What should I do with my rust-damaged GX470? (5 Viewers)

[stellablue]

I bought an 2004 GX470 in the Chicago suburbs two years ago. I looked at about 8 different ones and picked the one in best condition, every single one had rust in the undercarriage. Two years later I put on about 20k miles, and never needing any maintenance other than oil changes, had developed a lot of trust in the car. I drove it cross country and got to see a lot of cool things. One day I noticed the ride got really rough. I took it into an indy Lexus specialist and ended up putting in $2k of work to replace rear shocks and air bags. Couple weeks later the ride feels off again, and turns out the rust had eaten through the bracket that holds the air bag. I'm debating whether to get some frame work done to replace the bracket, or to get rid of the car. The rust makes me leery of how much life could be in the car, even though everything else about it is in great shape.

Debating what to do, since I'm concerned this is going to turn into a money pit. I moved out to SoCal and no longer need a 4x4 and would prefer something more sporty as I have to drive through twisty canyon roads every day.

Would it even be possible to sell this? I'm really honest by nature so would be upfront with anyone. Maybe someone would want to try to repair the frame and hope for the best, or part it out? Everything else is in decent shape except wear and tear on the seats, and some scratches on the bumpers. What price would be fair?

Thanks

 

[ArBrnSnpr]

We'd need more details about the car to give an approximate value. Corrent mileage? Color, options?

Brackets rusted through on the frame will be a tough sell though.

 

[greenscobie86]

photos of rust? Would be interesting to see how bad it is.

 

[stellablue]

The car is at a body shop awaiting a quote on the frame damage but I will snap some pics once I get it back. I'd say the rust is pretty extensive across the undercarriage, but worse in the rear of the vehicle.

It's a 2004 in Silver Pine Metallic with 109k miles. It was more or less fully loaded, incl. the Mark Levinson audio which sounds awesome and sunroof.

 

[SteveH]

It's possible to sell it, but it'll be in the 3500-4000 range. To sell it, you would likely need to get it to a minimum driveable state where pieces are not falling off. If you fix it (to some extent) and reveal what else needs work, you might get a taker. You would be best-off financially by just driving the wheels off of it.