Would you buy this car?

[DawnM]

YES! I wouldn't even need a full day to think about it, I would head to the bank and get the cash today!

Dawn

 

[mrspopeye]

I have a 2004 Lexus RX 330 with 165,000 miles and it runs like a dream. My husband is a mechanic and takes good care of it. I get 22 mpg. The only downside to owning a Lexus over a Toyota, which is basically the same thing is that it costs more to repair/maintain the Lexus- more expensive tires, more expensive headlights, etc. when something does go wrong. It costs us nearly twice as much to put tires on it than it did my Honda Accord.

 

[mombrontrent]

Sounds like a great deal to me. My DH would love to own a Lexus.

 

[tlbwriter]

I would buy a 105k mile Lexus in a heartbeat before I even thought of buying a brand new Chevy Malibu....

 

[marie1203]

I would. I our Lexus (2008) never had any issues with it and it almost has 100k (we drive a lot DH is military is hard to buy tickets and plan in advance so we end up driving almost everywhere on vacations) . My step-dad had a Lexus for over 10 years never gave him any problem he sold it at 280k and the guy still has it running no problem.

 

[mrodgers]

It costs us nearly twice as much to put tires on it than it did my Honda Accord.

Tires are not tied to a car. You can put the same tires on a Lexus as you would an Accord.

Repairs might be more expensive per repair on a Lexus over a Chevy, but maintenance isn't going to be any different. A spark plug is a spark plug, I put the same in every car I own. Brakes are generally the same, I put the same brakes in all cars.

Replacing control arms (suspension component) on a Lexus compared to a Chevy is where the difference is large as they are not maintenance items. Though, it really is the opposite since there is more chance of making repairs 3 times more often or thousands of miles earlier on Chevy/Ford than Japanese makes.

 

[Anthony1971]

As others have said repairs will be on the expensive side. Luxury cars in general sell at a big disount as they can become a liability as they age. Lexus will be expensive to fix compared to a toyota but nothing compared to an Older BMW or Mercedes where one repair can far outweight the price you paid.
with that in mind if it was well taken care of you likley will not have major problems but be aware if you do you will again be in the same situation as you are now.

 

[Anthony1971]

Tires are not tied to a car. You can put the same tires on a Lexus as you would an Accord.

Not true an older Honda accord likley has 14 or 15 (upper line model) inch tires where a Lexus will have 16 or 17 inch.... that one inch more of tire price makes a $$$ difference in the price

 

[marie1203]

As others have said repairs will be on the expensive side. Luxury cars in general sell at a big disount as they can become a liability as they age. Lexus will be expensive to fix compared to a toyota but nothing compared to an Older BMW or Mercedes where one repair can far outweight the price you paid.
with that in mind if it was well taken care of you likley will not have major problems but be aware if you do you will again be in the same situation as you are now.

But lexus had a better rate in reliability so it can't be compared to a BMW or Mercedes which do not have such good ratings. We own a Lexus and we do not have a dealership close to us we always taken to Toyota and it has been the same price as if they were servicing a toyota.

 

[Sparkleshine]

I'd buy it as long as you know you wouldn't blame the seller if something happens to it after you take possesion. Something may happen as it could with any car so just make sure you wouldn't get bitter about it - I am sure he is selling it to you in good faith from the sounds of him so I am sure he would feel badly too, but stuff happens.

 

[mrodgers]

Not true an older Honda accord likley has 14 or 15 (upper line model) inch tires where a Lexus will have 16 or 17 inch.... that one inch more of tire price makes a $$$ difference in the price

That is just wheel size. Honda Accords today have 16-17 inch wheels. That has nothing to do with the car, they all had small wheels way back when and all have larger wheels now. Different sizes obviously are a bit different in price, but what tire you put on one car can go on another car. I certainly am not going to put the same high performance tire that was on my Jetta on it next week when I replace mine. The tire on it is $279 each (16 inch). I'm going to put $98 all-season tires on it. Probably the same size or pretty close size tire that is on a Lexus of pre-2000 vintage.

 

[swilshire]

My car is likely dead. It will cost more to repair it than it's worth. A co-worker offered to sell me his '99 Lexus for $3k. It has 105K miles, but he's a fastidious person: the car is in excellent condition and has been serviced regularly. If the manual said to do something at 90K miles, it was done. He's taken excellent care of it (as he has taken care of everything in his life. That's why I'm considering buying the car). He's perfectly content still driving the Lexus, but wants to get a hybrid (and has saved the cash to do so!). This man is very financially savvy. He has no debt at all! Home, cars, son's college, all paid for. He's not rich, but very smart with his money. I wouldn't usually even consider a private sale car, except for knowing who has taken care of this one. Even if we just get 3 years out of it, it's a bargain.

I bought a Honda Accord with 94,000 miles on it from my neighbor for $5K. Normally I would not have considered a used car with that many miles, but my neighbor sounds like your friend. I knew he took care of it and was just ready for a new car. That was just slightly over the blue book value, but not too much.

I've had a couple of things go wrong and spend a little on it in the year since, but we still have a very nice little car for my 17yo without a huge investment. I just put new tires on it and hope to get another 75K miles out of it.

Sheila

 

[heatherleigh]

But lexus had a better rate in reliability so it can't be compared to a BMW or Mercedes which do not have such good ratings. We own a Lexus and we do not have a dealership close to us we always taken to Toyota and it has been the same price as if they were servicing a toyota.

I don't think he was comparing it as far as maintenance goes. He was just saying that the Lexus wouldn't be as expensive to maintain.

OP, I think it's a great deal. Did you know that the value of used cars has gone up in recent mos? My husband is in the car business, and said he's never seen anything like it. Kind of interesting- normally they depreciate, pretty rapidly the first year or two.

 

[nick262]

I just bought a 2003 Lexus ES 300 and LLLLOOOOVVVVVVEEEE IT! It had 84K miles on it and runs like it is brand new. I was checking the oil and transmission fluid and they looked brand new and it had been 4k since my last oil change. If you find a trusted mechanic, it will not be that expensive to repair. I just had the timing belt and water pump replace for about $550.00. You can also go to http://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/home and register the car under you name with the VIN number and it will list all of the past service history that was done at any Lexus dealership and any repairs that were submitted by the owner. You can also add any repairs that you have done on the car.

As others have said, if you don't buy it, I would love too.

 

[Goofyzgurl]

I'll take it if you don't and he doesn't even have to put snow tires on it since I'm in ga Even before I finished reading your post my husband yelled out yes! lol

 

[scbelleatheart]

In a heartbeat! We have 4. A 1999,2000 (teens cars), 2003 & 2004. The kids carswe drove to death and then passed them down. They have to be pushing 160, 170 thousand miles and run great.
The only issue we have ever had was to find a good mechanic so we don't use the dealership for the older cars. There is an issue if a sensor goes out the RPM's race. it's just a sensor but the difference in price between local and Lexus repair was unreal.
I'll buy it if you don't

 

[nick262]

Sooooo...Did you buy it?

 

[a1tinkfans]

My car is likely dead. It will cost more to repair it than it's worth. A co-worker offered to sell me his '99 Lexus for $3k. It has 105K miles, but he's a fastidious person: the car is in excellent condition and has been serviced regularly. If the manual said to do something at 90K miles, it was done. He's taken excellent care of it (as he has taken care of everything in his life. That's why I'm considering buying the car). He's perfectly content still driving the Lexus, but wants to get a hybrid (and has saved the cash to do so!). This man is very financially savvy. He has no debt at all! Home, cars, son's college, all paid for. He's not rich, but very smart with his money. I wouldn't usually even consider a private sale car, except for knowing who has taken care of this one. Even if we just get 3 years out of it, it's a bargain.

We're getting a second opinion on my car this Wed. It's paid for and we didn't plan on having to replace it just yet, but it could be thousands of dollars in repair for a 1997 Chevy Malibu. It's not worth thousands of dollars, but we don't want to take out a big car loan, either.

Thoughts?

Blue Book IT, regardless of what he did to take care of it, its still a car with Very High Mileage, and what its worth, is really pretty straight forward....possibly someone elses troubles, and a co worker....

 

[englishteacha]

The Lexus blue books at $6200; Edmunds and NADA are in the same range, $6000ish. Just got the final word on my Chevy. Too much to fix. My trusted local mechanic has offered to look over any vehicle I wish to purchase. I'm very lucky to have such good people in my life! As long as my coworker still wishes to sell his car, and the mechanic says it's good, it probably will be my next vehicle.

 

[mrodgers]

Blue Book IT, regardless of what he did to take care of it, its still a car with Very High Mileage, and what its worth, is really pretty straight forward....possibly someone elses troubles, and a co worker....

Just FYI, it is a Toyota not a Chevy. A Chevy with 105k is high miles. A Toyota with 105k is barely broken in.