Willy B.

I don't know how to post a link. But the car used to be on ebay in Minneapolis and the item number is 251038697543. I found it on Craiglist in Milwaukee for $12,999. I offered him $11,000 and we agreed on $11,500. I was supposed to pick it up on Good Friday. Just in case anybody needs a headache.

Well my curisoty got to me about that 2004 and I ran a Carfax. The owner claimed it was just a fender repair. Well the Carfax says otherwise. The original owner hit a median real hard when the car was two years old. So for an insurance company to total out a two year car it must have taken out a lot of mechanicals, and did everything get fixed? What's interesting it looks like it was totaled out again a few years later with another accident, which of course wouldn't take as much since it's worth so much less due to the first accident. Although mechanically it seems fine there's things like the Nav system and I could hear no rear speakers and the climate control did not seem really up to snuff. And then you have the title issue. And the reason for the 62,000 miles is that it looks like the car sat for a few years before getting fixed. Anyway I don't have to buy a newer one but I'm supposed to go take a look at a 2003 with 70,000 miles on it in the next few days. It looks like it has the CL package, which means Nav system so I'm crossing my fingers. It's priced less then $15k, so we'll see. I had good luck with my LS400 which had about the same miles, price and age.

Well I sure was sitting on the fence post on this one. But I'm going with the advice from you guys. My other thought was going to an LS430 that was a couple of years older and maybe close to the same low miles. My only concern is most consumer reports on 01-03 models say the motors are not as reliable as older ones or newer ones. Not sure what that means. Also I'm really going to try to stay away from Navagation systems if I can at all help it. It seems that all Toyota products seem to be an issue along with a lot of other manufacturers. At least that's what I'm finding with my internet searches. Or should I say 'IF' they go bad it sure is expensive to fix them.

I own a 1998 LS400 and love it. Almost no problems, bought with 90,000 miles 6 years ago and it now has 150K. Runs great. But I always liked 04-06 LS430's and I happened to come across an 04 that is really cheap, almost as cheap as I am. I wouldn't even consider it but he was asking $12,999 and it has 62,000 miles and with every option that I know of. Sounds great right? Well the bad part is, is that it was an insurance payout, which means it was damaged and then repaired and the title reflects that by saying something like "rebuilt" on the title. Now I took the car out and it goes like a raped ape compared to my LS400 and rides just as smooth if not smoother then my LS. Not owned by a car person, a few scratches in the paint that probably could be buffed out, I'd say it's a 15 footer. The big problem I have is the Nav. Screen says "External System not Connected". Owner says it's been saying that for awhile and hasn't gotten around to taking it in (maybe fibbing). I offered him $11,000 and we agreed on $11,500 and I told him I'd be back the next day. But then I looked on the internet and found that it could cost $4-5K to fix that, so I called him back and told him about that and that I would have to reconsider my offer and that I would get back to him. So I'm really not concerend about the "rebuilt" title because I would probably own it for a few years and by time I get rid of the car it would be almost worth nothing anyway. But I'm really concerned about the Nav., But the 62,000 mile car is inticing, along with the new styling and power. Any thoughts?