Buying Certified Preowned 2005 Ls430

[Cowboy0724]

OK. One more question on buying a 2005 LS430 (preowned certified) with 22370 miles in showroom condition from a dealer in Winston Salem, NC. The dealer actually had this car on his showroom floor.

I have agreed to purchase this car for $32000 plus tax, title, tag ($498 to dealer for doc fee). I am finding it hard to determine if this is a good deal or not. The various book values run from $29800 to $34,500 and the internet (ebay, Carmax, Car Trader, etc.) are all over the place. I suspect that mileage and condition have some bearing on asking price, but I can't really get a feel about what is a good deal on a car like this one. I might add, this is my first used car, ever, and I am 60 years old. I usually buy new cars but can't see myself spending $90,000 on a car at this stage of my life.

You guys have been dealing with Lexus for some time and this is my first Lexus. What do you think?

[rsadge]

I just bought a 2004 ls 430 with 63000 miles for 16900. I think you can do better.

[1990LS400]

Well ... if you agreed to purchase the car, then you have decided that you are satisfied with the deal -- that's all that really matters.

My current 2000 LS400 I bought in 2003 is the first used car I bought since the 1970s. I bought a new LS400 in 1990 but I couldn't get all that enthusiastic about buying another new one since there were so many nice low mileage used ones available -- and I had my CPA wife breathing down my neck wanting me to stop spending so much money on cars as I got nearer to retirement.

How much is your time worth? The way I look at it, I can always squeeze a few more dollars if I take the time to look hard enough. I probably could have bought a car similar to the 00 LS400 I bought in 2003 for a little less in a private party transaction but it wasn't worth the inconvenience. Even if I spent a few thousand $$ more than I could have, the extra I paid will be amortized over many years and ends up being a nit. When you keep cars 10 - 15 years like we do, it's just not a big deal. With the fewer miles we're driving these days, it should be easy to keep the 2000 LS400 until about 2015 and my wife's 98 Camry until about 2013 unless one of them gets crashed.

One great thing about buying a relatively new Lexus LS is that they are very up-to-date in the safety gadgets and features they have. I don't know of any big advancements since 2005 when "your" LS430 was produced.

You might check the in-service date of that LS430 you are buying. If it was sold late in the model year, it might have some of its original 4 yr/50K basic warranty left. It should have quite a bit of its drive train warranty left.

[DrJfrmLA]

OK. One more question on buying a 2005 LS430 (preowned certified) with 22370 miles in showroom condition from a dealer in Winston Salem, NC. The dealer actually had this car on his showroom floor.

I have agreed to purchase this car for $32000 plus tax, title, tag ($498 to dealer for doc fee). I am finding it hard to determine if this is a good deal or not. The various book values run from $29800 to $34,500 and the internet (ebay, Carmax, Car Trader, etc.) are all over the place. I suspect that mileage and condition have some bearing on asking price, but I can't really get a feel about what is a good deal on a car like this one. I might add, this is my first used car, ever, and I am 60 years old. I usually buy new cars but can't see myself spending $90,000 on a car at this stage of my life.

You guys have been dealing with Lexus for some time and this is my first Lexus. What do you think?

You live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. I was in graduate school in Chapel Hill and loved Boone and Blowing Rock.

I bought an '04 in December 07 for about that price. It had 12.5k miles (yes, 12.5k) and still had 8 months on the factory warranty. That deal is comparable to the deal you made. The MSRP of the car went up year-over-year, but the market is really soft right now for luxury cars. The Lexus brand seems to hold its value better than others. I'd say you are within a couple of thousand of a really great deal. I'm also 60--I don't fret over small money much any more. If you like the car, you made a good deal.

BTW, our Lexus dealer has treated us like we bought the car new from them, even though we found it at an independent dealer. On the other hand, I bought an '04 Mercedes S430 about six months later--same deal, still under factory warranty--and the Mercedes dealer treats me like I have $hit on my shoe. I have bought used luxury cars for the last 20 years, and they are a great deal. The original owner takes a 50% or more depreciation hit, and you get a superb vehicle for the same price as a loaded-up new Camry.

Congratulations. Welcome to Lexus.

[tkbalt]

+1 on service. Dealing with Lexus service departments is one of the primary reasons I keep going back to Lexus. First - the cars are relatively bulletproof, so not much goes wrong outside of normal maintenance. Secondly - the service experience is just the best. While pricey - they have consistently exceeded my expectations. I too have had MB's - and the service experience (for me) was very different. Lexus knows how to treat customers.

[Brett in AK]

OK. One more question on buying a 2005 LS430 (preowned certified) with 22370 miles in showroom condition from a dealer in Winston Salem, NC. The dealer actually had this car on his showroom floor.

I have agreed to purchase this car for $32000 plus tax, title, tag ($498 to dealer for doc fee). I am finding it hard to determine if this is a good deal or not. The various book values run from $29800 to $34,500 and the internet (ebay, Carmax, Car Trader, etc.) are all over the place. I suspect that mileage and condition have some bearing on asking price, but I can't really get a feel about what is a good deal on a car like this one. I might add, this is my first used car, ever, and I am 60 years old. I usually buy new cars but can't see myself spending $90,000 on a car at this stage of my life.

You guys have been dealing with Lexus for some time and this is my first Lexus. What do you think?

I just bought a CPO 2006 LS 430 Ultra with 29k on the meter for $36,500. After nosing around for awhile I believe it is a better than fair deal. The dealership so far has been a pleasure to deal with. I had another dealer looking for me and when he called to say he had found one I told him I had just bought one. His response was great and said if I ever had any questions to call him and he would be happy to answer them. This from a dealership that is 2,500 miles away! So far I'm sold on the experience I have had in looking for and talking with the Lexus folks. I hope it's not just a honeymoon phase and from what I've experienced so far I don't believe it is. FWIW, I'll be 60 in a few months. Must be something in the water!

[Cowboy0724]

Thanks guys!!! I just got home with my "new" LS430 and I could not be more happy. I looked this car over very carefully and I can't find a thing wrong with it. It has 22400 miles but it looks like it is brand new. I even asked the dealer to put it up on the rack I could not find anything wrong underneath (It spent approx 4 yrs. in Deleware but does not show any rust, I think the owner may have not driven it in the winter).

It rides like a dream and there is nothing so far that I can find fault with. I made the deal I mentioned above and feel that I might have gotten a little more off, but I'm very satisfied with the car and as someone said early in this thread, I could have spent more valuable time looking around for a better deal, but my time is worth something and I plan to keep this care for a long time, so a few more dollars really doesn't matter over time. The dealer did readily agree to give my wife new floor mats and that makes her happy.

This form is great and I really apprecitate the feedback. I plan to visit here often and join the fun.

[Budhah]

OK. One more question on buying a 2005 LS430 (preowned certified) with 22370 miles in showroom condition from a dealer in Winston Salem, NC. The dealer actually had this car on his showroom floor.

I have agreed to purchase this car for $32000 plus tax, title, tag ($498 to dealer for doc fee). I am finding it hard to determine if this is a good deal or not. The various book values run from $29800 to $34,500 and the internet (ebay, Carmax, Car Trader, etc.) are all over the place. I suspect that mileage and condition have some bearing on asking price, but I can't really get a feel about what is a good deal on a car like this one. I might add, this is my first used car, ever, and I am 60 years old. I usually buy new cars but can't see myself spending $90,000 on a car at this stage of my life.

You guys have been dealing with Lexus for some time and this is my first Lexus. What do you think?

I just bought a "perfect" 2006 ls430 for $33k with 28k miles.. Mine has nav but not the ultra package. I actually like the Nav on this model, as opposed to others that diss it. Doing the overide makes it worth while. Otherwise would think it worthless. If you upgrade your Nav Package, i heard that the override is not optional after the update.

Something that might be interesting is the color combo on the 05, Blue is pretty hard to sell my dealer told me. But the Burgundy is a hot item. go figure.

[PilotguyPA28]

They are charging you close to $5,000 for buying from them. Buy from an individual an LS 430 that is still well within warranty. That way you can check it for body work (or have someone check for you for $50-100) and then you have the waranty to back you up. Don't pay for an extended warranty.