I've been searching for a family/dog vehicle for a few months now and honed in on the 05-07 sequoia a few weeks ago. The search was getting a but tiresome, so we added 100 series to the list. Similar rust issues and lack of service with most though, at least in my area.
Anyway, I scheduled to look at a couple LX470s with a local dealer who does mostly Toyota and Lexus with great histories. Checked the ads last night to show a friend, and noticed he added another sequoia. This one was better spec'd and priced than the other one. So I decided to check out all 3 while I was there.
The LXs from Minnesota looked worse in person, but the Sequoia from North Carolina did not. So here's the deal...
2006 Limited.
1 owner, 230k miles. Dealer maintenance on time until about 100k (including first timing belt). Then switched to regular maintenance and a highly rated independent shop (maybe I should give them a call). Overall, a pretty solid history, and that undercarriage is CLEARLY not from a salt state. No rubberized crap or new paint. Just plain old frame rail/chassis stuff.
Pearl white over gray. I'm 50/50 on the white, but really prefer the gray, so that's a win.
Captains chairs in the back, which is just a slight preference for me.
Memory seats, which is HUGE for us, since my wife is significantly shorter than me. I honestly didn't even know this option existed until I saw an ad with it. Almost important enough to be a dealbreaker for us if it was missing.
It has the level control airbags, which I don't love, and it's missing the 110V outlet, which I would have liked. Otherwise, can't really complain.
I tested everything I could think of. Turned the wheel in both directions all the way, hut 75 mph, slammed the brakes, put it in 4lo and locked the diff, etc.
Issues: height control was really slow, but did get there.
It had the tiniest bit of shaking over 70mph and during hard braking. Maybe tire balance or alignment issue?
At least one blown speaker when you turn the bass up.
Washer fluid did not reach the rear window.
Had a slight stumble at idle one time during the drive after stopping for a red light.
Had a few aftermarket goodies installed, likely 10+ years ago. A discrete backup cam, with a mirror that had a screen in it. An oversized rear DVD player mounted to the ceiling. And a Sirius XM tablet(?) thing wired into the stereo.
Anyway, the price is $11.5k. Seems a bit high, especially considering the miles. But the ads don't always mention a flawless undercarriage, one owner with good maintenance history, clean interior with no stains or bad leather cracking, the rarer options combo of gray leather, captains chairs, and memory seats. It is especially tough to find good frames here in MD.
So what do you all think? It's getting to the point where I need to pull the trigger on something, and I'm not sure how much better I could do for $12k all said and done.
Anyway, I scheduled to look at a couple LX470s with a local dealer who does mostly Toyota and Lexus with great histories. Checked the ads last night to show a friend, and noticed he added another sequoia. This one was better spec'd and priced than the other one. So I decided to check out all 3 while I was there.
The LXs from Minnesota looked worse in person, but the Sequoia from North Carolina did not. So here's the deal...
2006 Limited.
1 owner, 230k miles. Dealer maintenance on time until about 100k (including first timing belt). Then switched to regular maintenance and a highly rated independent shop (maybe I should give them a call). Overall, a pretty solid history, and that undercarriage is CLEARLY not from a salt state. No rubberized crap or new paint. Just plain old frame rail/chassis stuff.
Pearl white over gray. I'm 50/50 on the white, but really prefer the gray, so that's a win.
Captains chairs in the back, which is just a slight preference for me.
Memory seats, which is HUGE for us, since my wife is significantly shorter than me. I honestly didn't even know this option existed until I saw an ad with it. Almost important enough to be a dealbreaker for us if it was missing.
It has the level control airbags, which I don't love, and it's missing the 110V outlet, which I would have liked. Otherwise, can't really complain.
I tested everything I could think of. Turned the wheel in both directions all the way, hut 75 mph, slammed the brakes, put it in 4lo and locked the diff, etc.
Issues: height control was really slow, but did get there.
It had the tiniest bit of shaking over 70mph and during hard braking. Maybe tire balance or alignment issue?
At least one blown speaker when you turn the bass up.
Washer fluid did not reach the rear window.
Had a slight stumble at idle one time during the drive after stopping for a red light.
Had a few aftermarket goodies installed, likely 10+ years ago. A discrete backup cam, with a mirror that had a screen in it. An oversized rear DVD player mounted to the ceiling. And a Sirius XM tablet(?) thing wired into the stereo.
Anyway, the price is $11.5k. Seems a bit high, especially considering the miles. But the ads don't always mention a flawless undercarriage, one owner with good maintenance history, clean interior with no stains or bad leather cracking, the rarer options combo of gray leather, captains chairs, and memory seats. It is especially tough to find good frames here in MD.
So what do you all think? It's getting to the point where I need to pull the trigger on something, and I'm not sure how much better I could do for $12k all said and done.
