Questions re: an LX I'm thinking about buying

[TexasCrane]

Found a very clean looking white 2006 LX470 with 96,500 miles at a Lexus dealer in town today. Both the interior and exterior appear to be very clean. There is zero rust anywhere on the car. The tires are a little worn down and it doesn't have have the rear entertainment system (which is actually a plus for me). It does need the 90k mile service.

It's a Texas car that they took on trade (they were also the original dealer). The buyer bought it through his company and then sold it to himself after 5 years. There is a "minor accident" from the beginning of this year showing up on the carfax with no date reported (although carfax says it likely occurred b/w Jan and March of this year) that states:

"Vehicle involved in a rear-end collision with another motor vehicle. Very minor rear damage reported. Airbags did not deploy."

The sales guy said he believed it was a rear-bumper replacement although they didn't do the work. I couldn't see anything on the rear end of the car that looked like it had bodywork done to it. This is a reputable Lexus dealer here in town which makes me much more comfortable that I would be if it was a 'yota or independent dealer.

They're asking 28k. They offered me $500 off and a 90k mile service. What says mud? Should I buy this one or wait for one that has a completely clean carfax? Is there anything specific I should be looking at on the car given the reported accident?

If I were to try and buy it, what's a fair price? I was thinking of playing up the tires, lack of a rear entertainment system, and the accident and offering them $27k out the door along with a 90k mile service. I'd welcome any thoughts or advice. Thanks!

 

[deanfun]

I'd definitely leverage the 90k service no matter what price you pay.

For reference, I paid CAD$33k for a 2007 LX with ~50k miles back in march. The dollar was just falling off parity at that time, so it was priced right in line with the many american 2006-07 LX's I had been watching.

 

[SWUtah]

I'd go buy it tomorrow for $28k including the timing belt and water pump service. Then put some new AT tires on it 295/65/18's. I posted once on a Mercedes site about a one year old 2008 CLK63 AMG Black series I was interested in and was trying to buy. Because of snow on the ground I could not test drive it for a few days and I was not going to buy it without driving it. Some member saw my post called the dealer and bought it the next day. Your car fax shows the dealer that has this LX 470. These under 100k vehicles are hard to find. You better be there when they open in the morning and make your deal or it will be gone!! Good luck.

 

[TexasCrane]

I appreciate the heads up. I just took down the carfax. I trust you guys... mostly

There's actually one more slightly lower priced LX with the same miles here in town at another dealer. I'm going to go check it out tomorrow morning. Its carfax is clean, but it was a Louisiana vehicle. That makes me a little bit nervous about rust.

 

[Jack90210]

I'd go buy it tomorrow for $28k including the timing belt and water pump service. Then put some new AT tires on it 295/65/18's. I posted once on a Mercedes site about a one year old 2008 CLK63 AMG Black series I was interested in and was trying to buy. Because of snow on the ground I could not test drive it for a few days and I was not going to buy it without driving it. Some member saw my post called the dealer and bought it the next day. Your car fax shows the dealer that has this LX 470. These under 100k vehicles are hard to find. You better be there when they open in the morning and make your deal or it will be gone!! Good luck.

+1, especially if it has service records that show a reasonably well-maintained car.

I paid $32k for my well-maintained, 83k mile, coming-off-of-CPO '07 LX back in February, which I was happy to do; I knew what I wanted and I knew that the supply was limited.

And I didn't know that Louisiana was in the rust belt.

 

[SWUtah]

+1, especially if it has service records that show a reasonably well-maintained car.

I paid $32k for my well-maintained, 83k mile, coming-off-of-CPO '07 LX back in February, which I was happy to do; I knew what I wanted and I knew that the supply was limited.

And I didn't know that Louisiana was in the rust belt.

It's in the flood zone

 

[mcgaskins]

I'd go buy it tomorrow for $28k including the timing belt and water pump service. Then put some new AT tires on it 295/65/18's. I posted once on a Mercedes site about a one year old 2008 CLK63 AMG Black series I was interested in and was trying to buy. Because of snow on the ground I could not test drive it for a few days and I was not going to buy it without driving it. Some member saw my post called the dealer and bought it the next day. Your car fax shows the dealer that has this LX 470. These under 100k vehicles are hard to find. You better be there when they open in the morning and make your deal or it will be gone!! Good luck.

I'm not sure I'd say it quite that urgent - quick CL search locally turned up 3 LXs around 90k miles between $25-29k. Decent prices but not incredible by any means.

http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/4534732025.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/4536924428.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/4516430760.html

 

[SWUtah]

I'm not sure I'd say it quite that urgent - quick CL search locally turned up 3 LXs around 90k miles between $25-29k. Decent prices but not incredible by any means.

http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/4534732025.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/4536924428.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/ctd/4516430760.html

That's Denver, you got rust!! Not Texas no rust. Rust is the worse thing a 100 series can have. A rust free 100 can last for as long as you want to own it.

 

[TexasCrane]

I went over to the dealer this morning, but we couldn't make a deal. They really weren't willing to budge from the $500 off and 90k service. They offered me $1500 of without the service as an alternative. They showed me what they had in the car, and I think they over-paid on it to close the new car sale. It is near the end of the month though, so my thinking was that they might be a little more flexible this weekend.

I'm a bit torn... It's a clean car and the price isn't bad, but it's not a steal either. That said, I'm not in any hurry, so I'm tempted to call them and make them one last offer to see if they'll bite. I'm thinking $1200 off with the service.

What could I should I expect to pay for the service at an independent shop or a Toyota dealer? I'm guessing it's less than the $1500 the Lexus dealer charges.

 

[SWUtah]

Do this - take the $500 off with the timing belt and water pump but have them throw in new pads all around ( if the brakes don't pulse you don't need the rotors turned) and brake fluid flush and all new driveline fluids. If it's been 60k miles since the front wheel bearing have been repacked have them include the repack. This will save you big bucks down the line and cost them very little.

 

[TexasCrane]

Well, I'm now the owner of a 2006 LX. We had a few phone calls back and forth earlier this evening and finally came to a deal. I went over and signed all the paperwork and they're going to give me a call tomorrow on an ETA for them to finish the fluids/timing belt/water pump.

I finally decided that while I could probably save $1k if I shopped around some more, I've already spent too much time trying to track down a LC/LX. I've seen everything from 60k to 180k miles and $11k to $33k. I decided that this vehicle was in exceptionally good shape and it wasn't worth spending more evenings and weekends driving all over to check out cars just to potentially save a few bucks. At a certain point it's just not worth the time and effort.

Now I get to spend my time researching bumpers, racks, tires, and other mods

 

[SWUtah]

Congrats you will love your LX

 

[mcgaskins]

That's Denver, you got rust!! Not Texas no rust. Rust is the worse thing a 100 series can have. A rust free 100 can last for as long as you want to own it.

Huh? Denver ain't the rust belt! My folks have a 1996 4runner that's been here it's whole life with virtually no unusual maintenance or obsessive washing and there's no rust on it. Trust me I realize the Southwest cars are great - I lived in Arizona then Vegas for over a decade - but Denver is absolutely not Detroit when it comes to rust!

Congrats to the OP - sometimes it's not worth waiting after you've looked forever. Edmunds, which is notoriously low at valuing these typically, puts yours around $25k dealer retail so I'd say you got a fair deal!

 

[Roosevelt T]

You can almost have a 200 for that money. I wouldnt be as desperate as some people itt. Congrats on the truck tho.

 

[TexasCrane]

Congrats to the OP - sometimes it's not worth waiting after you've looked forever. Edmunds, which is notoriously low at valuing these typically, puts yours around $25k dealer retail so I'd say you got a fair deal!

Black Book had it at 26.6 average and 28.9 clean. That seemed to be in line with the pricing I'm seeing. KBB and NADA were both higher than that.

You can almost have a 200 for that money. I wouldnt be as desperate as some people itt. Congrats on the truck tho.

"Almost" being the key word. I looked at a 200 in the upper 30's. Within 500 miles of me, there is only one 200 under $37k. Most are in the low 40's. They just weren't worth the extra money for me. I may pick one up in 3 or 4 years when you can clean ones in the 20's.

 

[El Cid]

"Almost" being the key word. I looked at a 200 in the upper 30's. Within 500 miles of me, there is only one 200 under $37k. Most are in the low 40's. They just weren't worth the extra money for me. I may pick one up in 3 or 4 years when you can clean ones in the 20's.

With the relatively low mileage that one has, I wouldn't look back. I had contemplated another 100, but the thought of being patient and waiting for a 200 seemed more enticing. My point being, give this 100 time, you will learn loads about the vehicle and know what you want if you decide to take the 200 plunge. The value proposition of a low mileage, mostly depreciated 100 series is difficult to beat ...

And btw, swutah had excellent advice..

 

[SWUtah]

You can almost have a 200 for that money. I wouldnt be as desperate as some people itt. Congrats on the truck tho.

I wish they made new 100's. Would never even consider a 200 just because they are so ugly.

 

[Roosevelt T]

With the relatively low mileage that one has, I wouldn't look back. I had contemplated another 100, but the thought of being patient and waiting for a 200 seemed more enticing. My point being, give this 100 time, you will learn loads about the vehicle and know what you want if you decide to take the 200 plunge. The value proposition of a low mileage, mostly depreciated 100 series is difficult to beat ...

And btw, swutah had excellent advice..

Man... what do you expect 100's to bottom out at? 98/99's can be had for a little less than 10k. This thing has a long way to go regarding depreciation.

 

[TexasCrane]

Man... what do you expect 100's to bottom out at? 98/99's can be had for a little less than 10k. This thing has a long way to go regarding depreciation.

True, but if in 7 years I can sell this car for $10, it will have cost me about $200 per month to own. Relative to the overall depreciation of the vehicle, it's a fraction of what a new one would cost and certainly less than what a 2008 or 2009 would cost to own.

 

[stonepa]

That's Denver, you got rust!! Not Texas no rust. Rust is the worse thing a 100 series can have. A rust free 100 can last for as long as you want to own it.

Interesting comments about the rust. If you live somewhere where they salt your roads your truck's undersides will rust the first winter anyways. If you live somewhere with no salt, buy from there. If you live somewhere with salt buy wherever you like but understand that the salt will work its magic no matter where you buy it from.