2016 Lexus GX460 from private seller, good buy?

[jsphaguirre]

Hi all,

I looking into potentially buying a 2016 Lexus gx460 from a private seller and wanted to reach out to see if anyone has any input. I looked at the car already and it looks good from my initial inspection (I am not a mechanic) and since then he agreed to take it to a Lexus dealer to have a full pre purchase inspection done before a sale. When inspecting it, I met him at his house and he showed me current registration, receipt of purchase from Lexus, and payment invoices for the vehicle. Every thing seems to check out at the moment and the plan is to have it inspected on Saturday. He said he would take 27k for the vehicle. Is this a fair deal?
Has anyone had experience with driving a 2016 gx460?
Any and all information regarding personal experiences of ownership and pre purchasing is appreciated!

THANK YOU!!

Attached is the posting and a carfax that I purchased.

Private seller link.

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Carfax report.

 

[jsphaguirre]

Hi all,

I looking into potentially buying a 2016 Lexus gx460 from a private seller and wanted to reach out to see if anyone has any input. I looked at the car already and it looks good from my initial inspection (I am not a mechanic) and since then he agreed to take it to a Lexus dealer to have a full pre purchase inspection done before a sale. When inspecting it, I met him at his house and he showed me current registration, receipt of purchase from Lexus, and payment invoices for the vehicle. Every thing seems to check out at the moment and the plan is to have it inspected on Saturday. He said he would take 27k for the vehicle. Is this a fair deal?
Has anyone had experience with driving a 2016 gx460?
Any and all information regarding personal experiences of ownership and pre purchasing is appreciated!

THANK YOU!!

Attached is the posting and a carfax that I purchased.

Private seller link.

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

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Carfax report.

Adding to the post… the truck has 80k miles on it.

 

[xychromosome]

Good that you're doing a PPI. Have them confirm there is no structural damage to the rear from that accident on the carfax. Looks like the previous owner performed regular services which is good. The PPI should reveal any potential issues. Have them verify presence of any leaks, particularly the known trouble spots, i.e. valve cover, cam tower and timing cover. Also look for any coolant leaks, e.g. from radiator, water pump and from the valley plate (search further on this forum for more info about this one). As for price, depends on what else is available in your area. That's pretty low mileage for a 9 year old vehicle so 27k sounds pretty good to me.

 

[jsphaguirre]

Good that you're doing a PPI. Have them confirm there is no structural damage to the rear from that accident on the carfax. Looks like the previous owner performed regular services which is good. The PPI should reveal any potential issues. Have them verify presence of any leaks, particularly the known trouble spots, i.e. valve cover, cam tower and timing cover. Also look for any coolant leaks, e.g. from radiator, water pump and from the valley plate (search further on this forum for more info about this one). As for price, depends on what else is available in your area. That's pretty low mileage for a 9 year old vehicle so 27k sounds pretty good to me.

Thank you for your reply and good information. I am from California and based on carguru, autotrader, and true car I feel like the asking price is fair.
After an inspection, what would be a clear sign for you to “walk away” from the potential purchase?

 

[xychromosome]

Thank you for your reply and good information. I am from California and based on carguru, autotrader, and true car I feel like the asking price is fair.
After an inspection, what would be a clear sign for you to “walk away” from the potential purchase?

Rust (which shouldn't be an issue from that area), major oil leaks and transmission issues. The PPI should look at OBD codes, make sure there is no history of codes that indicate transmission issues (search the forums for the codes). At 80k miles, you shouldn't really be seeing anything major but the PPI should confirm this for you.

 

[mtnco]

On the face of it, that seems like a good deal.
What is the trim level?

Also, I’d be asking why the seller only had it for 1 year, <8k miles. Is there a story there or it just wasn’t a good fit or decided on something else?

 

[Roody]

Everyone's opinion is different, but I personally wouldn't spend nearly $30k on a GX that's been in an accident when there's so many more out there. The accident might not be significant in any way/shape/form but if nothing else it may make it more difficult to sell on the back end should you want to get out of it.

 

[r2m]

Hey jsphaguirre, not knowing where in CA you're at, I'm in south Orange County (San Clemente) and I have a certified (not Lexus dealer) mechanic that
we've been using for over 30 years for all our service. Any time we've ever purchased a used vehicle, we take it to him for a very thorough shake-down on everything, e.g. lights, brakes, fluids, belts/hoses, everything. It'll probably cost a little over $100.00 for the inspection but worth every penny. It's been a while so don't quote me on the price.
If you're interested, PM me and I'll give you his name and address.

 

[jsphaguirre]

On the face of it, that seems like a good deal.
What is the trim level?

Also, I’d be asking why the seller only had it for 1 year, <8k miles. Is there a story there or it just wasn’t a good fit or decided on something else?

It’s base model trim.
Seller said he wants to upgrade to a new gx 570. He mentioned there was a waitlist so he put the truck up earlier at a high price..
I felt like it did seem weird that he decided to put it up for sale so early, but I don’t know. He may be telling the truth. It seems like it was taken care of during his ownership and the previous owner had a really good track record of service records that was documented on the Lexus dealership service website.

 

[jsphaguirre]

Everyone's opinion is different, but I personally wouldn't spend nearly $30k on a GX that's been in an accident when there's so many more out there. The accident might not be significant in any way/shape/form but if nothing else it may make it more difficult to sell on the back end should you want to get out of it.

Interesting, it did seem like a fair price by me. I punched in the vehicle on blue book and accidentally clicked “get cash offers” and an auto buyer from a Honda dealership called me inquiring about it. He was nice enough to answer some questions I had after I told him that I was looking at it from a private seller. He mentioned that from his view as a buyer that it looked good and said he would be happy if he was purchasing it personally for 27k. He mentioned that his dealership would probably pay 23-24k despite the minor accident.
The private seller showed me the accident pictures from the vehicle and it was a small impact from someone who was reversing into him.
When I get the PPI that impact will be noted.

 

[Arailt]

Everyone's opinion is different, but I personally wouldn't spend nearly $30k on a GX that's been in an accident when there's so many more out there. The accident might not be significant in any way/shape/form but if nothing else it may make it more difficult to sell on the back end should you want to get out of it.

I agree. There's so many out there. Automatic disqualifier for me would be any kind of accident damage that CarFax picks up.