Appreciate it.

 

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I won't comment on everything, but as to the trans, it will probably be a used one from another 350. It may work fine, but why would the donor car be giving it up? Was it in an accident? Was that car abused? Those things you will never know. I personally would want a long warranty on the trans from some company that I'm sure will cover it in 5 years down the road. A small mechanic may not be able to do that. And then you are going to have a broken car either shipped or delivered to your local mechanic? What could go wrong there....

Then there's the buying out of state. I just did that recently and had a lot of problems. If I wanted to pursue all the problems I had, I would have to do it with an attorney out of state, courts out of state, contacting the dealer by phone or email often not replied to, etc. I would never again purchase long distance unless I was pretty sure the deal was final and I wouldn't have to have any further contact with the seller.

But then that's just me. YMMV.

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@ronkelley Thanks so much for your comments. I really appreciate it. But let me answer some of your concerns.
First off I have a friend that lives in the area of the dealership and told me it's a reliable dealer. Also they have a Lexus 250C so at least somewhat knowledgeable about these cars. They had their since 2010 and are the original owners.
I won't buy any out of state car without Lexus or a known mechanic looking at the car for me. I would do that local to me as well. This car was just at a Lexus dealer one month ago for an inspection and stated on the Carfax and confirmed when I called them with the VIN. This car had 36 visits to 2 Lexus dealers that are known. If you look at Carfax for just about any car, that is alot. All for regular maintenance and recalls that are known. This is one reason why I am intrigued to say the least.
The dealer called me out of state to let me know about the Trans codes and sent me a video showing the codes that I can take to my mechanic which I will do on Monday. But when I called my mechanic he said it could just be sensor codes also. So he said to let him look them up and help with the buy decision. He was just saying if I wanted him to do the work if it's known that it's the trans needs to be replaced, I actually would rather him do it and yes he would get a long warranty on it.

I also am leaning on doing something like Endurance warranty for maybe 6 months or longer just to make sure. Plus one of their packages covers the motors to the convertible top.....but that's another decision. Also my mechanic knows this engine well.

I was actually going to go with my wife to a conference this weekend to see this and another car but the dealer called to let me know there were problems. This dealer has been extremely responsive for weeks now with calls/ emails. Yes, I have had issues with local lot dealers that never call/ email etc. Don't know how these people stay in business. Also this dealer has sent me extra pics of the seats/ car and just waiting for undercarriage pics. This car has been listed well before the floods around the US also......Geez....much harder to buy a damn car these days...LOL....The dealer will do a video walkaround etc etc. Like anything I ask for. I "might" go visit my friend also then I can check it out but will see. If I have Lexus look at it , it will be a different dealer that just looked at it last month. I will also talk service manager myself and of course pay for it. It's not expensive actually. The dealer will also do an oil change, sparks and wipers on my request but don't me they check it out and usually do this if needed. The tires have 75% tread left on all 4.

So let me know what you or anyone else thinks and if this makes a difference.

Let me ask you a question. When you bought your car out of state did you have a mechanic not associated with the dealer look at your car? Just curious.

Again, I appreciate your comments. Gives me somethings to think about.

 

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LMK,

Sounds like you have a lot of your ducks in a row. Good Job! One big thing to keep in mind here is it's only $16,000. Heck, I've lost that much in depreciation on a dozen cars in my life.

Thoughts: With that kind of service record on the car, it wouldn't seem the person was uncaring and abused it. With the Lexus dealer that involved, it would seem to have some reputable (although not always reliable) vouching for the condition. Apparently no one is trying to hide any imperfections. You have had some feedback from your local friend (although this combined with on line reviews is even better) on the dealer. Good Carfax. Oil change and wipers are cheap to do (I would use those to bargain with just to give away for bargaining points). Plugs are a little more involved to have a qualified mechanic do (and should be with irridium) and would be nice if that was free from dealer.

On this website I haven't read much on problems with the top. On a VW Eos I had, it was a major consideration, but the Lexus seems better built. Mine has only had a problem one time--my fault--when I jammed my suitcase in and forced the trunk door to close such that the sensors didn't believe it was good to go. Don't jam!

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why do you think it was abused? It was brought in for like every maintence known with constant and current oil changes etc etc. Yes, the car is inexpensive and why I want it...LOL...I haven't seen this low of a price on a clean title . They are usually rebuilt. If I had to put in some money (hopefully not) then I wouldn't be disappointed. But I looked up the codes.....(forgot this site is great for this) it can be anything from replacing the trans fluid to solenoid sensors to complete rebuild. The dealer said they would rather just rebuild it (or get a rebuild) so I would know if would have a warranty and not have issues.....

I will find out more this week. I have my eye on a few others but they sell quickly lately but have seen few with this extensive maintence history.

OK....now will see if Chicago Bears will look like a team today. Yep, from Chicago

 

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Read my words more carefully.

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Sorry about that....just reread. I appreciate your input.

 

I can speak to the interior as I have the same color and purchased my IS350C used with similar wear. I saw the wear in person and it was more severe than the pictures would indicate (unless you zoom way in). The dealer had a shop do the treatment yours is probably referring to and they looked brand new when I took delivery.

It is like a color matched Bondo (for want of a better term) that lasts for a while and at least makes you feel better about the purchase.

 

Totally appreciate it. I am going to find out more once I know the sale is a go. He said once done it will look new. I heard of someone just replacing the entire seat cover and I would not object to that for the fronts but need to find out the costs first. Dirt doesn't bother me but this kind of wear I can't repair. My dauther got a 2004 ES 330 with same leather and didn't want to get the car since the seats were dirty but the maintence was excellent. I told her I would clean it up. 4 hours later the interior looked brand new with of course some minor leather cracking here and there.

So my question @twleblanc Can't leather be taken from else where on the seat like underneath or area not see to do the patch?

Now I got to look up Leather bondo....lol....Maybe I will call a place like Joanne fabrics and see what they got.

 

https://www.seatdoctors.com/diy-leat...RoCqBUQAvD_BwE

This might be something to look into.....hmmmm

 

See above inline in red

 

Thanks. Well an update. the "lot" dealer didn't get the title to the car within 30 days so the car was sent back to the Lexus Dealer due to the trans since the dealer did do a inspection and didn't come up with the trans codes. They might be looking to buy the car back after the trans is fixed. I of course will reach out to the Dealer to see what's up.

As far as the seat, I posted a link of a company that someone upthread suggested like leather "bondo" ...LOL. I called the company and talked to the owner and showed him pictures. He said it's a really easy common fix etc. Just something good to know going forward since of course these are used cars. As stated above I took my daughters 2004 es 330 that she bought 2 years ago and made the interior look like new. So these seats are pretty easy to clean and the dirt doesn't bother me as long as the car is mechanically sound . fyi- they color match the interior and use the vin to get the color and will send toner so you can adjust the color if needed. Some of their before and after pics are impressive but you know how that goes sometimes.

Good insight.

 

If you find that you can buy that convertible of find another convertible, I would suggest that you investigate your local Lexus dealer and see if they have someone what knows about fixing convertible tops. While someone said that convertibles don't have that many problems and it's sorta true, I would suggest you read the convertible forum - https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-c-244/ . No one has found a repair shop that will do a hardtop convertible other than a Lexus dealer. And not all of the dealers know their heads from a hole in the ground when it comes to convertible top problems.

 

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I'm having trouble understanding your meaning. Are you suggesting that he NOT buy the convertible if he doesn't find a Lexus dealer that has a competant top repair person? In fact, if one reads the link you posted, one will not find a lot of posts cocerning top problems. Compare that to problems with tire concerns or electrical problems. There is a problem here and there occasionally on everything. I live in an area with no Lexus dealers within 200 miles, only a Toyota dealer. If I were going to use dealer access as a criterian for my purchace, I could never get one.

Sometimes I suppose you just have to have a little faith.

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I am not saying that there are a lot of problems with the convertible tops. But if you do have a problem, it will be a challenge to get a place to fix it. Toyota dealers won't touch it because the hardtop convertible was not/is not sold as a Toyota model. I have not read any posts where someone found an indy shop to repair one, either. So that leaves the local Lexus dealer.

If the op lives away from the urban areas, there may not be a close by Lexus dealer. I have read posts from guys that have to drive several hours to a Lexus dealer and the problems that were created because of it. Repairing a car involves both experience and practice. If the dealer is not a high volume dealer, that translates to not having a lot of service business and he may not have a technician that has a lot of, if any, convertible experience. Under these conditions, i.e., no local dealer, low volume dealer, I would vote against getting a convertible.

Otherwise, go for it.