Buying a GX470 unseen (1 Viewer)

[Flying Fish]

Hey ya'll,

I've been following the forum for the past year and finally found the GX I would like to purchase.

1) it's a 2008 and too far away for me to personally check it out (Kansas City)

2) Accordong to Carfax, the service history is great and 90k service has been done.
A. I know the waterpump should be done at the same time. Will I be stranded at some point if the
Waterpump doesn't get changed out?
B. I'll need to check common things like driveshaft clunk and radiator leak, however I won't be able to check
these personally.

Have anyone of ya'll bought a truck unseen? I'm in Dallas and can't make it up to Kanas just to check out a truck.

Are there any KC members here that would like to a pre-buy inspection for $100?

Thoughts, suggestions?

 

[wingysataday]

You are gonna have some rust problems in Kansas.

 

[Flying Fish]

That's my major consideration. Just emailed the dealer to send me pictures of the undercarriage, but not sure I could trust a them.

The truck has been in Tulsa according to Carfax.

Check out this 2008 Lexus GX 470 on Autotrader

 

[dogbite]

At that price you have many options in TX or another southern state. If your heart is set on this car, pre-purchase inspections go for around $120 at Toyota dealership. Personally, I think you have better options locally that will give you some extra funds to add some nice accessories.

 

[thzpcs]

I'd make sure to get an independant PPI. I'd be worried the dealer might overlook some key things.

 

[BlackCat]

You are gonna have some rust problems in Kansas.

My truck has been in Wisconsin and IL its entire life, save for a year when it was bought new in Vegas. Other than some very minor surface rust under the truck, you'd be hard pressed to tell it hasn't lived in Arizona it's whole life. They're not all rusty turds if they've been taken care of.

 

[Flying Fish]

At that price you have many options in TX or another southern state. If your heart is set on this car, pre-purchase inspections go for around $120 at Toyota dealership. Personally, I think you have better options locally that will give you some extra funds to add some nice accessories.

Not set on the vehicle, but it's the color I like along with one owner and service history. Seems like a pain in the ass to buy one out of state without a trusted inspection. The dealer just wants to move the vehicle and may not be as objective. Who knows, maybe a local deal will pop up in a few months.

I'd make sure to get an independant PPI. I'd be worried the dealer might overlook some key things.

Completely agree.

My truck has been in Wisconsin and IL its entire life, save for a year when it was bought new in Vegas. Other than some very minor surface rust under the truck, you'd be hard pressed to tell it hasn't lived in Arizona it's whole life. They're not all rusty turds if they've been taken care of.

That's a big reason why I'm even considering this truck. Plus, most of its life was spent in Tulsa.

 

[ton504]

Never buy anything sight unseen. I'm not sure why folks even take that chance on a vehicle that is so common. If its a rare vehicle I can understand buying sight unseen, but only after getting a 3rd party ppi done.

 

[GXO]

$500 down, fly in, inspect yourself. If it is clean, drive her home and do the deal in person.

Sight unseen can get ugly, especially if you are dealing with a non-offroader/enthusiast.

 

[JLee]

Never buy anything sight unseen. I'm not sure why folks even take that chance on a vehicle that is so common. If its a rare vehicle I can understand buying sight unseen, but only after getting a 3rd party ppi done.

I flew to Albuquerque to get my GX (and Reno to get my LX450 prior). I was confident that both vehicles were going to be fine (and they were), but my last-resort plan was a one-way rental car back to Phoenix.

 

[Sleepy]

I drove to Tulsa from Cedar Rapids, IA in my 1995 80 series at the end of a 12" snow storm. Glad I had good tires for that drive. I found my 2007 GX470 with 41k miles in January this year on Autotrrader from Lexus of Tulsa. One owner, purchased new at same dealer and serviced there its entire life. Even lightbulb changes were on the Carfax. I struck a deal over the phone including my LC trade. Still drove when I got there and could have went back home in the old ride. They even did timing belt and water pump because of seeping by the water pump. Very happy.

 

[burtoncr]

Here in Dallas I picked up our 2008 last year for $18.4k with 103k miles so $19k isn't the greatest deal considering it's a year later. You should really look around here cause GXs are a dime-a-dozen.

I have no affiliation with these guys, but I was very happy with our purchase. They are down in Arlington and buy cars from the auctions all the time so I saw quite a few GXs go through their inventory that I missed. I paid something like $400 over their auction price which he showed me since I was annoying and tried to haggle down to 17.5k.
Inventory | Oryx Motors | Auto dealership in Grand Prairie, Texas

Also, I would use the Lexus mydrivers site to check service history. Lexus owners love to have their cars serviced at the dealer.
Lexus Drivers

 

[wingysataday]

I flew to Seattle from Boise to get mine from an elderly couple. It was exactly as they described. Dealer services and in great shape. They had all the service records. Boise is like an island. Vehicles are very expensive here. I sell my vehicles here and buy them somewhere else!

 

[THeGeNTLeMaN]

You are gonna have some rust problems in Kansas.

I bought mine in LA but it was originally from FL and you'll get alot of rust from FL too (go figure lol) ... 109k miles ... paid $14,300 for mine ...
Thankfully @123ROBERTELEE has a lift he let me Rais it up and he help me clean up most of the nasty rust spots and undercoat it ... and doing any work under vehicles has resulted in atleast one broken off bolt ...
The cam bolts had to be cut out and replaced ... my rear shock had to literally be broken and snapped off with a pipe wrench. .. I would have paid extra to not have had to go through hrs of work the rust and seized bolts have caused me ...
Moral of the store check under the vehicle before buying it

 

[White Stripe]

Never buy a vehicle sight unseen. I almost bought a vehicle out of state, I have a million pics I made the owner take. I was about to buy a plane ticket to do a final look and then purchase, but then I found a truck locally for sale that was cheaper, I recommend either buying a ticket to see it before you buy it, or waiting for one that is closer. A water pump can leave you stranded if the bearing totally fails. It really should be replaced every 90k too with the belt.

 

[dogbite]

Here in Dallas I picked up our 2008 last year for $18.4k with 103k miles so $19k isn't the greatest deal considering it's a year later. You should really look around here cause GXs are a dime-a-dozen.

I have no affiliation with these guys, but I was very happy with our purchase. They are down in Arlington and buy cars from the auctions all the time so I saw quite a few GXs go through their inventory that I missed. I paid something like $400 over their auction price which he showed me since I was annoying and tried to haggle down to 17.5k.
Inventory | Oryx Motors | Auto dealership in Grand Prairie, Texas

Also, I would use the Lexus mydrivers site to check service history. Lexus owners love to have their cars serviced at the dealer.
Lexus Drivers

Agreed, You really do have many options in the DFW area. Best of luck. I'm also local to Dallas so let me know when you guys are ready to hit the dirt.

 

[THeGeNTLeMaN]

Buying a Car sight unseen is like a box of chocolates
.... well you get the idea by now

 

[Flying Fish]

The only way I would have considered it is if I could find someone independent willing to do an inspection and if everything is legit, then I would fly up and close the deal. Glad to see people have had success with purchasing a truck outside of their city.

Here in Dallas I picked up our 2008 last year for $18.4k with 103k miles so $19k isn't the greatest deal considering it's a year later. You should really look around here cause GXs are a dime-a-dozen.

I have no affiliation with these guys, but I was very happy with our purchase. They are down in Arlington and buy cars from the auctions all the time so I saw quite a few GXs go through their inventory that I missed. I paid something like $400 over their auction price which he showed me since I was annoying and tried to haggle down to 17.5k.
Inventory | Oryx Motors | Auto dealership in Grand Prairie, Texas

Also, I would use the Lexus mydrivers site to check service history. Lexus owners love to have their cars serviced at the dealer.
Lexus Drivers

Thanks, I'll look into these.

Agreed, You really do have many options in the DFW area. Best of luck. I'm also local to Dallas so let me know when you guys are ready to hit the dirt.

I'm not in a huge rush so I'll be able to take my time. It seems like 85% have factory NAV and that's a deal breaker.

Where do ya'll go wheeling around the metroplex?

 

[123ROBERTELEE]

Hey ya'll,

I've been following the forum for the past year and finally found the GX I would like to purchase.

1) it's a 2008 and too far away for me to personally check it out (Kansas City)

2) Accordong to Carfax, the service history is great and 90k service has been done.
A. I know the waterpump should be done at the same time. Will I be stranded at some point if the
Waterpump doesn't get changed out?
B. I'll need to check common things like driveshaft clunk and radiator leak, however I won't be able to check
these personally.

Have anyone of ya'll bought a truck unseen? I'm in Dallas and can't make it up to Kanas just to check out a truck.

Are there any KC members here that would like to a pre-buy inspection for $100?

Thoughts, suggestions?

If you really need to buy one sight unseen go to the clubhouse section of the forum and ask the local club if anyone is available to go take a look for you. Cruiser guys are a really good group of people that would be more that happy to check it out for you and are more knowledgeable on what to look for in a used car.

 

[SouthernSS]

^---agreed