TLC Owner Looking for GX 470 for Wife - What Do You All Think of This One? (1 Viewer)

[VinylSeats]

So, I reached out to the dealer of vehicle #2 that I originally posted. CarFax looks good. Colorado car all its life. Anyone have a take on this? It looks like it was well taken care of. I like that the timing belt was so recently done.

While the 3rd row is something I'd like, it's not a deal-breaker by any means. We have no use for them immediately.

 

[Scat Adams]

I personally like the non 3rd row GX's, you get a tad extra cargo space since there is no rear seat mounts. Good luck on your search!

 

[Arailt]

I bought mine in upstate New York and it had a decent amount of undercarriage rust. I don't know how much salt/cinders they use in Colorado (I imagine it's less than NY), but food for thought.

 

[L8Shift]

Nice! V8 is the way to go on those gen 4s.

Here's a 2005 4Runner V8 Limited, <150k miles , SoCal. as a example closer to you.

Cars for Sale: Used 2005 Toyota 4Runner 4WD Limited for sale in Chula Vista, CA 91911: Sport Utility Details - 474861281 - Autotrader

 

[VinylSeats]

I personally like the non 3rd row GX's, you get a tad extra cargo space since there is no rear seat mounts. Good luck on your search!

Thanks! Yeah, getting the 3rd row for us would be completely based on wanting it years in the future. We don't even have kids yet. My TLC jump seats just live in the basement.

I bought mine in upstate New York and it had a decent amount of undercarriage rust. I don't know how much salt/cinders they use in Colorado (I imagine it's less than NY), but food for thought.

Yeah, fortunately cars stay relatively clean here. Maybe not California clean, but pretty clean.

Here's a 2005 4Runner V8 Limited, <150k miles , SoCal. as a example closer to you.

Cars for Sale: Used 2005 Toyota 4Runner 4WD Limited for sale in Chula Vista, CA 91911: Sport Utility Details - 474861281 - Autotrader

Looks pretty nice. I've had the itch to get back into a 4Runner but if I do, I'd likely go full nostalgia and recapture my youth with a manual Gen2.

 

[VinylSeats]

Got some updates on some of the vehicles in my area:

Vehicle 1
-$9995
-2004
-194,000 miles
-One Owner
-Limited maintenance history; waiting to hear about timing belt
-AHC (waiting to hear about function)
-Has all 3 keys

Vehicle 2
-$8950
-2004
-194,000 miles
-One Owner
-Extensive maintenance history at mostly Lexus dealers
-Timing belt and other things done recently

-Rear suspension replaced with Arnot suspension
-Has 1 master(?) key and 1 valet key

Vehicle 3
-$9999
-2004
-192,000 miles
-Two Owner (one corporate)
-Limited maintenance history; dealer willing to include timing belt in asking price
-AHC functional
-1 master(?) key

 

[DSRTRDR]

new key programmed by the dealer is $260

are there no private-sale vehicle around in your area ?

 

[VinylSeats]

new key programmed by the dealer is $260

are there no private-sale vehicle around in your area ?

Good to know on the key. I'll likely need to do that.

I'm mostly interested in the suspension as a whole, seeing as how the original system inevitably fails.

I actually drove option 2 yesterday and am very seriously considering it. The thing was the nicest 14-year-old vehicle I've ever seen. As stated above, lots of the big items have been done within the last 15,000 miles. From what I can tell, the original owner did the 180,000 mile big stuff, drove it for another 15,000 miles, then the rear suspension failed. At that point, he traded it to a local Lexus dealer. This dealer bought it at auction and replaced the suspension.

If I can get him down a bit on price and be out the door at $8900, I'll probably pull the trigger.

 

[VinylSeats]

new key programmed by the dealer is $260

are there no private-sale vehicle around in your area ?

And no, private sales seem quite hard to come by on these in my area the last few months I've been looking. Seems like a guy who's owned the vehicle from day one and always serviced his truck at the Lexus dealer isn't too likely to sell the truck himself. Seems like he probably trades it in for his next new car and the vehicle goes to auction.

 

[DSRTRDR]

out of the three you list, I would also go with #2 - but a test drive could change everything (I won't get a heavily smoked-in vehicle, nor would I take one with 3/4 tires mismatched like (one of the used car dealer vehicles I test-drove)

but read up on the AHC and when you would be able to use it - not needed in most daily driving, you just need the airbags to hold air and the sensors come to their senses

 

[DSRTRDR]

come to think of it, if this is for the wife, how come the wife is not on this forum and she isn't vehicle shopping and she isn't test driving it ?

 

[VinylSeats]

come to think of it, if this is for the wife, how come the wife is not on this forum and she isn't vehicle shopping and she isn't test driving it ?

Haha. She drove it with me yesterday. Spent more time behind the wheel than I did. She enjoyed it. She really likes her Subaru Forester but wants more room for the incoming family.

 

[GXONE]

Would highly recommend a PPI (pre purchase inspection) by a reputable shop or mobile rep, especially on a high mileage vehicle of any kind. At $125-200 they pay for themselves on vehicles you are serious about purchasing. Use the data they collect for negotiation or to move on to the next opportunity. Also, look up their reviews to ensure you get a quality PPI.

 

[VinylSeats]

Would highly recommend a PPI (pre purchase inspection) by a reputable shop or mobile rep, especially on a high mileage vehicle of any kind. At $125-200 they pay for themselves on vehicles you are serious about purchasing. Use the data they collect for negotiation or to move on to the next opportunity. Also, look up their reviews to ensure you get a quality PPI.

I actually had one done on vehicle #2 on Thursday. He gave me a complete list of his findings, including some minor things that helped me get the price down. Overall, he found it to be in great shape.

When I talked to mobile mechanics in CO Springs earlier in the week, I loved his philosophy of inspecting cars. He said he had three goals: 1) Give a complete, unbiased picture of the vehicle; 2) Find something that can allow the buyer to negotiate down; and 3) Provide a basic recommendation on whether to buy or not.

He said he often recommends not buying the cars he inspects but it's, of course, up the customer if they want to listen. He was very frank (as he should be) and ended up being a really good resource. I just wish he was in Denver so I could use him again in the future.

We're picking up the GX today.

 

[Arailt]

Congrats! Sounds like you found a good one

 

[GonzoShinyPants]

Just my two cents - I'd be leary of a small time side of the road dealer. Just a story, but have a friend who found out most if not all of his vehicle had been rewired and well, it wasn't pretty. We got our GX at the Land Rover dealer in Charlotte and well, it was really a pretty good experience. They DID have it overpriced for a while so I found it after they'd dropped it and got it lower (to probably a fair price, not a steal at all).

Also, Dan is coming from the standpoint of a highly modified off road vehicle. If you're buying this for your wife, an 08 or 09 is that much newer so unless you're going to start pimping it out right away, might be nice to get some life out the OEM vehicle.

 

[GonzoShinyPants]

Some feedback:
Vehicle 1: Third row option, no nav, and mark levi. I would recommend focusing on this one.
Vehicle 2: Rare to see a no third row truck. You CAN'T add them as they don't have the mount points if it wasn't an installed option. The BIG problem with this is not just retro'ing in seats, but the fact that without third row, you get NO REAR AC.

Dan, so in my owners manual it says the gross cargo weight is more if you have the 3rd row seats - I could not understand this (thought all had 3rd row seats) and so I was thinking it's more if you have the seats *installed* vs not installed. But presumably the truck is tuned differently if no 3rd row seats are possible as you could not then have an additional 3 passengers...does that make sense? I've got stock suspension still...

 

[GXO]

It's just a required metric to have passengers (the weight). No suspension difference. Major interior differences, especially that rear AC. With rear AC the truck cools down waaaaaay faster on hot days.

 

[GonzoShinyPants]

It's just a required metric to have passengers (the weight). No suspension difference. Major interior differences, especially that rear AC. With rear AC the truck cools down waaaaaay faster on hot days.

K thx, yes the rear AC is nice - imagine it would be rough on hot days without

 

[poseidon]

If you didn't get that one I have been dragging my feet about selling mine. I am the second owner. The first owner bought it at Lexus of Portland and had them do everything, including the 90K, and actually paid for a replacement battery from them with the Lexus sticker on it! Its a 2004 with nav and no KDSS, 165k miles, 2nd set of rims and tires with blizzacks on them. White with beige interior. It has the factory 6500lb tow package. I would gladly sell it to a mud member for a reasonable price.
It even has all the Lexus badged must have kitch like rear cargo net, floor mats, DVD player, 2 headsets for the DVD... Who on this forum isn't falling asleep and dreaming of Lexus headphones!