Too much rust or join the family? (1 Viewer)

[Chicago6MT]

I spotted a GX near me that looked immaculate until I asked for pics before making the hour-long journey to see it in person. He only sent a few but it was concerning, especially the zoomed in photo. I had an LX470 so I'm not new to the vehicles, but I'm not sure what the basket and screen thing are and when I zoomed in there looks to be hole in some metal but I can't tell if its the frame or something else. Does anyone have an opinion? I was planning to take it to a Lexus dealer not too far for a PPI but if the rust is too much no need in wasting the time and money.

 

[Jstawgn]

KDSS accumulator looks rusty. The radiator support frame looks rusted to hell. I would skip this one.

Go South and then use Fluid Film/Woolwax yearly. I did 7 years ago and my frame still mint in Ohio.

 

[Chicago6MT]

KDSS accumulator looks rusty. The radiator support frame looks rusted to hell. I would skip this one.

Go South and then use Fluid Film/Woolwax yearly. I did 7 years ago and my frame still mint in Ohio.

I appreciate the reply and info. That's what I was feeling and fearing. I don't want to go through the hassle of a long-distance buy. I lucked up on my old LX. They must have treated the underside of the 2002 with better stuff, because I gave it to my mom when her RX300 died and its still relatively rust free.

 

[Rednexus]

Agreed, I'd skip that one. Looks like it's passed the "surface rust" zone and entered "structural rust".

To be honest, your chances of finding one with a decent frame in Chicagoland are low, unless the P.O.s were diligent on rustproofing. You don't have to go all the way south either - vehicles down here along the I-70 corridor have some rust, but nothing like you all have north of I-80. Mine was a local MO rig - I've broken off a few bolts and that's it, and I've since stopped any further rust progression via routine Woolwax/Fluid Film treatments.

I also found a fair number of GXs for sale in places like Nashville, Tulsa, Memphis, Little Rock, etc. when I was looking, but was ultimately lucky enough to find one within 3 hours of home.

 

[Arailt]

Too much rust.

 

[Cold Iron]

Hard pass.

Might be hard to find on a 470 but on my 460 I found one leased by snow birds that wintered in Texas and summered in Mn. according to mylexus history. So it had never seen salt. First thing I did a couple of days after I got it was get it professionally coated with NHOU which is Fluid Film on steroids, as in 2 days after I brought it home in Nov.

NHOU is basically Fluid Film that DuPont made even better. The stuff is still dripping off mine and burning off the exhaust system. DuPont has been a leader in chemical processes for many years. @skey44 in Greenville, SC put a smile on my face when he mentioned going to DuPont State Forest outside of Brevard NC awhile back. That used to be the DuPont silver film plant for making medical X rays when I lived there at the end of the last Century. But with the move to digital imaging and the end of x ray film they ended up donating the land to the State of NC when they closed it. They know what they are doing with chemicals. They also had a silver film plant in Towanda, Pa. not sure what happened to that one.

For 10 years I would climb under the Taco and Fluid Film it every fall and it did help keep rust in check. But after watching it being done professionally with a high pressure sprayer and getting into places I never dreamed to apply it will have it professionally done from now on. Rust that you can't see on the surface and is inside the frame is the worst for the life of the vehicle.

I'd look for one either that lived in the South its whole life or was owned by a couple of older snowbirds during its life. There is a used dealership in town that sells nothing but used cars from the South here

I would take a look around and see if you have something similar in your area.

 

[Chicago6MT]

Hard pass.

Might be hard to find on a 470 but on my 460 I found one leased by snow birds that wintered in Texas and summered in Mn. according to mylexus history. So it had never seen salt. First thing I did a couple of days after I got it was get it professionally coated with NHOU which is Fluid Film on steroids, as in 2 days after I brought it home in Nov.

NHOU is basically Fluid Film that DuPont made even better. The stuff is still dripping off mine and burning off the exhaust system. DuPont has been a leader in chemical processes for many years. @skey44 in Greenville, SC put a smile on my face when he mentioned going to DuPont State Forest outside of Brevard NC awhile back. That used to be the DuPont silver film plant for making medical X rays when I lived there at the end of the last Century. But with the move to digital imaging and the end of x ray film they ended up donating the land to the State of NC when they closed it. They know what they are doing with chemicals. They also had a silver film plant in Towanda, Pa. not sure what happened to that one.

For 10 years I would climb under the Taco and Fluid Film it every fall and it did help keep rust in check. But after watching it being done professionally with a high pressure sprayer and getting into places I never dreamed to apply it will have it professionally done from now on. Rust that you can't see on the surface and is inside the frame is the worst for the life of the vehicle.

I'd look for one either that lived in the South its whole life or was owned by a couple of older snowbirds during its life. There is a used dealership in town that sells nothing but used cars from the South here

I would take a look around and see if you have something similar in your area.

Good info. Thanks!

 

[Chicago6MT]

Anyone recognize this truck from the forum? It's listed for sale and has a pretty good service history and life outside of the rust belt. I was looking forward to finding an original specimen to put my touches on but I could also work with a tastefully modded version that I could massage to my personal tastes.

 

[CarGuyCarl]

Where in Chicago are you from?
Mine has been here its whole life and while it isn't going to crack in half quite yet, it does make me a little sad every time I look under it lol

 

[Rednexus]

Nice looking rig - appears to just have a lift (looks like Ironman FCP which is a good kit), wheels, tires, and black emblems. I wouldn't pay a crazy premium for that as it's maybe $3-5K in parts and nominal amount of labor. Some folks due like to flip GXs by throwing on a lift, wheels, and tires and leaving everything else alone....really modding them is a lot more than that IMO.

 

[Chicago6MT]

Nice looking rig - appears to just have a lift (looks like Ironman FCP which is a good kit), wheels, tires, and black emblems. I wouldn't pay a crazy premium for that as it's maybe $3-5K in parts and nominal amount of labor. Some folks due like to flip GXs by throwing on a lift, wheels, and tires and leaving everything else alone....really modding them is a lot more than that IMO.

Agree with your assessment. Carfax says new rear air bags were added in 2019. Only thing that is turning me off is that the report also shows that it was sold on 2/8/24 with 174,485 miles and then offered for sale again on 2/17/24 with 175, 319 (both in TN). So either this dealer bought it and drove it around or someone bought it and quickly sold it. Could be the addition of the tires and lift for the flip you mention but could also be an issue found and a quick unloading. It's listed for $14,650 with no accidents. Not bad if the vehicle is solid.

Edit: and no evidence of timing belt. Owner declined 90k service from Lexus dealer and no evidence of a sticker under the hood from the photos. Based on the Lexus dealer service history, though, I can't imagine the TB/WP haven't been serviced by now.

 

[Chicago6MT]

Where in Chicago are you from?
Mine has been here its whole life and while it isn't going to crack in half quite yet, it does make me a little sad every time I look under it lol

South suburbs originally but I've lived all over the city - Logan square, Millennium park, river west, etc.

 

[Rednexus]

Agree with your assessment. Carfax says new rear air bags were added in 2019. Only thing that is turning me off is that the report also shows that it was sold on 2/8/24 with 174,485 miles and then offered for sale again on 2/17/24 with 175, 319 (both in TN). So either this dealer bought it and drove it around or someone bought it and quickly sold it. Could be the addition of the tires and lift for the flip you mention but could also be an issue found and a quick unloading. It's listed for $14,650 with no accidents. Not bad if the vehicle is solid.

Edit: and no evidence of timing belt. Owner declined 90k service from Lexus dealer and no evidence of a sticker under the hood from the photos. Based on the Lexus dealer service history, though, I can't imagine the TB/WP haven't been serviced by now.

TB and WP are no big deal. Doable in a Saturday for $500-600 in parts if you want to DIY it. The belts can sometimes actually last to 200k before letting go so it's plausible that it's never been done. However it's certainly a good negotiation point to get the price down.

My bet is that someone picked it up for <$10k to flip it. If they just added coilovers and springs with nothing else on the underside touched, that screams quick flip.

 

[Chicago6MT]

TB and WP are no big deal. Doable in a Saturday for $500-600 in parts if you want to DIY it. The belts can sometimes actually last to 200k before letting go so it's plausible that it's never been done. However it's certainly a good negotiation point to get the price down.

My bet is that someone picked it up for <$10k to flip it. If they just added coilovers and springs with nothing else on the underside touched, that screams quick flip.

I'm going to call and ask a few questions tomorrow. Don't want to spend more than 15k but a 2014 LX570 just popped up locally that has only been a midwest car since 2022, so likely no rust. Only 100k miles and they're asking $31k. TB/WP likely haven't been done and its at an Acura dealer so I may be able to negotiate down to $25k...

 

[Stonefoot72]

No TB on the 5.7, but maybe you can still convince them and get it down.

 

[Rednexus]

I'm going to call and ask a few questions tomorrow. Don't want to spend more than 15k but a 2014 LX570 just popped up locally that has only been a midwest car since 2022, so likely no rust. Only 100k miles and they're asking $31k. TB/WP likely haven't been done and its at an Acura dealer so I may be able to negotiate down to $25k...

I'm at over $30K total investment in my 470 over ~3 years of ownership (including the purchase price), so you'll hit that $31K mark quickly on a 470 if you do anything more than the most minor of mods and maintenance.

Of course if you mod the 570 you'll start higher and end higher, albeit maybe with less investment on repairs and maintenance.

 

[Chicago6MT]

I'm at over $30K total investment in my 470 over ~3 years of ownership (including the purchase price), so you'll hit that $31K mark quickly on a 470 if you do anything more than the most minor of mods and maintenance.

Of course if you mod the 570 you'll start higher and end higher, albeit maybe with less investment on repairs and maintenance.

Exactly...which is why a big part of me want to just grab something like this, sand and rhino liner the bumpers black, throw some tires and wheels, leather seat covers, frame sliders, and a lift on something like this and be good for the next decade for less than 10k. 2005 toyota sequoia sr5 for sale - Chicago, IL - craigslist - https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/ctd/d/chicago-2005-toyota-sequoia-4x4-rust/7728120327.html