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2013 Lexus GS 350 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited September 2014 in Lexus

image2013 Lexus GS 350 Long-Term Road Test

After three weeks on the market, we sold our 2013 Lexus GS 350. Here's how it went down.

Read the full story here


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Comments

  • cotakcotak Member Posts: 89
    Considering that for most sellers the extra leg work would eat into off work time, that and the high profile and sad story of the man selling his truck in Canada and ended up meeting a serial killer and ending up dead and half burnt in a farm field. I think the story is really for majority of people just selling it to car max would have been the best choice.
  • zimtheinvaderzimtheinvader Member Posts: 580
    Now the first question is: Was all the fun of dealing with all the calls and people on this worth the $1000? ---- And the second question is: What did you accept for payment? Most all of my cars have had to be hauled off on a flatbed when I was done with them so I'm curious with it seeming to be fairly easy to even fake cashiers checks and fraudulent (stolen account) money transfers being a common scam when buying items what do you do for funds transfer on a car that expensive?
  • bassrockerxbassrockerx Member Posts: 24
    if i was selling my car private party i would probably ask to meet the buyer at his or her bank/credit union if that is not an option i have no idea what i would do. my bank is not local and when i bought my car at a dealership (that the bank has an account for) they faxed over a blank check that i then filled out the amount and then signed. at a private dealership when i bought another car i had to wait 24 hours for the check to the dealership to be over-nighted to the dealership and then i could pick up the vehicle. either case is not ideal for buying a car private party.
  • s197gts197gt Member Posts: 486
    i'm curious what most people who do private party sales accept for payment as well.

    i have sold two motorcycles private party. both purchasers paid cash and i had title in hand.

    cars i have always traded in.
  • yellowbalyellowbal Member Posts: 234
    With a cashier's check, you can google the bank or credit union and call to verify that they've issued a check.
  • tp660tp660 Member Posts: 15
    If what this buyer was saying is true, the other GS he was looking at would have been a much better deal at $43,500 if it only has around 5000 miles. As for what to accept when selling a car privately, I would only accept a cashier's cheque (personal cheques are too risky when selling something expensive like a car and it seems odd in this day and age for someone to pay with a large stack of bills). I would ask the buyer to meet them at their bank to see the teller write the cheque with my own eyes or call the bank to make sure the cheque was authorized before handing over the keys.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,250
    Could be wrong, but don't remember worn out rear tires, damaged grille and noisy engine being mentioned before this.
    Kind of a shady story teller, that's you Ron.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • reminderreminder Member Posts: 383
    I love to buy new as much as the next guy, but article reaffirms that you take a beating buying new. In this case, a heavier beating than usual.
  • darthbimmerdarthbimmer Member Posts: 606
    @reminder-- I now prefer to buy most of my vehicles used. Three year old cars coming off lease are typically 30-40% below the cost of new and have plenty of useful life left. Some even have original warranty remaining. If not, I'll pay a few grand extra f
  • zimtheinvaderzimtheinvader Member Posts: 580
    yep, especially when shopping for a higher dollar car it can make a huge difference. Figure around .90 a mile depreciation on that one. Plus cars last so much longer anymore that a year or two really makes little difference in the grand scheme of things. I usually try to figure out how long I'll keep the car and roughly what it would be worth at the end and then figure what each year that is already used up would cost between new and used and if I'd buy another year for that. But you also have to do like this guy and shop smart or you can end up only saving one to two thousand a year on used.
  • sammj419sammj419 Member Posts: 1
    This story just illustrates that you should've just sold the vehicle to Carmax. You would've had your 40,000 check 3 weeks ago and been out the door after 30 minutes of paperwork. Luckily, you owned the car outright. The average person mightv'e had to make an extra car and insurance payment after those 3 weeks which would have definitely negated that extra $1000.
  • cotakcotak Member Posts: 89
    @darthbimmer We are thinking of replacing the wife's civic with a new car and we'll likely not consider used at all. All because of safety. 5-7 year old car are 1 generation past in term of safety. And if you ever looked at the photos of the new IIHS smal
  • vvkvvk Member Posts: 196
    In this case leasing would probably have worked out better.

    Not to mention the difference in sales tax....
  • kirkhilles_kirkhilles_ Member Posts: 151
    Very, very strange. First off, I've NEVER heard anyone say that CarMax has given them anywhere CLOSE to market value - but to be within $1,000 of a $40k vehicle is unheard of. That meant they planned to sell it for $50k+. Are you sure they noticed that tires and the bumper damage?

    In terms of depreciation, keep in mind that this is a LUXURY vehicle. We bought our Pilot new because CarMax was selling 3 year old vehicles (out of warranty) for about $1k-$2k less than what we paid new. Seriously! Reliable, highly rated, middle-class haulers are in much higher demand these days. On the other hand, you're not going to find huge # of buyers for $50k+ luxury vehicles with potentially costly maintenance and repairs.
  • bankerdannybankerdanny Member Posts: 1,021
    Lexus LS's, ES's, and RX's have good reputations for resale value. The GS is not as popular and well know as the EX/RX or as prestigious as the LS. It benefits from the Lexus badge and rep I'm sure, but in the end is only a modestly popular vehicle and that's why it doesn't hold it's value as well as other Lexi do.
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    Doesn't explain why this car did not hold value as well as ANY recent LT car did, regardless of brand.
  • duck87duck87 Member Posts: 649
    @fordson1: Seems like the options (which nobody seems to care about) and mileage is ultimately what sunk the car.
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    Huh. So a summer tire package on a Japanese car, a performance car, in Southern California, during the summer...is a no-no - ? Well, the buyer surely got a great deal. This is not the best car of its type in its class, but it's not chopped liver, either.
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    Also, the grille damage was noted on 2/15 of this year and was supposed to have been dealt with, but it apparently never was, and then when they were preparing the car for resale they never noticed it. So they screwed themselves. When you sell a car, you either want to deal with something like this up front, or at least be in a position to point it out to the customer...once the customer is showing YOU stuff that's wrong with the car, you're back on your heels. This was handled poorly.
  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    You guys are always disappointed with your cars' resale value, and Carmax in particular. You should have just made a deal with them.
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