Jalf

Hi all. Been lurking for a while. First post.

I’m in the market for a ‘18 or ‘19 LC500. I’m in the northeast and searching for one within around 500 miles. I’m willing to look further but will make the purchase a little more complicated. Hope to buy in the next month or so as we emerge from the eternal winter.

My question: Is a pre purchase inspection necessary (or even possible) once I find the right one? Obviously, if it is L/certified or from a Lexus dealer, I would feel more comfortable without one. Is it reasonable to place a deposit, travel to see the car, drive it, and purchase given the newness of the car and reliability of the brand. It is a large purchase and I would like to be smart about it. Has anyone purchased sight unseen? That would allow me to extend my search radius.

Btw, I’m looking for nightfall or smoky granite mica over red with 21” wheels. I’m undecided on performance package and would probably be happy either way.

Thanks, Jim

S2000toIS350

I would start with finding solid dealerships to work with
I like Catena in your area
Not likely to be a ton of cars that fit your preferences but you’re on an adventure so have some fun
I have purchased new sight unseen multiple times but for a previously enjoyed luxury car, I would
figure you will want to lay eyes on it prior to sliding your hard earned coin across the table

asinow

Personally I'd get an 19 over the 18. You can fine the differences. I've had a 19 and now a 21. The 21 is more tuned but the 19 was great too. Both were performance packages.
As for your search, I'd definitely go LCPO. Low milage, I've heard of many people on the forum fly all over the place to get their LC. Go for it.

I've had good luck with car gurus too

Keep us posted

TNT13

Hi Jim:

I was in a similar position as you couple months ago on a MY19/20 search. Those years were a a bit more limited. Many low mi 18's are out there range $60K's to $70K's.

I personally would definitely test drive a used one. You can get all the photos/videos you want along with Carfax, but once you test drive it, you know if the brake is pulsing, the transmission shifting smooth, and if the car pulling during hard braking, that sort of stuff. Sure maybe warranty coverage still in effect but do I want to deal with that? There are some dealers (Non-Lexus) offering 5day "refundable" so you don't have to worry. I don't know if I trust all that with the exception of Carmax. If I am buying used, I would really need to try it. I did talk to one dealer for a pre-purchase inspection and the dealer said if he were to release the car for inspection, he wants a deposit from me to ensure I buy it if the inspection found no issue. Reason is they have to give the car up for several hours and can lose a potential buyer. I don't agree with that logic, but that was that dealer's position. Then again, if I like the car enough and worked out a price ahead, I wouldn't mind putting down the deposit contingent of passing inspection.

If I am buying from a LCPO, I would be more comfortable with the vehicle integrity. But I have seen many Lexus dealer selling LC's, but for some reason, they chose not to Lexus Certified them. I believe they could bake in the certification/additional warranty cost into the selling price, so not sure why they don't do it.

With the pandemic and all, getting a used one with the options I wanted within 500mi of Bayarea was just too difficult. I found a dealer in MO who gave me a pretty good deal and bought (buying) it site unseen, now waiting for her to be shipped. So site unseen is OK with me on new. I did that on my TRDPro Tacoma and Audi RS4.

As you start searching autotrader, one thing I notice is after couple months, you see the same car showing up from one dealer to another. I know that's normal, but it's just funny to me they buy it, then jack up the price more, and the 2nd dealer seems to be able to move it quicker.

Good luck.

LC911JEFF

Cars.com has two cars that meet your criteria. One in Greenwich CT and one in Englewood NJ. Good luck on your search you will love the car.

Veight

I purchased an ‘18 last January and I have a couple of tips

with used cars every single one is different and it may pay to look nationwide and travel to buy.

I used Truecar which has a great sort function and you can search nationwide to get the best perspective of what is out there. They have a ton of LCs and the pricing is competitive because of the number of cars there.

I looked for for two weeks and then happened to go on eBay and found the car I wanted in Las Vegas. I happened to be traveling there anyway so I setup a time to meet with the seller. The car with 7,000 miles was cleaner than the ‘19 new one I was looking at the dealership near me. ( this all was Jan 20).

I made an an offer and had the car shipped in closed carrier to Chicago.

In illinois, sales taxes on a car bought from a dealer range from 7.25% to over 10% depending on the city /county purchased in and home address. Sales taxes on a car purchased from a private party are limited to a sales tax of $1,500 total. So on an 80,000 car that’s the difference of $6,400 assuming 8% tax rate vs $1,500 on a private party purchase. That’s $4,900 just in taxes. I also believe you get a better price from a private party as they won’t typically have the sales expertise a dealer has. The downside is you have to do the legwork on the license and registration process. But if the car is still under warranty. ( verify vin with Lexus before purchase) you should be good .

im not sure of the sales tax rules in your state, just telling you what it is in illinois.

But to your question, I would always go and physically look at the car and drive it before committing to anything. Also I believe it’s worth looking nationwide and once you call and confirm everything with seller, fly one way to the location and look at and drive the car.

Also carfax is only accurate on accident history for accidents paid by insurance. Self paid repairs are typically not reported on carfax Be careful and inspect the car or have it professionally inspected for accidents. Most major accidents are on carfax but not all.

Good luck!

thats my 2 cents.

Bill

Jalf

Thanks for the replies. They confirm my thinking. I did locate the following car which checks the boxes I am looking for. It is a ‘19 so about $7-10K more than a similar mileage and equipped ‘18.

Assuming it checks out, what would you say is an appropriate offer to make?

https://www.manheimimports.com/inven...hp5ay7ka006566

Thanks all.

TNT13

I saw this one since 3 months ago, it was listed in IG Burton BMW, you can see in Carfax. There is one small line that states "Replaced Radiator". Now it's changed hands to Manheim. Tester/Buyer be ware.

The price in what I have seen with PP is competitive. I am sure they would not mind a few k's off. Never hurt to ask.

Jalf

Very interesting. I saw one listed at I.G. in Delaware. It disappeared and now at this dealer. IIRC, the price was around $76,xxx.

Is the radiator replacement a dealbreaker for people on this forum?

Veight

Go on TrueCar and look at the number of LCs and compare. Do not get emotionally attached yet.

TNT13

That's a personal statement, given you likely won't be able to find out why it was replaced. I buy to keep (at least that's today's plan), so I wouldn't want that. But others may not care especially if the car drives just fine. Hell....the glass half full people may view it as cool, I have a new radiator.

So 76ish....I couldn't recall. Same thing in SoCal, there was a gray one at 76K by emotors fullerton, but it was sold to a SoCal Toyota dealer (can't recall exact one). They jacked it up by 6K and was sold in 2weeks!

If you are OK with this one and able to test drive find it perfect, I would negotiate based on 76K and leverage on the "radiator replacement". It's a great color combo IMO.