First- thanks for everyone's responses. Most helpful.

My 2003 430 trade-in was in need of brakes, had oil leaking from 2 places and some cosmetic damage (grill was broken and protective undercarriage loose from hitting a "roadsnake" tire-tread going 70mph). The trade-in had also been hit by an uninsured off duty police officer (when it was brand new). The damage was significant but not totaled. It still was a great car and drove beautifully. It had 144k miles. Online services based upon its condition showed I could have sold it for $8-10K and trade-in around $6k.

The 2006 430 I bought today was owned by an 84 y.o. man who bought, had it serviced and traded it into the very dealer I bought it from today (found this out after the purchase and records support the anecdote). The car has ML sound, navigation, 49K miles as mentioned, is CPO'd, in immaculate condition both exterior and interior (absolutely looks brand new), heated external mirrors...etc. Ended up getting it out the door taxes, tag, fees and car of course for $24K even with the dealer giving me $8k on my trade - in. Probably could have negotiated harder, but felt pretty good about the deal.

I was going to spend some $1k+ on for oil leaks and brakes. And, to fix the cosmetic issues on my '03 would have been significant. I also was in need of tires. Lastly, little things like the door lock on driver door stopped working, the trunk hydraulic lifts were shot, etc.

The "check list" from "Stan" above - invaluable. The "new" '06 drove in straight line at high and low speeds and no wobbling even during braking. Tires are brand new Dunlaps. Again, didn't negotiate the heck out of it... But, I'm satisfied. Ended up knowing the Sales Manager without knowing he was working at the dealer....small world.

Thanks again for your help and thoughts.

 

Sounds like you in the end you got a great car when you wanted it, at the price point you needed, and with minimal hassle - and you like it so that's what really counts. Enjoy it - the 2006 LS is as good as it gets.

 

Congrats on the new car. Don't forget to post the obligatory pics.

 

Nice find! Certainly a great deal you got there.

 

Congrats, post some pictures! Many say that the last model year of a design is the best, i.e. 2000, 2006

 

Hi Pro -

Boy, if it's in as good a condition as you say it is (and no doubt it is) you got a heckuva deal and most important, you seem to be feeling good about the overall program. You probably could of done a little better on the trade in but it might not have been worth the hassle to detail it, mend the mechanical/electrical issues, et al. I know at my age, more often than not I'll just let someone else deal with it under the guise of "I've EARNED it".

Again, post pics if you get a chance. To many of us, totally stock LS430's are a work of art

 

Any deal you are satisfied with is a good deal. The CPO is probably worth 2K - and I would want that. Congrats on your 06.

 

My lexus dealer does a good job at not mixing the trade in. The trade in price was actually based an independent offer to buy my car, and not conditional on me buying a car.

Selling the car yourself can earn you some (but probably not all) of the wholesale/retail price spread, but you need to put in the extra time. For me, it was more efficient focusing my time making extra money in my profession.

 

Agree - and with selling the car yourself and paying cash for the one you want, you also have to make up for the additional taxes you have to pay on the car you buy. In the case of an 8K trade - that amounts to $500 or so that you have to recover in the private sale. Clearly there is an opportunity to recover much of the wholesale / retail spread - but you certainly have to work for it. I concur - I am better off focusing on making money in my profession.

 

I should have clarified, you can do a trade in at the dealer but you have to keep the transactions entirely separate. If there are any major issues with a car I definitely trade it rather than private sell it.

But here is the key - you have to negotiate the "new" car purchase completely all the way to a handshake on the drive out price (btw its always better to negotiate the buy on the phone - puts way more power and leverage in your hands). If they ask about a trade you can tell them (semi-truthfully) that for the time being you are considering keeping your old car.

Then when the new car price is completely finished negotiated and agreed, you can go in and ask them to appraise and make you an offer on your old car "trade" and then negotiate the old car sale to the dealer as a separate negotiation. Once you agree on a price for the sale of the old car you can ask them to merge the paperwork for both transactions so you can get the sales tax break.

And like Vollant posted all of this is dependent on how much time and hassle you want to put into the transaction - a private sale will almost always get you more $ for your old car but entails more time, risk, and work. A trade in can be done in a way that you get a relatively fair price on your old car (taking in account that your are paying for an instant no hassle sale) but you have to be smart about negotiating the transaction to avoid excessive costs.