Volantis

Hi all,

Great resource here. I'm looking to purchase an 05-06 LS430. Probably ML or maybe CL if one comes along.

I found a car I'm interested in. It's the color, interior, and options that I prefer. It's a 2006 and has 75k miles. We have a friend at the dealer and the records show the 30k maintenance at 44k. That's the last entry, so it must've been done at another shop after.

What are your opinions of 75k miles on an 06? Is that too many or should I not worry about it? It's also an NJ car, but I imagine 3 years up north aren't that bad.

I have to drive an hour and a half to see the car, so I'd like a little feedback before I go.

All advice appreciated!

Brad

Jabberwock

These cars can easily run for 200+k miles but no one wants a high mile car.

It better be a major $ discount from market price and be mint condition inside and out to get an 06 with that many miles and a potentially spotty maint record. Instead if I were you I'd wait and keep searching till I found a low mile (under 35k) model and then jump on it even if it costs more. Low mile cars are out there but you have to jump on them when they come up for sale.

You may pay less up front for a higher mileage used car but it will sell or trade in for way less when you are want to get rid of it - so to my way of thinking you really don't end up saving much if any money buying a high mile used car.

Volantis

Thanks for the input. I agree with the milage...just wondering if this is a good deal.

The car is Flint Mica w/ Gray interior and is an ML. The asking price is $24,9.

Thoughts?

wildace

iTrader: (1)

u can get a better deal than that for that price. u might have to search a little for the right combination but it'll be worth it. 75k sounds pretty high.

Volantis

I've been all over autotrader, cars.com, and craigslist. Any other good places to look?

I've been pretty set on finding a local car, but maybe I shouldn't be. I would go see this one, but an hour and a half is a ways to drive.

wildace

iTrader: (1)

www.searchtempest.com

honeygee2

Jersy roads are some of the worst in the country...It didnt have the 30K til 44K was the 60K service done. you are going to need a 90K service soon and that has to be done (timing belt etc). I would look for a CPO car maybe a year older and get a good car. This car I dont think I would touch.

DaytonaSTi

I found mine in Dallas on eBay. They usually post CarFax and you can hire an inspector to take the wheels off, test drive it and give it a good once-over with a paint-gauge etc to see what shape the vehicle is in. Inspections run $100 to $200 and can be done same-day. I drove 250 miles for an 05 LS430 w/ 46k miles on it. Sport package, a certified lease return for $25.9k. I contacted the dealer directly to avoid getting a loan payable to eBay etc. I did jump on the car and have been extremely pleased with it.

Salted roads are bad news IMO. -1 for Jersey

Yaff

Like the others are saying. Be patient, there’s some great deals out there. The LS is a car many people don’t drive much and take extra care.

Lucky you, you are in the states with plenty of them.

Up North here, I had to wait almost a year to find mine.

Good luck!!!!

tromly

Welcome to CL, I purchase my cars on Ebay, best states are FL, TX, and AZ as the cars have not been subject to salt and snow. An 06 with 75k miles should go for 22k, take your time, there are great deals out there!! Good Luck

Jabberwock

Be prepared to search for 3 months or more and to jump the second a low mile car comes up. I flew to Chicago from Dallas to get mine. I had learned the hard way that you have to evaluate the car and act fast because I was too slow on the trigger finger on a mint white 06 LS in West Palm Beach that came up with 6k miles on it. It sold in less than 4 hrs.

Set up automated edmunds and cars.com searches for cars with less than 15k or 30 k and you will get notified 5 minutes after they go on the system. You could also work with a local car broker to do a nation wide search for you for a low mile car. Depends how patient you are and how much time and energy you are willing to put into it.

btw a low mile car does't mean it can't have significant problems so you still have to check maint recs, have it inspected for accident damage, etc. Trust no one when buying a used car although a CPO car is typically pretty safe bet.

caddyowner

When considing mileage on a used car, take into consideration your annual mileage and how long you plan to keep the car. I drive about 27K miles per year on my daily driver and plan to buy a low mileage car. When I sell the car, it will probably have normal mileage for it's age. If you are a low mileage driver, you can spend less and buy a higher mileage car that will have normal mileage for its age when you sell it.

Kansas

3 months? Dang, I told an indie Lexus repair shop owner what I was looking for in a used LS at 1:00 pm on a Friday afternoon in 2003 (color, options, mileage) and he found an even nicer LS for me within three hours from one of his auto broker friends.

We got the call as we left our house to drive 300 miles for an Iowa football weekend. We stopped to look at and drive the car -- a three year old 2000 LS400 with 38,000 miles and one year left on the 4 year basic warranty -- wrote a check, switched the lugguage and continued on to Iowa in the "new" LS.

Got a great deal -- the car wasn't CPO but I paid $9,000 less than the Lexus dealer wanted for two similar but less nice CPO 2000 LS400's.

Sold my old LS to a friend a few weeks later. Over six years later, I'm still driving the 2000 LS and my friend is still driving my now 20 year old 90 LS -- everybody's still happy.

Jabberwock

Yes - good point - it certainly is possible to find the right car in just a matter of days - just depends on luck and the local availability of good cars in your area. I was just trying to indicate the potential need for patience in a used car search. Also be aware that holiday season is slowest time for used cars - very few come on the market right now as dealers take time off and car owners focus on other things

DDLexus

Great point!