cwmoser

I'm considering purchasing a 2001 Lexus LX470.
Nice vehicle. 140K miles. Asking $11K.
The only thing that makes me leery is that it seems to have a
soft bouncy ride. So my question is ... is the fix for this something
that could be very expensive?

This would be my first Lexus. I can do some minor DIY stuff but
I don't have a lift or technical knowledge about these cars.

I took the test drive last night and this morning scanning this forum
for information. What do you think I should do? Go for it? Run away fast?

Thanks

Carl

cwmoser

I did some investigative work at Lexus.com and note that this
LX470 was taken in for service a week ago. States:

FRONT AXLE CUSTOMER STATES THE VEHICLE RIDES
LIKE AN OLD MACK TRUCK. HEIGHT CONTROL IS ALSO INOP.
CHECK & ADVISE. - NO CURRENT CODES AT THIS TIME,
VEHICLE DOES RIDE ABNORMALLY SHOCKS OKAY.
WILL NEED TO START W/SYSTEM FLUSH AND HEIGHT CONTROL UNIT,
MAY NEED ADDITIONAL WORK, ACCUMULATORS MAY ALSO NEED REPLACMENT

Wow. Sounds expensive - what do you think?

NIKOSAN

I bought my 2000 LX470 with the same bouncy ride. Repairing the AHC suspension is expensive that and no guarantee that it will remain trouble free that is why the previous owner was selling it. I replaced it with an OME suspension that included a 2 inch lift. Cost me around $2000 back then that included the labor. If you can install it then you can buy a kit for around $1200 including the diffrential drop. Negotiate for a lower price then and good luck

Jacket

I agree. At 15 years and 140k miles, your springs and shocks are likely in need of an upgrade. Bounciness tends to be a result of the shocks not dampening properly, although soft springs could also contribute. You could start cheap and just replace the shocks, and see how that improves the ride.

NickTee

Sounds like the customer is/was dumping it because it's a waste of money to throw money at trying to resolve the issue.