My Fiancee and I decided last week it was time to replace our aging 2004 Acura MDX with something more fuel efficient, sporty, and with a factory warranty. Since this is really a car for her ( I just bought a new truck 2 years ago), she had a long list of “wants” and a budget of 19k.
Wants:
- Factory warranty
- Luxury (Leather, heated seats, backup cam)
- Sporty
- 4 doors
- 30+ MPG
- Navigation + backup cam
So basically after looking at this list I was pretty stumped on my options. My first thoughts were g35, acura tsx, acura tl, audi a4, honda accord v6, and is250. I started looking around at various dealers for CPO cars and showed her what I already knew - she had to bump her budget to 25k range to really find everything on that list.
I came across an ad for a private party seller for a Matador Red 2006 is250 w/beige interior. It is a couple years older than we wanted, but it only had 59k miles, the navigation package, heated/cooled seats, 18" wheels w/new tires, and the best part - a Lexus CPO warranty good to 2014 or 100k miles (transferable). PLUS, he just had the carbon buildup issue (common on is250s, or any direct injection motor) repaired at the local dealer with new pistons, rings, valves, springs, seals, gaskets, belts, etc.
I am meticulous with my cars, but this owner went beyond what I ever do. ALWAYS dealer maintained, not a single door ding, paint still feels smooth and new to the touch, leather like new, every receipt for anything spent on the car, etc. He even had brand new floor mats in the trunk. He just bought a new GS and the dealer offered him 12k for his trade, he just wanted to unload it for 19k.
I came with an 18k offer and we ended up getting a “like new” is250 with every option she wanted, 100k warranty, for 1k below our budget. The amount of $ we save in fuel alone between the MDX and IS will make up the price difference between the two cars in no time. For the price of a Honda Civic I’m pretty happy!
Its my fiancee’s DD, I just drive a crappy saturn for MPG, or my 2010 Dodge sometimes