Buying Used

[chiro66]

Hi all, very happy to be here too. I am looking at a 04 Ls430 nav , ML, etc. It has a very good score on autocheck, but showed it was in an accident in 2005 ( no frame damage). I spoke w the previous owner ( the car is at a nalley jag dealer) who described the accident , no frame damage, and he kept and drove the car 4 more years. I called the body shop and they confirmed this. I have all the service records. He went to the lexus dealer every 5k for service. No problems, the car looks and drives great. What do you think about buying a car that was in an accident. It has 68,000 miles nav, smart access, ML sport suspension, etc. I got them down to $19 700.

Thanks in advance for any help

[1990LS400]

An LS430 doesn't have a frame. I had a 90 LS400 that had over $10,000 in rear end damage in about 1999 and it was as good as new after it was repaired. I drove it until 2003 and sold it to a coworker who is still driving it.

It's probably difficult to find a five year old car that hasn't been hit at least once.

My 2000 LS400 has been rear ended and repaired at least three times and it still drives and looks like new.

You didn't say how much the repair cost was on the 04 LS you are looking at. Knowing the cost might indicate the severity of the crash.

[chiro66]

I believe he said it was in the neighborhood of $9000. He was at a red light and someone hit him from the side. Hit the front left corner panel and and front bumper. The head light alone is about $1200 right? Carfax and autocheck called it moderate, but someone at a body shop said they determine mild,moderate, severe by dollar amount. these cars aren't cheap to fix.

[tkbalt]

Accidents always bug me. 9K in damage is potentially minor, as parts would be very expensive. I worry more about the quality of the paintwork. Very few shops can lay down paint like they do at the factory. That said, if the repairs were done correctly with a solid paint job, probably not a lot to be concerned about. I honestly would either continue to work on the price (if I really loved the car), or keep looking. We just bought a CPO 2003 LS with nav, ML for about 20K - car is one owner, no accidents, dealer maintained, 38,000 miles.