New to the boards and looking for advice
05-22-12, 10:21 AM
#32
Did you happen to take a pic UNDERNEATH the car? I only ask because the car is parked partially on the lawn which is sometimes a tell-tale sign that someone might be concealing the fact that the car has an oil leak. Of course, it also could be because they wanted to. Despite all the questions you've asked here, you MUST be your own best advocate. Be proactive and assume NOTHING!!! I don't care if the seller is wearing a priest's collar and the Pope is standing behind him.
- going back to see the car multiple times puts you into a weaker negotiating position
- you should ask all the questions you want to ask at the first meeting, and don't ask a bunch of softball questions
- inspect the car fully yourself, even if you don't have a clue what you are looking for (the seller doesn't know that and might disclose something to you)
- take LOTS of pictures (especially problem areas)
- take a picture of the VIN (it is not as obvious as writing the VIN down)
- when you take it for a test drive, check first under the hood whether the engine is hot or cold. Some sellers will warm up their cars knowing that someone is coming up for a test drive
- ask where the car has been serviced and follow-up with the service dept.
- bring a friend (preferably someone who has some experience) to look at the car with you. Four eyes are always better than two
Remember, in the end it is your money. All the comments from people saying things like "cool car", "looks mint", and "I would buy it" are great but they are not the ones whipping out their checkbook. You are.
Finally, and most importantly, don't get emotional about the car. If you can't walk away from the deal because you don't like the terms or you sense something is not right, then your judgement is probably clouded. At this point I can only recommend that you buy yourself a 6-pack of Vaseline and a spatula to make the reaming you will be receiving a little bit easier.
- going back to see the car multiple times puts you into a weaker negotiating position
- you should ask all the questions you want to ask at the first meeting, and don't ask a bunch of softball questions
- inspect the car fully yourself, even if you don't have a clue what you are looking for (the seller doesn't know that and might disclose something to you)
- take LOTS of pictures (especially problem areas)
- take a picture of the VIN (it is not as obvious as writing the VIN down)
- when you take it for a test drive, check first under the hood whether the engine is hot or cold. Some sellers will warm up their cars knowing that someone is coming up for a test drive
- ask where the car has been serviced and follow-up with the service dept.
- bring a friend (preferably someone who has some experience) to look at the car with you. Four eyes are always better than two
Remember, in the end it is your money. All the comments from people saying things like "cool car", "looks mint", and "I would buy it" are great but they are not the ones whipping out their checkbook. You are.
Finally, and most importantly, don't get emotional about the car. If you can't walk away from the deal because you don't like the terms or you sense something is not right, then your judgement is probably clouded. At this point I can only recommend that you buy yourself a 6-pack of Vaseline and a spatula to make the reaming you will be receiving a little bit easier.
05-22-12, 11:12 AM
#33
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Did you happen to take a pic UNDERNEATH the car? I only ask because the car is parked partially on the lawn which is sometimes a tell-tale sign that someone might be concealing the fact that the car has an oil leak. Of course, it also could be because they wanted to. Despite all the questions you've asked here, you MUST be your own best advocate. Be proactive and assume NOTHING!!! I don't care if the seller is wearing a priest's collar and the Pope is standing behind him.
- going back to see the car multiple times puts you into a weaker negotiating position
- you should ask all the questions you want to ask at the first meeting, and don't ask a bunch of softball questions
- inspect the car fully yourself, even if you don't have a clue what you are looking for (the seller doesn't know that and might disclose something to you)
- take LOTS of pictures (especially problem areas)
- take a picture of the VIN (it is not as obvious as writing the VIN down)
- when you take it for a test drive, check first under the hood whether the engine is hot or cold. Some sellers will warm up their cars knowing that someone is coming up for a test drive
- ask where the car has been serviced and follow-up with the service dept.
- bring a friend (preferably someone who has some experience) to look at the car with you. Four eyes are always better than two
Remember, in the end it is your money. All the comments from people saying things like "cool car", "looks mint", and "I would buy it" are great but they are not the ones whipping out their checkbook. You are.
Finally, and most importantly, don't get emotional about the car. If you can't walk away from the deal because you don't like the terms or you sense something is not right, then your judgement is probably clouded. At this point I can only recommend that you buy yourself a 6-pack of Vaseline and a spatula to make the reaming you will be receiving a little bit easier.
- going back to see the car multiple times puts you into a weaker negotiating position
- you should ask all the questions you want to ask at the first meeting, and don't ask a bunch of softball questions
- inspect the car fully yourself, even if you don't have a clue what you are looking for (the seller doesn't know that and might disclose something to you)
- take LOTS of pictures (especially problem areas)
- take a picture of the VIN (it is not as obvious as writing the VIN down)
- when you take it for a test drive, check first under the hood whether the engine is hot or cold. Some sellers will warm up their cars knowing that someone is coming up for a test drive
- ask where the car has been serviced and follow-up with the service dept.
- bring a friend (preferably someone who has some experience) to look at the car with you. Four eyes are always better than two
Remember, in the end it is your money. All the comments from people saying things like "cool car", "looks mint", and "I would buy it" are great but they are not the ones whipping out their checkbook. You are.
Finally, and most importantly, don't get emotional about the car. If you can't walk away from the deal because you don't like the terms or you sense something is not right, then your judgement is probably clouded. At this point I can only recommend that you buy yourself a 6-pack of Vaseline and a spatula to make the reaming you will be receiving a little bit easier.
06-10-12, 08:20 AM
#35
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Update: never heard anything back from the owner, so I guess she is not ready to sell. I have found another but when I run the carfax and autochecks on it, the mileage is off. Car is listed with 98k but car fax shows mileage building normally through 122k then it drops to 112k then up through 148K. What the heck?
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/3068308337.html
http://www.carfax.com/viewEmailRepor...3D&language=en
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/3068308337.html
http://www.carfax.com/viewEmailRepor...3D&language=en
Last edited by SRTSC; 06-10-12 at 08:56 AM.
06-10-12, 05:51 PM
#37
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Something is off with the VIN or the seller is lying. Check the box of the title on mileage. I've seen car reports with off mileage because someone logged the miles for a service. Literally just happened on my s2000 a few months ago (someone logged km vs miles). Just look at the dates and you can usually solve it.
06-10-12, 10:23 PM
#38
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Well, the mileage builds as if the car were driven normally until 122,000 and then drops to 112,000, which would be a simple clerical error. A few years later in 2010, it shows 148,000. When I convert the this from kilometers to miles it comes in at 92,000 miles. Car has 98,000 miles now. Is it possible this car's mileage was always recorded in kilometers? I find that hard to believe in the states. Is there a way to get the trip on these cars to display kilometers instead of miles?
06-11-12, 08:25 AM
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I have researched this to nauseam and have determined two things must have happened. Odometer readings got recorded in kilometers, which I find hard to believe since it would have happened for several years/entries. OR the computer was changed out and reprogrammed to show lower mileage. Since this is an electronic odometer, the CPU controls what the mileage reads, so even if one were to change the cluster out, the true mileage would still be displayed by the CPU. Plus, if you are going to go through that trouble, why not make the mileage lower than 90 something thousand? I don't see why anyone would go through the trouble to do that, but you never know. I am just really frustrated because it is a really nice car for the price, but I am having second thoughts about it regarding the mileage discrepancy reported by Carfax vs what the odometer shows...
its currently at 71k miles
06-11-12, 09:55 AM
#43
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UPDATE: Seller is going to file a report with SOS police regarding mileage discrepancy. Sounds like the prior owner may have messed with the odometer based on the research I've done and what the current owner says the prior owner, who sounds shady, told him when he bought it last year. Car probably has 150 something thousand miles on it most likely. It is still a nice car, but 100K vs 150K is a pretty big difference. I don't know if I will buy it now.
06-12-12, 05:33 AM
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Prior owner of the Lexus. I hate these people:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...ing-dealership
I feel bad for the seller now. He is obviously the victim of odometer roll back. With that said the car is still very nice and really doesn't need anything. I am guessing the true mileage to be about 155K. Thus, $4,700 is too much IMO for it, especially now, since it will have a tainted Carfax and true mileage will have to be listed as "unknown" when listed. I like the car a lot, but I don't think I am going to get it because of this.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...ing-dealership
I feel bad for the seller now. He is obviously the victim of odometer roll back. With that said the car is still very nice and really doesn't need anything. I am guessing the true mileage to be about 155K. Thus, $4,700 is too much IMO for it, especially now, since it will have a tainted Carfax and true mileage will have to be listed as "unknown" when listed. I like the car a lot, but I don't think I am going to get it because of this.
