Two 470s diverged in a wood ...

Which GX470 should we buy?

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mechanist

mechanist

10 Year
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Feb 23, 2015
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Simpsonville,SC
My wife and I are shopping for a new-to-us GX470. We are now attempting to choose between two clean, well maintained contenders. The choice is as simple as Black or White, but it's what lies beneath that has us seeking guidance from experienced owners.

Black: 2009 with 97,*** miles, grey interior, gps, back up camera, Levinson, blutooth, appears to be fully loaded. Exterior has swirls in paint; interior has some scratches; unknown whether timing belt has been changed (but seller says he'll change it if we buy). $24,000. We think we can get it for $20,000 out the door.

White: 2006 with 100,6** miles, cream interior, am/fm cd/cassette w/6disc, rear AC, no nav, no back-up camera, no bluetooth. Exterior is clean except for a few minor dings and a cracked grill; interior is clean except the dash is pretty badly cracked (seller states Lexus has a recall on this); timing belt changed at 81,*** miles. $18,000. We think we can get it for $15,000 out the door.

My wife wants fully loaded which is why the black appeals to us. The black also looks sharp and we're fairly certain a good polish and heavy coat of wax would have it looking showroom ready.

The white is the better looking of the two. It lacks the features my wife wants, but is the color scheme she prefers. It also appears we could buy the DVD nav unit and back up camera from a part out (or new from Lexus?) and install ourselves using factory wiring harness - am I correct in assuming this?

Please share your thoughts. Guidance is appreciated. We want to keep this vehicle for at least 10 years.
 
With no nav, you can put in whatever aftermarket nav unit you want. Options with factory nav are limited. If neither one has the Sport package (black wood / KDSS), I'd probably save the $5k and go with the 2006. Lexus has a recall on the dash.

For reference, I paid $18,400 for my '07 Sport with 103k in Jan 2015.
 
As much as I do not like the white colored GX that is the vehicle I would go with, you can add a new head unit with all the features your wife wants. I wish we could have waited for a non nav but it just didn't work out. It is also a good sign that the previous owner did the timing belt bc that means they really took care of it. Even though it is older it has the newer motor with the extra 30 horses! Also those are both good price points if you can get them that low. Good luck!


also if it helps I just paid $16.5 for my 06 with 98k
 
White. Buy for $15000 and put a $2000 aftermarket head unit and stereo in it (that comes with a backup camera, gps, bluetooth, phone integration, etc), get the dash done on the recall, and still put a lift on it for less than the 2009 :)
 
white all the way. while yes black looks amazing when clean with a high quality detail, it dirtys easily and shows any and everything. and as others have stated the nav is a major draw back. it severely limits you and your cell phone is a better navigation system than the in dash unit and there is no upgrading, you can only get a newer map, thats it. -do not put in the lexus system for the same cost you could have a awesome DVD/NAV/BUC/sound system with all new speakers and amps. the dash is a mute issue as yes lexus will and is fixing those free of charge -almost all GXs have that issue. even though i do not care for the white/tan color combo thats the one id buy without question even if the other did have the sport package.
 
white for the reason everyone says ... NON NAV .... everyone who has factory nav is trying to get rid of it ... bc climate controls are integrated into the touch screen ... get a head unit that is up to date ... congrats on the new ride ... which ever you choose
 
THeGeNTLeMaN said:
white for the reason everyone says ... NON NAV .... everyone who has factory nav is trying to get rid of it ... bc climate controls are integrated into the touch screen ... get a head unit that is up to date ... congrats on the new ride ... which ever you choose
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Not quite everyone. I'm happy enough with mine.
 
JLee said:
Not quite everyone. I'm happy enough with mine.
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oh well your must work then ha ha ... im just not a fan of not having an aux port or blue tooth in mine ... im running the old school cassette aux lol ... Mark Lev sound system is great though ... i know the later models have aux plug ins though so that would be nice to have
 
THeGeNTLeMaN said:
oh well your must work then ha ha ... im just not a fan of not having an aux port or blue tooth in mine ... im running the old school cassette aux lol ... Mark Lev sound system is great though ... i know the later models have aux plug ins though so that would be nice to have
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I just got the cassette aux and it works great!
 
123ROBERTELEE said:
I'm not following... What is degaussing?
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Nobody uses tapes anymore so nobody remembers. I was trying to figure out how to make the sound better from my radio (used a Monster aux cassette) and discovered I needed to demagnetize the heads. The process is called degaussing. I also read it's not necessary to degauss but my podcasts came through much clearer after doing it.

I used an old kit I later lost during a move, but I sold that car so haven't worried about it.
 
THeGeNTLeMaN said:
oh well your must work then ha ha ... im just not a fan of not having an aux port or blue tooth in mine ... im running the old school cassette aux lol ... Mark Lev sound system is great though ... i know the later models have aux plug ins though so that would be nice to have
Click to expand...
I have an '07 with aux and the refreshed nav. :)
 
mechanist said:
Nobody uses tapes anymore so nobody remembers. I was trying to figure out how to make the sound better from my radio (used a Monster aux cassette) and discovered I needed to demagnetize the heads. The process is called degaussing. I also read it's not necessary to degauss but my podcasts came through much clearer after doing it.

I used an old kit I later lost during a move, but I sold that car so haven't worried about it.
Click to expand...
Hmm mine sounds pretty good but I'll do some research and see we can get mine better. I had to turn the Bass up which sucks bc when we change it back to radio it sounds like we are bumping Boosie all the time haha ( Baton Rouge reference not sure if anyone else will get it)
 
I'm leaning non-nav now after reading up on nav issues and head unit installs. It's great that you can use the factory steering wheel controls and have the non-stock head unit look so clean - almost stock. My wife's fear is that it will look out of place. The pics I've seen here, well it usually doesn't look out of place.
 
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