Long time lurker, first time poster. I've been looking for a while for a 100 series. I finally found what i'm hoping is the right car, but I want some input on some of the issues found and any gotchas that I should look out for.
The Truck - It's a 2003 out of New England with about 100k miles. Carfax has all the maintenance being done at the Lexus dealer it was purchased at. after 14 years, it was returned to the same dealer who put it up on auction. Now for the list of issues/worries I have (i'm numbering them so if someone only wants to chime in on 1 of the items, they can just list the number they are answering:
1. Rust - To a newb, the rust didn't look bad underneath, but there was definitely some rust on the frame and underneath (the muffler didn't look too bad from underneath). How much should the rust be underneath? Is a New England car a worry?
2. Lexus Link - When I turned the car on it said "Lexus Link is active" audibly. After about 15 or so seconds, the car said "There is a Lexus Link Error". any insights/troublshooting? Is this a major issue?
3. the AHC worked when we turned on the car for the first time. i checked getting it into Low, Normal, and High mode and it got into them all. After we drove for about 20 minutes and parked, i tried getting it into high mode again and there was some clunking in the back and it never got up into high. it still got between low and normal just fine. It was only me and my wife in the car. I noticed the fluid for the AHC was a bit low, could that be the issue?
4. Accident - there was history of an accident, however supposedly the airbags weren't deployed. I checked the front inside the engine bay and found the tags on both front fenders that matched the car. I didn't see a tag for the front support for the radiator, is there usually one on there?
5. Price - 18k for a 2003 with total service records out of the same Lexus Dealer, Timing belt has already been changed and the rest of the service looks more like normal maintenance. It's a high price, but i'm wondering if it's justified by the low mileage and the associated records.
Thank you all in advance! I love reading the forums. If there is any tidbits of advice, or things I've missed, please let me know.
The Truck - It's a 2003 out of New England with about 100k miles. Carfax has all the maintenance being done at the Lexus dealer it was purchased at. after 14 years, it was returned to the same dealer who put it up on auction. Now for the list of issues/worries I have (i'm numbering them so if someone only wants to chime in on 1 of the items, they can just list the number they are answering:
1. Rust - To a newb, the rust didn't look bad underneath, but there was definitely some rust on the frame and underneath (the muffler didn't look too bad from underneath). How much should the rust be underneath? Is a New England car a worry?
2. Lexus Link - When I turned the car on it said "Lexus Link is active" audibly. After about 15 or so seconds, the car said "There is a Lexus Link Error". any insights/troublshooting? Is this a major issue?
3. the AHC worked when we turned on the car for the first time. i checked getting it into Low, Normal, and High mode and it got into them all. After we drove for about 20 minutes and parked, i tried getting it into high mode again and there was some clunking in the back and it never got up into high. it still got between low and normal just fine. It was only me and my wife in the car. I noticed the fluid for the AHC was a bit low, could that be the issue?
4. Accident - there was history of an accident, however supposedly the airbags weren't deployed. I checked the front inside the engine bay and found the tags on both front fenders that matched the car. I didn't see a tag for the front support for the radiator, is there usually one on there?
5. Price - 18k for a 2003 with total service records out of the same Lexus Dealer, Timing belt has already been changed and the rest of the service looks more like normal maintenance. It's a high price, but i'm wondering if it's justified by the low mileage and the associated records.
Thank you all in advance! I love reading the forums. If there is any tidbits of advice, or things I've missed, please let me know.