What happen to this Engine? or is it okay for 186k miles?

[BnvS]

Guys I am in the process of buying myself a LX470. The dealership is far away so I am requesting pic from the dealer. Here are the main pics the dealer posted. Lone Star Auto Depot | Pre-owned Dealer | Round Rock, Texas

Looks to be a decent vehicle for the price... I did ask the dealer guy to send me some additional pics.. which he did..My main question is the car has 186k miles. But while the exterior is decent the interior is okay. But its the engine bay that I feel something bad's happened..lol like an explosion of water from what I can presume (because of the white salt spots on the engine etc). Could be the radiator went bad or something...

Can u folks tell me if a engine can be this dirty. One saving grace is that the carfax has shown that all the maintenance of it has been done at the dealership till 183k. so i am not too worried.. just wanted ur opinion..if the engine should be this fugly.

Also some of the underbody pics looks great. Almost no rust. But i see some leaks maybe? it could be just me.. but then again i am not a trained to know whats gone bad on the LX at the movement at least. Also on the carfax there was a lot of 4 wheel alignment performed for the car? does that just mean wheels were swapped?

here's the link for all the pics sent i got from the dealer. https://goo.gl/photos/5drozL7tbUTJmYhx9

pics of the engine only.
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=bjZhNmZmVW5McDA2WmxmRTlqR3M4OU5NVFl2bzNR

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=bjZhNmZmVW5McDA2WmxmRTlqR3M4OU5NVFl2bzNR

Thanks...

 

[Ninja Cruiser100]

Bet the guy lived on a ranch with gravel roads. Looks in very rough shape.

 

[BnvS]

Bet the guy lived on a ranch with gravel roads. Looks in very rough shape.

I think it was at a ranch.. but thats nothing to shy away from right. As long as the carfax has shown service. I think it should be good.. The engine can always be cleaned up. Any opinions on the why all the wheel alignment? Cause the dealer said one thing needs to change is the tires.

 

[SWUtah]

Figure you need a new radiator the plastic has turned brown. Weird that they did not clean the engine and engine bay? Also need new tire's. If it's been maintained as you say it's a good deal.

 

[SmoothLC]

Doubtful the white spots are from an "explosion of water" - just looks like its been driven off road and needs to be cleaned.

 

[ToHiHy]

I look at that and think, clean slate. Engine bay will clean up. Replace the bumpers with some steel ones, upholster how ever you like. Frame looks minty. Remove the running boards and put some rubber of your choice on. Eventually upgrade suspension. You can't go wrong with it in the end. That Lexus will be thankful you saved it from ranch life!

 

[flintknapper]

Too rough IMO. Lot of other LX470 around. Shop the Houston Market. Use CarGurus and others.

Dealer should have cleaned up that engine bay. The 'white' residue is limestone/caliche, very common on rural roads and driveways in Central Texas.

 

[BnvS]

Too rough IMO. Lot of other LX470 around. Shop the Houston Market. Use CarGurus and others.

Dealer should have cleaned up that engine bay. The 'white' residue is limestone/caliche, very common on rural roads and driveways in Central Texas.

Seriously Flintknapper??? you will look else where? I am getting this for $8500. I really cant go over that and I know i have to change the tires but the truck looks clean man. other than the engine which can be cleaned. Also look at the service records..it has everything done at the Toyota dealership..right on the carfax..

 

[Slickspawn]

For the price it looks great to me. A good scrubbing, new tires and seat leathers or quality tasteful seat covers and the requisite AHC maintenance... Good to go!

 

[Ninja Cruiser100]

Seriously Flintknapper??? you will look else where? I am getting this for $8500. I really cant go over that and I know i have to change the tires but the truck looks clean man. other than the engine which can be cleaned. Also look at the service records..it has everything done at the Toyota dealership..right on the carfax..

While I agree that the price is good and all the service records being up to date and verifiable is a great plus, I cannot get my arms around why the dealer would/did not clean the engine compartment.

I would have an independent mechanic go over it closely.

 

[lhommec13]

I'd say the price is only reasonable given the condition of the vehicle. On the negative side, the leather is pretty bad/terrible, it needs new tires, the cracked windshield and scratches/dents all over. On the positive side, it has maintenance records, has the right amount of miles for a 15yr old truck, and has little to no rust. It may be mechanically sound, but the repairs to clean it up right will cost you a couple thousand. That brings your $8500 truck to over $10k. At $10k, this one's not anything to write home about IMO. 50/50 if you ask me.

 

[04UZJ100]

Looks neglected.

 

[bctlex]

Seriously Flintknapper??? you will look else where? I am getting this for $8500. I really cant go over that and I know i have to change the tires but the truck looks clean man. other than the engine which can be cleaned. Also look at the service records..it has everything done at the Toyota dealership..right on the carfax..

Kinda strange that it has great service records, but also look like neglected with the worn out seats, ding and scratches, and that big crack on the glass. I would get it checked out top to bottom before buying. The price is not great considering the truck needs quite a few things, but sounds like you already made up your mind here. If you are happy, then we all happy for you

 

[jLB]

it could be just me.. but then again i am not a trained to know whats gone bad on the LX at the movement at least.

Seriously Flintknapper??? you will look else where? I am getting this for $8500. I really cant go over that and I know i have to change the tires but the truck looks clean man. other than the engine which can be cleaned. Also look at the service records..it has everything done at the Toyota dealership..right on the carfax..

So you're really not looking for any input, other than having people tell you what a great deal you've found?

Looks like it spent most of its life in northern Louisiana.

Exterior is a bit rough. Interior is a bit rough. Hard to say "well cared for" looking at that, but it does seem to have made regular trips to the dealer.

From a quick scan of the CarFax:

Timing belt appears to be due, last mention @86,298.
Lots of checking of suspension/steering, this could be good or bad. Either potentially expensive repairs were taken care of, or not...
​

Without touching and feeling the vehicle, the condition of AHC, steering rack, sunroof cables, 3rd brake light leak (causing upper hatch rust), etc are unknown. If your budget is limited to $8500, you may have some unpleasant surprise expenses in getting this one back in shape. At the very least, you've got tires and a 90,000 mile service in your immediate future.


"Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it."
--Jeff Spicoli

 

[BnvS]

No guys I am looking for input.. not about just finding a good deal. I dont want a serious headache after I buy it. I can do the tires and TB maintenance. But what Ihomme13 said about upgrades costing 10k.. i was thinking about that. And saying to myself then why not just go with a 10k mile truck. Some sole searching is to be done by me. I hate buying an LX..or LC

but I am learning a lot. And I will get one sooner or later..

 

[re_guderian]

Upper radiator hose is new. Tag/sticker still there and color is different, plus my new ones get that white coloration. Looks like lower might be new as well. Is that crust under the radiator cap? Depending on when/why it was replaced, look for signs of overheating. That's not "dirt road" dirty, I don't think. Daughter drove three years of dirt roads for work, dust everywhere.

 

[mattafact]

I paid less for mine in July and it had north of 50 service records from the Lexus dealer including a 90k service within 5k miles.

Oh and my engine bay is flawless. Keep looking. You can do better.

 

[jerryb]

in my looking for the last couple months, I would say it's over priced. They probably have less than 3k into that unit. Owner traded it in to a regular dealer probably and then dumped it off on lone star. My opinion of all used dealers around houston, austin is that unless you put hands on, are a mechanic, or have bought and sold a lot of cars in texas then don't do it.
Even franchised dealers in texas will sell you a car that couldn't pass inspection or make it over the texas line.

 

[BnvS]

See this is great advice from all of you. DID I MENTION I AM A NOVICE AT THIS? anyone need advice in Photography, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator I am your man.

btw i'll keep on looking. I appreciate everyone input..

 

[abuck99]

If it's recently had a 4wheel alignment- it doesn't appear they touched the tie rod ends- those look pretty crusty.

It could be the angle of the picture but the muffler looks to be separated at the front and coming apart ($350-$400 for Toyo part).

Interior looks rough-

It looks like it didn't get much care- and who ever buys it will be paying to make up for it.

If you have a budget of $8500, you could expect to conservatively spend another $3.5k baselining(TB service, tires, fluids, brakes,) if there are no surprises. If you can turn a wrench it might be less.