Bought 2001 LX470 from Auction, was a peach, now its a rotten apple

[Kingfosgate]

Need some advice. I bought a 2001 LX470 from a local auction in Jacksonville, FL sight unseen. The auction was online only and I wasn't able to put eyes on it beforehand, however from the pictures and description, sounded great. It has 144,000 miles on the odometer and paint looks good, minor rust underneath, no body damage. I won the auction for $7500 and after the auction fee I was all-in for $9200.
Here is the kicker.. while doing the paperwork to buy the car, the auctioneer said the LX had been sitting on their lot for 4 years basically rotting away! Red flag I should have torn up my cashiers check and walked away but I didn't. Anyways...

Time for the list of issues.
1. tires were rotten - replaced for new OEM at $1250
2. idles super rough - replaced all spark plugs, coil pack, fuel injectors, fuel filter (runs great after this except for some weird issue where it doesn't start after a hard rain)
3. buttons on dash don't work - soldered new buttons on circuit board
4. factory radio shot - replaced head unit, door speakers, amp, sub
5. door locks weak/shot - replaced the motor on all the actuators
6. emblems on back falling apart - replaced
7. new fog lights
8. AHC stopped working - flushed/bleed the fluids and replaced blown fuse
9. new leather stitching around steering wheel
10. misc other small things, fixed leak in brake light, light bulbs out...

After all this, I thought I was in the clear. Car runs like a champ, sounds great, rides great... All in at this point for $13,000~
Gave the car to my daughter to drive... Saturday I get a call from her that it wont start, making noises, etc. I come to her rescue and get it towed to my local mechanic. They diagnose and said the engine is blown. Piston or cylinder exploded pieces into the engine so it's not fixable.

At this point what should I do? Find a new engine and have it shipped and put in by a local mechanic or just try to sell the car as-is and cut my losses? What's the car worth in it's current state? I think I'll be around $5K to swap the motor out, $3500 for labor and $1500 for the motor. Is it really worth almost $20000 out of pocket to keep this car?
TY

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I would want to verify that myself, pretty unheard of on this engine.

 

[Foehammer]

I dunno man it sounds like a bad apple from the get go; I'd just part her out or sell whole as parts car.

On a sidenote tho; did they send pics or were you able to verify that the piston was indeed shot?

Edit: TrunkMonkey beat me to it

 

[Exiled]

First of all, sorry to hear about your woes, it's rare for a Land Cruiser to be a lemon!

Assuming that the engine did blow (surprising for that engine with that mileage), I don't think it's worth replacing the engine so you can then try to sell it. It might be worth replacing it if you're going to keep it, but the 100/LX470 market is pretty soft and you might get half of what you'll have in it if you decide to sell after the swap.

If you're convinced you want to get rid of it, parting it out is an option to recoup as much as possible but it's tedious and requires storage space and LOTS of patience.

 

[jsloden]

In all of the stuff you listed I didn't see that you replaced the timing belt. That would have been my first job. I would want proof of the exploded piston. As in, I would want to see it for myself on the borescope. Exploding pistons are completely unheard of on this engine.

 

[Bisho]

You really can't judge "is it worth what I'm going to have in it" once you've already invested most of that. You'll never get the maintenance invested back out. The real calculus is what you could get for it in its current state, plus the new engine (if it really needs a new engine) plus any other known maintenance. Up to the engine, all of your expenses seem very normal to me and expected on a 20+ year old vehicle.

So, you can probably sell it as is for $5k, plus the engine. Is this truck worth $10k to you? I think it probably is.

 

[2001LC]

Need some advice. I bought a 2001 LX470 from a local auction in Jacksonville, FL sight unseen. The auction was online only and I wasn't able to put eyes on it beforehand, however from the pictures and description, sounded great. It has 144,000 miles on the odometer and paint looks good, minor rust underneath, no body damage. I won the auction for $7500 and after the auction fee I was all-in for $9200.
Here is the kicker.. while doing the paperwork to buy the car, the auctioneer said the LX had been sitting on their lot for 4 years basically rotting away! Red flag I should have torn up my cashiers check and walked away but I didn't. Anyways...

Time for the list of issues.
1. tires were rotten - replaced for new OEM at $1250
2. idles super rough - replaced all spark plugs, coil pack, fuel injectors, fuel filter (runs great after this except for some weird issue where it doesn't start after a hard rain)

Concern, no start when it rains: Water entry into cabin. Seen often, with a replacement windshield. Long term (4 yr), soaking & drying wiring inside cabin (junction boxes). Can result in a nightmare, due to oxidation of contracts. This can result in vehicle being totaled, by insurance company.

3. buttons on dash don't work - soldered new buttons on circuit board
4. factory radio shot - replaced head unit, door speakers, amp, sub
5. door locks weak/shot - replaced the motor on all the actuators
6. emblems on back falling apart - replaced
7. new fog lights
8. AHC stopped working - flushed/bleed the fluids and replaced blown fuse
9. new leather stitching around steering wheel
10. misc other small things, fixed leak in brake light, light bulbs out...

No mention of: T-belt, heater tees, thermostat, fluids or lubes.

After all this, I thought I was in the clear. Car runs like a champ, sounds great, rides great... All in at this point for $13,000~
Gave the car to my daughter to drive... Saturday I get a call from her that it wont start, making noises, etc. I come to her rescue and get it towed to my local mechanic. They diagnose and said the engine is blown. Piston or cylinder exploded pieces into the engine so it's not fixable.

Compression test numbers & borescope pictures of damage from shop?
What's coolant level in radiator?
What's engine oil level and condition?

At this point what should I do? Find a new engine and have it shipped and put in by a local mechanic or just try to sell the car as-is and cut my losses? What's the car worth in it's current state? I think I'll be around $5K to swap the motor out, $3500 for labor and $1500 for the motor. Is it really worth almost $20000 out of pocket to keep this car?
TY

Consider, making an insurance claim, if engine blown.

Depend on overall conditions. A really clean 01 LX, may be worth it.

 

[Kingfosgate]

Thanks for all the responses. I forgot to mention I changed the oil as soon as I got it. Old oil was black but didn't seem off in any way.
I suspect 4 years in the Florida heat and humidity and not being started in all that time did some damage.
The shop that inspected the vehicle is pretty reputable, not to say they can't be wrong. Maybe worth a second opinion, idk.. Looking on car-part.com for a replacement motor and seems like some descent prices in the 500-2500 range.
Guess I was being optimistic since I have a 2000 LX470 also and it's been great outside of AC and radiator issues..

 

[D21FJ60]

Assuming you bought it "as-is" from the auction and there's no warranty or take backs so to speak?
Could always look for another 100 series and swap all the new stuff you can over to it and then dump this one if in fact engine is roached.

 

[onemanarmy]

tow it to another shop for a second opinion.
then come back to us

 

[nissanh]

How did the engine blow? It was running good and should run or stall, but blowing a piston into pieces is unheard of. It can happen at initial startup. Our Ford Cortina sat 7 years inside a garage at hot and humid conditions. It has never been touched during it was parked until I pull it out, proper treatment and it ran good and even currently. So humidity is not a concern. Make sure you checkout the engine yourself.

 

[Kabanstva]

Let’s see some pics please

 

[97 AZ LC]

Assuming you bought it "as-is" from the auction and there's no warranty or take backs so to speak?

To this point, telling you after you won the auction that it had sat for 4 years is not how a reputable auction house is supposed to work. If they knew that they should have disclosed it.

 

[delz05]

When was the auction and what group ran it? Disclosure has to happen before a vehicle is put up for bid, if the auction house knows of issues. In this case... it sure seems that they did.

 

[Kingfosgate]

The diagnosis "No issues seen in drivebelt system, removed intake found pieces of valve in bottom of intake port indicating catastrophic internal damage. Recommend replacement of engine"
I don't have pictures yet.
Auction house is "Fleming Auctions" out of Jacksonville. He indicated the original owner was trying to get it back but dealing with legal issues. The Auction house specializes in bankruptcy vehicles. 4 years in legal purgatory seems a bit high and they charge a 15% auction fee. Stupid me!

 

[2001LC]

Very unusual to pull intake manifold, for any diagnostic work. Typically we use a borescope

 

[excessive]

my guess is the timing belt broke. If the body is good and solid ( no rust, no accidents, etc) i think it's worth swapping in a new engine.

 

[D21FJ60]

Sounds like auction company is a dead end.
If you have the time and means, you could try and find a sequoia/tundra/4runner with the 4.7 in it that has rust or bad trans, buy it for the engine and then part out and scrap what’s left to recover some costs

 

[Rhetoric]

I feel like this story is missing some details.

- Did the engine die or was it shut off normally before the no start with noises by the daughter?
- What is the source of the spark plugs? Could they be counterfeit?
- What is the source of the fuel injectors? Bad spray patterns can do some fun damage.
- Why remove the intake to diagnose? Did they also remove it to install fuel injectors, introducing crud into the intake ports?


Highly unlikely there was interference from a timing belt system failure due to this being an 01 truck. Buuuuuuut… since this thing feels like a basket case, who knows.