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Hello hello,
I'm looking at a possible purchase of a 2004 LS430 from a older relative. The engine appears to be well taken care of but the exterior and interior shows its age... I looked at the car yesterday and am really on the fence. I was planning to buy a new car (~$30K) in 2 years, would keep this for 5-7 years. Any guidance would be appreciated!
Pros:
90,000 miles, single owner, garage kept (underneath of car looks clean)
Timing belt changed at 85K miles
$4,500
Modern Luxury Package
White exterior with tan interior
Cons:
Car had an accident in the front (well known shop did great job).
Car pulls to the right and there is a rubbing noise coming from the passenger wheel. Bushings look fine, did not spot anything bent. Hit a curb and had the rims/wheels replaced but no alignment done... need shop to check if that will fix it. Wheel bearing? Bent control arm? +$? for inspection and/or alignment
Front seat has tears, interior needs deep deep clean - a lot of dirt marks across trim. Would replace front seats with Lseat.com replacement +$370
Use tax $500
Damage to the driver fender and yellow marking across driver fender and doors. Not sure if I can get the yellowing out or what to do with the dent... Rear bumper has slight damage.
Rims are MB... would try to replace with OEM. Not a fault with the car, personal preference.
KBB shows trade in value of $6.2K
The below picture doesn't show the scratches or paint issues as well as seen in person
you'd be hard pressed to find another for that price, so I think its a good price despite the flaws. A similar car without the flaws would easily be double the price.
Personally, if the interior is abused with torn seats (which is not usual with the quality of leather used) what else will be found that needs work? I'd pass on a car that's been beat up, regardless of the cheaper price that requires that kind of work before you even leave the gate. Good luck.
I agree with weldthedif. Any LS that you buy will have some flaws, whether they are major or minor. Here, you have a single owner car with relatively low mileage for a very low price. If the paint on the left fender is not broken, PDR might be able to fix the large dent. It rather looks as though the dent extends into the driver's door. If so, that might be a tough repair for a PDR guy. The clear headlights suggest that it's been garaged, always a good thing.
Seems like a decent deal to me. I would replace the wheels as well, which with OEM wheels will probably set you back about $800-1200.
As for the dent I would order one of the cheap dent pulling kits online and try to fix it as best you can yourself, and have a PDR tech take car of the rest, assuming you don't make it worse. I'd watch a few YouTube videos to learn before attempting. That way you don't pay the tech an arm and a leg. So that'd set you back roughly $300.
As you stated, $500 for the seat covers, which I think would be super nice! I've seen those covers and they look as good if not better than stock.
And finally for the suspension related issue its anyone's guess what that is based on the description, so I would take that to a mechanic and see what he/she says. Lets just assume that you'll pay $1000 for that repair.
Adding it all up:
Cost of car: $4,000-4,500 depending on how you bargin with your relative
OEM wheels: $1000
Dent: $300
Suspension issue: $1000
Agree - PDR might be able to get most of the dents out if paint is unbroken.
I'd agree on the price but only minus 75-100% of what ever the suspension repair will cost. Take it to a shop and get a repair estimate. Depending on what specifically has to be fixed it could be relatively inexpensive ($1k) or it could easily cost $2-3k or more.
If you really like the car get the seats recovered at a good upholstery shop. Get a new Lexus foam cusion for the driver seat bottom if you can find one.
I prefer to buy super well maintained cream puffs even for a premium price, if finding one is possible, but this car at that price may work for you.
Since you are in WA state, they have that "use tax*, which is just another fee to add on to the other fees. I went thru that a few times and found out the game they play to get the max out of your pocket. When you go for the title transfer, they always ask you what shape is the care in. If you say "Fine, OK, Great. etc, they nail you for the full amount they can. If you tell them it has to have some major work done @ a cost of X$, then the fee goes down. Just make sure you have a written estimate from a dealer or a reputable repair shop. When you do, make sure you tell the shop why you need this estimate. You may save a lot of $$
Hello hello,
I'm looking at a possible purchase of a 2004 LS430 from a older relative. The engine appears to be well taken care of but the exterior and interior shows its age... I looked at the car yesterday and am really on the fence. I was planning to buy a new car (~$30K) in 2 years, would keep this for 5-7 years. Any guidance would be appreciated!
Pros:
90,000 miles, single owner, garage kept (underneath of car looks clean)
Timing belt changed at 85K miles
$4,500
Modern Luxury Package
White exterior with tan interior
Cons:
Car had an accident in the front (well known shop did great job).
Car pulls to the right and there is a rubbing noise coming from the passenger wheel. Bushings look fine, did not spot anything bent. Hit a curb and had the rims/wheels replaced but no alignment done... need shop to check if that will fix it. Wheel bearing? Bent control arm? +$? for inspection and/or alignment
Front seat has tears, interior needs deep deep clean - a lot of dirt marks across trim. Would replace front seats with Lseat.com replacement +$370
Use tax $500
Damage to the driver fender and yellow marking across driver fender and doors. Not sure if I can get the yellowing out or what to do with the dent... Rear bumper has slight damage.
Rims are MB... would try to replace with OEM. Not a fault with the car, personal preference.
KBB shows trade in value of $6.2K
The below picture doesn't show the scratches or paint issues as well as seen in person
Did something happen to the drivers door? (Gap looks off.)
So? What happened? Are you rolling in it? Did relative cut you a bigger break on price?
09-11-19, 10:58 AM
Need guidance on possible car purchase...
