2002 Lx470 purchase

[mikewaters]

Hi all, used to have a really mint 1985 BJ60 and traded it for a minivan. Now the kids are old enough to get in their seats on their own we wanted a family 4x4. Couldn't find a 100 series north of the border so when a 2002 Lx470 came up at Victoria Toyota I checked it out. Looking to outfit with winch bumpers sliders etc. The good was two owners and it's in good shape and relatively low km (180k). The bad was Sun roof tilt was broken and it needed a timing belt. So after a bit of negotiating I got what I thought was a fair price for it and then take it to my local shop and when they take it in a get a call 2 hours in and they say they had a look around and did the dealer tell me about the rear ball joints, tie rods and the radiator because they are all in need of replacement. I check the Toyota vehicle inspection and all those things are noted as "no defect". The shop then calls Toyota to see what went on and the service advisor said he was surprised it left the lot like that. I know this is an older vehicle but it concerns me that my local shop who I've taken three of my past vehicles to including my last 60 says there's a safety issue but Toyota signed off on it. I've sent Toyota the conflicting reports and haven't heard back from them but I wanted to start this thread just to see what the general experience of the cruiser community in Victoria has been with the Toyota Dealer in Victoria. I'm not a mechanic by any stretch but love land cruisers and felt like I'd done my home work before I picked up the Lx but I still have this feeling now of having been taken a bit by what ended up feeling more like a used car salesman than a reputable dealer of a major (and my favourite) brand. Any input would be appreciated. Also I have no contacts with the club on the island anymore. Do you still need a sponsor to join?

 

[YardPig]

Hi, first congratulations on the 100 series, you'll love it.
The sunroof can be an expensive repair and very common failure on the 100. Does the slide work at all? The cables for the slide are common to freeze up from rust, usually from blocked drains and are $300+ a side. You have to remove the sunroof tray which requires a massive amount of labour to remove the interior headliner.
You mention the timing belt. Is there no service records for the belt? The 90k service (miles) is a large and expensive job and not just the timing belt is changed.
You will find out that nothing on a 100 is inexpensive. Used parts are difficult to locate, especially in Canada.
Rear balljoints? Do you mean upper or lower balljoints? I have some upper control arms with good joints and bushings if you need. Lower balljoints I have 555 Japanese joints as well if you need them.
Have them check the steering rack carefully, the mount bushings and the inner tie rod ends. Have your shop pull the inner bellow boots and if any fluid in the boots you'll need a new steering rack. Only go OEM, it's expensive and a major chore to change.
Tie rods can get 555 Japanese as well, or go OEM. Do the vehicle a favour and don't put MOOG Chinese junk on it.
The inspection is only as good as the inspector and someone unfamiliar with a 100 series doesn't know what to look for. But....leaking rads, loose balljoints, tie rods, etc are all text book safety items that no mechanic should miss with a full safety/mechanical inspection.
Bring it back for a full inspection front to rear or ask for a return on your purchase. That's unacceptable.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Sorry to hear of your experience. The one job I had done by them was a clutch change in a Toyota Corolla GTS RWD about 18 years ago. One week after the job my transmission began to sound like someone left a few wrenches loose inside. At the time I was inexperienced, and brought it back. They denied any responsibility and told me they put some 'additive' in to help. Took it to another mechanic who replaced the transmission for me with one from a wrecker. He told me it was clear that Toyota had not put gear oil back in the transmission the first time around. So it self destructed inside. Thats when I started working on my own cars.

Even buying parts from them is difficult and frustrating now.

 

[stevebradford]

That Toyota crashed a buddies Tacoma in their parking lot and replaced the tail gate dident tell him they crashed it. He noticed hidden body damage behind the super clean tailgate and confronted them before they finally admitted it. In the end I think they replaced the box as well. Even buying parts there is a bad experience

 

[too tall]

I have issues with toyota as well . Doesn't matter where you go on the island . Duncan seems to have a parts department that can't find or crossrefence part by application in any instance . The woman there seems to need the VIN . Even when I give the part number of the thing I need . I get , "that doesn't fit your application" and in most cases the frustration is not worth it . I sometimes use aftermarket parts because of this . In the words of the Trumpian "sad". I wish Toyota in Canada would get their heads out of their asses . I believe most of the issues stem from the fact that they are all in competition with each other . None will give any real discounts on MSRP I think is because that is how they maintain their high prices on parts and vehicles here . I love Toyotas more than most things but I hate Toyota in canada .

 

[seapotato]

Yeah, I've met the woman in duncan...didn't go well either...

Years ago my parents had a toyota, they got rid of it because every time they took it in, there was a line up of angry people and someone shouting at the service manager.

now they have this gold dipped Krautwagen where every part has to be airlifted from the fatherland.

Not sure it's an improvement.

 

[cruiserpilot]

I have given up on Bobby, the lady parts person in Duncan. She really doesn't want to help enthusiasts,
strictly a new generation parts person.
There used to be Darcy, she was the parts manager but moved to Victoria about 12-15 yrs ago. Burnz
used to work there, but not any more.

If you want real parts numbers and diagrams used the megazip site.

Spare parts for Automobile Toyota LAND CRUISER/LAND CRUISER PRADO | Buy spare parts for automobiles and moto equipment from Japan at reasonable prices in MegaZip online shop.

You can find your year, country of manufacture and diagrams for every Land Cruiser made, and
associated actual Toyota part numbers. I've had a couple of shipments from them, and it's worked
well.

 

[burnz]

Ah yes, the toyota dealer.... there's a reason i dont work there any more. Nothing Toyota about the place except for the sign on the door. my suggestion is to do the research yourself for any part number needed, ( or ask Yardpig to get it for you. he is a LC Jedi). . i have a good friend of mine at the Strathcona Toyota if you need a "mole".

 

[mikewaters]

Hi, first congratulations on the 100 series, you'll love it.
The sunroof can be an expensive repair and very common failure on the 100. Does the slide work at all? The cables for the slide are common to freeze up from rust, usually from blocked drains and are $300+ a side. You have to remove the sunroof tray which requires a massive amount of labour to remove the interior headliner.
You mention the timing belt. Is there no service records for the belt? The 90k service (miles) is a large and expensive job and not just the timing belt is changed.
You will find out that nothing on a 100 is inexpensive. Used parts are difficult to locate, especially in Canada.
Rear balljoints? Do you mean upper or lower balljoints? I have some upper control arms with good joints and bushings if you need. Lower balljoints I have 555 Japanese joints as well if you need them.
Have them check the steering rack carefully, the mount bushings and the inner tie rod ends. Have your shop pull the inner bellow boots and if any fluid in the boots you'll need a new steering rack. Only go OEM, it's expensive and a major chore to change.
Tie rods can get 555 Japanese as well, or go OEM. Do the vehicle a favour and don't put MOOG Chinese junk on it.
The inspection is only as good as the inspector and someone unfamiliar with a 100 series doesn't know what to look for. But....leaking rads, loose balljoints, tie rods, etc are all text book safety items that no mechanic should miss with a full safety/mechanical inspection.
Bring it back for a full inspection front to rear or ask for a return on your purchase. That's unacceptable.

Awesome advice YardPig and thank you! I'll get them to look that stuff over. Roger that about OEM only. Lower ball joint, tie rods and radiator was what my shop said needed replacement. Toyota has been accommodating as far as getting it back in for another look so I'm hopeful. I'm reluctant to return it just because a 2001-2006 100 series/Lx470 is so hard to find around here!

 

[mikewaters]

Ah yes, the toyota dealer.... there's a reason i dont work there any more. Nothing Toyota about the place except for the sign on the door. my suggestion is to do the research yourself for any part number needed, ( or ask Yardpig to get it for you. he is a LC Jedi). . i have a good friend of mine at the Strathcona Toyota if you need a "mole".

Thanks burnz!

 

[mikewaters]

I have given up on Bobby, the lady parts person in Duncan. She really doesn't want to help enthusiasts,
strictly a new generation parts person.
There used to be Darcy, she was the parts manager but moved to Victoria about 12-15 yrs ago. Burnz
used to work there, but not any more.

If you want real parts numbers and diagrams used the megazip site.

Spare parts for Automobile Toyota LAND CRUISER/LAND CRUISER PRADO | Buy spare parts for automobiles and moto equipment from Japan at reasonable prices in MegaZip online shop.

You can find your year, country of manufacture and diagrams for every Land Cruiser made, and
associated actual Toyota part numbers. I've had a couple of shipments from them, and it's worked
well.

Also great advice and thanks of the link cruiserpilot! I'll keep that link in mind!

 

[mikewaters]

Sorry to hear of your experience. The one job I had done by them was a clutch change in a Toyota Corolla GTS RWD about 18 years ago. One week after the job my transmission began to sound like someone left a few wrenches loose inside. At the time I was inexperienced, and brought it back. They denied any responsibility and told me they put some 'additive' in to help. Took it to another mechanic who replaced the transmission for me with one from a wrecker. He told me it was clear that Toyota had not put gear oil back in the transmission the first time around. So it self destructed inside. Thats when I started working on my own cars.

Even buying parts from them is difficult and frustrating now.

Thanks for the response! I feel like I may need to start working on this myself as well but have novice wrench turning skills. Thank goodness for IH8MUD threads and Toyota Trails!

 

[Sooke]

Congrats on your new purchase. I agree completely with YardPig in that the items "your" mechanic found faulty should have been reflected on the pre-purchase inspection Toyota conducted on the vehicle. This is completely unacceptable since you bought the vehicle on the premise it was in the condition the inspection from Toyota stated it was in.

I would definitely push to have the original purchase price lowered or the items that they signed off on as "no defect" fixed for free.

I recently purchased a 99 LX 470. I searched for over a year to find the right one. I ended up with a second owner vehicle with only 89,000kms on it. This past month I went to the Toyota dealership to get the service records and they were somewhat helpful. I was quoted $1600 for a timing belt job and that only included the belt and water pump (no tensioner, idler pulley, cam shaft seals, etc). Completely overpriced. I ended up ordering all of the parts from the states ( all OEM suppliers, Aisin, Mitsuboshi, etc) for $300 Cnd including shipping and duty. I'll have my mechanic do the job with the OEM parts instead of the aftermarket stuff that most shops only have access to.

Parts from the dealership in Canada are outrageous.

Good luck with negotiating with Toyota in Victoria. I'll be interested to hear the outcome.

 

[mikewaters]

Congrats on your new purchase. I agree completely with YardPig in that the items "your" mechanic found faulty should have been reflected on the pre-purchase inspection Toyota conducted on the vehicle. This is completely unacceptable since you bought the vehicle on the premise it was in the condition the inspection from Toyota stated it was in.

I would definitely push to have the original purchase price lowered or the items that they signed off on as "no defect" fixed for free.

I recently purchased a 99 LX 470. I searched for over a year to find the right one. I ended up with a second owner vehicle with only 89,000kms on it. This past month I went to the Toyota dealership to get the service records and they were somewhat helpful. I was quoted $1600 for a timing belt job and that only included the belt and water pump (no tensioner, idler pulley, cam shaft seals, etc). Completely overpriced. I ended up ordering all of the parts from the states ( all OEM suppliers, Aisin, Mitsuboshi, etc) for $300 Cnd including shipping and duty. I'll have my mechanic do the job with the OEM parts instead of the aftermarket stuff that most shops only have access to.

Parts from the dealership in Canada are outrageous.

Good luck with negotiating with Toyota in Victoria. I'll be interested to hear the outcome.

I took the truck back to Toyota and they were amazing. In fact I can't say enough about the service I received. Brian the service manager at Lexus gave me cab fare for the whole day while my truck was in the shop, they addressed all the concerns from my garage and agreed with some of them and were fair about the others (they pressure tested the radiator and it came back fine). They replaced the lower right front ball joint and in the process updated my NAV and gave me OEM wipers front and back. I was really nervous about what they were going to say and in the end they were great. Thanks for all the advice everyone. Look forward to reading some more posts.

 

[Sooke]

I took the truck back to Toyota and they were amazing. In fact I can't say enough about the service I received. Brian the service manager at Lexus gave me cab fare for the whole day while my truck was in the shop, they addressed all the concerns from my garage and agreed with some of them and were fair about the others (they pressure tested the radiator and it came back fine). They replaced the lower right front ball joint and in the process updated my NAV and gave me OEM wipers front and back. I was really nervous about what they were going to say and in the end they were great. Thanks for all the advice everyone. Look forward to reading some more posts.

That is great to hear. I'm glad it all worked out. Thanks for the update.