danmm7

Hi All,

I have a relatively high mileage (120k+) Lexus GX470 (2005) and i am trying to decide if i want to keep the truck as a winter/mountain driver or sell it and get some new/newer AWD 7-passenger vehicle, such as Toyota Sienna AWD. The Lexus is paid off, it costs me $40/mo in insurance and it sits in my garage during the summer. If we buy a new AWD car, it will come with higher insurance & a loan payment. Yet.... if the GX470 will require some costly($500+) repairs soon ...i rather sell it now.

Our GX 470 has been maintained exceptionally well since new. I have all records and many problematic areas have been already addressed - new radiator, new front shocks, T-belt, all fluids religiously replaced, new brakes, new CV-joint boots, etc, etc

The one area that i've had bad and very costly $$$ experience with other older cars (German) in the past were the Catalytic converters. They cost a fortune on any car, and since i live in California, i can't really buy and install any cheaper aftermarket options.

My question is... for the people who have high miles on their trucks.... are the Catalytic converters on the GX470 a weakness or they are known to last a loong long time? Has anyone here replaced the converters already and if yes, how much did they cost you?


Thanks!

IanB2

I've never heard of anyone having to replace the cat on these trucks, but even if you did have to, would a Magnaflow CARB compliant unit not do the trick in CA?

danmm7

Not sure. I could not find anything that is recommended fit for our GX truck on Magnaflow's web site. They have carb compliant cats for Land Cruiser and LX470, but nothing for the 4Runner and the GX470.

IanB2

They have generic ones that could be welded in place of the stock cat though, even if they don't have anything "bolt on" for this application.

lesz

I don't know about the potential for catalytic converter problems with the GX, but I do have another suggestion.

If there is a portion of the year when the vehicle is not being used at all, you should be able to suspend your insurance coverage on the vehicle for all but the comprehensive coverage for the months when the vehicle is not being used. Over the years, I've done that with several vehicles that I have stored for the winter. Maintaining the comprehensive coverage gives you protection against fire, theft, etc., but you really have no need for coverage for collision, liability, medical payments, towing, or whatever else during the time when the vehicle is being stored.. Since the comprehensive coverage on an older vehicle is only a very small portion of the total normal premium, insurance costs for the months when the vehicle is not being driven should only be a handful of dollars per month.

danmm7

I am on the same page as far as insurance premiums during the low/no use months. The $40/mo i quoted is the cost for liability & comprehensive only. I don't think i can go without liability coverage in the state of California. It is mandatory. Comprehensive is optional, but then what happens if someone breaks in the car or it burns in a fire, gets stolen,...or gets hit on the street/driveway.
If i go with only liability, it will be even less than $40/mo, guaranteed.

lesz

It has been about 10 years since the last time that I stored a vehicle for the winter, and it may well be that case that, during those 10 years, Illinois insurance laws have changed, too. But, assuming that they are the same here as they were 10 years ago, if I were to store my 2005 GX and suspend everything but my comprehensive coverage on the vehicle, my premium for the comprehensive coverage would be less than $10 per month. If the law has changed and if I were required to maintain both comprehensive and liability coverage, the monthly premium would be just about $20 per month for the GX, which is why I assumed that, for $40 per month, you were maintaining full coverage.

joanlaves

I just had the catalytic converters replaced, and mine has 230 k on it. I would have done it 10,000 miles ago if I had realized how much better it would drive. I'm still hoping for another 2 years for this car. We should make it!