So what do you guys think?

[Carpenter951]

First off, new guy here but not new to wrenching and cars. Used to be in the Porsche club before selling them off and did all my own work (yes timing belts etc) and continue to work on my own stuff.

Brings me to the question. As a contractor, I work on lots of different stuff and my favorite is old houses, like 100+yr old. I'm working on a house built prior to 1850 doing a significant amount of foundation work and repairing of rotten timber in the frame. Bill is climbing up there as I find and correct more stuff. Owner is a widow whose husband had a 98 LX470 that has been sitting since 2015. He and I were discussing doing some work on it but I've been too busy with contracting to do any side wrenching so that went nowhere. He passed and now his widow and I are discussing using the LX470 as partial payment on the bill for the foundation work.

Stats-
1998 LX470
Black- some front bumper scuffs, body straight, paint decent, no visible rust, pass side tail lens broken
Interior- lt gray leather, looks like a dog bed on the front seats, seriously cracked and torn, both will have to be recovered, stained carpet, a couple knobs and stuff have to be replaced on the console. (yeah, he had a big dog) but doesn't stink inside like some doggie cars do.
Mechanical- 4 almost new tires, timing belt change unknown, was running when he parked it and started driving his Mercedes for a daily. He told me everything worked when we last discussed it. Mileage- about 250k. Has class III receiver installed.

I'm thinking at this moment, it'll need a battery, lots of TLC, seat covers, lots of cleanup, timing belt/waterpump, heater hose Ts, complete fluid change.

Question is- what's a decent amount for this vehicle? No cash will be changing hands, I'm taking it off the bill for foundation work and I could really use a second vehicle with towing and 4wd. I have a figure in mind knowing what it will take to bring this back up to reasonable condition visually and correcting maintenance issues.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

3k off the bill and you'll have room for anything unseen.

 

[Carpenter951]

From the amount of work that has to be done to this vehicle, battery, interior, t belt, heater hose fittings, the OHC suspension is suspect, other things I know are going to have to be addressed, etc, I was thinking more on the lines of $1500 off, tops. I haven't heard the vehicle run and it's been sitting for nearly 3 years and his widow never drove it. No telling if the mice have taken up residence somewhere wreaking havoc with the wiring and the interior is being used to store stuff. KBB trade value is high 1500 to as low as 750. Lots of unknowns that can add up extremely fast. In my experience, a car sitting undriven for years, outside and not covered is one that is very suspect as to reliability.

I've always been the frugal type in regards to vehicles (nice way of saying cheap). If I didn't know how to work on cars and have tools and the place, I'd be stuck paying somebody or the stealership. When buying a vehicle that's been sitting for a number of years, I've found that salvage price or less is the safe place to be to allow for parts and issues to make the car roadworthy and reliable. Back in the day, that price point was $300 and count on that much more plus some to get to reliable status. Going that route, there are no payments, the car is made presentable and reliable, cheap to insure and I'll drive the wheels off it so to speak or until it gets its useful life ended in some other fashion (my favorite all time beater suffered that fate, got totalled!) When I had a couple Porsches, I was in the distinct minority in the Porsche Club chapter, as of the 100+ members, there were only about 5 of us who knew how to work on the cars. At meetings, the rest chatted about wax, polish, detailing while we unwashed, dirty fingernail types over in the corner were delving into mechanical details and modifications. Yeah, there's a social strata there and I've already seen it in the Lexus crowd. I'm not into buying this truck cause it's a Lexus. I need a towing vehicle for work and 4wd is a plus. Right now, I have only my van to work from, and a second vehicle would be a great backup. Couple that with a substantial amount of money owed for work on a structure, an unused vehicle that would fit my needs and her needing to liquidate some stuff, and I think this might be a deal for the both of us. Only question is, how much? $3k is a non starter for reasons stated in the first paragraph.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Well it sounds like you didn't need our opinions on price. Put a battery and fire it up and go from there. I wouldn't pay more than 3k or so for it. But I also wouldn't buy a 98 either. Does it have the rear locker?

 

[Palmer]

As a former Porsche owner myself, I wouldn't sweat 3K plus incidentals for a work truck. Lexus or not.

 

[Riviera]

Well it sounds like you didn't need our opinions on price. Put a battery and fire it up and go from there. I wouldn't pay more than 3k or so for it. But I also wouldn't buy a 98 either. Does it have the rear locker?

LX470s didn't come with rear lockers, that option was only for Land Cruisers.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

That's right it was an LSD.

 

[ogsuv]

If it starts and runs after a battery install or jump, I'd say $2500 max , especially since you don't mind working on it. Anything less would be a bonus. That is a lot of vehicle for the money. I think if the interior was in reasonable shape, that truck would bring $4500-$5k typically. If you have the time and space, it would be a fun project. Lots of resources on this forum.

 

[tacoduck]

float 1500 bucks and see what happens.

 

[Carpenter951]

Well it sounds like you didn't need our opinions on price. Put a battery and fire it up and go from there. I wouldn't pay more than 3k or so for it. But I also wouldn't buy a 98 either. Does it have the rear locker?

Still wanted to see what the group thinks on this one, I've never owned one of these and before I buy any vehicle that I've never owned, I do quite a bit of research to see what models are most desirable and which ones are real pigs. Don't know about a LSD or not, haven't looked at it that closely yet. Been too busy pouring concrete and jacking parts of a 170yo house. Fun part, there is a late 1700s log cabin on the property that she wants me to stabilize and do enough restoration to keep it standing. That'll be lots of fun.

If it starts and runs after a battery install or jump, I'd say $2500 max , especially since you don't mind working on it. Anything less would be a bonus. That is a lot of vehicle for the money. I think if the interior was in reasonable shape, that truck would bring $4500-$5k typically. If you have the time and space, it would be a fun project. Lots of resources on this forum.

Thought process here- if it runs ok and I don't find anything really stupid expensive to fix past the maintenance items I've listed, then I have a decent work truck. I'll fix up the interior and worst case, if it's not working out in my vehicle rotation as I would like, I can always flip it for more than I have in it. Trucks seem to really hold their value for working stiffs like me but I've found that a pickup has some really serious drawbacks as well. Namely, if you don't have a bed cover, it's not unheard of for somebody to go shopping out of the bed of your truck. It's happened to me. That's partly why I'm even thinking of this. If it was an Expedition, Yukon, or similar SUV, I'd still be open to the deal. I've never played with a LC so eddimication is in order before spending resources. My current work vehicle is a Grand Caravan and it's been great so far. Got it after my Dodge truck was totalled. Drawback is they aren't the best at towing a trailer loaded with brick or lumber.

 

[tacoduck]

the ujz-100 is bullet proof. The only thing that can kill one is rust or a major oil crisis. People pay a premium for non rust trucks. Service logs are a huge plus. Most original owners of the trucks are lawyer doctor trust fund types, so they are typically babied.

the truck you describe is a 20 year old LX470. it aint that desirable. That said, with a proper baseline, it will always be worth 5k. Part out value is prob $3-4k, so at $1500 you are way ahead.

I DD mine after coming from a new tacoma, and having a non bling LX for a work truck would be the perfect sleeper.

if you are interested in the service logs, get the VIN and plug it into the lexus website. chances are you will have all the service history in one report.

 

[Lopott]

Agree 3k

 

[tacoduck]

honestly, the owner is already paying you, you are doing a good job for her, she probably likes you. My guess is you would be doing her a favor by just getting it off her property. Ask her if she will give it to you for free. can't hurt to ask.

 

[Ohthetrees]

Don’t rook over a widow. My opinion: Temporarily put a good battery in there. If it starts and runs and most things work when you drive around the block, $4000, and considering the heating 100 market I don’t think that is a high price. If it does not start and run, $1500.

If it starts and runs, and you offer an old widow $1500, in my opinion that is ripping her off.

Sorry to be frank, but you did ask for opinions and this is mine. But it does seem like you already had a price in mind, and were perhaps seeking “permission” but I don’t think it would be right.

 

[RyanStl]

Have you signed up for a Lexus owners account and put the VIN in to get an idea of what work has been done? I love Toyota and Lexus for offering that feature.

Anyway you can have her buy a battery and all the fluids and in exchange you switch out fluids for free. That way you can see how well the truck runs. That could give piece of mind, but the owner may be thinking the price tag just went up.

 

[Carpenter951]

Got a chance to do some more detailed looking.

Hood struts are toast. No t belt change sticker anywhere visible so I'll just enter the VIN on the Lexus site and see what pops up.
No visible oil leaks but the engine compartment is quite dirty so hard to tell after years of sitting and there is about 6 inches of leaves under it.
All wiper blades are petrified (expected and not unusual).
There are some incipent rust bubbles in a couple places around the back glass.
Driver's seat is bad. Like ditch it and get a bucket to sit on bad. Like sit in it if you want a hog ring in a roid bad. Pass seat isn't much better. So both seat bottoms will have to be replaced at the minimum (at least the drivers) before driving it around. (Did I say there was a dog involved at one time and evidently he was on a seat foam diet?) Seat backs are basically ok, but need recovering.
Second row seats pretty worn. Looks like doggy playpen.
Interior will need a major, major clean up. It still smells of dog after sitting for 3 years.
Don't have much hope for the carpet. No floor mats were used it seems. Let that simmer in the imagination for a bit.
Brake rotors are rusted (not unusual) but the rust is starting to pit the rotor surface on all four.

So far, depending on the t belt issues, this might still be a decent deal at about $1.5k. I have friends in the car biz and from what they're telling me, it's on the low side of KBB trade in, like $800 value in trade. I don't think I'll get hurt at trying for $1k. It'll part out for way more than that if it comes down to it.