- Year
- 2004
- Vehicle Model
- GX470
Local Lexus dealership got a trade in - an '04 GX470 with 114K miles, one owner, rather clean carfax (oil change every 3-5K like clockwork). The interior is spotless. I'm in Queens, NY. The car was bought and driven in Long Island, one of the absolute worst places for salt lingering on roads. They put down salt when there's even the slightest possibility of snow and they just let the roads soak it up and they never clean it. Needless to say, the car has some pretty visible rusting on the bottom. The hubcaps also look like they've been preserved in salt, haha. See pics below.
I had a mechanic come to inspect the vehicle with me. The dealership was in a frenzy and apparently someone else who had test driven the car took the sets of keys with him, so we couldn't get inside the vehicle, look under the hood, drive it, etc. We settled for a pretty in depth surface inspection. The rust was deemed surface rust, scrapable ( I don't know what this entails and it frightens me from buying the car). Also, the rear differential was leaking outwards from that center bolt in a radial pattern. Probably needs that replaced. I inspected the car as best I could for highway mileage evidence. The fact that it came from Long Island means its made some easier trips than if it were to come from Brooklyn or something, but it's not genuine highway easy on the engine miles. It's somewhere in between.
They wanted just over $13K at first, before taxes and fees, but I did my best at negotiating and was able to get the price to $11,500. After taxes and registration etc. it comes out to $12,900. Is this a good price? Or am I going to have to get the frame scraped of its rust, replace the rear diff, and it's going to cost me another $2K and I should stay way from it? I'm a first time car buyer.
I've driven a family car in NY for 7 years now. NYC traffic, roads and weather are a trifecta for absolutely beating up vehicles. I do still need something that will last me a long time with proper care.
I had a mechanic come to inspect the vehicle with me. The dealership was in a frenzy and apparently someone else who had test driven the car took the sets of keys with him, so we couldn't get inside the vehicle, look under the hood, drive it, etc. We settled for a pretty in depth surface inspection. The rust was deemed surface rust, scrapable ( I don't know what this entails and it frightens me from buying the car). Also, the rear differential was leaking outwards from that center bolt in a radial pattern. Probably needs that replaced. I inspected the car as best I could for highway mileage evidence. The fact that it came from Long Island means its made some easier trips than if it were to come from Brooklyn or something, but it's not genuine highway easy on the engine miles. It's somewhere in between.
They wanted just over $13K at first, before taxes and fees, but I did my best at negotiating and was able to get the price to $11,500. After taxes and registration etc. it comes out to $12,900. Is this a good price? Or am I going to have to get the frame scraped of its rust, replace the rear diff, and it's going to cost me another $2K and I should stay way from it? I'm a first time car buyer.
I've driven a family car in NY for 7 years now. NYC traffic, roads and weather are a trifecta for absolutely beating up vehicles. I do still need something that will last me a long time with proper care.
