i just returned from Dallas looking at a 97 lx450. The odometer shows 83005, but the seat looks a little worn for that mileage. Also the running board's paint has been rubbed off from the driver getting in and out of the vehicle. other than that it runs great and just needs a good cleaning, all of the ViN's match on all body parts and the limited car fax shows clean. How does the leather wear on these things? HAs anyone else experienced the paint wearing off of the running boards? How hard to set the Odometer back?
The leather seats always look a bit off - small cracks, dirt, etc. More than likely the PO didn't do much with them. They do look better with a good cleaning and conditioning, but still not perfect. If you plan to keep the truck, you can get them recovered ($500-$1000+K).
My paint is also coming off parts of the running boards - more from offroading. If you plan to offroad, buy sliders, If not, I'm sure you can get them repainted for a reasonable price.
My cruiser had 136k when we bought it, and the seats looked like they had 236k on them. I think the leather in land cruisers doesn't age very well. Also my door sills(assuming this is what you meant since the running boards are plastic) are a little raw in the paint department, but I think that's normal as well. I don't have any rust anywhere else on my cruiser(at least to my knowledge) so I think you're ok.
Edit: forgot that the side of the running board is metal, mine aren't rusted there. Not that it matters anyway, they're laying in the trash heap.
I bought my LX450 in Dallas. One great thing about Dallas trucks is no rust. The same thing that makes them great used trucks is hard on leather, heat. Mine was "dyed" before I picked it up. Just the front seat and looked to match. I was told this is common. It make the leather a little stiffer. You should be able to run a carfax report and get an idea of the odometer readings over the years. My LX450 had 98,000 on it. Running boards are easy to remove/replace. You could swap it out for sliders or get a set from someone else swapping out for sliders. Or you could just have them repainted. Take them off and have a paint shop repaint them for you if it bothers you.
These are great vehicles and you have come to the right spot for advice. The real criteria can be found in the newbie guide on www.sleeoffroad.com
You can't judge mileage by looking at the running boards and the seats. Those are entry/exit dependent. If the truck was owned by a real estate agent that was in and out of the vehicle 20 times a day and only drove 50 miles a day then the seats and boards will show more wear than the guy that commutes 50 miles each way.
Sounds normal if the person was in and out of the truck a bunch. I bought my LX450 with 47k on it and by 60k my running boards were cooked from rust. Truck was from IL and I'm in MN. It took a while, but I got a brand new OEM set off Ebay for $100.
My LX450 had 150,000 km (94,000 miles) and the front and 2nd row seats were in bad shape. The left hip bolster on the drivers seat was toast (padding gone and leather badly worn). The rest of the seats had cracks everywhere.
In my case it was mainly from the cold weather and lack of attention. I also think the PO was a little portly and the drivers seat suffered the most. Maybe they don't say that everything is bigger in Texas for nothing. The door sils were well worn too.
I used the bad condition of the leather to a major advantage. Kept telling the dealer how dissapointed I was in the condition of the leather for a "luxury" vehicle. It helped me justify the low ball offer I gave him. Dealers expect Lexus owners to be very superficial. Try saying "what... no cup holders!?!" That worked too.
Don't know much about dyeing process on Japanese cars but from my own experience/visualizations, Tan leather goes fastest, then dark Blue; Burgundy wears better; and longest lasting ones have always been Black and (dark) Grey.
Re-dyeing correctly are costly and time consuming so I doubt any dealer/re-salers would do it. What they do in my experience is repainting the surface (found in most part stores); which makes the seats look great, but crack and torn apart much earlier (paint seals off leather breathing pores...) So do it right or never do it.
Regarding the leather seats, the other day i went to Lexus dealer and check out this 2 bottle of cleaner and conditioner by lexus ->well i know its not originally from lexus, but since they they have Lexus label (by lexus recommend it) i was going to buy it but still not sure... about it.. yeah by the way those bottle cost $ 20 something for each. So what do you think guys? I just need to restore all the wet & rich looks.
Got them as complementary for CPO warranty work; pretty good IMHO - just make sure to NEVER use the cleaner ALONE, i.e., always apply conditioner after cleaning.
Originally posted by EnDleSS
Regarding the leather seats, the other day i went to Lexus dealer and check out this 2 bottle of cleaner and conditioner by lexus ->well i know its not originally from lexus, but since they they have Lexus label (by lexus recommend it) i was going to buy it but still not sure... about it.. yeah by the way those bottle cost $ 20 something for each. So what do you think guys? I just need to restore all the wet & rich looks.
Hey EnDleSS, go get that two bottles from Lexus, that's what I have and I bought them for 18 bucks. They work okay and keep my leather seats glossy and shiny.
Yea sure..hhahha... i probably just watching you guys in action damn rims itself cost about $6500.00 for 4and plus rubber $475.00 each...
