Just purchased a '06 LX with 79k miles

[sPaulp]

Hey all, I just placed a deposit on a one owner, mint '06 lX470 with only 79k miles. It's blizzard pearl/beige and was a southern vehicle it's whole life with a great maintenance history. This is the needle in the haystack I have been looking for, and I am super excited. Let the mods begin! I will post pics of her asap.

 

[varythings]

Congratulations, enjoy.

 

[fumetsu]

Cheers mate! Hope you enjoy.

 

[camino70]

Where do you guys find these low mile trucks!

Congrats!

 

[sPaulp]

Ron, I literally have been "refreshing" pages several times a day like Cargurus, Autotrader, and cars.com. I have painfully found that typically within a day, if not hours, Cruisers and LX470's with low mileage and from the south go QUICKLY. Therefore, if you are not quick to contact the dealer and be the first to give a deposit, these rigs are gone. So, after hitting refresh, I saw my new rig pop up and luckily when I called the dealer after 9pm, shockingly the owner of the dealership answered and we agreed on a price within 10 minutes. I am in my mid 40's, but last night I felt 10 years old as I have been patiently waiting for one like this to come along for a while.

 

[bhicks]

congrats on the sweet find. I here you on finding the right one and having to wait. I found my 03LX470 with just under 80k. One owner, dealer maintained, Socal car it's entire life. I jumped on it. Driving it proudly today and will be turning over the 100k mark this weekend. I got a great deal on it but had to wait a long time before I found it.

 

[mgoblue]

Congrats! Curious what you're paying....

 

[aging fleet]

Congrats on finding the right one.

 

[sPaulp]

Thanks everyone. I paid $24,500 which I felt is a fair deal considering the vehicle is a Florida/Louisiana rig and is in pristine condition. I called a dealer in Virginia who just got in a Florida one owner '04 LX with only 46k miles and they are asking $34,995. I laughed and said no thanks. So, finding a low mileage rig for a reasonable price is quite difficult which is why I hopped on this one. It's amazing how well these things hold their resale value. Oh, there is a '06 Landcruiser out in Ca with only 24k miles and they want $29,981 and not a penny less. Just FYI for any west coast potential buyers.

 

[Kabanstva]

Congrats! Awesome find indeed.

 

[cwmoser]

Thanks everyone. I paid $24,500 which I felt is a fair deal considering the vehicle is a Florida/Louisiana rig and is in pristine condition. I called a dealer in Virginia who just got in a Florida one owner '04 LX with only 46k miles and they are asking $34,995. I laughed and said no thanks. So, finding a low mileage rig for a reasonable price is quite difficult which is why I hopped on this one. It's amazing how well these things hold their resale value. Oh, there is a '06 Landcruiser out in Ca with only 24k miles and they want $29,981 and not a penny less. Just FYI for any west coast potential buyers.

Congratulations on your purchase. Last Month after a year of searching I pulled out a "proverbial needle in the haystack" too.
I found a 2002 LX470 with 24,930 miles for $23.5K. My 2000 Isuzu Trooper's starter failed on Friday morning as the wife
and I were delivering Meals on Wheels. When I got home, got on Ebay and there she was - much lower mileage than
I could dream of and in the exact color combination I wanted too - black/beige. I had to have it. She was a Santa Barbara, Cal
car and I had her shipped cross country to North Carolina. My LX still smelled like new and looked it too. That California Girl is now gonna become a Southern Bell You are right, to find a low mileage LX you have to look hard and be ready to pay a premium.

 

[DFXR]

Thanks everyone. I paid $24,500 which I felt is a fair deal considering the vehicle is a Florida/Louisiana rig and is in pristine condition. I called a dealer in Virginia who just got in a Florida one owner '04 LX with only 46k miles and they are asking $34,995. I laughed and said no thanks. So, finding a low mileage rig for a reasonable price is quite difficult which is why I hopped on this one. It's amazing how well these things hold their resale value. Oh, there is a '06 Landcruiser out in Ca with only 24k miles and they want $29,981 and not a penny less. Just FYI for any west coast potential buyers.

I'd pay that for that, and be happy. Congrats.

 

[El Cid]

My .02 cents.

1) Mock spreadsheets with vehicle specifications, but they serve to keep you from making an emotional decision. I am planning on another vehicle purchase and I literally have a column that is simply asking price per mile and I sort it into a range. Over time I add enough vehicles to know whether a price/mile is truly a 'deal.' This lets me get an idea of scarcity
2) Your ability to strike quickly is critical. This is worth rehearsing.
3) There will always be LC's and Lexus SUV's on the market. Probably more Lexus though. Customers in the US prefer new and shiny. As a measure of their generosity, they also tend to dump vehicles around the 55k and 100k mark. God Bless them.
4) There are tricks to finding people in item #3 I mention, certain zip codes. if you can demonstrate your ability to make their lives easier, you can negotiate a good price.

Negotiating for a vehicle is a zero sum game. But you have depreciation on your side. That being said, if your plan is to own for a while, buying an LX or LC is hard to screw up.

 

[snowfan]

I picked up a mint 2004 LX470 with just over 75K in March. West coast car. Such a great truck. Enjoy..... Paid 18K BTW.

 

[cwmoser]

In my area LX470's are pretty hard to find. I even put up a Craigs List "Wanted" ad for a nice LX470.
Only got one response from a person about 100 miles away. Low mileage LX470's are out there
but you have a mob of folks looking for them too. Finding one for "book value" or a steal rather
than its true market value is near impossible. You have to throw away the NADA and KBB values
and figure out a fair premium price. I missed out on several really nice, but no where near
as nice as my 2002, because I offered prices based on those official book valuations.

 

[cwmoser]

BTW, many of us tend to prefer "Southern" cars because they are more likely not to be rust buckets
like we typically see with Northern cars. Mine was a California car and it came to me rust free.
How about the pros/cons of vehicles from Texas and the South West?

 

[sPaulp]

I picked up a mint 2004 LX470 with just over 75K in March. West coast car. Such a great truck. Enjoy..... Paid 18K BTW.

That is a smokin' good deal! As mentioned, a Virginia dealer has an '04 with 46k miles and is asking $34,995....yes, $34,995

 

[sPaulp]

In my area LX470's are pretty hard to find. I even put up a Craigs List "Wanted" ad for a nice LX470.
Only got one response from a person about 100 miles away. Low mileage LX470's are out there
but you have a mob of folks looking for them too. Finding one for "book value" or a steal rather
than its true market value is near impossible. You have to throw away the NADA and KBB values
and figure out a fair premium price. I missed out on several really nice, but no where near
as nice as my 2002, because I offered prices based on those official book valuations.

Well said, and I couldn't agree more. Dealers that have low mileage rigs are getting bombarded with calls immediately upon posting the listing, and even before they put pictures up. I was prepared to pay the "clean retail" value on a rig that I thought was worth it because the harsh reality is few are going for that price because most are significantly more.

 

[Bomar]

Just picked up an 04 with 56k miles. Paid for it but I know I don't have to worry about a truck for another 20 yrs

 

[sPaulp]

Just picked up an 04 with 56k miles. Paid for it but I know I don't have to worry about a truck for another 20 yrs

Congrats! I agree, I plan to keep my '06 until the wheels fall off, and with proper maintenance, history shows we definitely have another 20 years to enjoy them.