Opinions on purchasing this LX470?

[patbastard]

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I am seriously considering this one, after the first one I bought lost the transmission on the way home. Some background: I looked at this on Saturday, when the price was 9400. I took it for a drive, and thanks to this forum, halfway knew what to look for while on the test drive. It has a leaky front passenger shock, an exhaust leak somewhere on the driver’s side of the system, the center diff lock doesn’t engage, and the tinting needs some fixing on the drivers window. I told them no thank you.

In my vehicle search I’m also open to an FJ Cruiser, which this dealer also has. Today while looking to see if they had the price for it, I see an updated price for the LX470, $6010. My question to you all, is it worth my time to go back and make a deal, or should I look around more? Thank you for the help.

 

[nukegoat]

Depends on your desires and budget.

For me, I'd look for a newer one with the 5 speed

 

[trdcorolla]

First off, don't buy rust. Service history doesn't show a timing belt change. It looks like it'll need a radiator too. The leaky front shock might fix itself if the AHC pressure is high and you adjust it to go back to factory spec. If the exhaust manifold ticks and goes away, I would just leave it, if not, labor is $$$ for the driver side. The center diff could be a $20 switch. It's just like my LX but with a spoiler. The grey interior is kinda rare but PITA to find parts for (sometimes I wish I had a tan interior with all the of the tan part out's here on mud). No NAV so you can put in any modern radio you want. I came from a 4.7L 5 Speed 4Runner (which was a rocket compared to my 100), the 4 speed is def slower, it feels like the AC is on all the time, haha.

 

[patbastard]

First off, don't buy rust. Service history doesn't show a timing belt change. It looks like it'll need a radiator too. The leaky front shock might fix itself if the AHC pressure is high and you adjust it to go back to factory spec. If the exhaust manifold ticks and goes away, I would just leave it, if not, labor is $$$ for the driver side. The center diff could be a $20 switch. It's just like my LX but with a spoiler. The grey interior is kinda rare but PITA to find parts for (sometimes I wish I had a tan interior with all the of the tan part out's here on mud). No NAV so you can put in any modern radio you want. I came from a 4.7L 5 Speed 4Runner (which was a rocket compared to my 100), the 4 speed is def slower, it feels like the AC is on all the time, haha.

The lack of a NAV is a huge plus in my opinion. The exhaust leak seems to be coming from the manifold, does the putt putt noise when you push on the gas. The undercarriage is not rusty, looks pretty good. Radiator is a common issue? The dealer isn’t that far away and I can go look at it and see if it has a newer radiator. I also noticed it hasn’t had a timing belt in the service history, with the significantly lower price I can afford to either buy the parts and do it myself when time allows, or have the toyota dealer do it.

 

[TXLX100]

Hard to tell. If it runs well, doesn't smell inside, and not rusty is prob ok deal. Trade in on something like that is prob around $4-5k, so the dealer has probably sat on it too long and needs to move it with sale price or auction it.

 

[patbastard]

Hard to tell. If it runs well, doesn't smell inside, and not rusty is prob ok deal. Trade in on something like that is prob around $4-5k, so the dealer has probably sat on it too long and needs to move it with sale price or auction it.

That’s my thought too. They thought it was in good shape, then they realized it had problems. It ran well, drove straight and shifted like it’s supposed to. Had the problems I mentioned above, but no obvious leaks underneath. It did smell good and the interior is in good shape. More I talk about it more I’m leaning towards buying it.