I'm a former 40 guy who has wanted a 100 series for a long time. For the last three years I've had a '65 FJ40 that has been a ton of fun to have around Austin, but I recently gave that to my dad for his 70th / retirement (I caught the bug from him)
Also, I now work locally instead of travelling and with two little dudes, sharing one car with my wife is no longer an option. For about a week I entertained the idea of something boring and practical but then made the mistake of popping onto Mud to see what I was missing. Within 2 days of seeing the first LX for sale post that caught my eye, and with some lenient encouragement from my wife I looked at a few locally, chased some leads and then spotted this truck on the Carmax site. I had it shipped to Austin from California (any others know the truck?) figuring worst case scenario I'd eat the shipping cost - it looked pretty decent from the pictures, and I learned a few things from the Lexus site by registering with the VIN:
- Serviced all it's life at Lexus until 85K miles
- Timing belt done at 75K miles
- New front brakes, rears done ~20K miles ago
- No major mechanical issues
Long story short I went to see it yesterday and bought it. I’m no mechanic but it looked pretty good to me. And because it was at 90K they did the requisite service associated with that including another timing belt and water pump. I immediately took it to a mechanic another Mud member recommended and had them check it over as well.
So overall it seems to be in great condition for it’s age and mileage (cross fingers). The inspection showed:
- No leaks of any kind underneath
- Negligible rust (really just surface stuff on the exhaust pipes)
- Perfectly functional AHC (flushed at 60K - I plan to do that again soon)
- One new CV Axle in front left
- New brakes in front and healthy in back
- And to boot, I discovered today the still factory sealed first aid kit
The one odd flag was some suspect areas on the front left fender, and both rear doors that seem to have been worked. I did notice some odd variations on the paint at the dealership but the mechanic thinks something was covered and repainted. Despite that all panels are original and there does not seem to be anything major lurking a layer underneath. One of the reasons I swear by used vehicles is because I hate the anxiety of new paint. A few dents, dings, scrapes and touch ups are character as far as I'm concerned.
First mod is removing the Carmax sticker. Otherwise, I plan to slow roll modifications starting with removal of running boards and more aggressive tires when it comes time for replacement. I’m tempted to add bluetooth audio, but after this weekend simply using my phone speaker as I do in my other old car, I’m questioning whether I care enough to spend that money.
I do however plan to do lots of lurking here…
Walter Approved
Also, I now work locally instead of travelling and with two little dudes, sharing one car with my wife is no longer an option. For about a week I entertained the idea of something boring and practical but then made the mistake of popping onto Mud to see what I was missing. Within 2 days of seeing the first LX for sale post that caught my eye, and with some lenient encouragement from my wife I looked at a few locally, chased some leads and then spotted this truck on the Carmax site. I had it shipped to Austin from California (any others know the truck?) figuring worst case scenario I'd eat the shipping cost - it looked pretty decent from the pictures, and I learned a few things from the Lexus site by registering with the VIN:
- Serviced all it's life at Lexus until 85K miles
- Timing belt done at 75K miles
- New front brakes, rears done ~20K miles ago
- No major mechanical issues
Long story short I went to see it yesterday and bought it. I’m no mechanic but it looked pretty good to me. And because it was at 90K they did the requisite service associated with that including another timing belt and water pump. I immediately took it to a mechanic another Mud member recommended and had them check it over as well.
So overall it seems to be in great condition for it’s age and mileage (cross fingers). The inspection showed:
- No leaks of any kind underneath
- Negligible rust (really just surface stuff on the exhaust pipes)
- Perfectly functional AHC (flushed at 60K - I plan to do that again soon)
- One new CV Axle in front left
- New brakes in front and healthy in back
- And to boot, I discovered today the still factory sealed first aid kit
The one odd flag was some suspect areas on the front left fender, and both rear doors that seem to have been worked. I did notice some odd variations on the paint at the dealership but the mechanic thinks something was covered and repainted. Despite that all panels are original and there does not seem to be anything major lurking a layer underneath. One of the reasons I swear by used vehicles is because I hate the anxiety of new paint. A few dents, dings, scrapes and touch ups are character as far as I'm concerned.
First mod is removing the Carmax sticker. Otherwise, I plan to slow roll modifications starting with removal of running boards and more aggressive tires when it comes time for replacement. I’m tempted to add bluetooth audio, but after this weekend simply using my phone speaker as I do in my other old car, I’m questioning whether I care enough to spend that money.
I do however plan to do lots of lurking here…
Walter Approved
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