sgroubert

I just bought an '01 LS from a dealer with only 20,000 miles on it. I picked it up last Thursday. Yesterday I noticed that on the lower left and right edges of the clear window over the instrument panel there is a a small piece of what looks like dark grey styrofoam about 3/32" high by 1/2" long, protruding up between the clear window and the dash surrounding it. When I first went to pick up the car a couple of weeks ago, my wife noticed a crack in the paint in the rear bumper. When I showed it to the dealer he said it must have been in a small accident that the previous owner had filled with Bondo and repainted, so he kept the car for about a week to give us a brand new bumper and assured us there was no damage to the frame, etc. The car was "detailed" by the dealer before we ever saw it, but after picking it up last Thursday I also noticed that the drivers seat belt and the area where the shift post emerges are much dirtier than I'd expect on such a low mileage car. Also in the "detailing" they missed the vertical leather on the front of the back seats and it is filthy. So I suspect that the mileage may have been tampered with. Is it possible? Thank you for any info you can give me on this.

airtime

Though it may be difficult, anything and be done. Have you done a Carfax on you car yet? That is surprisingly low for a 01 for sure, but not unheard of. On my moms previous car, it was 12 years old and had about 30k on it. The interior was immaculate as no one sat in the rear and the front seats always had a sheepskin over it.

IronCobra

I was about to say Carfax but airtime beat me to it. You can also use carfax to find the original dealer and see where the car has been. Perhaps you can call the original Lexus dealership and see what services have been done on the car. If someone replaced the instrument panel then it may reflect the mileage of the new panel.

luca

Personally I wouldn’t trust carfax I have had 2 car faxes that showed completely bogus information. One from a Mercedes dealer showing a clean one owner vehicle when later it turned out to be 3 owners and a wreck. Plus one again showing clean and it had been in an accident. They are only as good as what is reported and not all states comply with registration. Somehow ebay's vin check has come up with much more info in both cases?

bigcory

Yeah, car fax is not accurate. There was an LS430 that had gottened deep fried in a garage fire that had a clean record. My car got side swiped about four years back. I have run a car fax since and it doesn't even mention it. I am going to be very cautious when buying a used car. Have an outside source check the vins. Have a dealer print the service record for you to see what has been done. Only buy a car with a detailed service record. It shows that the previous owners tried to take car of the vehicle. Shows that they loved it : )

ancdmd

YES it is possible to roll back the mileage on your Lexus! I personally know of someone who had it done to their GS before they traded it into a dealership. Matter of fact, a person at a large dealership was the one who did the rollback. I live in South Florida and odo rollbacks on newer luxury cars are a common occurrence. I would be highly suspect of your vehicle's mileage. Scrutinize everything about the car, like wear on the pedal pads and amount of rock chips in the hood/bumper. Call all the Lexus dealers in your part of the state and check the VIN with the service department for records. These cars don't show mileage easily though, since they are so wear-resistant, but if it has been rolled back there will be evidence of it somewhere. I don't know how to definitively check to see if your odo has been tampered with though. The best thing to do is track down the previous owner if you can.

KILLERGS4

another way you can kind of check the miles on the engine and take it to a mechanic you trust, and have them look under the hood. They might be able to tell if your car looks like 20k mile car under the hood.

or you can just be happy with your purchase and move on...

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

One very easy way to lower the mileage is to change the cluster. Sadly, once the cluster has been replaced, the miles change as well. Look for wear marks around the dash area, where parts might have been taken out to replace the instrumental cluster.

piggieback

Yes you can and I know people who can do it for $200.

bigcory

The ECU should also show how many miles on are this car. It is possible to change the milage on the computer, but unlikely since no one has done it for tuning yet right?

A dealer should be able to help you with this too I assume

sgroubert

Thank you all for the good info...I will follow up.

e-man

Just a thought -- check the tires. I would think that a car with 20k might have the original tires, and the tires should have a bit of tread left on them. Also, check the date code on the side wall of the tires -- should be XX00 or XX01 (where 00 or 01 represent 2000 or 2001 and XX represents the week in the year that the tires were manufactured). If the tires are original, then the miles are most likely accurate. That's not to say that if the tires have been replaced then the miles aren't accurate, but if the tires are original, I think that would go a long way in putting your mind at ease that the miles are accurate.

e

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

Thats actually a good idea. I usually check the date on the tires prior to purchase.

Katsumoto

exactly what i was thinking. if its not reported then of course it will not be on the carfax. supposed someone got into a little fender bender and it was their fault. They might not report it to their insurance company because it will run up their premium so instead they would get it fixed out of pocket. you would never know..

bigcory

Like I mentioned, my car was side swiped by a drunk driver. Did a lot of body damage, 10k worth. Doesn't mention it at all on the car fax.