Thoughts on evaluating maintenance histories on used 200s (oil, AHC, etc.)?

[Grumvee]

Hi Mud!

I'm looking for a 2008 - 2013 200 series (LXs are fine with me).

Maintenance history is important to me. I'm primarily focused on consistent oil changes.

If its over 100k, I really like to see some evidence of other PM, such as fluid changes, especially for brakes and AHC. But on most vehicles, I figure I will be doing a refresh on fluids: brakes, AHC, coolant, ATF, and diff/transfer. I will do most or all of that stuff myself, so the cost won't be much.

To create a maintenance history for a vehicle I'm considering, I look at the Carfax and Toyota.com/Lexus.com records. I often find that there is one or two gaps in oil changes. It could be that the owner didn't do those oil changes (not good), or could be that they did it themselves or the shop didn't report the records in a way that Carfax picks them up. Almost all of the vehicles I'm finding are at dealers who obviously don't have any additional information. So it's tough to know.

For example, I'm looking at a 2013 107k miles. First owner did oil changes every 5k. Second owner did them every 10k, but there's a big apparent gap between 27k - 53k. So, worst case, the owner failed to do an oil change for about 25k (about 1.5 years). How would you react to that?

(I was getting ready to be "ok" with that on this particular vehicle, given that the vehicle looks incredibly clean and is in my top colors. But there's also this tidbit from the records, which gives me a little pause: "CUSTOMER STATES LOW OIL LIGHT COMING ON INTERMITTENTLY. OIL LEVEL IS AT TOP MARK OF DIPSTICK. OIL LEVEL WAS AT THE TIP OF DIPSTICK UPON ENTERING SHOP. NO SIGNS OF LEAKING UNDER VEHICLE." Cause for concern? Why would that light come on if the oil was filled?)

Also, what about AHC? It seems almost no owners do the maintenance on this system. I will do a fluid refresh once I buy a vehicle. But how concerned should I be if the system hasn't been maintained for 100k miles? Does your answer change if it's 150k miles? 200k miles?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Charley

 

[tbisaacs]

YMMV - when shopping, not a single LX that I looked at had record of AHC service - including the one I purchased with 96k miles. IMHO most Lexus dealers don’t want to touch the system if it’s functioning.

 

[Sandroad]

Given the records you have and your stated interest in maintenance history with a focus on oil, I think you’re justified in your pause. Pass on that one, IMHO.

Edit: just to make sure you’re reading the record right .......I think it was the owner who stated the oil was at the top mark but the service dept found it was actually at the bottom (tip) of the dipstick. It was low on oil.

 

[JohnnyBeagle]

I bought mine with 114k on it despite no services recorded between 55k and 100k miles. Went and looked at it and all the fluids were perfect - the guy was doing his own maintenance. Even the AHC fluid was clean but I did the full 120k service checklist on it just to be safe

 

[TimCFJ40]

Personally, with 2 owners, and both having documented oil changes, I'd expect the gap was a period of time where maintenance was done at an independent shop that didn't get reported. While it would be nice to have all the records, I've never been able to buy a used vehicle with over 100k miles that didn't have some missed records. Generally, I'd assess the current state of the vehicle (is it clean and well cared for, does it leak, does it show evidence of undocumented accidents, etc) and move forward if it checks out.