Originally Posted by Captainstevo

Hey guys, I'm car shopping for Lexus IS300 to be my new DD.

I've never bought a used car from a car lot before, so I'm looking for some advice on what price I should target. Any advise on using Edmunds TMV (True Market Value)? It seems to be the lower of NADA, KBB. I know NADA is inflated. This is a pretty popular car, so I'm wondering how flexible dealers will be?

The one I found today is a red 04, auto, only 60K miles and one owner. The dealer just got it in yesterday and were it detailing today, but they did give me the previous owner's phone number. They're asking $13.9 (I didn't get into any negotiating today since I wasn't able to drive). This is at the high end of the Edmunds dealer price ("outstanding condition"). The car has a couple dings, and I would probably consider it as "Clean", in which case the price drops to $12.3. I'd really like to offer then $12.5, and tell them to take it or leave it. Part of the problem is that they are over an hour away, so it would suck to drive there again for nothing.

Any input would be great. Thanks guys!