While we’re talking about cars…

[anonymouse1]

Sometime in the next year, I’m looking at buying a used Lexus ES 300h, with fewer than 100K miles.

It looks like it’s pretty much essential to buy a Car with clean title. Do you agree or disagree?

Also, a buddy is suggesting I buy it from a Lexus dealership in their CPO program. But those cars look like they cost a minimum of five to $6000 more than comparable cars. Anybody have any familiarity with their knowledge of CPO programs?

Thanks!

[mattkime]

This has everything to do with your personal risk tolerance and ability to afford the occasional repair.

Most people don't do technical research before buying a car. It does take some knowledge but it can be extremely valuable.

One of the upsides of buying used is that there's already a track record for the model. Find a Lexus ES 300h owners forum or online group and ask them about reliability. They'll likely respond in great detail, listing everything likely to break. In particular, you want to keep an eye out for anything like "don't buy this model year since there was xyz common problem"

Yeah, CPO costs extra. Some people won't own a car without a warranty. I wouldn't want to own a car I didn't feel safe owning without a warranty.

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Considering you're talking about a Toyota product, find one with a good service history and you're likely fine without CPO and going over 100K miles. 100K miles isn't a lot anymore.

[anonymouse1]

Very Good points-thanks!

mattkime wrote:
This has everything to do with your personal risk tolerance and ability to afford the occasional repair.

Most people don't do technical research before buying a car. It does take some knowledge but it can be extremely valuable.

One of the upsides of buying used is that there's already a track record for the model. Find a Lexus ES 300h owners forum or online group and ask them about reliability. They'll likely respond in great detail, listing everything likely to break. In particular, you want to keep an eye out for anything like "don't buy this model year since there was xyz common problem"

Yeah, CPO costs extra. Some people won't own a car without a warranty. I wouldn't want to own a car I didn't feel safe owning without a warranty.

---

Considering you're talking about a Toyota product, find one with a good service history and you're likely fine without CPO and going over 100K miles. 100K miles isn't a lot anymore.

[Gareth]

anonymouse1 wrote:
It looks like it’s pretty much essential to buy a Car with clean title. Do you agree or disagree?

Yes, keep it simple and just go with clean. The options should be clean, salvage or rebuilt (or similar depending on the state). You definitely don't want salvage as you might have trouble insuring it and you don't know if was repaired correctly. "Rebuilt" was a previous salvage, but at least has been inspected after repair to be issued the rebuilt title. It's possible you might have trouble getting insurance on a rebuilt also, so check with your insurer first. Rebuilt should be priced less than clean.

anonymouse1 wrote:
Also, a buddy is suggesting I buy it from a Lexus dealership in their CPO program. But those cars look like they cost a minimum of five to $6000 more than comparable cars. Anybody have any familiarity with their knowledge of CPO programs?

https://www.lexus.com/lcertified/certification-warranty Looks like you should get at least 2 years coverage with unlimited miles, if that's important to you. Seems like a big price hike for 2 years, unless you drive crazy miles (i.e. 30-40k per year). A lot of the CPO programs used to be something like 6 years from original sale date and 100/125k limit, but they started certifying older and higher mileage cars during the COVID crunch, which probably explains the more vague terms now (you'd probably get specific terms on each individual vehicle).

[jdc]

you didnt say what year or budget, but carmax had 20 or so close to me, didn't see any over 100K

are you shooting for pre 2019? or post 2019 -- the last facelift?

2019s seem to be $30K... Id probably look at a new camry for that kind of $$...

[chopper]

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Are you seriously asking this question?

[anonymouse1]

Yes. I was thinking about “rebuilt” titles. Maybe somebody would have had something positive to say, but nobody did. So I decreased my ignorance.

chopper wrote:
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Are you seriously asking this question?