Discrepancy in mileage for GX I'm looking at....

[Francis K]

I wasn't really in the market for a GX, I actually have two 80's I'm trying to figure out what to do with, but one came up at a great deal I couldn't pass up. Before I went to go see it I did all the usual research and the mileage on the odo is 50k less than the last reported lexus service record and that was in 2012. Is it possible for the service records to be incorrect? The buyer swears up and down the mileage is correct, should I even bother pulling up a carfax at this point?

 

[tampacruiser95]

I wasn't really in the market for a GX, I actually have two 80's I'm trying to figure out what to do with, but one came up at a great deal I couldn't pass up. Before I went to go see it I did all the usual research and the mileage on the odo is 50k less than the last reported lexus service record and that was in 2012. Is it possible for the service records to be incorrect? The buyer swears up and down the mileage is correct, should I even bother pulling up a carfax at this point?

Dropping 20-30K plus on a vehicle and you aren't even sure of the mileage...I'd take a hard pass.

 

[Francis K]

It's actually closer to 8k but yea regardless you're right and the owner got defensive when i asked him about it. It changed owners just after the last service record, I think this guy got suckered and hes trying to pass it by the next sucker

 

[co4wheel]

Are you ok with the mileage being higher. If so don't worry. Sounds like a good price.

 

[kbahus]

I have seen more shady car stuff in Michigan and Indiana than you could believe. Just had a care come in the shop the other day that a lady recently purchased, keep in mind this was a newer car, and it was full of codes and problems. Guess what, the bulb check didn't pass so we pulled the instrument cluster and someone had broken off all of the LED's for the various warning lights that were on (all of them). Talk about fraud! I literally see chunks of unibody cars on the LKQ truck heading to shops to get installed on totaled out vehicles that should get scraped every time they drop of engines to me. As far as a 50k mileage discrepancy, yeah run because there is more to the story than that!

 

[BlackCat]

I wouldn't say it's common, but it does happen that a service advisor incorrectly types in the mileage at write up. If it's a nice truck at a good price, it's definitely worth looking into a bit more.

 

[TahoeLX450]

I wouldn't say it's common, but it does happen that a service advisor incorrectly types in the mileage at write up. If it's a nice truck at a good price, it's definitely worth looking into a bit more.

Be careful. Even a clerical error on the odometer reading can decrease the car's value by dinging the Carfax. The Carfax could report a "suspicious odometer reading" "possible rollback". It happened to me. With mine it was obvious the clerical error was made when I bought my car and then corrected with a over 60,000 mile increase on the odometer back to the correct mileage (13,678) within the same week BUT the damage was done. Didn't find out about it until I was trading it in four years later. "Suspicious odometer reading" on the Carfax devalued my car by 5K. An odometer clerical error can be corrected by the DMV but it can take some time.

Also, to further emphasize clerical errors: A friend bought a Land Rover and a clerk put in the wrong VIN on the title and it took him months to get it straightened out. So the owner of the truck may be right and very honest but it could also end up being a problem for you.

Check the Carfax first and go from there. Well worth the money IMO.

 

[BlackCat]

Be careful. Even a clerical error on the odometer reading can decrease the car's value by dinging the Carfax. The Carfax could report a "suspicious odometer reading" "possible rollback". It happened to me. With mine it was obvious the clerical error was made when I bought my car and then corrected with a over 60,000 mile increase on the odometer back to the correct mileage (13,678) within the same week BUT the damage was done. Didn't find out about it until I was trading it in four years later. "Suspicious odometer reading" on the Carfax devalued my car by 5K. An odometer clerical error can be corrected by the DMV but it can take some time.

Also, to further emphasize clerical errors: A friend bought a Land Rover and a clerk put in the wrong VIN on the title and it took him months to get it straightened out. So the owner of the truck may be right and very honest but it could also end up being a problem for you.

Check the Carfax first and go from there. Well worth the money IMO.

I totally agree, but we're talking about an $8,000 GX470 here. At that price, resale isn't going to be the biggest concern IMHO.