Purchase Help on a 2010 LX with 90k miles. (2 Viewers)

[guapo42]

Hey folks, just came across this forum researching LC200s/LX570s, and would appreciate any help you care to give. I'm hoping to trade up from a 3rd gen 4runner, but don't know too much about the nitty gritty of these vehicles. I'm looking at a one owner 570 with low miles for it's age and a price (32k) I think is fair for the miles . I'm currently looking at it through pictures and trying to figure out if I want to drive 6 1/2 hours to go check it out in person. Exterior and interior and great, but the more I dig into it the more questions I have. Started in FL and service records are great till 40k. Then the car went to the Bahamas and had no records for ~4 years, then it gets back and had service at 75 and 80K where the customer refused coolant, and transmission flushes, throttle body cleaning both times and bad C1AED REAR SENSOR, C1713 C1714 REAR HEIGHT CONTROL SENSORS were reported. I don't know about how indicative those sensors are to mistreatment, but by themselves, that doesn't seem like an issue. But 6+ years and 10k miles of past due fluid doesn't exactly give me the warm and fuzzies. I think the biggest concerns I have is that there does seam to be the beginnings of a CAM tower leak. I'm not sure how bad this shot looks or what else I should ask about it.

Then the whole undercarriage I've seen looks great except this shot under the radiator looks like that could be an issue.

Also they replaced the shocks, front sway bar ends and the accumulators, which on one hand is a good thing to replace high ware parts, or is this just the beginning of a lot of AHC issues?

So I don't know, is more information needed or is this already a hard pass?

 

[Sandroad]

It’s common for dealers to recommend unneeded service and then record that in the records. Depending on use, it probably didn’t need those fluids replaced at 75k miles. The photos must be from before the other work was done because the sway bar link has a torn boot and the shock seems to be leaking. It’s lived in or near salt water because I see a lot of corrosion. I do wonder about maintenance in the Bahamas. I would ask for more undercarriage pics before a long trip to see it. Others will chime in on the sensor code and cam tower.

 

[grinchy]

I almost always say buy it and it’ll work out for 200s.

But this one has me spooked. I’d look for another sample where you can better verify providence.

 

[lx200inAR]

32k for a pre 2013 is pretty much unheard of at this point. And it doesn’t look like the vacation in the Bahamas was kind. I wouldn’t be surprised if it went unserviced the entire time it was there.

Should add, I’m not saying no one should buy it based on that info, but I’d only be considering it at closer to 20k rather than over 30. A 150k mile truck with better history would have more value to me than this.

 

[Willie G]

32k for a pre 2013 is pretty much unheard of at this point. And it doesn’t look like the vacation in the Bahamas was kind. I wouldn’t be surprised if it went unserviced the entire time it was there.

Should add, I’m not saying no one should buy it based on that info, but I’d only be considering it at closer to 20k rather than over 30. A 150k mile truck with better history would have more value to me than this.

Agreed. 100%

I remember reading that you should budget around $2000 for baselining a new-to-you 200. Where you'll spend it varies from one vehicle to another, but it seems to be a valid rule of thumb.

 

[guapo42]

32k for a pre 2013 is pretty much unheard of at this point. And it doesn’t look like the vacation in the Bahamas was kind. I wouldn’t be surprised if it went unserviced the entire time it was there.

Should add, I’m not saying no one should buy it based on that info, but I’d only be considering it at closer to 20k rather than over 30. A 150k mile truck with better history would have more value to me than this.

Thanks, that's great advice.

 

[guapo42]

It’s common for dealers to recommend unneeded service and then record that in the records. Depending on use, it probably didn’t need those fluids replaced at 75k miles. The photos must be from before the other work was done because the sway bar link has a torn boot and the shock seems to be leaking. It’s lived in or near salt water because I see a lot of corrosion. I do wonder about maintenance in the Bahamas. I would ask for more undercarriage pics before a long trip to see it. Others will chime in on the sensor code and cam tower.

Good point about the dealer recommendations, I was thinking I'd probably deny some of those myself depending on the circumstances. But yeah, I think I'll pass just based on the weathering.

 

[trudd]

The low mileage is nice, though I think you can find something with less questionable history.

I replaced my '09 LX with a '10 LX last fall. Paid around $31k and it had 81k miles. Single-owner, Texas truck, Lexus-maintained, etc. The price was higher than others, but all the big maintenance items had been done by Lexus: new radiator, valley plate leak fix, SAIS fix, alternator, drive belt tensioner, and newish brakes. Pretty much everything I was about to have to do on the 2009.

Other available options were a tad cheaper, but had higher mileage and no big ticket items had been addressed. Definitely factor these common failures into the equation.