2011 L.C purchase inspection areas

[jbyrd78]

I had a few minutes before I headed out this morning and I ended up finding these pictures of the engine bay on their CarGurus listing. Looks pretty clean, and the radiator looks new, so I'm wondering if that's been replaced already. Something I noticedin these pictures is the battery in this picture is not the same battery as in the video they sent me. The battery also has alot of corrosion going on. Is this an indication of electrical issues? Are there any electrical issues with the 200's I need to be aware of in general?

 

[lx200inAR]

Looks like the newly designed radiator assuming it's a Toyota/Denso part, which is good. I wouldn't say the 200 has particular electrical gremlins (certainly not immune to them with all the electronics involved), but it does act wonky with a dying battery. So they may have been experiencing issues that were resolved by replacing the battery.

 

[TLC2013]

I could be wrong but That radiator doesnt look OEM. Last year i replaced the original design with the updated OEM radiator and that picture doesn't like either of them. I'll double check mine to confirm and report back.
They did a nice job cleaning up the engine bay. Take a close look in person, could be hiding an existing oil leak at the valve cover or cam tower.

 

[jbyrd78]

Looks like the newly designed radiator assuming it's a Toyota/Denso part, which is good. I wouldn't say the 200 has particular electrical gremlins (certainly not immune to them with all the electronics involved), but it does act wonky with a dying battery. So they may have been experiencing issues that were resolved by replacing the battery.

Good deal. It would be really nice, if the starter and water pump have already been taken care of as well. I think battery wise, I'll get the batt tested, then clean those terminals up with some Coca-Cola and slap some dielectric grease on there.

 

[jbyrd78]

I could be wrong but That radiator doesnt look OEM. Last year i replaced the original design with the updated OEM radiator and that picture doesn't like either of them. I'll double check mine to confirm and report back.
They did a nice job cleaning up the engine bay. Take a close look in person, could be hiding an existing oil leak at the valve cover or cam tower.

Thanks man I appreciate that heads up on the radiator. I'll be inspecting that to see what aftermarket brand it is. I will definitely be asking them at the PPI to look for oil & coolant leaks, as well as taking a look at the water pump, the starter, KDSS bolts and all that jazz. Right now I'm just trying to decide, on if it would be more beneficial to take it to either Lexus, or Toyota for the PPI? Any thoughts on that?

 

[TLC2013]

I think either would be fine for the PPI. If you have a Toyota dealership in the area that sells lots of tundras that would be ideal as they would know what to look for on the 5.7. I try and avoid Toyota dealerships and have used Lexus and independent shops for work on my LC. In my limited experience with dealerships I was pleasantly surprised by the thorough inspection the Lexus dealership did after I had some work done. They at least checked every box on their inspection report that was super in-depth. And followed my instructions to not check the cabin filter.

 

[04UZJ100]

I think either would be fine for the PPI. If you have a Toyota dealership in the area that sells lots of tundras that would be ideal as they would know what to look for on the 5.7. I try and avoid Toyota dealerships and have used Lexus and independent shops for work on my LC. In my limited experience with dealerships I was pleasantly surprised by the thorough inspection the Lexus dealership did after I had some work done. They at least checked every box on their inspection report that was super in-depth. And followed my instructions to not check the cabin filter.

The irony of hearing a dealership literally check boxes is just too much

 

[jbyrd78]

I think either would be fine for the PPI. If you have a Toyota dealership in the area that sells lots of tundras that would be ideal as they would know what to look for on the 5.7. I try and avoid Toyota dealerships and have used Lexus and independent shops for work on my LC. In my limited experience with dealerships I was pleasantly surprised by the thorough inspection the Lexus dealership did after I had some work done. They at least checked every box on their inspection report that was super in-depth. And followed my instructions to not check the cabin filter.

That's why I asked for the suggestion. I'll definitely inquire with that Toyota dealership to see if they have a master mechanic who is familiar with the Tundra 5.7L engine. As you said about the Lexus dealerships, I feel the same way. I feel like Lexus dealerships in my surrounding areas have so much more knowledge about Land Cruisers and LX's than Toyota does.

Not gonna lie, I'm super stoked about this 200, but at the same time I'm super nervous about dropping the coin on a 200. I can afford it, and I mean don't get me wrong, I have been wanting one for the past year. I know 118k miles is still considered new, and that the 5.7L can go past what my expectations are as far as miles goes, but I just still got the purchase jitters b/c Ive never spent this much on a Vroom Vroom.

 

[TLC2013]

The irony of hearing a dealership literally check boxes is just too much

Lol, it pained me to write that. Haha I just assumed they actually did the inspection as I know they are fervently looking for things "wrong" to try and ring up even bigger bill. Their multi page report was clean as a whistle.

 

[TLC2013]

That's why I asked for the suggestion. I'll definitely inquire with that Toyota dealership to see if they have a master mechanic who is familiar with the Tundra 5.7L engine. As you said about the Lexus dealerships, I feel the same way. I feel like Lexus dealerships in my surrounding areas have so much more knowledge about Land Cruisers and LX's than Toyota does.

Not gonna lie, I'm super stoked about this 200, but at the same time I'm super nervous about dropping the coin on a 200. I can afford it, and I mean don't get me wrong, I have been wanting one for the past year. I know 118k miles is still considered new, and that the 5.7L can go past what my expectations are as far as miles goes, but I just still got the purchase jitters b/c Ive never spent this much on a Vroom Vroom.

I was in the same boat as you before I found my 2013 LC 2.5 years ago. I past on three that didnt meet my expectations. After driving a 2010 and then a 2013 I new I wanted the updates that came with the 2013 model year. I was super picky and finally found a clean, one owner, no rust CA car after 6 months of looking. I know the feeling, Hard to not be nervous about spending new car money on a used vehicle with miles.
Good thing is that this one has had most of the common trouble areas already fixed. Hope it works out for you. If you have any reservations after looking at it in person dont get emotionally attached, simply walk away. There are more fish in the sea.

 

[jbyrd78]

I was in the same boat as you before I found my 2013 LC 2.5 years ago. I past on three that didnt meet my expectations. After driving a 2010 and then a 2013 I new I wanted the updates that came with the 2013 model year. I was super picky and finally found a clean, one owner, no rust CA car after 6 months of looking. I know the feeling, Hard to not be nervous about spending new car money on a used vehicle with miles.
Good thing is that this one has had most of the common trouble areas already fixed. Hope it works out for you. If you have any reservations after looking at it in person dont get emotionally attached, simply walk away. There are more fish in the sea.

Thanks for reiterating about not getting attached during "pre buying" process. After reading that, I started thinking back to when I was on the hunt for a 100 series and all the shenanigans that went on while I looked at all those vehicles. Hopefully this isn't as ridiculous that experience was.
I came across this video yesterday while surfing YouTube looking at 200 series videos. Seeing that mileage on the odometer, and hearing him read the service report, helped ease my mind a little about this purchase.