Hi all -- after lurking on T4R.org and IH8MUD for the past year (my cousin bought an 05 Sequoia, and that got me thirsty for a big truck), I've been on the hunt for some sort of Tacoma/4Runner/LC/LX/XTerra/Disco to have some fun with (skiing, camping) as well as be easy to wrench on, and reliable enough to get me through the next two years of graduate school (when my TDI can't cut it).
So after seeing pleny of disappointing, beat up rigs with questionable history, heavily rusted frames (I'm in the North East), I was giving up on the hope that I could find something decent on my very limited student budget (around $5k).
So I saw a very vauge post on Craiglist of a 2000 LX470. It was just one generic picture of the black SUV, listed in "good" condition with very little description, and it was just under a 2hr drive away from me. I had nothing planned this past Saturday, so I scheduled to see it the following morning at 10am. I told myself I'd give up on trying to find something decent in new england if this one didn't pan out.
Long story short -- the owner's wife was the one that posted the AD as she was a bit more tech savvy with craigslist, and so that probably explained the bare-bones description. In person, the husband greeted me and showed me around the truck. Turned out he bought the car for her brand new from the dealer about 16 years ago for $62K, per the window sticker folded in the owner's manual. He also had the classic "3 ring binder" of reciepts, all from the same Lexus dealer, spanning from it's first 1,000 miles service, up until the ignition lock repair earlier in the year at the 220K mile mark, with regular services every 5K to 10k miles inbetween.
The car is on it's 2nd timing belt. The first one was done around the 75K mile mark, and the 2nd at 165K. I should have 30K left until I need to address it. The car also had the startor replaced at the 140k mark.
So now that it's mine, the immediate needs I noticed in very brief time with the car are:
1) Tires. The current ones don't have much tread left on them, but they did wear evenly, so that's encouraging.
2) Front left turn signal housing is loose. Looks like it might have a broken tab somewhere. Haven't had time to look just yet.
3) Hood latch won't lock the hood down. It remains in that 'staged' position and stays about an inch open. Pressing it shut doesn't do anything, and it just bounces back up. I zip tied it for the drive home, just in case.
4) Rear trunk latch is broken.
5) Driver's seat is pretty beat up. I think I'll keep a look out for a replacement seat from a junkyard/craigslist/part out.
That's it, off the top of my head. I've got school tonight and all I'm thinking about it finding time to actually spend with the car to crawl in/under it and adress any other outstanding issues. I didn't really play with the suspension and any other settings, so I've got plenty to evaluate.
Looking forward to the new adventure! Open to tips, suggestions, recommendations! Only had time for one picture, attached!
So after seeing pleny of disappointing, beat up rigs with questionable history, heavily rusted frames (I'm in the North East), I was giving up on the hope that I could find something decent on my very limited student budget (around $5k).
So I saw a very vauge post on Craiglist of a 2000 LX470. It was just one generic picture of the black SUV, listed in "good" condition with very little description, and it was just under a 2hr drive away from me. I had nothing planned this past Saturday, so I scheduled to see it the following morning at 10am. I told myself I'd give up on trying to find something decent in new england if this one didn't pan out.
Long story short -- the owner's wife was the one that posted the AD as she was a bit more tech savvy with craigslist, and so that probably explained the bare-bones description. In person, the husband greeted me and showed me around the truck. Turned out he bought the car for her brand new from the dealer about 16 years ago for $62K, per the window sticker folded in the owner's manual. He also had the classic "3 ring binder" of reciepts, all from the same Lexus dealer, spanning from it's first 1,000 miles service, up until the ignition lock repair earlier in the year at the 220K mile mark, with regular services every 5K to 10k miles inbetween.
The car is on it's 2nd timing belt. The first one was done around the 75K mile mark, and the 2nd at 165K. I should have 30K left until I need to address it. The car also had the startor replaced at the 140k mark.
So now that it's mine, the immediate needs I noticed in very brief time with the car are:
1) Tires. The current ones don't have much tread left on them, but they did wear evenly, so that's encouraging.
2) Front left turn signal housing is loose. Looks like it might have a broken tab somewhere. Haven't had time to look just yet.
3) Hood latch won't lock the hood down. It remains in that 'staged' position and stays about an inch open. Pressing it shut doesn't do anything, and it just bounces back up. I zip tied it for the drive home, just in case.
4) Rear trunk latch is broken.
5) Driver's seat is pretty beat up. I think I'll keep a look out for a replacement seat from a junkyard/craigslist/part out.
That's it, off the top of my head. I've got school tonight and all I'm thinking about it finding time to actually spend with the car to crawl in/under it and adress any other outstanding issues. I didn't really play with the suspension and any other settings, so I've got plenty to evaluate.
Looking forward to the new adventure! Open to tips, suggestions, recommendations! Only had time for one picture, attached!
