Would You Buy? - 2013 LX570, 100k miles, $32k, 2 RearEnd Accidents

[mceagle555]

Previous 2010 GX460 owner. Shopping for my first 200 series (LX570). Will be used as daily driver and light overlanding (Middle Tennesee).

Considering a 2013 LX570 Luxury w/ 100k miles listed for $32k. Problem is 2 "light" rear end accidents (2013 & 2018) where the rear bumper cover was dented. I've asked for more details from seller.

Would you buy something that has two rear end accidents on the Carfax?

Pros:
- Garage kept in southern state last 4 years
- All maintenance looks good on Lexus Owners site
- 100k mile service done (AHC fluid, Tranny fluid, Rear diff, Front diff, transfer case)
- Interior is good
- Good life left on tires
- Good "feeling" about seller (Accurate pictures, upstanding guy)
- Relatively low mileage for 2013

Cons:
- Lived first 3 years of life in NY (VERY low mileage there, leading me to think it was a secondary car)
- 2 Rear end accidents on record

 

[luke27617]

Accidents hit resale value. If the discount is already included in the price you are buying and accidents were just cosmetic (no metals replaced, just plastics) why not. Of course I would ask for sheet with work done / parts replaced which is normally provided by the body shop so you can verify the story.

 

[grinchy]

My 2009 was driven by an inattentive 'soccer mom' for the first owner. Lexus records show three bumper covers. None of these on Carfax. I bought it 7 years later and figured any issues would have long been remediated and resolved.

If it looks and functions well and you don't see any residual affects, the accidents don't concern me. As mentioned, if you ever want to resell at top $ they'll be an issue.

 

[radman]

The rear crossmember is a beast. I can’t think of much that would get hurt in a small fender bender. Should be a 30 min job to pull the skin off, check, and put it back on if you’re really worried about it...

 

[300blk]

NY is rust belt hell.

Nooh Yahkers downplay rust issues.

 

[mceagle555]

Got a bit more info from the seller.

The time 4 years in NY it was used as a second vehicle for a guy with a $6M house. (I'm assuming it was garage kept.)

Pics of rust and rear bumper cover below:

 

[grinchy]

Shiny. There is a small to moderate amount of rust.

 

[1world1love]

Seems like there would only be an entry in Carfax if there was an insurance claim or an accident report filed.

Do you know the nature of the accidents? Those pics don’t look like the kind of damage I would expect for something that was reported. I would expect no damage at all because it was repaired or I would expect something substantial enough to have required a call to insurance and/or the cops.

 

[John Guedry]

I have a landcruiser, was hit on the rear, 1k of damage for the plastic bumper and repaint. It shows on my car fax and my value has taken a hit. But I do have pictures of the damage actually wasn't bad but looked like ass if you knew what part was hit (looked dirty from 10ft). Sucks but oh well.

 

[travisr843]

Previous 2010 GX460 owner. Shopping for my first 200 series (LX570). Will be used as daily driver and light overlanding (Middle Tennesee).

Considering a 2013 LX570 Luxury w/ 100k miles listed for $32k. Problem is 2 "light" rear end accidents (2013 & 2018) where the rear bumper cover was dented. I've asked for more details from seller.

Would you buy something that has two rear end accidents on the Carfax?

Pros:
- Garage kept in southern state last 4 years
- All maintenance looks good on Lexus Owners site
- 100k mile service done (AHC fluid, Tranny fluid, Rear diff, Front diff, transfer case)
- Interior is good
- Good life left on tires
- Good "feeling" about seller (Accurate pictures, upstanding guy)
- Relatively low mileage for 2013

Cons:
- Lived first 3 years of life in NY (VERY low mileage there, leading me to think it was a secondary car)
- 2 Rear end accidents on record

I bought a one owner, 2014, extremely clean, all service records, white on black, no paint chips, wheel scuffs, wrecks, etc. New tires, battery, brakes, 118k miles for $36k.

I would say pass on that.

 

[linuxgod]

I have no recent reference if the price is good. When I looked in 2016 I almost bought a 2008 LX with 100k miles on it. It had gone from $35k down to $31k over the span of maybe 6 weeks. I went in with the intention of paying under $30k, but the dealer had just raised the price from $31k to $32k when they moved it to another of their local dealerships and that location wouldn't budge on the price so I walked. It's 5 years later and you're looking at a vehicle which is 5 years newer with the same mileage. Somewhere around $30k seems reasonable to me, so if the seller is negotiable (i.e. not carmax) then point out the accident history, make an offer, and go for it

As to the accidents, if the rear crossmember (hitch) is not damaged, the trunk operates correctly, the rear body panels don't have any gaps, and the vehicle tracks straight, I doubt they affected the vehicle. Lots of people back into something, or particularly for a vehicle driven in the city end up with scrapes and dents. If you're concerned have a good mechanic look it over to make sure it wasn't something worse of course. The main issue will be that you will take a hit on resale, but if you plan to keep the truck a long time then I wouldn't worry about it. Other thoughts about accidents:

• Many vehicles have small accidents which go unreported, and can even have larger ones which don't show up. Just because you find a vehicle with a clean carfax doesn't mean it's actually clean anyway
• You could buy a vehicle without an accident history and then someone could rear-end you the next day. At that point you take the hit on the depreciation, whereas if you're buying a vehicle that's "pre-disastered" you've already (hopefully) negotiated that discount at purchase time.

 

[1world1love]

I bought a one owner, 2014, extremely clean, all service records, white on black, no paint chips, wheel scuffs, wrecks, etc. New tires, battery, brakes, 118k miles for $36k.

I would say pass on that.

When did you buy yours though. Seems like since the announcement that the 200 was the last, that there was a run on LCs which then puts pressure on the LX market. They are pretty hard to find these days.

 

[John Guedry]

When did you buy yours though. Seems like since the announcement that the 200 was the last, that there was a run on LCs which then puts pressure on the LX market. They are pretty hard to find these days.

I think covid in general has messed up the new and used car market. I was looking to move from my f150 into a tundra, post covid prices are crazy even on tundras now.

 

[RyanR]

For reference I just bought (Yesterday) a 2013 LX with 120k miles, 2 owners, no accidents, meticulous maintenance records, flawless inside and out other than about 1" of curb scrape on 1 rim. 100k service complete, lived in UT its entire life, less rust than the one posted above, but still some light surface rust underneath. Silver with beige interior, every option box ticked including the rear seat screens (Which I actually want with two small children) Paid $31.5k and that includes them delivering it from UT to Boise, ID for me.

If you plan to sell the vehicle in a couple years, I'd probably try to beat them up on price a bit as it does hurt resell, but its still very easy to move 200's. If you plan to keep it long term, as long as the damage is cosmetic, who cares go for it if you like the truck.

As others have said, the rear end of these things is STOUT and a little low speed fender bender isn't going to harm them... I have slid backwards down near vertical rocky climbs in both my FJ and previous LX and landed HARD on the hitch multiple times and sustain no damage at all. Just my 2 cents.

 

[tacoduck]

I bought a 2015 Lexus from private party in December of 19. First owner had a fender bende with rear damage. No airbag deployment. Second owner bought truck cpo from Lexus, and I’m confident Lexus wouldn’t cpo it if wasn’t high quality.
I bought the truck knowing all this, and have been super happy. Only issue in certain lights you can see the rear bumper is a shade off.
I intend to drive the truck for the next 5 years, so no big deal.

 

[1world1love]

I wouldn't disqualify it just for a fender bender. Like linuxgod points out above, you could get bumped on the way home from picking it up. No harm no foul.

My main issue would be that these things show up on the CarFax and the images shown seem to be incongruous with reportable accidents or insurance claims.

Tacoduck knew there was an accident and repair. For the truck in question though, was there a repair? And if so, why is there still damage visible. If there was not a repair, what was the reason for the accident report and/or insurance claim?

There are likely good and reasonable answers to those questions, but it is worth asking them. Maybe the other vehicle was damaged more? Maybe there was damage to property that necessitated filing a report? If the answers are acceptable, then I wouldn't worry about the damage in the pics. I would talk them down on price though.