OU303

Yah I am going to just super slowwww play the '95. Going to at least go look at it but not gointg to move on it until I see the 2000. Id at all. The guy with the '95 isn't back in town until the 5th anyways. Maybe go look at that on say the 7th and the 2000 right away on the 10th.

OU303

Well update. The guy with the 205k LS now has it listed for $3200.

Now I also found a 90 LS with 97k miles for $3,300. This guy has only owned it for a couple months but when asked said he needs to sell "to get something bigger." Wish I could run the VIN for the Carfax but I have no more VIN searches. Shoulda gotten AutoCheck instead.

What do u guys think? I was looking more at 95+ but this 90 looks clean and those are some LOW miles.

If the interior and exterior, engine and tranny are all good on the 95, it could be worth it just driving it is long as it will go and even putting a new engine and/or good used tranny in. Might be able to get it for less than $3k. Same price basically on both. I'm thrown for a loop because I wasn't considering a gen1.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

lol no comparison. bigger brakes, better mpg, more space, $300 less, and significantly newer.

'95 all the way.

OU303

Even with over double the miles still '95 all the way? How much would u offer?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

you need to read.
http://www.lexls.com/info/lsgenerations.html

if the tb/wp were done within the last 20-30k miles it's worth 3k, if not, it's worth 2300ish.

mspearl95

what happened with the '00?

OU303

I incorrectly assumed the gas mileage would be the same. I know nothing about the Gen1. Any worse gas mileage is enough to scare me off


It is still in play but the guy acts like he is too busy to get things together to sell it. He is a real good Duse and has answered all kinds of questions for me but he seems like he has about ten other priorities ahead of selling the car.

deanshark

Stay FAR away from that '90, for a couple reasons. Price is too high and he's only had it for a couple months. He says he needs something "bigger"? How much bigger can ya get? There must be something big wrong with it that he just found after driving it which he didn't notice when he bought it. Even though I like the gen1 b/c of the NON interference engine, the '95 seems the way to go. He seems very motivated to sell if he dropped the price $800 in a week. I'd offer him $2800. Even if you put another grand into repairs which it MIGHT need it would be well worth it. The guy with the 2000 doesn't seem like he wants to sell it if he keeps putting you off.
'95---best bet.

OU303

... staying away from that '90. Probably all gen1s because of the lesser fuel economy.

Haha you just hit the nail on the head with the 2000! He just emailed me and said his wife has decided she wants to keep the car. What the hell. Got me all messed up in my car search organization.

Also found a good thread in reference to buying from out-of-state. Also includes one CL member in the seller area helping out another CL from out of town:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...in-person.html

Getting some help could also be useful not only for buying without inspecting in person but also for those of us less mechanically inclined if buying without getting inspected by a mechanic. Getting lined up to get cars inspected by my mechanic has been a pain to schedule and it hasn't been on his end. What happens is I live 40 miles from Denver. My mechanic is even further than that from me because he is on the opposite edge of Denver. He is great and reasonable, that is why I use him. The distance being on the far far side of town and the fact that he only works weekdays is putting a cramp in me buying a car. Some sellers are willing to take the car to him. Other sellers are willing to get the car checked out but if they are on one end of town they don't want to drive 45 minutes or up to an hour to another end of town to my mechanic. Some sellers have A LOT of interest and they don't want to and/or have time with all the interest to take the car 45 minutes away, get it looked at for a half hour, and then back 45 minutes - all during 9-5 M-F type business hours.

deanshark

I know there are companies out there that will inspect cars for people who can't get to them to inspect themselves then send results and pics for a fee. (Not sure how much) There's so many vehicles being sold on ebay, whoever started that business had some brains in their head.
About your mechanic, no offense but, the seller shouldn't have to worry about him. It's your responsibility to get him to the car. Maybe you can offer him some cash to take a drive and look at it on the weekend, or after work. Everyone is looking for extra cash nowadays.

OU303

I don't know too many mechanics anywhere that make house calls. Plus am I supposed to have ramps with me in order to look under the car? If I am paying to get the vehicle looked at and paying for someone's gas, it isn't an unreasonable request to ask to have it looked at by my mechanic. Maybe some people can make an informed decision without getting a car looked at but I don't think most can. People on this forum, or even people those of us on here may know, are not an accurate representation of society as a whole when it comes to being able to correctly assess often complicated mechanical issues.

Not saying you but just to proactively address a possible argument...Some will argue that if I want the white glove treatment to go to a dealership. I am not looking for a white glove treatment, just something in between. These cars aren't super hit sellers, either. I have had more than one that the person couldn't be bothered or were outright rude and the car is still available several weeks later. Sure there is a small segment that can go and accuratelyvsnd completely diagnose mechanical issues on the spot. Good for them. Seems like it would behoove a seller to work with one serious buyer, though, instead of having to answer countless emails and/or take numerous calls on the same car over a month or more. Sure lots or people go buy these cars on the spot but I am incredibly skeptical and I doubt if even a large portion of them know wth they are doing. I have seen several people pay way too much for cars that clearly weren't worth it and I have even been specifically told by sellers that the car sold and people paid asking price (that clearly wasn't worth it even with my level of knowledge).

I am going to start moving a little faster on good cars when they come up but primarily I am going to continue to be patient and stick to my standards - including knowing what is wrong - or if it is unclear at least the range of possibilities of what it could be wrong. Having a company inspect the car or even using a broker would be worth considering but the price is cost prohibitive on a $3k or $5k car. It is a rough spot to be in needing to be very sure and clear about the mechanical condition being on a budget but I am not going to compromise my standards.


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deanshark

It sounds like you want the seller to waist his time and gas bringing the car to your mechanic, which not too many people will do b/c they know, eventually, the car will sell. Most people dont want to be bothered with that, or just dont have time. Also, you want someone to look at a "used" car and say "it's worth your money" and then you hold them responsible if something goes wrong with it. It's a used car and ya NEVER know when something is going to break.
I'm not trying to start an arguement or anything but I think you should buy from a dealer so you have a warranty so if,...I mean WHEN, something happens you'll be covered. Buying a "used" car is the same as life,....... it's "like a box of chocolates, you NEVER know what you're gonna get."
Good luck with your car search and I really hope ya find a good one.

OU303

So someone can't be bothered to take an hour and a half out of their day to sell something for $7,000? Wow, remind me never to buy anything from you. And so I should just trust that people on Craigslist tell the truth when they say "good car" or "great car no issues?" Yah I don't think so. The first car I almost bought needed $4000 in work according to Firestone and $2500 when I manually found my parts prices and talked with my mechanic.

So don't waste an hour and a half of your time because eventually the car will sell? What about if it doesn't sell and they have it for a month and a half and they spend 2 or 3x times that answering emails, texts, or phone calls about the car? Is it still not worth their time? Because at that point they have spent more team dealing with random folks of questionable seriousness than one highly likely serious buyer. I have seen plenty of cars that I looked with uncooperative owners sit for over month.

Yes I do want my mechanic to look at the car and tell me it's worth my money. Every mechanic I know has a pre-purchase inspection process, so it was their idea in the first place to even offer such a service. When saying I would hold someone responsible when something breaks...Are you talking about holding my mechanic responsible? In that case to reasonably follow your logic - no mechanic should offer such a service because someone could hold them responsible at a later date. If we took that logic further no one should be in the business of repairing anything for fear of being held responsible later (for an inaccurate analysis of what is wrong) if something breaks, and no one should sell anything that might need some repairs. That would just be ludicrous.
If you are talking about me holding the seller responsible - unless a seller knowingly misrepresents a car and lies about what is wrong with it, it is very unlikely you could successfully sue (based on my semi knowledgeable non lawyer legal knowledge). There isn't much cause for a seller to worry about being held responsible later for....I don't know what exactly... unless they knowingly misrepresent a vehicle's condition...so don't see any validity with that argument for any seller unless they plan on outright lying.

So why should I buy a used car from a dealer when they don't usually offer anything more than a 30,60,or 90 day warranty? Are you saying I should buy from a dealer because I can purchase an extended warranty from a dealer? Because I can buy from a private party and still purchase an extended warranty. Simply because I buy from a dealer doesn't mean the car comes with a warranty. That was your point on buying from a dealer, that I should buy from a dealer to get a warranty.

So is your logic that everyone that buys a used car and is not mechanically inclined enough to make an accurate analysis should just completely just put all of their money into a slot machine and take their chances? That would be what they would be doing without having an accurate idea of what condition the car they are getting is in.

So if you were not knowledgeable about cars and had bought that '95 LS 400 that needed $2,500 in repairs it would have been a fair deal had by all parties involved since you knew you were simply taking your chances when you bought it? I don't think I am twisting your words at all by coming to that conclusion since you said:

deanshark

Like I said, I'm not trying to argue. But, it's not the sellers responsibility to get the car checked out. If I'm selling a car, for any amount, I wouldn't waist my time bringing it to someone elses mechanic. You want someone to check it out, you bring them to the car. The best mechanics in the world can tell you a car is good and then have parts break the next day. That's just a chance ya take by buying a "used" car. Personally, if I had 7,000 to spend, I would buy a car for around 4500 and keep the other 2500 for things that WILL need to be done to it, such as changing ALL the fluids and a full tune up, etc. Afterall, it is used.
Plus, the car you're looking at is 17 years old and has over 200k on it. And even you were talking about just driving it until the engine goes and putting another one in.

OU303

I never said I expect any car I buy to not have future problems. I just want to know what needs repair now or will definitely need repair in the near future (like the next six months maybe). I also want to know if there are any leaks at all or if there is overdue maintenance. I like KBB because it has very detailed descriptions for each level of condition but only so much is allowed for each level. Since the value of a car depends on it's condition and the condition depends on what needs fixed, I need to know the condition on any car before I even have any idea how much it is really worth.