How Much Is A Certified Car Worth?

[timandjulie]

Hello,

Well, we are going to buy another LS. This one will be a 98,99,00. There are many for sale around the country. Seems to me that one can get a LS of that age with 40-50k on the odo for around $10-23k. I have seen very few with NAV.

My local Lexus dealer has a 99 w/nav and its certifed but...he wants 27k.

Please offer advice if a certified car is worth a $3-6k premium over a non certified.

By the way...for those who responded to my previous post regarding getting a MB vs LS...thanks. This really is an awesome site.

[99lsguy]

Well, with a certified car you will get new tires along with the 128 point checklist they go over. I would ask to see the list - and exactly what they do. They are normally in great condition with lower miles.

YOU ARE PAYING PREMIUM $$$$ FOR A LOWER MILEAGE LS....

Usually, the dealer will do the closest "major " service.

It boils down to CHANGING tires, filters, & fluids. It costs the dealer probably $300-$400 to do the certification - they will tell you it costs $2000+. They get such a great deal on tires .....we can't buy them for what they do. ;)

If you find a well maintained LS from private owner...it's the same car but without the warranty - just depends on your level of confidence in the car. If you would be worried about a NON-certified car and its lack of warranty; it's not worth the worry - get the certified.

Are you mechanically inclined to do service yourself???

I saved myself $8000 over what the dealer wanted - a certified 99 LS PLUS my trade in. I sold my "trade in" car myself and bought from private owner. I gained the ENTIRE PRICE of my older vehicle in the process :D

99

[LinuxFan]

YEAH!

What 99lsguy said -- exactly. :P

[99lsguy]

YEAH!

What 99lsguy said -- exactly. :P

[LinuxFan]

You are welcome. ;-)

I was about to post the same thing, hit the Reply button and low and behold, you had post my thoughts so that is why I said ditto to you.

well informed I can see :D

[99lsguy]

Linux,

At first I was looking at the CPO 's too. I was close to buying - but we were still $2k apart. I kindly told the salesmen that I was willing to "take a bath" on the deal - but just not this much. I know I quoted him EXACTLY what they had in the car - and was willing to pay up to $3k over it - but I could bend no more. I just love research - and they knew (that I knew)

I walked away.....and glad I did :D Depreciation on these 4-5 yr old cars is still bad enough :cries:

$8k savings will buy some nice tires and a lot of maintenance - especially DIY

99

[timandjulie]

I think I will go with what is simply the best car. The dealer wont budge off $27k....I found what looks like the same car on ebay,...another Lexus dealer...for $21k. I was told that the dealers are buying these cars at auctions and dealer trade ins for $18-20,000. I cant imagine there would be $5k + worth of repairs needed to justify to CPO car.

[1990LS400]

Based on figures in the TSB on the "miles since refuel" problem, it looked to me like there were more 2000 LS's sold than for 98 and 99 - at least 38,000 2000's were sold. LS's were manufactured at least through June of 2000 and may have been sold or leased for the first time by Lexus dealers well into the fall. My point is that you might find a used 2000 LS with four or five months left on the basic 4-yr/50K warranty and well below $30K from an individual or independent dealer. This would give you a chance to have any issues fixed under warranty.

Six months ago I tried to by a 2000 LS from my local Lexus dealer. A certified LS with about 36K miles was over $39K at the dealer. Instead I bought a non-certified 2000 LS that had just come off a 3-yr lease, with all options except Nav, air suspension, and phone, and in nicer condition, with 38K miles from an independent dealer for less than $31K. The certified car certainly was not worth an additional $8K to me.

I think I've seen several low (30K - 45K) mileage 2000 LS's advertised over the past few months at $25K - $30K.

I have not seen all that many with Nav.

[99lsguy]

I think I will go with what is simply the best car. The dealer wont budge off $27k....I found what looks like the same car on ebay,...another Lexus dealer...for $21k. I was told that the dealers are buying these cars at auctions and dealer trade ins for $18-20,000. I cant imagine there would be $5k + worth of repairs needed to justify to CPO car.

I agree with your logic...that's what I did :D

My 99 had 53K and I've put maybe $300 into it up through now (62K). This includes the 60K service (DIY except for fuel filter) - so I"m all up to date

Plus I have the peace of mind knowing I've cared for the LS much better than I'd get from dealer service....

99

[SW03ES]

Interesting, there were actually far less 2000s sold than in 98 or 99, due in part to the new model being on the way, and in part due to them only producing cars for half a year...