About to buy LX570 -- Would this worry you??

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Wes Gardner

Wes Gardner

Joined
Jun 6, 2016
Threads
8
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Location
Katy, TX
Hey y'all!
Like the title says I'm searching for an LX570 and found one here in Houston but I'm a tad hesitant on pulling the trigger... I wanted to get some outside opinions because I know how I am and I see this as a "shiny new thing" and tend to ignore red flags (wife claims I'm terrible about this)
So this is a 2009 LX570 with 140k on the clock. Very good condition, not perfect but it's 12 years old and I don't expect perfection. No rust. The previous owner installed wheel spacers and the dealership added brand new 33" KO2s
So here's what concerns me...
I added the vehicle's VIN to my Lexus Owner's portal to look at the service history. The good news is that it was serviced regularly by a local Lexus dealership. The bad news is that it seems to have had all kinds of things go wrong with it. And of course as I'm typing this the Lexus Drivers portal is acting up so I'll be listing this of the top of my head
  • The sunroof ECU was replaced b/c the glass got stuck in the open position
  • The drivers "air module" was replaced to fix the broken cooled seats (which still doesn't work btw)
  • The rear hatch motor was replaced b/c the hatch wouldn't auto open/close
But here's the big one...
  • While driving, the left rear wheel fell off. Lexus replaced the wheel, damaged rotor, wheel studs and nuts
Should that worry me? Would you walk away from this one? It's a gorgeous truck with the exact color I want plus the interior color I want...
I could probably negotiate the price down a bit knowing these things above but I'm not really concerned about the money as much as I am concerned about dealing with someone else's problems down the road.
I would love some expert opinions here... I haven't purchased a used vehicle in quite a while...
Here's some pics since you read through my post :)
Thanks y'all!

1.jpg


2.jpg


5.jpg
 
It would all depend on the price and how handy you are with a wrench. It's 12 years old and the best 140k miles are already consumed. It's good that the dealer did most of the service work, since they probably followed the FSM and used OEM parts, which is a plus. As far as the wheel coming off, it doesn't give me a warm feeling that the previous owner was mechanically inclined and therefore took good care of it. Sounds more like a soccer mom that literally "drove the wheels off of it".
 
I can say i wouldn't be worried about the wheel falling off. That would have had to have been a failed maintenance procedure. Over torqued lug nuts most likely (or very under torqued i guess). The Seat control ECM is a somewhat common issue. I can tell you a fully functioning ventilated seat from that era doesn't bring much to the table anyways.
 
Seems the lower shock mount could've easily seen some damage on the whole wheel falling off episode. I'd look at that as well being it wasn't listed as being repaired etc.
 
tabraha said:
Seems the lower shock mount could've easily seen some damage on the whole wheel falling off episode. I'd look at that as well being it wasn't listed as being repaired etc.
Click to expand...
Good call... If I go check it out again I'll be sure to give a closer look there
 
Wonder if the wheel falling off was related to the spacers. The wheel falling off wouldn’t deter me from buying it if all damage was fixed. I would though want to know the spacers were quality brand name spacers. You don’t want cheap there. I would reinstall them myself to make sure or take them off.
 
kcjaz said:
Wonder if the wheel falling off was related to the spacers. The wheel falling off wouldn’t deter me from buying it if all damage was fixed. I would though want to know the spacers were quality brand name spacers. You don’t want cheap there. I would reinstall them myself to make sure or take them off.
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly
I assume these are SpiderTrax spacers being that they are blue in color, but I wouldn't really know unless I took the wheel off.
I even thought about replacing all the studs and nuts just for piece of mind but that may be overkill...? Still undecided
 
Wes Gardner said:
My thoughts exactly
I assume these are SpiderTrax spacers being that they are blue in color, but I wouldn't really know unless I took the wheel off.
I even thought about replacing all the studs and nuts just for piece of mind but that may be overkill...? Still undecided
Click to expand...
If that’s the case, you would have to replace the studs from the wheel hubs and the spacers, but the studs are so expensive you would be better off just buying new spacers.

Dealers don’t know how to properly install, torque them, or Loctite them.
 
Is the dealership offering any kind of warranty? Their site is somewhat silent on that.
 
Wes Gardner said:
I highly doubt it. If anything it would be a very short warranty, but I haven't asked
Click to expand...
Kind of negates any value in buying it from a dealership if that's the case. You are buying the vehicle on reputation for the most part anyway, I suppose. It might be worth asking for 90-days to cover at least the issues that are of concern to you (wheel, sunroof and hatch). Looming problems are likely to show themselves in that amount of time and you can't fault the dealer for those that pop up after that on a 12 year old vehicle with c.150k on the odometer.
 
Looks clean to me from the dealer ad. If you are seriously considering, based on the prices people have been posting for other LX's lately, I wouldn't wait too long. Also, the first expensive mod has already been done for you with 5 KO2s installed. The ad says they are stock sized (LT285/50R20) but KO2s don't come in that size. They are probably LT285/55R20 @ 32.4" or LT275/60R20 @ 33" (most likely the latter since that's a cheaper tire by far, but also the size I would put on a stock wheel). For those sizes, you don't need the spacer and I'd just pull them off. With a stock-ish sized tire, they are only there for "bling" as it's throwing off the scrub radius to have the wheels pushed out like that.
 
Last edited:
Mechanical problems are easy to fix with two hands and a wrench. Electrical problems are a never ending game of throwing money at new components in hopes of things working out.

With a history of electrical problems, and existing electrical problems still in play, I would pass on this one.

In excitement and anticipation of a new toy it's easy to justify current problems as "small things that are no big deal," but once the honeymoon period wears off, they will bug you forever.
 
I took a quick look online at the Porsche dealer ad and saw the price listed. I think it's overpriced, especially considering all the other issues it has experienced, both mechanically and electronically. When I purchase a vehicle, my first priority is buying a solid platform example and then focusing on any accessories second. The KO2's on the vehicle you're looking at are great, but I view tires as something I can pick up anytime I want to. The vehicle I buy is what I have to go forward with long term, so I wouldn't let the new tires sway me by any means.

For context with pricing and mileage, I found this 2008 LX570 listed for sale at Lexus of Mobile, Alabama (somewhat close to you if in Houston - I've driven further for a vehicle) for just slightly more. It's a one owner, no accident history vehicle with just 90K miles on it (50K less than the one your looking at) - all for only $3K more. If it was me, I'm making that drive to Alabama if that is the color combo and model year styling you're seeking. 🤷‍♂️

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New Lexus Inventory | Mobile AL | Gulf Coast, Daphne & Spanish Fort

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Amazed a wheel fell off and there was no damage to the quarter or rear bumper.

As others have said, maybe pass. Yes there aren't a ton of 200s for sale, but enough to find one that won't keep you up at night after purchase.
 
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