I have a 2014 Lexus IS 350. I am the 4th owner of this car and it now has 180,000km with 1 accident on the report. I had it for 2 years and now it has tons of issues and I am trying to get rid of it without fixing certain things.
The radio/sound system doesn’t work
No inputs works so you cannot charge your device
The GPS monitor stopped working
The lock is inconsistent and sometimes doesn’t react when you lock/unlock the car
The break needs to he replaced
The alignment is messed up and the mechanic cannot can’t even tell how messed up it is since it was modified
All tires needs to be replaced to due the alignment issued and it would a reoccurring problem
5 more mechanical issues after a simple safety check and the mechanic suspect there might he more after a thorough check
The car is currently not safe to drive
It cost roughly $20,000 for me to get everything fixed and I bought the car for $25,000. It is a nightmare.
I already spent money replacing an amplifier to get the AC working and the heater seat.
Trading is the easiest. They’ll just send it to auction if there are that many problems. I’ve never traded in cars much but I did get $1000 for my Lincoln. Prime candidate fir a car jacking if you can get it to Minneapolis.
I’d say you should dump it. In the future, don’t buy a modified car, as that clearly just made things worse here and that often indicates a car that’s abused. See if CarMax will take it.
The answer to the question you posted in the title is: About 60% likely. (But 75% of statistics are made up…)
Clearly you did not have the car inspected by YOUR mechanic BEFORE you bought the car. Doing that in the future will reduce your chances of this happening again.
I think you overpaid for this car so you will not get much for it at trade in. It is an expensive lesson.
You describe a very lousy used car experience. As others already said, you can always trade it in. However there is another possibility to consider: finding a “do it yourself mechanic” that would love to get their hands on a vehicle like that to repair and resell or keep and drive. Hard to say how much cash you’ll receive to let it go either way but clearly in a financial sense it’s time. In terms of personal used car experiences I found buying car fax reports and comparing that information with previous service records an effective due diligence check and there’s always the Lexus website to use to find the service records for your Lexus VIN # or better yet check the VIN# with a Lexus Dealers’ Service Department. But even with all of this information in hand, I’ve found buying a used vehicle remains’ a calculated risk. If I had been a mechanic I could have avoided buyers regret a couple of times myself. So having a mechanic check the vehicle over is a final step to reduce the chances of being stung. BTW, if the used vehicle doesn’t have service records that is a glaring “red flag” in my book. Good luck.
What is the chance of someone buying an older car with high mileage and with electrical and mechanical issues?
Very likely. In fact, define older. The older it is, the more likely it will have multiple issues.
Ouch. When? Recently? Double ouch.
It is not economically viable to fix everything. I would prioritize and cut off the nice to haves from the need to haves. Then decide if it’s time to cut your losses and move on. Of the list above, at least brakes, tires and alignment need to be fixed.
You can attempt to trade anything in. Be prepared to get very little for it, in its current condition.
I would suggest a second opinion whenever faced with a laundry list of repairs that deem the car financially unfeasible to retain…
I did bring the car to the mechanic before purchasing the car. It was clear and was told it was fine.
I googled and did some research. $23k-$25k is around the price for this car with this mileage and year. This is quite upsetting that it ended up like this.
My mechanic was telling me not to fix the alignment and just replace the tires. He explained that the alignment would be a reoccurring issue and no point to fix it. Should I change my mechanic?
The only thing I have is. A 9 yr. old car that has 3 owners in its first 7 year(people just don’t dump Lexus’s every 2 years for no reason), tells me it was cursed from day one. Dump it as soon as you are financially able to !!!
Depends on the amount the alignment is out. If you burn up a set of tires every month, six months or even a year, that can get expensive fast Then the alignment costs (and any repairs) look like a bargain in comparison.
I was in the same situation with a car over 60 years ago. The car involved was a 1955 Pontiac. I bought the car from the local Rambler dealer who had the engine overhauled in his shop.
I soon learned that there is s difference between an engine overhaul and a sloppy patch that consists of just nee piston rings and grinding the valves.
The oil wasn’t getting to the stud mounted rocker arms and the valve train chirped loudly. I could never completely solve that issue. In addition, I had to have the bearings replaced in the manual transmission. Had I done my research, I would have recognized that the car might be a problem. In 1955, an oil filter was optional equipment on the 1955 Pontiac even though it had hydraulic tappets and my 1955 Pontiac did not have an oil filter. With the stud mounted rocker arms, an outside oil line wasn’t possible as it was on engines with a rocker arm shaft.
Rather than dump more money into that Pontiac, I got rid of it. My advice to the OP is to dump the Lexus
Option 1. Sell the car as-is, informing the purchaser of all of the known problems. This may mean selling it for scrap value, donating it to a charity that accepts cars, or just giving to somebody deserving who knows how to diy’er repair cars. Don’t discount this idea, it may result in some cash in your pocket, and may well be your best option.
Option 2. Have the alignment problem, brakes, and lock repaired, install 4 new tires, then sell it as a daily driver to somebody who doesn’t need/want the broken infotainment functions. It’s likely some or all of those gadgets don’t work in other similar used cars available, so you should still find a buyer. If the alignment problem requires the steering/suspension system be returned to the factory configuration, do it. Those parts should still be readily available, either aftermarket new, or used.
You mentioned 180K , if that is in Canada the price you paid was not too bad’ If it was in the US, you paid way too much unless you put most of those miles on yourself, esp for a modified car. "They are always “rode hard and put away wet”,
Then the alignment costs (and any repairs) look like a bargain in comparison.