This was a private seller that had 3 kids. Car was really dirty and obviously not very well taken care of.

 

I f the inside is nasty than chances are it was not maintained properly. My 04 looks great still with the only blemishes being small chips in the hood from highway debris and the undercarriage has rust, which I notices when I bought it in 08. It was originally from upstate New York and they get a ton of snow and must use lots if salt/deicer. I even refinished my leather on the drivers seat where you rub getting in/out. I bought it with 64k and now have 99k. Doing the timing belt/waterpump with Aisin kit when the weather gets warmer.

 

Bought my first GX in Sept this year. 2007 with 42k...extremely well cared for. Black w/cream interior. $32K
Bought it through a Hendricks dealership.
Like they say...once you GX you'll never go back!
Hendricks is really good at finding used GX as they have many dealerships and can move inventory around for you.

I am a low mileage driver, they allowed me to add years to my CPO. Got the perfect rig for myself. I am at 9000 ft in Colorado. Put Bridgestone Blizzards on for the winter months. Awesome snow traveler!

 

Best of Luck in your search - there are still great ones out there. I just purchased a CPO 2007 with 48k miles for 29.5k. Black on Grey with Mark Levinson audio, nav and third row seats. First Lexus for me, fifth for the extended family. Loving every minute of it (except when filling the tank.)

 

My two cents are look at condition/your desired mileage foremost. To me CPO or any warranty was not mandatory - but that has bitten me a bit at 90K with a bad catalyst. Our 05 came to us with about 56K. Only other non-routine problem as an alternator failure. Mine was obviously well cared for, but purchased at a dealer auction for $22k in summer of 2010. It was a Lexus of Santa Monica trade, and was on their lot for $32,000. They had an abundance Of GXs, so the higher higher mileage rigs went to auction. Hard to say what the final price would have been if I bought it from the dealer, but I have a lot of room to absorb problems vs. paying for CPO status. Odds are on your side ... hey, it's a Toyota.

There are only two real model year distinctions worth arguing over, I believe. 2005 for the VVTi engine, 2007 for better NAV. I wanted NAV (got Gen. 4) for the b/u camera and ability to play movies (with Lockpick) in unison with rear entertainment, and Bluetooth. Two years later I like it, but I have to say that I would lessen it's weight as a search criteria today. For $500 you can have a nice aftermarket DVD that does that and more (iPod/iPhone interface, Pandora, etc.) that also has NAV, or just slap on a Garmin for a hundred bucks.

Somebody said something about it being a big SUV. In my book it's mid-sized, and a very nice fit for a lot of missions. Few of us brag about MPG, but in context it's decent. We get about 15.8 in mixed driving (the average speed usually shows 28 mph). My buddy just sold his V-6 Pathfinder cause he was tired of 15 MPG - half the vehicle in a philosophical sense, and seats 5 vs. 8 (in a pinch). Our Expedition got 13 usually. Lots of folks talk about "SUVs" that are more economical ... just try to name a full-frame, truck based SUV, with all wheel drive, that is a truly capable off-road rig and rides like a limo on the road? No diesel. Unfortunately they haven't given us that option in the U.S. Yet. I'm just saying that 15-ish MPG sounds lame until you consider what it's being burned for. It will pull 17-19 on the freeway.

These are great vehicles. But if you're seriously looking you already know that. Very few owners are disenchanted after the "new" wears off. Good luck with the search.

 

Couple of things was a must for me: 05+, NAV, 3rd row seats, and Tan leather ( other colors just age really bad). Like everyone said MPG sucks and the interior isn't all that big.

 

zippinbye, hits it right on the head. Mid sized, not huge or small. ROSCOGX470, hits it on the head as well. Nasty inside, is reflective of the overall care. It is worth the wait, to find a good one. Maintenance cost is higher than a 4 Runner, but either truck will run forever.

 

We just traded our 2006 GX 470 with 108,000 miles for a new 2013 450H. Our 2006was in excellent condition and could have easily gone another 100k or more, and was loaded. It was just too big for me and I wanted smaller. I believe the GX's are very well-built and have a very luxious ride.

 

I still have a 91 4runner I bought new 22 years ago. over 250k miles and still runs like a champ. I understand the toyota/Lexus reliability and that is why I'm taking my sweet time looking for a great 08 or newer GX.