Buying a Used Car

[Len Lanetti]

Hello,

Cut To the Chase

I would like any feed back on the 2005 model year Lexus ES330...anyone out there know anything about this particular make and model as I'm thinking about buying a used one with 16,000 miles on the odometer. Thanks. Len

The rest of the story...

Someone else has a great tag line that goes something like "...I drive an old car so I can fly an even older airplane.". That slogan applies to my wife and I. Personally, I don't mind as I love my '94 4Runner and can't wait for it to turn 100K miles in the next month or so. The trade off is I get to own a great Mooney with a new engine and good avionics. For my wife there is no trade off except that she gets to go for rides in the Mooney and write the checks that pay the bills. Her Subaru is almost as old as my car and while it only has about 70K miles it has not held up as well. She really deserves a better ride.

That said, I happened to run across a 2005 ES330 Lexus that has 16K miles on it and is priced cheaper than a new Toyota such as an Avalon which we were considering buying or a Sieena which we were also considering. The Lexus looks like a new car in and out. A check of Edmunds.com indicates that the asking price jives with what the Edmunds folks think the car is worth. A check of Carfax doesn't show anything (which I imagine doesn't mean something significant didn't happen just the same way that certain aircraft events don't show up in the NTSB or FAA files).

It is a used car and while cheaper than a new car it is a significant hunk of cash for a used car. My wife, being an accountant, sees the benefit of buying used and the car is a beauty (especially compared to her Subaru)...based on that and the fact that there is still more than a year on the new car warranty I think I'm OK with dropping that kind cash on the car.

Anyone else have a similar experience.

Thanks,

Len

 

[mikea]

Someone else has a great tag line that goes something like "...I drive an old car so I can fly an even older airplane.". ..

Not that I have any info for you.

What if you drive TWO old cars?

I'm going for reliability through redundancy. The 97 Sable I bought from Jann has 178,000 miles. My 97 Mustang GT has 87,000 miles.

Originally the motivation was to meet my annual vow not to try another winter driving the Mustang in snow. At one point I spent a 1/2 hour rocking it trying to get it out of the garage until my neighbor came out and gave me some pushes. It ain't easy when its got a manual tranny with a lot of torque on the rear rear wheel drive. I regret getting the optional high ratio rear axle.

The Sable is the winter and utility car. I sunk a lot of $$$ into the Mustang fixing the air conditioner. The Sable's A/C is toast and I'm not fixing it.

BTW, when I don't work from home I ride public transportation to work. Good thing I own two cars in da city which hates cars.

 

[Len Lanetti]

What if you drive TWO old cars?

My 4Runner being an SUV is great in the snow so I don't need a second car for myself for that reason. While I'd love to have a sports car as a fun ride or perhaps even a motorcycle there is no way that is going to fly on the homefront as long as I own the Mooney.

Len

 

[gkainz]

lessee... if I add up all the miles on the junk sitting around the house: 550,000

and average the age of the vehicles: 1994

whattszat make me?


depressed ...

maybe I need to look at it another way ... no car payments and vehicles that I can maintain myself (not including my wife's '02 Chrysler 300M, except the basics)

 

[Keith Lane]

lessee... if I add up all the miles on the junk sitting around the house: 550,000

and average the age of the vehicles: 1994

whattszat make me?


depressed ...

maybe I need to look at it another way ... no car payments and vehicles that I can maintain myself (not including my wife's '02 Chrysler 300M, except the basics)

That'd be me with that signature.....
1983 Mercedes 300D Turbo, >400,000 miles
1997 Ford F-150 >, 185,000 Miles
My last truck was an '87 Ranger. >265,000 on it when I sold it to Carmax for $400.
But.....
Wife's 2000 Windstar, 65,000 (See a trend here?)

I've taken to adopting and repairing old riding lawnmowers as a form of scraping together flying funds. Even doing "annuals" on friends mowers during the spring getting them ready to mow another year. Recently I started cutting the neighbors lawn. I took away her lawn service for 25% less per month cause I dont have to load up the mowers and tow to her house .
Len, I have a co-worker, who knows all things cars (when it comes to specs, reviews, he's the Ron Levy of trivia) tells me the 2005 Lexus you speak of has very good reliability reviews, MUCH better than the new Avalon, which apparently is having some customer satisfaction issues right now.
He suggested :
www.edmunds.com
or
www.cars.msn.com for good coverage on all things used cars.

 

[grattonja]

I haven't driven a lexus, so I am speaking second hand. But their overall reliability rating has always been pretty high for the ES series. The 3.3 L seems to be in about everything they sell right now, and toyota engines are usually pretty long lasting.

Problem with Lexus up here in Lancaster Co is - no dealer. If you have a dealer close by, you will be ok that way. But parts and labor are generally higher than your garden variety toyota. You might want to ask around about who your dealer is and how much $ repair and maintenance will cost you.

Again, YMMV.

Jim G

 

[RotaryWingBob]

Len -

You might also want to check out CarSense in Eagle on Rt. 100. They pick up cars coming off lease and sell them with a warranty. I've not dealt with them, but I know a number of folks who have been happy with them.

 

[Len Lanetti]

Problem with Lexus up here in Lancaster Co is - no dealer. If you have a dealer close by, you will be ok that way.

Thanks for the 411 with regard to reliability.

The car was on the lot at the Toyota dealer this morning when I brought my truck in for some work...service can be done at that Toyota dealer...they are part of a chain that also owns a Lexus dealership.

Len

 

[Len Lanetti]

Wife's 2000 Windstar, 65,000 (See a trend here?)

Len, I have a co-worker, who knows all things cars (when it comes to specs, reviews, he's the Ron Levy of trivia) tells me the 2005 Lexus you speak of has very good reliability reviews, MUCH better than the new Avalon, which apparently is having some customer satisfaction issues right now.
He suggested :
www.edmunds.com
or
www.cars.msn.com for good coverage on all things used cars.

Keith,

Thanks for cross checking with a knowledgeable source for me I appreciate it.

Edmunds verified the initial asking price the salesman gave me this morning...it has been awhile since I dickered for a car I to have a plan for the trip back to the dealership.

Len

 

[Len Lanetti]

You might also want to check out CarSense in Eagle on Rt. 100. They pick up cars coming off lease and sell them with a warranty. I've not dealt with them, but I know a number of folks who have been happy with them.

Bob,

Thanks for the tip...I have to curb myself a bit so I don't just jump into this car.

Len

 

[Ken Ibold]

I have to curb myself a bit so I don't just jump into this car.

Len does his Joe Mannix impersonation ...

 

[AirBaker]

I love my Lexus. It's been great so far. The maintenance at a dealer is expensive, but you don't really need to do much on them. The 60k service was quoted to me at $850 or something.

I see us trading it in on another one when the time comes.

 

[fgcason]

and average the age of the vehicles: 1994

Hmmm. Average here: 1985 @ total 310K miles roughly

maybe I need to look at it another way ... no car payments and vehicles that I can maintain myself

There ya go. I'm right there with you. It may be a bit short on this weeks current rage of glitzy plastic to impress your friends with and you won't impress anyone that replaces their car every few months, but it'll run the energizer bunny clean over..for free..year after year after year...

OTOH a friend of mine from college finally got out from under the annoying payment hammer fairly recently on her whopping spendy jeep. It's been shedding parts all over the place for a good while now. About a week ago she had enough of the nonsense and went another ≈$30K in debt on something else that'll crap out the day payments are done if it makes it that far.

By my estimate that's $6K vs $80K+ in vehicles over roughly the same time period..so far. $74K would buy a nice airplane and a grass runway. Additionally, my maintenance bills are no where near the spendy vehicle shop rates. IF my stuff breaks down, my craftsman toy box will get me off the side of the road without a cellphone 95+% of the time.

 

[Anthony]

Len -

You might also want to check out CarSense in Eagle on Rt. 100. They pick up cars coming off lease and sell them with a warranty. I've not dealt with them, but I know a number of folks who have been happy with them.

A lot of my neighbors back in PA bought cars from Car Sense. They give you a six month guarantee, but you do pay a premium for them. I've heard good things about them and have seen the car carrier from the Manheim auto auction there many times.