Robb92914

Hey guys!

I have been in the market for a 2010-2012 LS460L for about 8 months now waiting to find the perfect one. I came across a 2010 LS460L with 31k miles with Mark Levinson, heated rear seats, privacy shades on the rear windows and back windshield. The car is in amazing condition and asking 29k for it.

Vin number is JTHGL5EF9A5038409 and when pulling service records, in 4/2016 the mileage said 54k and in 5/2016 it says 30850. Obviously this concerned me but the dealer (Toyota of Deerfield beach) said it was a typo and will get the carfax fixed. The dealer has good reviews so seems to be reputable. Should I be worried??

Thanks for you help!

R Z

Can't speak for this particular dealer. What I can tell you is I bought my 08 LS from a "reputable Toyota Dealer". The car had some issues they didn't acknowledge. When confronted later, they offered to pay money, which they did. So, do your best homework and be wary.

sapstar66

How does it go if you go further up the calendar?

jrmckinley

You and I are looking at same model years (and both live in FL!).

I remember looking at this one online- price was maybe a little low actually (red flag 1), but there was some weird stuff on the service history (outside of the weird odometer reporting). If you haven't already, highly recommend checking out the Lexus Drivers site (free- very helpful) - you can check all service history there.

At some point in April of this year the car was towed, said "no keys", and there was also a note about the owner thinking the gas tank had been tampered with. There were some other odd things with brakes being replaced, all 4 tires replaced at 16k miles, etc. Led me to believe it had maybe been wrecked and hence why I didn't go look at it (plus I don't like the color).

It was serviced at JM Lexus which apparently is a good dealership- one of my other questions was how did the car end up at the Toyota dealer. Made me think maybe JM took it on trade and ditched it and the local Toyota dealer got it (maybe the 2 dealerships are affiliated??) Too many questions for me from reading the service history had me pretty skeptical.

FYI- Lexus J'ville has 2 460 Sport models (1 is a '10 and other '11 I believe). I don't like the wheels on the sport but may be a good find for you (one black, one dark grey). Good luck.

seanl

I checked out their site..

that '12 LS460 Sport is identical to my car, but it has 20K miles less than mine did when I bought 2 months ago. They're asking $40K, which is high. I paid $33.4K for mine, but it wasn't CPO. Figure with CPO 35-36K would be a fair price if the car checks out. Btw, the seats look to be in much rougher condition than mine are fwiw, maybe it's from the hot FLA sun.

The '10 Sport has a ton less miles...that car would be a great deal in the low -mid 30s.

jrmckinley

Sounds like you got a really good deal. That particular dealership prices everything high in my opinion (and they claim over the phone to not negotiate on used car prices). They had a couple of other cars I talked to them about but they were listed on average about $3k higher than other cars across the southeast region of similar mileage and condition. I even sent them links to other cars I was looking at showing how overpriced I thought they were and I didn't get the vibe they were willing to budge. I like the interior of the Sport models (would like to see in person) but for me I only want the 19" 5 star rims so I would have to change out the wheels and potentially tires (unsure of size). Either way, it's an added expense so I'll keep looking for a '10 to '12 with Levinson and the 19" 5 star rims.

To the OP, sorry - I didn't realize you were specifically looking for "L" - the Sport models I suggested above wouldn't be the right fit I suppose.

LS430FL

I just bought a 11' LS460L from JM lexus a little over a week ago. Same mileage but CPO. Black with tan car. They were asking $6K more for my car than the one at JM. No weird service history, was from lexus dealer and CPO car. I would have actually preferred a white with tan car but never saw this one for sale. However, just from what I have read, the air suspension(Which mine doesn't have) can be problematic. That white car you are looking at has the air suspension. I personally would only buy an LS with air suspension if it was a CPO car or a really good aftermarket warranty.


Also, the mileage discrepancy is a HUGE red flag for me personally. I could understand clerk error one time but they did it two times with a couple months in between. I don't see how that could happen. Also only one mile driven in two months seems odd.

rld14

I looked at the service history, someone at Toyota of Deerfield Beach screwed up and keyed the wrong mileage in. We have all done it, and I get errors on Carfax reports fixed all the time.

$29K.. car seems nice, has ML, Advanced Parking and Pre-Crash.

Galves trade-in is $29,200 on that car, they're asking $29K? And it's Pearl White over Parch, in Florida?

BUY IT! Because I'd certainly be willing to pay $29,000 for it and guess what I do for a living?

Robb92914

What a coincidence lol. Those things were definitely what was causing me to be skeptical about it. Of course they swear up and down it was a typo on their end but it makes me nervous. The gas tank being tempered with is another red flag too. I was thinking about bringing it to the dealer and getting a full diagnostic and inspection. I mean if I get good extended warranty on it maybe still worth the shot?

Robb92914

Yeah thats exactly what they said at Deerfield. Manager said it was a typo and that they were already in the process of getting the carfax corrected. Does the replacement of brakes and tires so early or the customer worried tank was tampered with a concern to you? Should I not worry about that since planning on getting extended warranty. Thanks for your help!

LS430FL

just my opinion but isn't it weird there are two typos on two separate occasions?

Robb92914

So weird! I keep going back and forth on it. Is there anyway the Lexus dealer can tell if anything has been tampered with?

rld14

Here's what happened.

Idiot #1, generally the Used Car Manager or someone in accounting enters the car and screws up the mileage by accident. I have been this idiot a few times.

Service opens the RO, loads the mileage in the system. Nobody catches it on the paperwork.

Additional RO gets opened, service advisor adds 1 mile...etc..

It happens. Should we be more careful? Of course.

jrmckinley

Based on this info, if it were me... I would put a deposit on the car, pay $200 for a really thorough independent inspection, and see what comes of that. While that is happening, explore your extended warranty options (if any exist) - and if the car checks out, buy it. It has a great price and I trust RLD14 as an excellent resource to explain some of the things that seemed odd to me.

If it were a different color I'd be putting the deposit on it myself..!

Robb92914

Lol. That is exactly how they explained it to me. Thanks for your help! I will let you guys know what happens