Need some opinions about this car....

[Hondadude141]

So, I was looking through craigslist last night and came across this 2004 IS300. Now the car looks like it is in perfect shape, I can't see any defects by the pictures, and it only has 39,000 miles. I jumped at the opportunity to see if the car was still for sale and pitched the owner an email telling him I was interested. He sent me another 21 pictures of the car, and it looks spotless.

After I looked at the pics, I sent him a text asking for the VIN so I could run it through Carfax. The report said there is nothing wrong, and its a 2 owner. This is where a flag went up... The first owner had it for 3 years 4 months, and only put a little over 12,000 miles on it. Then, the guy who has it now put another 27,000 miles on it since he has had it. I sent him a text asking why he was selling it, and why it had so few miles and he told me that he was going to give it to his sister but she decided to wait on getting her license, and he needed to sell it since he already purchased another car, and it has such low miles because the lady before him was old and rarely drove it, and he didn't have far to drive.

So, what do you think? Should I be cautious with this one? I'm going to meet the guy on tuesday to look at the car, and if it's good, then I'm going to take it to the lexus dealer down the street and have it checked out before I even offer a price. Just take a look at the pictures, and let me know what you think.

 

[invisibledemon]

i dont see anything shady.

unless the price is just too good to be true.

low miles arent unusual, some people just dont drive as much as others.

my wife puts 10x as many miles on her car than i do mine. she drives more for work, i work within a mile of my house.

looks like a good find.

 

[Hondadude141]

Good points. I just hope its not one of those "too good to be true" things. Hopefully all goes well on Tuesday. If it does, I might have the car in my driveway within a week.


Then I've got a feeling it might end up boosted, but that's just a thought at this point.

 

[Jeef]

Where's the man pedal?

 

[jeffie7]

You should see my Zs car max. =)


6 04/10/2003
9,463 10/02/2003
9,488 10/17/2003
9,967 01/23/2004
9,980 04/26/2004


Then it stops. lol

Currently has 34K miles on it.

 

[Hondadude141]

Where's the man pedal?

Good luck even finding one of these in a stick that doesn't have 120,000+ miles on it.... Hell, good luck finding a stick at all.

You should see my Zs car max. =)


6 04/10/2003
9,463 10/02/2003
9,488 10/17/2003
9,967 01/23/2004
9,980 04/26/2004


Then it stops. lol

Currently has 34K miles on it.

You and B brought up the same good point.

 

[Briansol]

yep, i'm at 2.5 years of owning the genesis and have just broke 8k on it.


they made like 17 is300's with a manual, so good luck finding one.

Pics look like its from a well-to-do neighborhood, so i'd have little issues with checking it out.

 

[Hondadude141]

Went and looked at and drove it today, the thing is mechanically sound from wheat I can tell and only has a few bumps and scratches on the exterior and interior. Which is to be expected for a 7-8 year old car. I'm taking it to the dealership on the 26th and then if it checks out there I'll drive it home the next day. He was asking for 14,950 and I offered 13,500, he countered with 14,250. So we'll see.

 

[99sidude]

$14k seems a little high for a compact that old. Then again - its a Lexus and will go 500k miles. I firmly believe that the Lexus sedans are the best built cars on the road.

 

[Hondadude141]

It's not high for the shape its in. Sure there are a few dings and minor blemishes on the exterior, and very minor ones on the interior, but there is nothing wrong with the engine or transmission that I could tell. At 40,000 miles, you can't beat it.

 

[UNDR8D]

I wouldn't pay $14,000 for an 04, even if it has low miles. We just paid $15,500 for an '06 TL with 60k.

 

[Briansol]

Do you have money cash in hand? it will be hard to get a loan for a car that old for that much.

 

[eg6sir]

it will be hard to get a loan for a car that old for that much.

it blue books at $16.9k in very good condition and $14.9k in fair condition.. he could easily get a loan for it

 

[Hondadude141]

The bank I'm doing my financing through (USAA) looks up the KBB value on the car and gives you the "fair" value as the highest financing amount. the fair value on this car is 15 something. If not, I can do cash in hand, just don't really want to cut into my bank account like that.

 

[Cashizslick]

Do you have money cash in hand? it will be hard to get a loan for a car that old for that much.

:Word:

Also, why get a loan for something thats 8 years old... and if you can only purchase the car after getting a loan, then you should ask yourself if you really need it in the 1st place.

 

[E_SolSi]

 

[Hondadude141]

:Word:

Also, why get a loan for something thats 8 years old... and if you can only purchase the car after getting a loan, then you should ask yourself if you really need it in the 1st place.

As of 2 weeks ago I have no vehicle. I could pay cash, but it would drain the majority of my bank account. I need that money for an apartment, random bills, and anything else that pops up.

 

[invisibledemon]

buddy of mine just bought one of these for 3800. lol. its an 02 i think with 200k on it. but in really good shape.

 

[UNDR8D]

As of 2 weeks ago I have no vehicle. I could pay cash, but it would drain the majority of my bank account. I need that money for an apartment, random bills, and anything else that pops up.

I'm with you. If you get a good rate the financing costs you very little and it's a smart way to utilize your cash flow. We got 2.9% on a used car loan. If you managed your savings well, you could earn over 3%, making it advantageous to finance the vehicle rather than lay down $15k in cash, when that cash could be, at the very least, working to offset the cost of financing in some kind of interest bearing financial device.

 

[Hondadude141]

I'm with you. If you get a good rate the financing costs you very little and it's a smart way to utilize your cash flow. We got 2.9% on a used car loan. If you managed your savings well, you could earn over 3%, making it advantageous to finance the vehicle rather than lay down $15k in cash, when that cash could be, at the very least, working to offset the cost of financing in some kind of interest bearing financial device.

The lady at the bank yesterday told me they can go as low as 3.75%, which is fine with me. I'm just waiting until today to hear back on our loan decision. I applied without my Dad as a co-signer this time, and if I don't get a low enough rate, he offered to sign so I could.