What to look for when buying ?
- Thread starter half k cruiser
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Drove 2 hours today to go look at an '06 that I found on AutoTrader last night. In a quandry now.
111K on it, dark blue with gray interior. NO NAV. Price is $17K.
Pros:
Truck has been in Miami until January, underside is totally rust free. Remarkable clean, no leaks.
The records on Owners.Lexus.com show this truck has had nothing but the best care. Religious oil changes every 5K.
TB/WP changed at 90K, right on time.
Shocks and front CVs changed.
Dashboard replaced last year.
Interior is in good condition overall but shows it's age, driver's seat is OK (salvagable), 2nd & 3rd rows look new. Carpet under the mat in the rear is pristine.
Drives good, brakes are good. Engine pulls great, idles smooth.
Center diff locks fine (actuator as replaced when it started leaking at some point)
Cons:
Wheels are crusty and peeling.
Clearcoat on the doors right at the base of all the windows is blistered and looks awful (see below)
All weatherstripping on the doors will need to be replaced, very dry rotted.
Speakers are done, a couple are obviously blown.
Questions:
Not sure what's up with the rear air suspension system, but I'm not clear how it's supposed to work. I could only change it with the truck sitting still in Park. If I put at the High setting, I could go back and hear the compressor running, watch the rear end go up a little. But a few minutes later, it would be back at the Neutral setting. Is this normal? I couldn't see anything that indicated they were leaking, but it's hard to get a good look in a parking lot. I'm really not too concerned about it, I'd have no qualms about tearing the whole thing out.
Has anybody replaced that weatherstripping on the doors? Cost? How difficult? Doors would have to be opened up anyway to replace the speakers.
What to do about the clear coat? The roof and hood were fine, it was only bad on the doors.
Pictures of clear coat issue:
Windows weatherstripping on drivers door:
Please let me know your thoughts if you can. I'm running out of patience on this search. I might also give it a rest for a few weeks, let the market reset.
111K on it, dark blue with gray interior. NO NAV. Price is $17K.
Pros:
Truck has been in Miami until January, underside is totally rust free. Remarkable clean, no leaks.
The records on Owners.Lexus.com show this truck has had nothing but the best care. Religious oil changes every 5K.
TB/WP changed at 90K, right on time.
Shocks and front CVs changed.
Dashboard replaced last year.
Interior is in good condition overall but shows it's age, driver's seat is OK (salvagable), 2nd & 3rd rows look new. Carpet under the mat in the rear is pristine.
Drives good, brakes are good. Engine pulls great, idles smooth.
Center diff locks fine (actuator as replaced when it started leaking at some point)
Cons:
Wheels are crusty and peeling.
Clearcoat on the doors right at the base of all the windows is blistered and looks awful (see below)
All weatherstripping on the doors will need to be replaced, very dry rotted.
Speakers are done, a couple are obviously blown.
Questions:
Not sure what's up with the rear air suspension system, but I'm not clear how it's supposed to work. I could only change it with the truck sitting still in Park. If I put at the High setting, I could go back and hear the compressor running, watch the rear end go up a little. But a few minutes later, it would be back at the Neutral setting. Is this normal? I couldn't see anything that indicated they were leaking, but it's hard to get a good look in a parking lot. I'm really not too concerned about it, I'd have no qualms about tearing the whole thing out.
Has anybody replaced that weatherstripping on the doors? Cost? How difficult? Doors would have to be opened up anyway to replace the speakers.
What to do about the clear coat? The roof and hood were fine, it was only bad on the doors.
Pictures of clear coat issue:
Windows weatherstripping on drivers door:
Please let me know your thoughts if you can. I'm running out of patience on this search. I might also give it a rest for a few weeks, let the market reset.
Weather stripping is about $260 for the set. Replacement doesn't look hard, but I haven't been able to get my front ones lined up properly...the middle is bowed up. I'd be more concerned about the clear than anything else - not likely to be a cheap fix. Rear spring conversion is cheap, weather stripping is due to fail based on age anyway, and you can easily buy other wheels or find someone selling stock ones. ML speakers can be re-foamed and non-ML speakers can easily be replaced.
Don't be in a rush - deals have a habit of jumping out at you when you don't really expect it. There's one local to me in NJ (friend saw an ad posted somewhere) for a 2007 for $11k. Want me to get the info?
Don't be in a rush - deals have a habit of jumping out at you when you don't really expect it. There's one local to me in NJ (friend saw an ad posted somewhere) for a 2007 for $11k. Want me to get the info?
Thanks for the feedback. The clear coat thing really bothers me, everything else I can overlook or fix easily (I think). The audio is the base system, not ML, and being non-nav I won't hesitate to swap the entire thing out, amps and all.
I'm not really able to travel far right now (schedule is too full), but will in about 6 weeks, might go as far as Texas, and there's always shipping. I'll take the info on the NJ truck if it's easy to get.
Yes, I agree that the price is too high, this is what's on the sticker. I was thinking I'd toss a low-ball number at them, maybe $14K and see what they say. This was a large Toyota dealership, so I'm sure they'll be back in touch.
They also had an '08 4Runner Limited V8 and an '03 LX470 on the lot, both of them were horribly rusty underneath.
AHC is momentary. If you go over a certain speed it goes to normal unless you trick it. If you weren't moving it could have a leak. That much dry rot definitely could mean rot in the rubber bags
OK so I think it was working properly, but now I don't get the point of the setup. You put it in High mode, and in a few minutes as you start driving, it goes back down?
NMBruce
SILVER Star
think its 18mph
That sounds right. 18mph for high and 8mph for low, maybe?
I still don't get the point. More reasons to rip it out, I guess.
