help! want to purchase 200

[Formulaonehd]

HI all

Proud 80s owner and currently looking at a 200 here where i live. I need to make a decision quick as the price is too good to be true.
I wont go into the detail of why its so cheap but needless to say for some people here money isnt an issue due to big salaries and government hand outs.

OK so the car details are: $20,000
2007 VX Sahara V8 petrol/gasoline auto
195000kms/122000miles
aftermarket suspension different mm height for from and back
Needs new tyres
car is in reasonable condition although TLC needed (mostly cleaning inside and out) superficial/fine surface rust on some of the chassis areas but easily treatable, but straight will clean up a million bucks and engine is purring.
few squeaks in suspension when going over curbs.

OK for the main thing the dash has the "check engine light", "4L" and 'Check VCS" on and flashing constantly. Owner reckons its a computer or sensor fault and goes away when disconnecting battery but comes back after a while.

Car drives pretty well although a gentle sway , i noticed the rear left tire was pretty low so im pretty sure that was the reason.
It does hesitate for a second to change up gears under heavier acceleration then it kicks in but doesnt do this on gentle acceleration. Owner reckons it needs trans fluid it was dark i was rushed and didnt have time to check the dip stick.

Can anyone help with similar issue or for the cheap 20K buy i would be stupid not to get it. My gut says do it the issue is electronic and easy fix and everything else is superficial but i have no exp with the 200s

Cheers

 

[Sandroad]

Hmm. Here are some classic red flags I read in your post

‘Price is too good to be true.”
‘I need to make a quick decision”
‘Aftermarket suspension different height front to back.”
‘....although TLC needed.....”
‘.....check engine light, 4L and Check VCS on and flashing constantly.”
“Owner reckons it’s a computer or sensor fault.....”
‘....although a gentle sway.....”
‘It does hesitate for a second to change gears......”
‘Owner reckons it needs trans fluid.”
‘I was rushed and didn’t have time to check the dipstick.”
‘I would be stupid not to get it.”

With all that going on, I would suggest some due diligence and taking a more careful second look to make sure you’re not buying a vehicle with serious (and expensive) electrical or transmission problems. Can you look up or find out more about service history? Some of your post indicates the truck may not have had very good care.

 

[Formulaonehd]

Thanks for the input. Definitely wasnt looked after but its not beyond recovery from what i can see, meaning i dont think any serious damage was done.
Looks like the check VSC light is a factory fault and usually a bad knock sensor wire (read a million threads on this)
the symptoms are definitely low trans fluid for the shifting what i worry is, has there been any damage to the trans as no idea how long its been low for

 

[LALC]

Seems like an appropriate price actually given everything you said about it, not cheap at all.

 

[txtortoise]

$20k US or Aussie?

 

[linuxgod]

HI all

Proud 80s owner and currently looking at a 200 here where i live. I need to make a decision quick as the price is too good to be true.
I wont go into the detail of why its so cheap but needless to say for some people here money isnt an issue due to big salaries and government hand outs.

OK so the car details are: $20,000
2007 VX Sahara V8 petrol/gasoline auto
195000kms/122000miles
aftermarket suspension different mm height for from and back
Needs new tyres
car is in reasonable condition although TLC needed (mostly cleaning inside and out) superficial/fine surface rust on some of the chassis areas but easily treatable, but straight will clean up a million bucks and engine is purring.
few squeaks in suspension when going over curbs.

OK for the main thing the dash has the "check engine light", "4L" and 'Check VCS" on and flashing constantly. Owner reckons its a computer or sensor fault and goes away when disconnecting battery but comes back after a while.

Car drives pretty well although a gentle sway , i noticed the rear left tire was pretty low so im pretty sure that was the reason.
It does hesitate for a second to change up gears under heavier acceleration then it kicks in but doesnt do this on gentle acceleration. Owner reckons it needs trans fluid it was dark i was rushed and didnt have time to check the dip stick.

Can anyone help with similar issue or for the cheap 20K buy i would be stupid not to get it. My gut says do it the issue is electronic and easy fix and everything else is superficial but i have no exp with the 200s

Cheers

Nothing electronic on the 200 is cheap or easy to fix. You need to hook up a tester to get the actual diagnostic code for those flashing lights. The reason it goes away when disconnecting the battery is that the ECU resets and you need to drive it for a while before the computer re-confirms the error state. If it keeps coming back, there's a problem. Could be a $400 sensor, could be a $1k emissions issue, could be a $3k transfer case problem.

The suspension shouldn't squeak or rattle, even if stock at 122k miles. Some squeaking might be normal if the rubber bushings were replaced with polyurethane.

The 200 does not "sway" under normal driving. Especially with an aftermarket suspension it should be firmly planted. A low tire might cause that but it would need to be very low.

There's no transmission dipstick as the tranny is a sealed unit. If it's just a flush then it's a few hundred dollars (in the US) to swap all ~13 quarts. Either way you should flush it, the transfer case, and both diffs.

 

[Formulaonehd]

Thanks for input, have been stewing over this alot. Aussie dollars

Will the check VSC light come on if trans fluid is low?

Suspension has a bit of rust on it and they need replacing for sure, Im under no illusion that a few thousand will need to be spent on it, my concern is these 200s are so electronic that as some have said up there ^ it could be $200 it could be $4000.....

 

[TonyP]

Will the check VSC light come on if trans fluid is low?

From experience: Nope.

 

[Formulaonehd]

If its a sealed unit the trans fluid should not be an issue right? tells me there is a bigger issue at hand so understanding why the vehicle has delays between changing gears + check VSC light sounds electronic, who knows how much that will cost....

 

[Blasst]

I wouldn't be in a big rush on that one. Yeah 20K AUS is cheap. Probably a reason. 2008 models I have driven with 125,000 were in great shape. Maybe you can borrow, beg or buy a tester. Might save your butt. $40- 50 in USD. Any civilization and mechanics around there?
I would want to pinpoint the issues or spend more for dependability. Especially there...)

 

[Formulaonehd]

I wouldn't be in a big rush on that one. Yeah 20K AUS is cheap. Probably a reason. 2008 models I have driven with 125,000 were in great shape. Maybe you can borrow, beg or buy a tester. Might save your butt. $40- 50 in USD. Any civilization and mechanics around there?
I would want to pinpoint the issues or spend more for dependability. Especially there...)

yeh i think you summed up my current state of mind, i have said no to seller (some regret) they are worth about 40K with that many kms and top of the range model too.

toyota here are useless, overseas mechanics mostly who are straight out of apprenticeships and no clue on toyota specialisation

 

[Blasst]

Yeah people can fall in that trap here too.....especially if they are not careful and just trying to get things done cheap.
It's nice when there is a local gang of cruiser heads or a local club and get referrals about mechanics.

hah.....Looks like that ain't happening there. Just noticed you have a population of about 48,000 in an area of 200,000 miles.
Definitely need a dependable vehicle.....you're always on expedition. ))

 

[linuxgod]

yeh i think you summed up my current state of mind, i have said no to seller (some regret) they are worth about 40K with that many kms and top of the range model too.

toyota here are useless, overseas mechanics mostly who are straight out of apprenticeships and no clue on toyota specialisation

In my experience whenever I've been pressured to make a deal in hindsight if I proceeded it was a bad deal. My initial thought with suspension squeaks and rattles, dash warning lights, and rough shifting makes me think this truck has been through water and the shifting, 4L, etc lights are signs of water infiltration in the drivetrain. If that's the case and it's been run like that for a while you could easily spend another $20k AUS in repairs, possibly more.