Wanted Can't afford a Toyota, so i'm looking for a Lexus. ISO LX570 2008-2012 $25k or below. (1 Viewer)

Location

United States

I never thought i would hear myself say this, but lately i have been giving the LX570s a lot of thought because the LCs are priced about $5k more for the same years and similar mileage/condition. Maybe it's Lexus depreciating faster than Toyota, and maybe it's because there are a lot more LXs for sale than LCs. Normally it is the other way around, as in you look at Toyotas when you can't afford a Lexus. Personally i would rather rock the Toyota badge, but it is hard to turn down the pricing appeal of the LXs when comparing them to 200 series LCs.

Not only is the initial purchase price cheaper by a good amount, the fact that AHC eliminates most of the need for suspension upgrade/lift saves me even more money. If i get a LC, i am for sure upgrading the suspension. If i get an LX with AHC, i don't feel the need to do anything but upgrade the tires, at least for a while.

It's another plus that many of the LXs i have looked at looks like it has never been wheeled hard, like the kind of wheeling you'd expect out of an LC owner. I also like the versatility, as in i can put good tires on it and it will be quite capable stock and get me most places, but i can also have the height lowered so my grandpa and dog can get in more easily! Having my dog be able to get in and out easily is a big plus, as he will be with me quite often.

To me the LC is the car i want if i was the only person to ride in it, but the LX is the car i want if i wanted to make sure that my friends and family (including dog) can be comfortable with it as well.

With all that said, i am looking for a well-taken-care-of 2008-2012 LX570 (whichever years do not have the hourglass grills), or maybe a really good deal on a 200 series LC ? I am looking to keep it $25k or below, but will entertain anything close. I know it's a stretch but I am in no rush and really am trying to hold out for a good deal. Any leads will be greatly appreciated!

I will appreciate advice as well if anyone thinks i should really hold out longer and save money/look harder for an LC, as well as advice from anyone who thinks the LX makes more sense for someone like me. Has anyone gotten an LX and wished they had gone with an LC instead? Or vice versa? Thoughts?

 

[PDoyle]

Doesn't look like there was any rust preventive sprayed on. Looks normal and pretty good for 180k miles. PA does salt their roads. Service records are key for that many miles.

 

[SharpeCat]

Doesn't look like there was any rust preventive sprayed on. Looks normal and pretty good for 180k miles. PA does salt their roads. Service records are key for that many miles.

Thanks for the input!

The service records for this vehicle are pretty nice. From new til now it has over 40 records from lexus, and in vast majority of cases the owners went with whatever the dealership recommended. The latest service and inspection was about 1k mile ago. I have asked the owner about every concern i had regarding the maintenance history, and he was able to email me the receipt from the dealer showing that it was taken care of properly.

Spoke to my dad and he thinks i should go round trip, and i think he's right. If i end up with a car good enough to drive home, then i i won't care much about losing 50 bucks for the return flight.

 

[MN CZ]

Good luck, Dangcat. Let us know how it goes, and a general price if you are comfortable.

The rust on your pics is far less than the 2009 we talked about early in this thread, at a Minnesota Lexus dealer, for $22.9K.

 

[SharpeCat]

Good luck, Dangcat. Let us know how it goes, and a general price if you are comfortable.

The rust on your pics is far less than the 2009 we talked about early in this thread, at a Minnesota Lexus dealer, for $22.9K.

Thanks bud, i really appreciate that.
Initial price he listed was 23k i believe, right now we are talking under 20k preinspection. I am going to be very happy if this turns out in the shape that he describes, but at the same time i have been warned that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Booking flight today and *Fingers crossed*.

Also, an update on the one in GA at Hennessy Lexus, they have also listed it on eBay with a best offer option. Probably worth exploring.

2009 Lexus LX 4DR 4WD | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2009 Lexus LX 4DR 4WD at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

From what i can gather, that one seems like a potential rust-free example with great maintenance history. Lady owned for at least the previous 8 years and Goergia car its entire life! Reasonable starting price too, and i did not see any no-haggle notice and the best offer option on ebay suggests there is room for haggling. Good luck if you check it out!

 

[MN CZ]

Any updates on your flight? The Georgia one appears good from what we can see. It would be nice to see more incidences of service history, even routine oil changes. Looks like selling dealer did some needed maintenance.

 

[SharpeCat]

Any updates on your flight? The Georgia one appears good from what we can see. It would be nice to see more incidences of service history, even routine oil changes. Looks like selling dealer did some needed maintenance.

Yep i am leaving next weekend, been trying really, really hard to not count my chickens before they hatch and keep my excitement under control!

If the PA one fails i will take a closer look at others. I really hope it works out though because it is at least a few thousand cheaper than the GA one.

I have been trying to read up on PPIs for 200 series and making a list to ask the Lexus dealer to look over for me, or things i need to look at myself once there. They are inspecting it on the 5th, so i am trying to figure out what questions i should be asking them, if any.

Thanks for checking up and for your continued input, it is always appreciated!

 

[SharpeCat]

I have also been considering grabbing tires/rims some time during black friday/cyber week if the right deal pops up, but not sure if that is smart before i get the car.

I want 33s or 34s and eventually go dual tire carriers with 2 MTs as spares, and i know that will get pricey, which is the main reason i am considering buying rims and tires before the car.

Car currently has a set of new michelins so i do plan on selling the stock rim and tires and swapping to 18s and 33s/34s, if i end up with the LX.

Possibly a long range tank as well if they go on sale since i plan on relocating spare anyways.

Thoughts? TIA!

 

[MN CZ]

Are they michelin latitudes? Or LTX? I don't think you get snow in NC, so whatever it may be, they will be fine for a while. You could drive the truck for a while, save up the cash, unless you are paying with cash.

Just my honest opinion, from a financial standpoint. I won't spend the cash on wheels before the truck is bought. But I don't know your own situation. I'm pretty conservative and cheap. Take-offs might be a cheaper alternative than new wheels bought on Black Friday.

 

[SharpeCat]

Are they michelin latitudes? Or LTX? I don't think you get snow in NC, so whatever it may be, they will be fine for a while. You could drive the truck for a while, save up the cash, unless you are paying with cash.

Just my honest opinion, from a financial standpoint. I won't spend the cash on wheels before the truck is bought. But I don't know your own situation. I'm pretty conservative and cheap. Take-offs might be a cheaper alternative than new wheels bought on Black Friday.

Not sure on what type of michelins, but he said top of the line in the ad.

You're absolutely right, i appreciate the honest input and always welcome it. I do like buying used, and have been eyeing a few sets of tundra trd rims for 250-300 per set near me. I was thinking tires at 33s and 34s may be hard to find used, and thats what lead me to consider grabbing them during black friday/cyber monday if any sweet deals come up.

I was thinking i would buy rims used, get new tires, and then put whatever comes with the LX on sale. Main reason for getting tires new is because the right sizes may be difficult to find used, and if i must buy new then best to buy it when prices are at the lowest. I will look more into the used market for those sizes during the week to get a better idea.

I plan on running the 20s for a little bit, maybe a few months and get a feel of the car stock, but i know it wont be long before i do the sensor lift and start wanting bigger tires with smaller rims for better off road. We have great mountains and beaches and national parks here in NC and surrounding areas, and i will want to get her ready for some trips!

 

[SharpeCat]

Well, on the plane now to go look at one. Told myself i would make a checklist to inspect but i never got around to it so wish me luck lol.

The PPI only recommended brakes soon so i hope they didnt miss anything major.

 

[Maxthrust27]

Well, on the plane now to go look at one. Told myself i would make a checklist to inspect but i never got around to it so wish me luck lol.

The PPI only recommended brakes soon so i hope they didnt miss anything major.

Deets?

 

[SharpeCat]

Deets?

Will fill you guys in tomorrow after some rest. Im very happy but exhausted. Price paid is 18k.

 

[SharpeCat]

Will fill you guys in tomorrow after some rest. Im very happy but exhausted. Price paid is 18k.

Its the one i linked for 18.5 earlier in thread. He originally listed for 25.5 (carfax value)

 

[SharpeCat]

Deets?

Okay, all rested now! I literally did not sleep before my 6am flight because i was so excited lol.

I will preface this by saying there is wayyy too much information to all go on here, so i will post pictures/brief description in the 200 Series recent purchase prices, and i will post all the little details on my Post Inspection/Build thread that will come later. The PO let me write the Bill of Sale when we did notaries, so i gave myself a 2 week grace period to do post inspection and get a refund if needed. Pictures will come when i get my camera back (phone camera broke 2 days ago).

So about a month ago i found this 2008 LX on cars.com for $18,500, and the price had been lowered a few times from $25k. It had 180k miles, always dealer maintenance, barely any rust, no accidents and etc. It checked all the right boxes for a car $25k or under/high miles/10+ year old car. He edited the listing multiple times and dropped about 2k each time. He started at 25k, dropped to 22,500, and even said firm at 20k in the description but had it listed for 18,500.

It was listed on another site for $25,500 where the price never lowered, so it seems Cars.com is his primary listing that he edits. After BRIEFLY checking the LX Maintenance history i decided to email him to inquire. I asked about what it would take for him to hold it very early on, as i was well aware that the price is good and assumed something is wrong with it; I needed time to get it checked out.

I believe he said to send him $300 on Venmo, and i told him i did not have Venmo. I asked if i prepaid for a Lexus PPI, that it could count as a deposit, and he agreed. The earliest appointment we could get was 3 weeks out on Dec. 5th, so we took that. Lexus does not take prepayments, so the agreement that i would pay it on Dec. 5th was enough for him to hold it for me.

During this time i looked more closely at the maintenance history, and i did find what i think is the reason others have walked away if they did find the listing. At 166k miles the customer (1st owner) brought the car in, stating it was running rough and stalled when idling, twice. The dealer found a cracked valve spring and recommended a new engine or trading it in and getting a new car. The owner chose to trade it in. That was Lexus of Route 10 in NJ.

That was disclosed to the next owner/PO, who had Wilkie Lexus take a look at it. They had it for about 2 weeks while they took apart the top end and waited on parts. The repair costed $1k for labor and $200 in parts, they replaced Valve Spring, Rocker Arm and Lash adjusters and the car has been running fine since. That was at 166k and since then the PO has had the dealer replace the radiator (was leaking), rear hydraulic AHC lines (leak), tires, blower motor, as well as flush the AHC system. He even replaced some wood garnish ($915 from dealer + 140 labor). All of this is in addition to keeping up with his oil changes and etc. I asked him why he was selling while i was up there, and he said that they use the Sequoia now as the family hauler/workhorse, and that he does not drive the LX enough to justify keeping it.

Other than the Cracked Valve Spring issue, the 1st owner took great care of it and there are tons of record to show for it. I am thinking/hoping this is a case where first dealer recommended more than needed in order to sell another car and get a good deal on a trade in, and it looks like it worked as that owner did trade it in right after that diagnosis.

I thought about the fact that i could be wrong, but even then at this price, i could afford to get a rebuilt 3UR-FE for $5-6k installed, and still come out at a fair price but with a freshly rebuilt engine.

However, after the test drive, i now highly doubt that an engine anytime soon will be necessary. I now understand what people mean when they say this thing still drives like a new car at 150k miles. The previous owner even test drove it for me because he thought i was afraid to really push it due to it not being my car (and i was), and also due to me having expressed the engine concern. He was flooring it and she had zero issues at any point. She also had zero issues making it back to NC from PA. I now understand what people mean when they say it feels like driving a Caddy. My good friend has an almost new CTS and i plan on testing the 2 side by side XD.

Anyways, he did the test drive on pavement, and i tested the 4lo/crawl/AHC and all the little details while on the grass in his front yard. I had a slight moment of panic when i tried putting it in 4lo and it was having trouble engaging/flashing 4lo/check AVS, but i think that was because i was on pavement. I then popped it on the grass and the 4lo worked perfectly and the check AVS did not show up. I then tested the crawl control and that worked as well. I tested the AHC by putting it in lo neutral and high a few times, and i even left it on low and drove to around 10mph to make sure it auto raised itself to neutral.

After that i started checking the little details and after checking so many things and seeing it works, i eventually gave up on checking. I am the kid that touches everything in the store, so i was the kid that pressed all the buttons. This car literally has so many nice features and i am still just finding all the icing on the cake. I literally discovered like 10 features i did not know about until recently, like the factory fob opening all windows and moonroof to vent the car on hot days, and factory fob being remote start capable (although range sucks). Features like the 110V house plug in the back, the rear heated seats and climate control, and the 4 built in headrest DVD players/screens that can be synced to show the same thing, or can all be used separately.

I could literally go on and on about how happy I am right now with how i spent the rest of my money, but i know there are still a lot of things to look at in post inspection and that it's too soon to celebrate. I have 2 weeks to return for a refund if needed, but i have a feeling that won't be the case! PREPARE to be flooded with pictures and everything you could ever possibly want to know about the car XD. Have not thought of a name yet, we will wait least 2 weeks.

 

[SharpeCat]

This is in my neighborhood off a construction dirt trail. I explored a little bit on the ruckus when i moved in a few months ago. Gonna go give the 4 lo and crawl mode more of a test, anything i need to pay attention to in particular?

No cameras today, will grab some from work this week and get some videos and pictures taken. Those photos were months ago but the trails are still there about a quarter mile from my house.

 

[MN CZ]

Looking forward to hearing all about it. Glad you found a vehicle, and for $18.5K, that is a heck of a price.

 

[SharpeCat]

Looking forward to hearing all about it. Glad you found a vehicle, and for $18.5K, that is a heck of a price.

Yep. I can't describe how happy i am with everything so far. Inspection recommended brakes so he dropped it a little bit more, so i ended up with 18k. So far i have put almost 1000 miles on it and everything works perfect. Even got her a little muddy after my last post and she did great! It literally blows my mind how smooth it is and how everything works perfectly and how new it feels for a car with 181k miles.

Had a few co workers ask me to help them find one for them when it comes time, one even offered me 20k right now for mine but i gave him a big nopee lol. I will help them look when it's time to trade in their current cars though (almost all of them are driving toyotas/Lexus). A few of my close friends are starting to see the light as well after riding in it/driving it. It really opened their eyes to the possibility of them being able to own/afford one as well after i told them what i paid. Many were surprised to find out it was close to what they paid for their current cars and it really got them thinking.

I ran into a small hiccup when i had ignition interlock installed yesterday. Just to be clear, i like to refer to it as a "mod to keep people from drunk driving in my car". You call it anything but a mod and i'm not sure if we can be friends XD. Also, I might be the first 200 series owner to have this "mod" installed according to what the guy told me. My guess is it's because other 200 series owners can afford a good lawyer and get their DWI dismissed, but not me. It's also because i am an idiot and ran into my neighbors mailbox but we can talk about that another day.

Anyways, before the installation everything worked perfect. I had my phone charging from the cigarette lighter going in, and had my memory seat functioning. Soon after i left i noticed nothing happened when i hit my memory seat button i assigned, and no beep when i hold "SET". Then i tried plugging my phone in and it did not charge. I called them and they scheduled an appointment for today and the guy couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. He pulled out every fuse and checked them all and they are all good.

He called his boss and explained the situation and offered to pay for it if i take it into the dealer to diagnose. As he was explaining that his shop is only one that can handle "tier 1 cars", that this is the first one of this model, that he admits it's above his expertise level and he accepts responsibility and etc (stand up guy!)... i noticed the memory seat worked again. Then i checked the cigarette lighter and it worked as well. So long story short everything is working at the moment, and if i have any electrical issues i can take it into Lexus and the interlock company will foot the bill. For some reason when he took the fuses out and put them back in the problem went away.

I can't imagine anything that could come up during the next week (return period) that would make me change my mind about keeping this car! I've been thinking about how i want to build it and can't wait to start the build thread and be officially off the market! My goal for this weekend is to give her a good wash and get you guys some overdue photos!

 

[SharpeCat]

Been busy this weekend with my friends wedding and things, so have not had a chance to do a proper photoshoot. I snapped a few pictures in the driveway for now. Forgot to take pictures of her a little muddy before i gave her a wash, my apologies.

I will take pictures when there is daylight out for the build thread.

Still no problems and everything runs and works like a dream!

Here she is in low mode:

 

[SharpeCat]

She's high in these photos. I have not done the sensor lift, waiting until closer to tire upgrade to do so. Planning on going slightly above 33s but lower than 34s.

 

[SharpeCat]

I wouldnt dare not post undercarriage XD. I am very happy with the condition of the undercarriage, considering that she has always been a NJ/PA car. Zero complaints here! I do plan on cleaning, taking a wire brush through it and sealing it up with fluid film or POR15 or something.