Buying A Second Hand Lex

[Steve]

What a hard job it is to find the perfect second hand motor

Spotted a LS400 in dark silver.. black leather looks nice..under 100K in miles...

I sets off and drives 80 miles to the garage... now I had emailed this dealer previsously asking for info and any bits that are wrong with the car.

He states couple of stone chips and that was about it.

I was at the garage 3 mins

Firstly i get inside the car.. all seems well.. open up centre cosole and find that the clip was broken and the armrest would not stay down.. they had tried super gluing it back.

The notice all the find scratches and crackled leather... too much for a 95 i think

still the car looks awesome inside.

I get outside and look round the back and I decided to try and match up the joints on the boot first.. good job i did.. i could get my fingers in the gap!.. further investigation and found the car had had a shunt and the paint job was done by Steve Wonder

this was in 3 mins.... the salesman comes over and I said "this is not what I am looking for".. he asks what I am looking for... i said "A1 condition LS" he said it was in A1

I said not with the paint job on the back it aint... he storms off

So.. I goto Bracknell to look at a Black GS Sport... Very nice motor... very clean.. good leather, sweet engine... i could not pick any or much faults at all.

Here is the question for you guys

The car has full history.. stamps in the book etc.. BUT... no receipts... I walked away even before test driving.

Was i right to walk away because it had no receipts? my argument was that the car could have had some major work and it was hidden but not producing the receipts. Garage owner claims that it was normal on ex company cars due to the accountant having the receipts.

Would it of mattered and would Lexus Guildford have these receipts on their computer since 97?

cheers

[Fidgits]

urgh....

Dont talk to me about garages... just spent a week trailing around them with the mopster... finally found one, paid full up-front (to get the price as low as possible), turned up to collect it yesterday, almost everything we agreed on wasnt done, and what was, looked like it had been done by a 5 year-old....

Needless to say we rejected the car, and got a full refund on the spot..

As for your recipts issue, well IMO they are a 'nice to have', but not essential for FSH..

[Steve]

ok.. cheers ian... I will get a few more opinions before i decide.. cars are so far apart ... cost an arm and a leg

[Fidgits]

Yeah, But at the end of the day Steve, if your not happy with not having reciepts, then just walk away...

[Steve]

hey ian.. you sounded like those gremlins on TV

"walk Awaaaaayyy ... just walk awayyyyy"

[ColinBarber]

I would speak with Lexus Guildford. They should have records.

[Steve]

perhaps chris knows whether all dealerships keep records back to 97?

[Scorpion]

I had a similar prob once when i was going to buy a Merc 420,had the test drive it was perfect went to look at the history it didn't tie up so i went to a Merc dealer(anyone)gave the reg no and all the history came up on the screen,and it was last serviced 3 yrs previous yet the book said it was a FMBSH........seeya mate i kept my 22k,if your not happy use your feet mate.

[Bobski]

You could always see if the previous company owner could photocopy the information.

I have heard of this before, but i guess it depends if it is a small or large co.

I do think that they have to keep details for thier records for a time.

[Bazza]

the excuse of keeping receipts for company records is correct

they have to be available for inspection for up to five years

steve do you get the "feeling" when a car isnt kosha, somehow tells that inner self to keep away from it

[jac114]

Would it of mattered and would Lexus Guildford have these receipts on their computer since 97?

Yes they should still have copy invoices for this car if it was paid by cash.. as these need to be kept for Min 7 Years for tax reasons.. and some companys keep for 10.. although if it was an account transaction which it could well be if it was a company car then they only need to keep them for 5 years... they wil be hard to find unless they can search by reg plate..

craig

I think you should have taken it out for a spin.. after all if it has had major work done then hey its already been done and there is less chance of it being needed again

[Steve]

wednesday we will find out... it was a nice motor.. gangsta type stuff! :D :D

[Richie]

Hey Steve, what's this, still no new car?! :winky:

[whitie]

My ones an ex company (the company I work for) and I have all service records etc.

Are you from Hampshire? I saw a nice looking one on the was to Lee-on-solent today. (only driving past so didn't have a good look)

[Steve]

what car did you see whitie?

I was on the A30 and Bracknell

[whitie]

I think it was a GS Sport, near Fareham.. I'll have a look in the morning and let you know... I think it was marked up for 9500.. Looked really nice when I drove past!. Do you want me to have a look for you to see what it is etc.. Or are you looking for something different?

Also see this one every so often, milage a bit high Its half way down the third page

[Steve]

could not see a lex with that link mate

[Steve]

looking for anything silver or black or dark silver ... must have a sun roof in case i go bald

black leather is sweet.. but cream will do

i just wishes that LS was a gooden because it had all the right combinations... grrr I will be in a mini if I dont find anything soon!

i hate living in the south.. so far to go only to be dissapointed to find a dog of a motor

budget is 7.5k (cash on the nose)

[whitie]

Burgundy Metallic With Grey Leather Trim , Fully Documented Service History , 1994 , ( L) , Air-conditioning, Alloy Wheels, Anti-lock Braking System, Automatic Gearbox, Cruise Control, Driver And Front Passenger Airbag, Electric Mirrors, Electric Windows, Every Conceivable Extra, Front Foglamps, Headlamp Height Adjustment, Power Assisted Steering, Quality Stereo, Rear Central Armrest, Rear Headrests, Remote Central Locking, Remote Control Alarm, 102000 Miles

£4995

Pic1

Pic2

I'll have a look at the other one (double check the price etc)

[whitie]

That other car was a GS300, from what I saw it looked perfect inside, but shoddy outside (broken wing-mirror, scuffs on paint) not worth the money they were asking.

[mudzs]

Steve just phone the dealers from the s/h book and they will confirm wether the services are kosha or not ,also when on the phone to them ask if any other work has been done or not cambelts etc .Black is a damm nice colour for a mk1 gs sport has it the big boy wheels on the back

[jaybo]

it is init.................. :D

if its realistically priced then go for it steve

mines high milage and appart from a staeter had no problems in nearly 3 years.

each year it has sailed through its MOT

[Steve]

well its a race between these 2 cars now.. if the LS is bad then I should be visiting the black GS

Get alot more car with the LS.. Performance wise and matching consumption. Handling maybe out but when do i drive as mad as that (only in my soarer)

Guildford invited me in to the dealership to view the cars history