Is200 Sport - Did I Make The Right Decision

[stemll]

Hi

Am currently looking for an IS200 and would like some advice on whether you think I made the right decision with this particular one.

Autotrader ad HERE

Advertised for £3495 with 99k miles and full main dealer history. Not too shabby thinks I.

Went to drive it yesterday and it drives really nice and looks in mint condition except for a small crack to the rear bumper that looks like it's had a very low speed disagreement with a gate post at some point.

BUT...

It's actually done 108k and has only three stamps in the service book. Two from Lexus dealers (services 5 and 6) and an independent at service (I think) 10. Seems odd to have no stamps during the warranty years. No indication at all about cam belts. MOT also ran out in November not next June. I felt that there were too many unknowns and discrepancies in spite of (or maybe even partly because of) him very quickly dropping the price to £3000 which is a bit below book.

Would any Lexus dealer be able (and willing) to confirm it's main dealer history if it's just got a new book?

Was I right to walk away or might it be worth a punt. Am spending insurance settlement for my S40 so can't afford an expensive mistake.

Steve

[WylieCoyote]

No, you're right. Always go with your gut instinct. If you smell a rat, there probably is one somewhere. There's plenty of cars for sale out there where everything is all in order, I would suggest avoiding any car where things don't add up.

You made the right decision.

Keith

[Parthiban]

Dealers will help you with regard to services but I believe it's not centralised so they won't be able to tell you about every service if they've been done at different dealers...........

If it seems dodgy walk away as there are plenty of cars around for sale at the mo so another one's just around the corner :)

[Ian M]

The guy obviously didn't take too much trouble with his description of the car in the advert, so yes, you’re right. BUT, if it’d been advertised as a 108k mile car with only some history, would you have still looked? If the value’s reasonable for the second description, you might well be able to negotiate. Or, just look elsewhere.

Happy hunting!

[DJ Wozza]

plenty more fish in the sea IMO

[Steviewevie]

It's a buyer's market at the moment, so as others have said, if you had any doubt whatsoever then you were right to walk away.

[Mark W]

Strange this one as the site lists the mileage down to the last mile - 99,133 .....with all the other details being wrong its as if they've got a completely different car.

When did you go by the way - notice delaer hasnt changed the details yet.....

right move - walk away...plenty of others.

[stemll]

The mileage didn't really bother me, 9k miles at that level isn't really here or there. So, if listed at 108 with a partial history I might have looked, point is that it wasn't. What worried me most was the differences between the ad and reality. He also didn't seem to care with just a shrug. When I gave him the key back he seemed to have no interest in changing my mind either. Can't help wondering what else he's missed or declined to mention.

As for him describing a different car, it's possible but when we started talking he mentioned a full history but didn't have the paperwork to back it up.

Shame really because it seemed solid and the missus liked the colour! As you say though, plenty around to choose from. I'll be back.

[tdc]

Check the tyres on the inside before buying the car I forgot and was an extra £220 for the original tyres :\

Sounds cheap my friend, too cheap!

I paid 9k for a sport navigator a couple of years ago when the value was around 10k

[chrisis200]

HPI check could of been your friend there also ;) with so many Lex available around that price I'm sure you'll be able to find a better example with what your looking for. :)

[nigel883]

As chrisis200 mentioned, doing a HPI report can clear up any confusion when buying a car and also protects you up to a certain value if something they have quoted in thier report is actually wrong.

With regard to the company HPI, they charge £19.00 or thereabouts for the report but HPI are owned by the RAC and if you go onto the RAC website and ask for thier vehicle check which is exactly the same as the HPI report, RAC only charge £5.00 - bargain.

This is what I did when I bought my IS200 Sport 4-5 weeks ago and will definitely use the RAC vehicle check again.

[Steviewevie]

This is what I did when I bought my IS200 Sport 4-5 weeks ago and will definitely use the RAC vehicle check again.

Worth doing if you're buying from a private seller, but any reputable dealer will do an HPI check themselves for their own benefit, so you can ask to see the certificate and then it won't cost you anything.