Looking to buy first Cruiser. Thoughts? (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Apr 15, 2019
Threads
3
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19
Location
Wilmington nc
Hey everyone, I'm getting close to buying my first cruiser. I have been looking around for a while and I think I found one that seems like a good deal. Just wanted to get some opinions and see what I should be looking out for.

Here is the link: 2004 Lexus LX 470 Sport Utility - Bay Shore Used Auto Sales in Virginia Beach, VA

From what I can see it looks to be in decent shape, I looked up service records and the last owner kept it serviced at the dealership. I have reached out to this dealer and asked for pics underneath to get an idea of how much rust if any is present.

From what I have read it looks like the biggest things to look out for are:
Timing Belt: looks like it was done at 90k but not since so its about due
AHC: what should I be looking for here?
Steering rack: looks like a new one was put in at the dealer around 132k miles
Brake Vacuum pump: I know to listen for weird noises when first starting up but doubt the dealer will be any help until I go see it.
Heater Ts: done at 153k

Its about a 4.5hr drive from me so I dont want to waste a day on something thats not worth it. What else do I need to consider before committing to making the trip? Thanks for any advice I look forward to your thoughts.
 
Same year I have; nice vehicle. Good to know prior service history especially timing belt and the other items mentioned.

What I saw/looked for on mine:
  1. Any rust underneath. See if they can send any pics of underneath (which you are doing)
  2. Water leaks - 3rd brake light can leak and cause water to come down thru the tailgate hatch. Check for damage. Also rear pop out windows can leak.
  3. Make sure it shifts in and out of 4 wheel hi/lo. Drive it for a little bit in 4 lo just to be sure no issues.
  4. See if front, rear and transmission oil service was ever done.
  5. Might be early but check around valve cover gaskets and see if any oil is leaking.
  6. Check sunroof and make sure drains are clear. You can shine a flashlight/phone light in front corners with sunroof open but really won't tell you for sure if they are clogged or not. Rear ones are harder to see. Maybe see if you can run thru wash prior to buying?
I'm sure there is more but wanted to share some things that might get overlooked....

Good luck!
 
Update with undercarriage pics. Also not sure how I missed the rust spot on the back hatch but that's concerning. Most of the rust underneath doesnt look that bad to me other than the first pic which looks like a front skid plate? He also did say the sunroof doesnt open.

These are a few of the pics he sent but most of the other ones show very little rust
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You definitely have the third light water leak on that rig, notice the rust spot just above the tailgate trim above where the release handle is for the top portion? That tells you the inside of the upper tailgate is going to be pretty rusty. The tow hook is rusty as hell too so that is an indication the bottom will have some too, but we won;t know until we see pics. Be careful even then, I requested underbody pics from a dealer that took three days to send and when they did it was covered in fresh POR15 so I passed.
 
Looks like there are a few pics showing some rust. Upper part of rear hatch handle area being one. My guess is the rear axle, control arms, exhaust etc may be covered as well. If the pics come back confirming this, I’d be patient and keep looking for something clean.
 
Update with undercarriage pics. Also not sure how I missed the rust spot on the back hatch but that's concerning. Most of the rust underneath doesnt look that bad to me other than the first pic which looks like a front skid plate? He also did say the sunroof doesnt open.

These are a few of the pics he sent but most of the other ones show very little rust

We were posting at the same time, lol. Anyway the underside is less rusty that I thought it would be and even tho the dealer seems to have sent selective undercarriage pics it seems ok for an east coast car.
 
We were posting at the same time, lol. Anyway the underside is less rusty that I thought it would be and even tho the dealer seems to have sent selective undercarriage pics it seems ok for an east coast car.
Agreed, most of the pics are of the plastic plates.
Update with undercarriage pics. Also not sure how I missed the rust spot on the back hatch but that's concerning. Most of the rust underneath doesnt look that bad to me other than the first pic which looks like a front skid plate? He also did say the sunroof doesnt open.

These are a few of the pics he sent but most of the other ones show very little rust View attachment 1953846View attachment 1953848View attachment 1953849View attachment 1953850View attachment 1953851
Yes, that first one is the front skid. Kinda surprised the tank skid isn’t worse off.
 
He did send more pics than that, but from what I saw those were the worst spots. I looked at the service history again and it did show the previous owner complained about the rear carpet being wet not too long ago. So that seems to solidify the brake light leak.

It still seems appealing if I can get the price down some but maybe I'm getting in to touch trouble with that leak...
 
He did send more pics than that, but from what I saw those were the worst spots. I looked at the service history again and it did show the previous owner complained about the rear carpet being wet not too long ago. So that seems to solidify the brake light leak.

It still seems appealing if I can get the price down some but maybe I'm getting in to touch trouble with that leak...
Be sure it's that area they are talking about and not the second row carpets. Roof racks can leak and cause wet spots too from loose bolts but that's usually if somebody replaced with an aftermarket. If they are willing to send a pic of the area around the latch for the upper tailgate with it lifted in position that should give you a bit of a guide how rusty the gate is, but if we can see that rust spot then it's basically done for. Watch the Hoovie's Garage on youtube where he discusses a much larger rust hole in his LX from the same cause. He thinks it's from another cause but it's not. You can buy tailgates from crashed rigs easily since the LX is more common so just factor that into the price, much easier to replace than repair. Be sure to seal the new one up too and verify it's not rusted out internally when you do find one.
 
Not sure about prices these days, but it looks pretty nice to me. Shifting into 4x4 may be stuck, but mine is too because I never use it. The timing belt change-out is a big deal and pricey at the dealership ($100 or so). The big deal is the engine and tranny. Another big deal is tires. Ned
 
Not sure about prices these days, but it looks pretty nice to me. Shifting into 4x4 may be stuck, but mine is too because I never use it. The timing belt change-out is a big deal and pricey at the dealership ($100 or so). The big deal is the engine and tranny. Another big deal is tires. Ned

Add an extra '0' to that.

The underside rust doesn't look terrible. That front skid plate can go before the rest of the truck. On my last LC, the frame and everything were perfect and the skid plate was bubbling. The rust on the hatch lid would rule me out. I don't imagine it'd be a difficult job to just replace the hatch, though, assuming everything else is worthwhile.

If you're going to be looking in Virginia Beach, give my friend Scott a call. I've bought my 3 100s from him, family owns Maguire And Sons Auto Broker in the same area. The whole family owns/drives at least one of every Cruiser generation and has for years. PM me if you want his info.
 
After thinking about it for a bit I've decided to pass on this one. I'm eyeballing a 2003 LC with 180k now, they're asking 12k for it which seems fair but a little higher than id like to be. Working on getting pics underneath to see what it looks like since it was a northern car. They have two pics posted but you cant see much from them.

Used 2003 Toyota Land Cruiser 4dr 4WD (Natl) for Sale in Chantilly VA 20152 The Automotive Company

If you're going to be looking in Virginia Beach, give my friend Scott a call. I've bought my 3 100s from him, family owns Maguire And Sons Auto Broker in the same area. The whole family owns/drives at least one of every Cruiser generation and has for years. PM me if you want his info.

Thanks for the offer, if this one doesn't pan out I may give him a call, I'm not looking specifically in that area, but its not unreasonably far from me. Not many options here in NC, seems like I have to look in VA or out west to find anything.

Also thanks everyone for the advice! This seems like a great group to be a part of, I'm excited to pick one up and start playing with it.
 
No problem. If you get to that point, just hit me up.

FWIW, I paid $11.1K for my '05 LX with 215k on it, fresh timing and radiator done by the time I took delivery. Stack of dealer records from the same local dealer its whole life. Everything worked properly, just needed detailing. Mileage isn't as relevant with these as maintenance records.
 
Alright so I got some more pictures from the dealer, he said he'd try to send the worst parts. Honestly everything looks ok except the gas tank skid is shot. Looks like I can replace it for about 300 if I'm researching that correctly. What do you guys think would you still go for it or pass? Right now I'm at 11500 but figuring I can use the skid plate to knock it down a little more

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It's really not that bad. The skids are easy to replace and it looks like everything else is good for wire-brushing and coating. I think if the truck is otherwise pretty nice, it wouldn't be a deal killer.

If there were an identical truck next to it with no rust and maybe needing a thorough detail (like mine was), I'd probably favor that. The rust on the hatch would still concern me.
 
If there were an identical truck next to it with no rust and maybe needing a thorough detail (like mine was), I'd probably favor that. The rust on the hatch would still concern me.


Yeah I already gave up on the blue LX, I posted a link to this one a few posts ago, the body looks very clean overall and the interior is in great shape. And no signs of rust on the hatch, Im working on getting a few hundred more off from the dealer, but it looks like im going to go for it. Thanks again for everyones advice!
 
So a lot has happened in the past week, ended up getting hit basically head on and totaling my Jeep. But luckily I had already put a deposit down on the cruiser. Drove and picked it up yesterday, I have a few kinks to work out but pretty much what I expected for a vehicle this old. I do have a few questions after spending a little time with the car.

1. Is there supposed to be a light on the dash showing the headlights/ fog lights are on? The only thing I have seen is for the high beams.
2. does anyone know if these are factory wheels? the center caps that are with the car do not fit and I'm trying to find out what caps i need to get but am
3. this morning when I drove it to work I started to notice a tick and I'm also smelling fuel both while running and while the car is off. I know the tick can come from the exhaust manifolds which were supposed to have been fixed by the dealer and were not ticking when i test drove it. Is there anything else that could cause this and/or the fuel smell?

Ill get some better pics of the car when I can, but for now here are some of my jeep and the wheels that are on the cruiser now.

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Those are factory wheels. The same hubcaps that fit those wheels also fit at least 1-2 other original 100 series wheels. Should be easy to find.

Ticking like you said could be the manifolds. They're a bitch to replace. The fuel smell could be from the exhaust leak or from the fuel canister under your hood, driver's side by the firewall. Relatively well documented issue, there should be a bunch of threads on it in the forum.

And yeah, there's a low beam indicator light in the cluster.

Congrats on the new truck. Sorry to see your TJ got killed but luckily (it seems like) you're ok.
 

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