sphilly

Hello, newbie here. Since retiring from the Military, I have decided to "spoil" myself with a used GX470. Without knowing much about these SUV's at all, I am hoping that I can get some great insight from you all about potential red flags to look for, historic problems, or anything I should know about. So, I have found a 1 owner, garage kept, cypress pearl with only 59K miles on it. It is in immaculate condition and the older lady who owned it took VERY good care of it. The dealer is offering it to me for $23k. I think its a fair deal, but am worried about it being 8 years old even if it has live in NC it's whole life. It has Navi, Mark Levinson stereo, and 3rd row. Thanks so much for any advice/help you all can give me.

RCsGX

Things to check / look out for:

• check maintenance records with the VIN here: http://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/home
• test the suspension; make sure the ride height works properly and find some speed bumps / pot holes to make sure the rear doesn't bottom out
• see if the dash has cracks
• make sure the drive shaft clunking issue has been fixed
• make sure there are no leaks
• make sure there are no funny noises
• check the A/C & heater
• check the dip stick just to see if the oil is clean
• look underneath the oil cap to make sure there's no milky substance
• check the front CV boots to make sure they're no slinging grease

I'm sure there's more but that's my list. Hopefully others will chime in too.

Good luck w/ your potential sale!

sphilly

Thanks RCsGX! I appreciate the advice. Overall, would you be scared to buy this 8 year old GX even though it only has 58K miles? The 8 year "thing" worries me a little since I am investing $24K out the door with no warranty. Oh, btw your GX looks awesome!!

RCsGX

Thanks.

Yeah $24K is a lot for a 8yr old vehicle but I wouldn't hesitate on buying it if it's the one you really want. I've had 2 Tundras before this GX. All 3 had the same engine (2uzfe) and they really are built to last. They can easily last 400K+ miles as long as you keep up w/ the oil changes and other maintenance items.

The only real negative thing about the GX from my point of view is the cost of the suspension when it goes bad. All suspensions will fail it's just that the GX has so many parts that can and will go bad that the cost of repairing / replacing it can add up quickly. So just keep a little money tucked away for that and you'll be fine.

Good luck....Let us know what you decide.

TyneeGX

I just bought a 2005 last week with 99k. Been driving it a week, no problems. Since I'm a newcomer, I can't speak to the trucks weak spots as easily as others, but for Toyota vehicles in general, age is not as big an issue as how it was driven. As long as those low miles were spread out with regular use, you are probably fine. Low miles can be dangerous if the vehicle sat for some time. Some Highlanders that have sat or did not receive frequent oil changes develop gunk in the engine which can fry an engine up. If it's been taken care of, that sounds like a good deal and I would jump on it IF, and stress the "if", you run the vin or can talk to the servicing Lexus dealer and get the service history. Also ask the servicing dealer if any issues arose with the vehicle that they recommended fixing, and the owner declined. Of course CarFax can help too.

ALAN553

I have a friend...what you would call a soccer mom....she has a 04 Land Cruiser...ready for this...330,000 miles and the truck does not have a ding on it. The only true repair in 10 years..fuel pump. And she has coil springs...I was jealous. This engine and transmission is bullet proof.

TyneeGX

My other car is a 2004 Phaeton. If one air strut goes bad, it's $10,000 to replace the whole system because they stopped making replacement parts and you need to upgrade to the 2005 system. So this "truck's" suspension is an upgrade being that it is repairable. And you can swap it out if you want, which is nice to have the option.

RCsGX

I hear ya. You say that now...just wait until you spend over a thousand dollars to "fix" it yet still keep having suspension related issues. I can't tell you how many posts I've read where guys are swapping out shocks, ride height sensors etc. and they're still having issues w/ their suspension.

There's a GX owner (can't find the thread) that practically had his entire suspension system replaced under warranty and he still had issues with it. He got fed up w/ the back and forth w/ his dealer and traded it in. That was several years ago before guys started swapping in aftermarket suspension setups.

If you're ok with using aftermarket it's not a big deal but if you want to stay with the OEM suspension it's a good idea to have a "suspension fund".

stiles_s

Thank you for putting our suspension issues in context. All you had to say was Phaeton
Seriously, though, go crawl the Touareg, Cayenne, X5 forums for a while. See that there are pages & pages of threads on major issues. One of the reason this site can be quiet is Lexus/Toyota built a heck of a reliable and durable truck.

TyneeGX

Yep, that's the exact reason I bought one. Used to have an LX470, regretted getting rid of it.

470reasons

RE: Suspension problems.

My take is that once I start having suspension problems, I will not spend one dime replacing OEM suspension parts with new OEM parts. It will be rear coils and after market shocks. Period!

(Actually I'm going for a 2" lift kit.)

StVeronus

Just bought an 05 with 42K for $23K last weekend. Did the service history from the link provided and bought the CarFax, actually bought a 5 pack. Have 3 left if you want a report on it, send me the VIN.

burny

Now you tell me. lol I just spent money on one today. I detected that the hood had been repainted but not damaged. I think it was a rock chip thing.

sphilly

Ok, so upon further inspection, the GX does have a small crack in the dash going from the left edge of the glovebox to the edge of the center stack horizontally. So, I don't think the crack can spread any further because it has nowhere to spread...however, there is still a crack in the dash So, would this deter you, or should it be a deal breaker for a $24000 used vehicle to have a cracked dash?

burny

Deal breaker for me