A Little Nervous...Planning on purchasing my first LX470 (100-series)-Feedback Welcomed (1 Viewer)

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Aug 21, 2018
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Location
Colorado
Hey all, from what I have been reading this is an amazing group of 100-series owners.

I am about to purchase my first 100-series and a little nervous as my car purchase sucked (05 Volvo XC90-crappy transmission). I have been a huge fan of the 100's pretty much forever and am ready to dive in and would love some feedback if you have any about my future purchase.

What I'm looking at:
2001 Lexus LX470 with 219K. This is a one owner rig with impeccable service records. All maintenance has been done on time or before time with oil changes every 5k (90% done by Lexus). Owner's are 2 guys that mainly traveled between Colorado and Seattle and "cleanliness was next to goddliness" for them.

I have the full printout from day 1 to now on this vehicle from Lexus and it's pretty darn impressive...

Anything I should be weary of or concerned about with the age/milage? We only put 7-10k miles a year on cars and I really would like this thing to last another 5+ years.

Thought from y'all??
 
Ah, did you have the dreaded T6 with the modified GM valve body/transmission nightmare? I had an XC90 myself (not a T6), wonderful vehicle but really annoying to work on.

What are they asking for the price? Any accidents? Absolutely get undercarriage pics. I turned down a few 100s due to rust before I found a good one. 2001 is a good year if you have kids because they introduced the LATCH tethers. If it doesn't have factory navigation, that's even better because you can swap the stereo far more easily. If you buy an 03+ there's a 99% chance you will be stuck with the stock stereo.

Having detailed records is pretty sweet. I wouldn't be scared of the mileage, but I guess it really comes down to asking price.
 
Pyrenees~
Thanks for responding. I actually have the V8 in the Volvo and love that part but the tranny is horrible. Over all pretty easy car to work on but giving up on it with the bad tranny...not worth the $$'s or brain damage to replace.

Price is $9800, no accidents and no rust! It does have the factory nav. with the Mark L stereo so I will install and AUX cord for iphone. Now that I have had a car with tranny issues I'm a bit nervouse with 219K but everyone I've talked with says these are truly amazing vehicles...Thoughts.
 
I wouldn't pay more than 10k. There are so many other newer models out there with no rust and way lower miles. you may have to travel to get a clean one above the year 2003.

Some caveats:
Check the door locks.
Check the rain window sensor
Check the sunroof
check the bushings
Check heated seats
Check the hoses
power steering lines
racknpinion leaks?
cv joints
Get rid of any custom wheels that can't go offroad
Check the A/C and heater
Check the rotors and pads
Make sure each gear works on the transmission both low and high
Check the automated mirror motors

one mistake I made was not really expecting the body panels, they can hide small dings. One key was looking at the stepsides and seeing any buckling or squeezed plastic/metal underneath or where it is bolted on to the frame.

Thats is all I can thin of

Good luck

-ES
 
I bought a one owner with kids 2001 LX with 95k miles and no nav for 14k last year. Lexus maintained from new until almost 80k. I made huge checklist of things to check (just imagine sitting on each seat and trying everything, haha). The ML subwoofer didn't work and the AHC had 5 ticks. When I got home and pulled the sub it had a bad voice coil, so I replaced the whole sub. Then a few months later my LX turned into a pogo stick, so I replaced the globes. Even with the AHC expense, i'm loving the 100 more and more everyday.
 
Pyrenees~
Thanks for responding. I actually have the V8 in the Volvo and love that part but the tranny is horrible. Over all pretty easy car to work on but giving up on it with the bad tranny...not worth the $$'s or brain damage to replace.

Price is $9800, no accidents and no rust! It does have the factory nav. with the Mark L stereo so I will install and AUX cord for iphone. Now that I have had a car with tranny issues I'm a bit nervouse with 219K but everyone I've talked with says these are truly amazing vehicles...Thoughts.

So, based on the limited info, the price seems about right. Was the timing belt done, including water pump and rollers?

Did they "say" there's no rust? Or do you have photos from the seller documenting that it actually has no rust? Don't get me wrong, but in my industry we have a mantra "trust but verify". A little surface rust is absolutely OK, but I turned down a few 100s for this reason (heavy rust) before I picked up a rust-free one. I would say that avoiding heavy rust is the most important factor. You can't build a house on a foundation of sand.

Having factory nav is a bit of a downside if you plan to swap out the stereo. It is harder than non-nav but is still possible in the 01-02 model. Like I said, in an 03+, forget about ever swapping it. Most are 03+ so if this is important to you stick with pre-2003 if you want to even try a stereo swap.

I had an XC90 too and I was very involved in the forums for that car as well. The 100-series seems like a more-straightforward vehicle in terms of servicing so far than the XC90.

Have the seller do a quick test for you, if you are not local to them (or do it when you drive the car). Since it has AHC, there is a reservoir for the suspension fluid on the passenger side (US) with a bunch of gradations/tick marks like a graduated cylinder in your chemistry class. Put the suspension in low, note the level of the fluid. Put the suspension in high, note the fluid level. If the fluid level changes more than 7 marks on the fluid reservoir, you are good to go. Otherwise, honestly, just budget $2k for a landcruiser/Old Man Emu suspension swap. Not the end of the world, I took the chance too, but mine goes between 9-10 marks on the reservoir.

If there isn't any major rust, I'd say go for it. Otherwise keep looking. I am new here and this forum has been one of the best forums I've ever joined (don't even ask me how many cars I've had, lol).
 
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I wouldn't pay more than 10k. There are so many other newer models out there with no rust and way lower miles. you may have to travel to get a clean one above the year 2003.

Some caveats:
Check the door locks.
Check the rain window sensor
Check the sunroof
check the bushings
Check heated seats
Check the hoses
power steering lines
racknpinion leaks?
cv joints
Get rid of any custom wheels that can't go offroad
Check the A/C and heater
Check the rotors and pads
Make sure each gear works on the transmission both low and high
Check the automated mirror motors

one mistake I made was not really expecting the body panels, they can hide small dings. One key was looking at the stepsides and seeing any buckling or squeezed plastic/metal underneath or where it is bolted on to the frame.

Thats is all I can thin of

Good luck

-ES
ES, that is a great list and I will walk through each of these...THANK YOU!
 
So, based on the limited info, the price seems about right. Was the timing belt done, including water pump and rollers?

Did they "say" there's no rust? Or do you have photos from the seller documenting that it actually has no rust? Don't get me wrong, but in my industry we have a mantra "trust but verify". A little surface rust is absolutely OK, but I turned down a few 100s for this reason (heavy rust) before I picked up a rust-free one. I would say that avoiding heavy rust is the most important factor. You can't build a house on a foundation of sand.

Having factory nav is a bit of a downside if you plan to swap out the stereo. It is harder than non-nav but is still possible in the 01-02 model. Like I said, in an 03+, forget about ever swapping it. Most are 03+ so if this is important to you stick with pre-2003 if you want to even try a stereo swap.

I had an XC90 too and I was very involved in the forums for that car as well. The 100-series seems like a more-straightforward vehicle in terms of servicing so far than the XC90.

Have the seller do a quick test for you, if you are not local to them (or do it when you drive the car). Since it has AHC, there is a reservoir for the suspension fluid on the passenger side (US) with a bunch of gradations/tick marks like a graduated cylinder in your chemistry class. Put the suspension in low, note the level of the fluid. Put the suspension in high, note the fluid level. If the fluid level changes more than 7 marks on the fluid reservoir, you are good to go. Otherwise, honestly, just budget $2k for a landcruiser/Old Man Emu suspension swap. Not the end of the world, I took the chance too, but mine goes between 9-10 marks on the reservoir.

If there isn't any major rust, I'd say go for it. Otherwise keep looking. I am new here and this forum has been one of the best forums I've ever joined (don't even ask me how many cars I've had, lol).

Pyrenees,

Thank you so much and I keep hearing the same thing about the AHC. I will without a doubt take my time with doing this test. As far as the rust I will go through the undercarriage and through the car and "trust & verify".

As far as the XC90 I will be glad to have it "go away". I do have a 2000 xc70 that I love and it's a blast to drive that little car....

I'll keep y'all up to date and will post picks if I get the rig.
 
Pyrenees,

Thank you so much and I keep hearing the same thing about the AHC. I will without a doubt take my time with doing this test. As far as the rust I will go through the undercarriage and through the car and "trust & verify".

As far as the XC90 I will be glad to have it "go away". I do have a 2000 xc70 that I love and it's a blast to drive that little car....

I'll keep y'all up to date and will post picks if I get the rig.
The advice to budget $2k to change out the entire AHC/AVS system based on only seeing 7 or less graduations on the fluid reservoir for the L to H check (generalized test for damper accumulator gas charge remaining) is pretty outrageous. Don’t discount an otherwise desirable candidate vehicle for this reason alone as there are perfectly acceptable aftermarket damper accumulators available from the U.K. for less than $800 delivered per vehicle set that will essentially restore the factory damping system. All things being equal, when it comes to renew/repair AHC/AVS v replace with conventional the numbers usually favor renew/repair.
 
For buying a new 100 it's always helpful to take a look at the Slee Offroad 100 Series Newbie Guide. It covers just about everything when it comes to picking out a new 100, and what's not touched on in that guide has been/will be posted on this forum.
 
@PADDO

Yeah, you are correct. I guess I put my own spin on it, which is that if all the AHC globes on my car started to crap out, I'd personally just R/R the suspension at that point, which I don't doubt would run $1500-2k for a solid all-around job at a reputable shop. I don't mean to scare the noob, I'm a noob too :)
 

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