Hi all. Yup, another new member of the fan club!
After a couple of months of nationwide shopping and absorbing the vast quantity of info herein and elsewhere I managed to find a damn nice '03 LC at a price I could stomach. Even though it was slightly higher than what I'd originally intended to spend it seemed like the '03 was worth upping the ante for just a bit. I'm not much of a wrench so wanted something that wouldn't require much mechanical attention. I got the color I wanted too.
Charcoal with grey interior (black dash which I like a lot) 122k miles. Never off roaded, minimal towing. It was originally from Utah then to Idaho for most of its life where I picked it up and drove it home to Seattle yesterday. Nice 500 mile shakedown cruise without incident gave me a chance to get to know it a little bit.
Clean CARFAX (BTW if anyone needs a VIN number CARFAXED I have four left that I have no need for. Just let me know), very well cared for with a good but not entirely complete set of service records. Most of what's missing is from it's Utah days - only 40k or so there, though the CARFAX indicates it was probably dealer serviced. 90k service done at 110k included timing belt, water pump, all fluids.
Less than a year on OME 2" lift with new shocks and springs, no diff drop. New axles and boots shortly thereafter. You can sure see that the angle on those boots is pretty severe when you look at it, but the former Toyota dealer now indy guys that did the pre-purchase inspection felt it wasn't anything to worry about. Nearly new Michelin 275/65/18's. New windshield and tinted front side windows.
The shop said that most of the time they find at least some repairs to quote but this car had none. Said I'd found a good one but they did grease the driveline which cured a minor clunk when accelerating from a coast.
A few minor annoyances:
brush bar shakes a little when the car's moving
a little bit of occasional clunking inside the door when using the driver's window
the driver's seat and wheel really don't adjust to an optimal position for me as I'm tall with long femurs which aren't finding the support I'd prefer, but I was pretty comfy for 8 hours on the road. I knew this would be the case already and have seen some of the mods which I might consider doing.
front cup holder lid won't stay down
annoying squeaky sound from the driver's side rear door/window under some conditions (silicone lube on the seals perhaps?)
My wish list:
another set of wheels and tires (thinking maybe 16" steelies (?) and 285 75's with a more aggressive tread) for the winter since this car will be primarily a ski transport for myself and sons and we ski a lot.
override the 'I agree' feature. I'm sure I read there was a fix to that somewhere but now I can't find it.
iphone integration
upgrade headlight bulbs or add lights
weathertechs and a wheelskin
install the packasport box from the retiring suburban
K&N air filter
Observations:
override DTR's
I think my nav unit will take address input when the car is moving though I know it's not supposed to. Hmmm.
Though I have little to compare it to I was pretty surprised by how sporty the cornering is with the OME kit, even with the additional height. The ride is pretty firm. I do notice the front end being a little squirelly-er than I expected. It's not terrible but seems to require consistent if very minor input to the wheel especially at freeway speeds. No wandering, wheel seems straight so am presuming alignment is right. Maybe a castor/camber/toe issue?
That nav/climate/audio system thing pretty much blows and is archaic, but not too many solutions appear to be available.
Awesome cruise control! I hardly used my foot at all on the freeway yesterday on the shakedown.
That's all I can think of for now other than to say thanks to all you folks who have made it possible for a knucklehead like me to go into this with a little bit of knowledge! I'm sure I'll have plenty more at some point but right now I'm going to enjoy
Here she is (unnamed as of yet) having just arrived home from Idaho. A bit bug-splattered but otherwise great.
After a couple of months of nationwide shopping and absorbing the vast quantity of info herein and elsewhere I managed to find a damn nice '03 LC at a price I could stomach. Even though it was slightly higher than what I'd originally intended to spend it seemed like the '03 was worth upping the ante for just a bit. I'm not much of a wrench so wanted something that wouldn't require much mechanical attention. I got the color I wanted too.
Charcoal with grey interior (black dash which I like a lot) 122k miles. Never off roaded, minimal towing. It was originally from Utah then to Idaho for most of its life where I picked it up and drove it home to Seattle yesterday. Nice 500 mile shakedown cruise without incident gave me a chance to get to know it a little bit.
Clean CARFAX (BTW if anyone needs a VIN number CARFAXED I have four left that I have no need for. Just let me know), very well cared for with a good but not entirely complete set of service records. Most of what's missing is from it's Utah days - only 40k or so there, though the CARFAX indicates it was probably dealer serviced. 90k service done at 110k included timing belt, water pump, all fluids.
Less than a year on OME 2" lift with new shocks and springs, no diff drop. New axles and boots shortly thereafter. You can sure see that the angle on those boots is pretty severe when you look at it, but the former Toyota dealer now indy guys that did the pre-purchase inspection felt it wasn't anything to worry about. Nearly new Michelin 275/65/18's. New windshield and tinted front side windows.
The shop said that most of the time they find at least some repairs to quote but this car had none. Said I'd found a good one but they did grease the driveline which cured a minor clunk when accelerating from a coast.
A few minor annoyances:
brush bar shakes a little when the car's moving
a little bit of occasional clunking inside the door when using the driver's window
the driver's seat and wheel really don't adjust to an optimal position for me as I'm tall with long femurs which aren't finding the support I'd prefer, but I was pretty comfy for 8 hours on the road. I knew this would be the case already and have seen some of the mods which I might consider doing.
front cup holder lid won't stay down
annoying squeaky sound from the driver's side rear door/window under some conditions (silicone lube on the seals perhaps?)
My wish list:
another set of wheels and tires (thinking maybe 16" steelies (?) and 285 75's with a more aggressive tread) for the winter since this car will be primarily a ski transport for myself and sons and we ski a lot.
override the 'I agree' feature. I'm sure I read there was a fix to that somewhere but now I can't find it.
iphone integration
upgrade headlight bulbs or add lights
weathertechs and a wheelskin
install the packasport box from the retiring suburban
K&N air filter
Observations:
override DTR's
I think my nav unit will take address input when the car is moving though I know it's not supposed to. Hmmm.
Though I have little to compare it to I was pretty surprised by how sporty the cornering is with the OME kit, even with the additional height. The ride is pretty firm. I do notice the front end being a little squirelly-er than I expected. It's not terrible but seems to require consistent if very minor input to the wheel especially at freeway speeds. No wandering, wheel seems straight so am presuming alignment is right. Maybe a castor/camber/toe issue?
That nav/climate/audio system thing pretty much blows and is archaic, but not too many solutions appear to be available.
Awesome cruise control! I hardly used my foot at all on the freeway yesterday on the shakedown.
That's all I can think of for now other than to say thanks to all you folks who have made it possible for a knucklehead like me to go into this with a little bit of knowledge! I'm sure I'll have plenty more at some point but right now I'm going to enjoy
Here she is (unnamed as of yet) having just arrived home from Idaho. A bit bug-splattered but otherwise great.
