This A Decent Price?

[Tarrant]

Greetings everyone. I found this forum doing a Google search and have been browsing thru all the info the past day or two. It looks like this is an excellent source for help so maybe someone can help me out with a problem.

I'm gearing up to buy an IS300 here in the next month or two. At first I was only considering a 2002 or 2003 model but a buddy here at work made me an interesting offer. He has a 2001 that he's been leasing for the past four years and the lease is up at the end of June. He can then 1) turn the car in and be done with it or 2) pay the balance and own it. He just bought an Infiniti FX45 last week so the IS was going back until he found out I was looking at them. He's offered to just let me have the car for the outstanding balance which is right at $18,500. Here's the scoop on the car...

- 2001 model IS300

- Approx 44K miles

- Has all the options except rear spoiler and heated seats

- Needs brake pads but otherwise is in excellent condition

My main issue is paying $18,500 for a car that's four years old...not sure how I feel about that. But what do you guys think? Sound like a good deal? Thanks for the help!

[bartkat]

Greetings everyone.  I found this forum doing a Google search and have been browsing thru all the info the past day or two.  It looks like this is an excellent source for help so maybe someone can help me out with a problem.

I'm gearing up to buy an IS300 here in the next month or two.  At first I was only considering a 2002 or 2003 model but a buddy here at work made me an interesting offer.  He has a 2001 that he's been leasing for the past four years and the lease is up at the end of June.  He can then 1) turn the car in and be done with it or 2) pay the balance and own it.  He just bought an Infiniti FX45 last week so the IS was going back until he found out I was looking at them.  He's offered to just let me have the car for the outstanding balance which is right at $18,500.  Here's the scoop on the car...

- 2001 model IS300

- Approx 44K miles

- Has all the options except rear spoiler and heated seats

- Needs brake pads but otherwise is in excellent condition

My main issue is paying $18,500 for a car that's four years old...not sure how I feel about that.  But what do you guys think?  Sound like a good deal?  Thanks for the help!

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That sounds about right for a private party sale.

$16,752 Wholesale/trade in

$18,753 Private sale

$20,735 Dealer retail

Clean Some normal wear but no major mechanical or cosmetic problems; may require limited reconditioning.

http://www.edmunds.com/tmv/used/2001/lexus/is300/index.html

[bartkat]

A similarly equipped 2005 new IS300 would price as follows.

$34,615 MSRP

$30,289 Dealer Invoice

$31,435 True Market Value (what cars are actually selling for.)

[Tarrant]

Good info to have...thx guys. Sounds like the price is in line with what one would expect. Still not sure about the price as it relates to the age of the vehicle though. I'm not one who trades cars every year or two which means I'll probably have this vehicle for a while and it's already 4 years old. Hmmm, guess I'll have to think about this some more.

[bartkat]

Good info to have...thx guys.  Sounds like the price is in line with what one would expect.  Still not sure about the price as it relates to the age of the vehicle though.  I'm not one who trades cars every year or two which means I'll probably have this vehicle for a while and it's already 4 years old.  Hmmm, guess I'll have to think about this some more.

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When you get into 3 or 4 year old cars, it's the mileage that really counts, and of course, the previous maintenance.

I bought my 2002, two years ago, (it was one year old at the time) and it had all the Lexus service records and updates. I've got 36,000 miles on it now and it's good as new. The I6 engine, properly maintained, will run for 200,000 miles quite easily. Besides, from an appearance standpoint, a 2001 and a 2005 don't really look any different. Mileage and condition are the biggies.

[is300fan]

I drive an '03 with all the goodies and I love my car, can't wait to get into the '06 though! Be sure to check all of the '01s noted problems. As I understand it, they will sometimes have CD changer and acceleration problems. Another thing to note is that the '01 doesn't have the armrest. :(

Good info to have...thx guys.  Sounds like the price is in line with what one would expect.  Still not sure about the price as it relates to the age of the vehicle though.  I'm not one who trades cars every year or two which means I'll probably have this vehicle for a while and it's already 4 years old.  Hmmm, guess I'll have to think about this some more.

←

When you get into 3 or 4 year old cars, it's the mileage that really counts, and of course, the previous maintenance.

I bought my 2002, two years ago, (it was one year old at the time) and it had all the Lexus service records and updates. I've got 36,000 miles on it now and it's good as new. The I6 engine, properly maintained, will run for 200,000 miles quite easily. Besides, from an appearance standpoint, a 2001 and a 2005 don't really look any different. Mileage and condition are the biggies.

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