I made it down to carsearchusa.com. It appears to be a "one outlet" dealer in an aging commercial sprawl area of Fort Lauderdale. The building may have been an old gas station or stand alone store. I met a man who identified himself as the owner. He said he buys cars in lots of 10 from dealerships. He keeps the best ones to detail/refurbish out of his store. He sells the others to export.
The cars there did seem exceptionally well detailed. Many had new tires and floor mat. It appeared that paint defects where nicely painted over. Overall the cars "showed" well.
I was surprised to find that both the LX470s I went to go see were gone. They were featured in active ads on AutoTrader.com. It was difficult for me to understand why both were gone. Disappointed, I left my name and number. The owner was happy to know what I was looking for and what my price range was. Perhaps I will hear from him when he gets something in.
To date I can't say I'm realy happy with my car search. I've been at it for a few weeks. Here's a sampling of what I've seen:
> My best bet was a low mileage LX470 about a hundred miles from my house. It was "one owner", all original and well maintained. The seller even had me speak with his service manager at Lexus. The day I was supposed to buy he pulled it off the market.
> My next best bet was an average mileage LX470 located near my home. It too was purported to be "one owner", super clean with average miles. I stretched to meet their price and we made a deal based on the seller's claim that it was exceptionally clean, straight and well maintained. I took the vehicle to my mechanic only to discover it had been repainted in places that indicated possible rear end and front right impact. The front and rear bumpers weren't true. The Lexus markings were missing from the back. The front CV boots were leaking, the front axels were worn, the dash ratteled excessively, the catalytic converter appeared to be rotting from the inside out and the Lexus-done chrome dipped wheels were delaminating.
Funny thing was I absolutely believed the person selling the car. They appeared straight and honest. I just couldn't justify paying a good price because the vehicle's story didn't match up with what the owner said. I'm not saying they lied, but what they said can't be confirmed with the actual condiditon of the vehicle.
> A 1998 Land Cruiser with 50,000 miles on it. It was said to be super clean. However, the interior had seen hard use that even the dealer's detailer couldn't hide. Many metal parts on the engine were heavily oxidized, which I did not understand. Even the salt air here in Florida would be hard pressed to oxidize metal that bad. My current car is much older and it looks a lot better!
> Another Land Cruiser that was said to be perfect. In reality, it was overly detailed. It appeared to have bumpers, hitch and grill gaurds that were painted, desite the owner's claim that it was all original. I was also suspicious of the overall paint job, which seemed a little uneven to be from the factory.
I suppose these could be good cars and that I'm just too picky. I want to take sellers at their word. However, I'm surprised when I show up and find a different story than what I heard on the phone. I don't lie to people about cars I sell. When I sell, the cars are seriously for sale and I will negotiate a fair price for their mileage and condidtion. I don't demand unfair prices or mislead buyers. I guess I expect the same from the sellers I deal with.
Well they are used cars afterall. The search continues. I think I'll focus in on private party sellers offering vehicles with original paint. At least that way I can more accurately judge condition. I'll give it time. If nothing good happens over the next several weeks, Toyota's new V8 4Runner looks mighty fine... and about the same money.
