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I currently own a IS250. No issues with it but I would like to buy a bigger car to haul the family around. I have heard mixed reviews about this model. I found this model I really like, no air suspension, LWB, and dealer claimed it has an impeccable car history. Will I be worried about getting stranded on the side of the road or is this vehicle a safe buy? Thank you.
mileage: 121,473
Ask seller to show you the maintenance history. Documented regular maintenance is good. Read FAQ above for typical issues on any LS. Then get a prepurchase inspection from either Lexus dealer or an indie shop who specialize in Lexus and Japan cars.
Yes, get the maintenance history. You can get any service done by a Lexus dealer on the Lexus website if you have the VIN. Definitely get a PPI done by someone who knows cars. Additionally, browse through this thread for info - https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...iy-thread.html
BTW, I give you credit for coming here before buying the car. We just had a thread on a Ferrari forum where the guy bought a Mondial and is having all kinds of serious problems. He joined the forum a week AFTER buying the car. If he had posted his propective car as you did, he would have avoided those problems. Basically the advice he's getting now is to get a lawyer. It is his first Ferrari poor guy.
The pictures of it look pretty good but I don't like the Carfax, looks like a dealer corporate car until 34k miles and then no records till 80k then mostly serviced at an indy shop. https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistor...ybFx7sT2kmX8nM
No records of any maintenance from 30,000 to 80,000 miles. Unless the seller has all the paper maintenance records records, you must assume nothing was done. 50,000 miles without an oil change is a deal killer!
I wouldn't buy it. If you can, increase your budget, wait for a car with a lot less mileage, a very clean service history and no accidents.
Cars are out there, it is a matter of patience and willingness to eventually travel to get one. A PPI inspection will help a lot.
Just my .02
Good luck !
A lot depends on where the car has been: the nice dry but oily roads of SoCal? Sunny and warm Arizona? The salt flats of New England? Substantial mileage here in rusty Vermont counts far more heavily than the same mileage in, say, Southern New Mexico.
That said, my 2012 AWD LS460 has spent its whole 127,000 mile life in New Hampshire and Vermont. It continues to be the best, and the most trouble-free, car I’ve ever owned.
Always get a PPI! I've had 2 that have saved me from thousands of dollars and buyer's remorse buying a terrible car. My recent experience was a $295 PPI; guy was absolutely excellent and very detailed. The dealer, however, literally sold the car while my guy was finishing up the inspection! I was furious, but it was a blessing in disguise. The inside was immaculate, but the outside photos were severely photoshopped on their website. It was beat to hell on the outside, and another member of the LS Facebook group mentioned that he'd driven that car a couple weeks prior and said to be glad I didn't wind up with it, as it was rough. The detailed inspection report showed a huge scrape down the side, more cosmetic issues, and a rear bumper that looked rattle canned. I can't emphasize this enough. If you're buying a Corolla--fine, but not something that could empty your wallet if you get a bad one. This car was 600 miles from me, BTW. I did raise hell and the dealer agreed to refund me the inspection fee in an email from the GM, but I'm still waiting to receive it. Also, it was a huge corporate type dealership; not a shady small indy lot.
I've had 2 sold out from under me while waiting for thorough inspections. It is what it is. I've been looking for maybe close to a year, and I've about given up due to the aggravation from the aforementioned situations. I'm in no hurry now. If the right one comes along, I might jump on it. I'm not too enthusiastic about the anxiety of thousands in repairs vs the enjoyment of the car tradeoff. My budget targets a 13-15, and I want around 80-85k miles. That's right about the time when these start needing things like control arms, so I look at the service history. With that said, I've done quite a few maintenance items myself on my ES, and they won't show up in the history. I have receipts for most of it, but a trade-in at a dealer won't. It doesn't mean it hasn't been maintained; there's just no proof.
I recently purchased a 2011 Lexus LS460 AWD w 100K miles, $15,000. I looked at online ads for about a week. Did a little research into reliability on this forum, so that steered me away from anything older than a 2011. That also steered me away from Air suspension, and things like that. I will say, this car is pretty awesome, looks like a luxury car (unlike the current LS out today, which really has a hideous front end and looks like a Nissan Maxima and Camry had a child) and drives like one, and is fast. Great shape, inside and out, and well maintained. I wouldn't guess it had 100K miles, unless I saw the speedo. As others have said, if you get the right car, without the expensive to maintain toys, preferably 2011 or newer, you should have a pretty reliable car.
If you can see regular and at least yearly Lexus Maintenance records on the car, that should go a long way into giving you a good indication that the car is a good candidate for you, of course based on the price, and body condition as well. The service history will also indicate any other fixes they've done, or problems they've found.
I pulled a carfax on it, and that indicated it had regular service at Lexus, but Carfax doesn't seem to be as detailed as the MyLexus service history. I figured out how to see the vehicle specs from MyLexus, but didn't discover how to list all the service records on MyLexus until after I bought the car. Below is how to do it. The MyLexus site is a bit convoluted IMHO.
Go to your account info, it's in the upper right, and has your name. Once you click on that, click on My Vehicles. Near the bottom of that section, click on Add New Vehicle, and enter/paste in the VIN number for the vehicle. One it's added, you have to Set As Primary vehicle, if you have more than one vehicle there.
Afterwards, click on the top Right menu entry My Lexus. Then select My Vehicle Dashboard from the left hand menu. Then scroll down, until you see My Service. You will see a Service History heading and click the View History button under that. Then scroll down and see all the official service history Lexus has on the vehicle. In my case, I was pleased to see it had a yearly maintenance checkup, with an oil change, with about 5K miles per year.
01-27-24, 11:15 AM
Is the 2011 LS460 L AWD, a safe buy?
