Purchasing used GX460 as a second car (1 Viewer)

[Banandalorian]

Did you have any issues with fitting the 265/70/17 in the spare tire location?

And yeah, my biggest thing with mods for now is I simply don't have enough experience to know where I want this vehicle to evolve, so I'd rather explore its limitations stock, and learn more about what I want out of it before diving deeper.

If you have the OEM class IV 6500lb hitch receiver, the spare tub gets pretty tight and you end up with right about 31.9 inches of clearance for the spare. I could not fit my 265/70/17 Pirellis in the spare location with the big hitch receiver, but I know people have fit other 265/70/17s in there. There are quite a few threads in this forum about spare tire size and all the different options between squeezing it into the factory tub vs a swingout or door mount.

If you use a smaller hitch receiver or no hitch, a 265/70/17 should fit with little to no drama. I would still suggest the 265/70/17 size vs a 265/65/17 as I think it just looks right on a stock suspension GX. You also get the added bonus of a little extra clearance and likely a more accurate speedometer.

 

[SDTrojan]

If you have the OEM class IV 6500lb hitch receiver, the spare tub gets pretty tight and you end up with right about 31.9 inches of clearance for the spare. I could not fit my 265/70/17 Pirellis in the spare location with the big hitch receiver, but I know people have fit other 265/70/17s in there. There are quite a few threads in this forum about spare tire size and all the different options between squeezing it into the factory tub vs a swingout or door mount.

If you use a smaller hitch receiver or no hitch, a 265/70/17 should fit with little to no drama. I would still suggest the 265/70/17 size vs a 265/65/17 as I think it just looks right on a stock suspension GX. You also get the added bonus of a little extra clearance and likely a more accurate speedometer.

Thank you. I don't intend to tow anything anytime soon - is the factory hitch receiver something I can remove easily?

 

[r2m]

A huge, heartfelt thank you to all of you for sharing your experiences and advice.
I'm blown away by how much I have learned from this thread and am really thankful to have found this community.

Unfortunately, the car I was looking at in Arizona sold.
And I canceled my deposit and appointment to see the Onyx Black 2015' with 144k miles.
Thanks to all of you, I now have a much better idea of what I want.
I'll keep looking for a good deal on a white GX with good maintenance history.


Thanks for the heads up about the black Friday sales! I'll be sure to look for deals. Just need to decide on black vs. grey vs. bronze. I think they all look really good.

The spare tire fit is one thing that I've been digging into a lot lately and worrying about. I really don't want to deal with either making the spare fit in the cargo area (since I tend to be a gear whore and pack way too much for camping trips, so I'll already be maxing out the cargo space), or installing a rear/hitch mounted spare to start. I'd ideally love to go with the above mentioned TRD rims and 265/70/17 tires (maybe the BFG ones), but I've seen lots of differing opinions on whether they fit or not, likely coming down to manufacturing tolerances from car to car. From searching this forum, it seems like 265/65/17 matches the original tire diameter, just gives 0.5" more sidewall. Not sure what the best way would be to check if the spare fits or not other than buying the larger tire size and seeing if it fits.

I definitely don't want to be without a spare, since the whole point of me getting this car is to go to more remote and unpopulated places where a tire shop or any sort of help may be far away.

Really thankful for your tips about your Xterra ownership experience. Bone stock, it seemed to me like the Pro-4X trim gave me the best off-road capability for the fewest dollars. There's just not many around these days, so it's difficult to even test drive one. Your comments about the interior space kind of seal the deal for me, since like I mentioned I tend to be a heavy packer and the GX already didn't seem to be super roomy in the cargo area.

Good notes about the temperature. I'm definitely sold on white for this rig.

Did you have any issues with fitting the 265/70/17 in the spare tire location?

And yeah, my biggest thing with mods for now is I simply don't have enough experience to know where I want this vehicle to evolve, so I'd rather explore its limitations stock, and learn more about what I want out of it before diving deeper.

Haha, I absolutely loved my black BMW, just because I think it's such an elegant color and I think the GX looks absolutely amazing in it. But I think given that most of my trips will be overwhelmingly in the desert, a lighter color seems like the way to go.

Yep, like I mentioned above, I still don't know well what I want/need simply because I don't have any experience driving an off-road capable vehicle. For years now, any time I went on more far flung expeditions, I went with my buddy in his Tacoma, which was a fantastic rig. But I just prefer SUVs to trucks personally, so I think I'll just keep the rig stock for a while and do more trips and figure out what I'm lacking.

Not scared about the pinstripes either, but that's why I'd rather try to get a cheaper used GX, since I just know it will hurt the first few times I scratch it.

Black just looks so good!

Definitely plan to ditch the steps down the road. A bit scared of the bumper chop since I'm not confident in my ability to not screw it up royally and make it look like crap haha. But would love to do that down the line.

Thanks for the tips! Will be less averse to Ecru based on that.
I hadn't read about the KDSS lean anywhere, will look into it.
Funny enough, while pulling up the Lexus owner's website maintenance history for one of the cars I was looking at, the history mentioned multiple visits to the dealer for a lean in the car. I thought it was odd, but I'm pretty sure it's what you're referring to.

Definitely, would likely either get the Wildpeak or the BFG KO2.

Regarding wheeling with your buddy in his Taco, you will love the ride and all the other creature comforts SOOOO much more in your GX. My wife and I drove from our home in San Clemente, CA to Maine a couple years ago and we did 1,000 mile days., very comfortable. Aside from being a little stiff getting out of the car from sitting so long, but again, we're not in our 20's (or 30's/40's/50's/... I'll stop there...
Both, for road trips and once you get off the tarmac.

 

[Banandalorian]

Thank you. I don't intend to tow anything anytime soon - is the factory hitch receiver something I can remove easily?

Yea it is a bolt on piece so its just a matter of undoing the bolts and disconnecting the wiring harness. It's like 70lbs and you have to work around the muffler on the passenger side to access the bolts but it's definitely do-able solo and even easier with a buddy.

 

[SDTrojan]

Regarding wheeling with your buddy in his Taco, you will love the ride and all the other creature comforts SOOOO much more in your GX. My wife and I drove from our home in San Clemente, CA to Maine a couple years ago and we did 1,000 mile days., very comfortable. Aside from being a little stiff getting out of the car from sitting so long, but again, we're not in our 20's (or 30's/40's/50's/... I'll stop there...
Both, for road trips and once you get off the tarmac.

That makes me really excited for what's to come! I got to drive both my friend's old 2010 Tacoma and a '23 third gen that he replaced it with. Incredibly capable vehicles, but coming from my car, the difference in technology and comfort and experience was quite stark. The GX I test drove definitely felt like a huge difference all around.

Yea it is a bolt on piece so its just a matter of undoing the bolts and disconnecting the wiring harness. It's like 70lbs and you have to work around the muffler on the passenger side to access the bolts but it's definitely do-able solo and even easier with a buddy.

That's awesome!! Thank you.

 

[SDTrojan]

Quick update.

Still looking for the right car.
Found a 2015 with only 67k miles for sale for 28k, which seems like a fairly solid deal.
Good maintenance history every 5k miles up to 45k on the Lexus owners' portal, but then no maintenance logged until 64k miles when the car failed an emissions inspection.

What raised my eyebrow is the flexplate replacement at 64k miles and the repeated emissions test failures.

The dealership selling the car said their inspection only led to a replacement of the front left outer tie rod and that otherwise the car was in great shape mechanically.

They'd let me take the car for a pre purchase inspection, but just wondering if the two failed emissions tests and flexplate replacements are red flags.

Thanks.

 

[r2m]

Quick update.

Still looking for the right car.
Found a 2015 with only 67k miles for sale for 28k, which seems like a fairly solid deal.
Good maintenance history every 5k miles up to 45k on the Lexus owners' portal, but then no maintenance logged until 64k miles when the car failed an emissions inspection.

What raised my eyebrow is the flexplate replacement at 64k miles and the repeated emissions test failures.

The dealership selling the car said their inspection only led to a replacement of the front left outer tie rod and that otherwise the car was in great shape mechanically.

They'd let me take the car for a pre purchase inspection, but just wondering if the two failed emissions tests and flexplate replacements are red flags.

Thanks.

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At least you live in and looking in the right part of the country for a clean, rust free GX!
One less thing to have to worry about when shopping.