BrianV

I'll try not to make this long which I have a tendency to do.

My wife and I are expecting our first child. At present I drive a 2013 Audi S6 and my wife drives a 2013 Volvo XC60 R-Design. I generally am very fond of both cars, however, with two medium dogs (30# and 50#), baby and seats, mother-in-law and monthly road trips from Austin to Houston to see family, I'm concerned about the space of the XC60.

I seriously regret selling my Sequoia "beater" truck a few years back, it was in mint condition and extremely well taken care of. However, at the time she was driving a 2009 X5 Diesel and both SUVs were getting redundant.

I'm now considering going two routes, upsize the XC60 for the new XC90 (or possibly MDX), but buying new and losing the performance of the XC60 has me reconsidering adding a third "beater" vehicle to the portfolio. We felt the Sequoia to be a bit large, so I considered going with an older Land Cruiser or 4Runner. I've always been partial to Toyota trucks.

After lots of research, I decided the GX470 represents a good value and good size in this space with relatively dependable Toyota truck quality. I've found in my past I've been able to buy Toyota trucks and keep them a few years and generally sell them for a profit or break-even after putting some TLC in them. This seems more cost-effective than buying a brand new SUV and taking a bath on it.

I like the GX because it has the luxury qualities we're used to in our loaded cars now while still providing truck utility. With my Sequoia and (before that) 98 4Runner Limited, I used to have no issues about light off roading or going over curbs. The 20" rims on the XC60 make me hesitate to do that, although it performed flawlessly in 2' foot of Colorado mountain snow last Christmas.

The issue I'm having is that it seems I can't find any used GX470s that have reasonable miles. I guess they're reliable as it seems almost every one on the market (2006-2008) has 150K+ miles, and no listings seem to offer any insight to maintenance. On the Sequoia, I know 90K warrants a timing belt service, etc.

So my questions are, what do I need to know in regards to service? I've been passively looking for 2 months and I can't find a single good example in Texas of someone who has really loved their truck and offers it with a good history of service records, etc. I might need to buy one and just plan to dump $1-$2k and do a full tuneup, belts/water pump/tensioners, etc.

Is Kinetic Suspension proving to be reliable? Are there years to avoid? Any other tidbits would be helpful. Can anyone comment on sheer cargo capacity and second row room in comparison to XC60 or 2005 Sequoia?

Thanks for the input. Any reason I should be looking at similar aged V8 4Runners? It seems for very little more I get quite a bit more of a package with the GX. I also find it hard to find a 4Runner Limited V8 4WD, at least in Texas those are hard to come by, where as all GX's are well equipped and AWD.

Finally, on stock rims what is the largest tire the GX can handle? I usually upsize tires a bit on my trucks, but I don't lift or change rims, etc.

Thanks

LexRex

Thread title, translated = Can I use a dilapidated (but serviceable) used GX470 to carry firewood and wet dogs?

Thread text, translated = Can I use a one-owner cream-puff GX470 to carry dogs and kids on trips?



Brian, I think your definition of "beater" and "utility vehicle" may be a little different than most!



The GX and older Sequoias share the same engine, so maintenance will be roughly the same.

Many consider the largest "stock" tire on the GX to be 265/70-17.

IMO, second row capacity is good, though not quite as excellent as an '05 Sequoia. Third row seating is night and day different, with the Sequoia the clear winner. Also, with the third row seats in, the Sequoia has significantly more room behind the third row for luggage. Useful for trips to the airport to pick up relatives.

4Runner V8 has the same powertrain, but refinement, ride, NVH, interior stying, and overall experience are palpably different.

Biggest downside with the GX, compared to the 4Runner and Sequoia, (besides price) is the swing open rear door. The roll-down rear window on the 4Runner is a thing of beauty. Just ask any dog who rides in the back.

BrianV

Fair enough... My title and explanation weren't exactly consistent. The motivating factor for the purchase is, but my main point was I've at different times had an unnecessary third "beater" vehicle which is a beater vehicle because:

1. It stays outside
2. Our other cars are always late models and never see bad weather when beater vehicle exists
3. I'm more inclined to take it off road, over curbs, through mud patches, to off-road accessible primitive camping sites, etc.

That said, I do mountain bike ride, camp, etc and find opportunity to do things I wouldn't do in a brand new $50K+ SUV (e.g. drive through narrow passages with brush that might scrape clear coat, curb a rim, etc.).

Since selling the Sequoia, I've been less willing to go to certain trails or camp sites. It is what it is...

I'm not so keen on third row seating, even in the Sequoia I only used it a few times and felt it a liability more times than not... "Oh Brian can drive since he can seat 8." I did fine great utility in the massive Sequoia trunk with just the second row in. I rarely had the two rear seat pieces installed and even bought a big rubber/plastic cargo liner that covered the mounting anchors. How is the cargo with the rear seats (3rd row) completely removed?

I sold my Sequoia with 91K miles and had performed the full T-belt service at 88K miles. I was only driving about 3-4K miles per year.

Anyways, I'd like to buy a creampuff, but I'm having a hard time finding one from an owner who is providing any service records.

Thanks for the input thus far.

LexRex

Yeah, I'm not a fan of third row seats either, but once or twice a year I end up needing to use them (previously had a Land Cruiser with third row).

Camping season is just beginning here, so I haven't had my GX long enough to load up the rear with cargo yet. I'll leave the cargo question for someone else.

However, that reminds me of a major distinction between the GX and 03-09 4Runner. Head room! Seriously, this can be a really big deal, depending on how tall you are.

Smitty512

You have to hunt for one. I just picked up an 07 GX at Lexus of Austin this week. 90k, 1 owner, dealer maintained, service history...And they did the 90k service, brakes, updated the nav, TSB on the drive shaft, etc for me. I've only had it for a couple days and I LOVE it.
It wasn't ever listed on their site. I had been bugging one of the sales guys for the last few weeks. As soon as it came in on trade over the weekend, he called me. (Mike G. - awesome guy to work with!) Test drove it last Thursday after work. Signed the papers on Saturday.
I even had a guy (Jerry H.) at Park Place Lexus in Plano keeping an eye out for me.

IanB2

I'm another one that removed the 3rd row seats on the day of purchase and has never put them back in, the back is used for hauling the dog, or luggage, or whatever, but not people.

A used GX sounds like it will fill your needs nicely, just need to find the right one.

chiph9

Another Austin owner here...

My 3rd row seats are bagged up and stored in the garage. They'll go back in when I sell the vehicle.

I don't go off road all that much, as this is my only vehicle (can't risk getting it hurt), but this would be the one to do it with - tall rubber so you're much less likely to dent a rim, and you have room to air them down if needed.

With the 3rd row seats out, the cargo room is much improved, but not sure if a mtb bike can get back there unless it's a small frame and a hardtail. Unless you're willing to fold a 2nd row seat up. A hitch would be the way to carry a bike or two.

High mileage alone wouldn't scare me off -- if there were service records.

I'm not doing anything this weekend (tonight is Mad Max night). PM me if you want a closer look or a test drive.

Chip H.

BrianV

Thanks, I have a Yakima hitch mounted bike carrier. Currently neither of our cars have a hitch so I've not been able to use it for 2-3 years which has cut back on my riding. I can put the seats down in the Volvo and get one back there, but it's messy and less than ideal. That's another reason I want this vehicle. It's around $1,000 to put one on the Volvo and it doesn't look aesthetically pleasing.

I don't plan on any real zealous off road trips. In fact my Sequoia was 2WD and I was able to take it places I wouldn't take the AWD Volvo. I wouldn't take it into the mud, but I went on some pretty brazen camping trips where we were crawling over 1-2' rocks, driving over brush, etc. There were a couple notable climbs but it was dry so 2WD worked out.

It's less about the capabilities and more about the ability to handle rocks, brush, etc. The Volvo is too nice and too easily damaged by that stuff.

To the guy who just scored the 07 at Lexus of Austin, if you don't have any objections, do you mind sharing the price so I can set my expectations accordingly. I understand if that's personal, but if you don't mind, feel free to post here or even PM me. I've dealt with Lexus of Austin before, they can be a bit pricey, but it sounds like you got the only good example. There is a 64K GX470 on Craigslist, but no details and it has a cracked windshield and what appears to be dirty seat backs. Not that there's any specific issue with that, but why would you not fix that windshield before selling. It makes you wonder about the treatment of the vehicle for the rest of its life.

BrianV

I'll add, I wouldn't be against finding a 100-120K model that has been well cared for, it seems these things can go a long while and I don't drive that much. This car would see 4-5K miles per year and that's only probably for a little while where more frequent trips to Houston occur.

cssnms

Would a GX make for a good 'beater' vehicle, sure, why not.

However, understand for as reliable as the engine and transmission is (they will run 300k+ miles), buying a high mileage GX does come at the price of maintenance. There are things that make the GX more expensive from a maintenance perspective then say a Sequoia or 4 Runner.

When you get into a vehicle with that kind of mileage expect that the useful life of certain components is near an end. So if those systems have not be been replaced, factor that into your cost of use. I am speaking to items such as the air suspension/shocks, dash backlighting etc.

At 100k miles any GX you look at should have had the timing belt/water pump/t-stat replaced. Beware that brake-rotor run-out, seizing brake calipers, leaking radiators are an all too frequent occurrence, so with 100k+ miles on the clock do not be surprised if you find yourself needing to replace seized front brake calipers and/or brake rotors in the near future. Inspect under the vehicle and around the bottom corners of the radiator for any sings of leaking (pink crusty stuff).

If you go into it understanding that a more luxurious 'beater' vehicle is going to increase your cost of ownership, then you will not be surprised when something breaks/wears out. The best thing you can do is find a quality local indy shop, which will help with mitigating that cost.

Otherwise they are great trucks. I've owned my 2005 since new, it now has 111k miles on the clock and I have no intention of selling it anytime soon.

BradTank

The resale is just too strong to make it an economical "beater", but if money is not an option for you, sure.

It's a reliable, rugged vehicle but it's then just a really nice 3rd car, not a beater. Even pretty banged up ones go for $15,000 plus with well over 100k miles.

Everyone has a different definition, but I consider a beater to be in that under $4,000 range.

If you want something cheap and reliable for those purposes, you'd be better off with something like an old 4Runner. Another vehicle I would look at if you want a cheap 3rd SUV are Infiniti QX4. They go for next to nothing used and are reliable as well.

Smitty512

I got it for $22k out the door, which was a very fair price, IMHO. That's why I jumped on it.

Give Mike Gruver a call there. He was easy to work with and didn't BS about.

BrianV

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the technical explanation of components. While on that, short of the exotic air suspension, I imagine a 4Runner or any other car of similar age and 100K miles would fair similarly.

My Sequoia was bullet proof short of the standard tires, batteries, occasional light bulb in the dash, etc. I did do the full 90K Tbelt, pump, tensioner, etc service.

Also, beater really isn't the right word, it will be a luxury beater. My original beaters were in the $4K range and over time they grew. The Sequoia was quite pricey for a beater, but my co-worker was moving to California and selling it to Carmax, I told her I'd pay whatever they offer in cash, to which I did. She was an early 50s Japanese lady who bought it new with cash in Austin. She took it to the dealer for every 3K oil change and had them do everything. She even bought wipers and batteries from them. I got it with 80K miles and owned it to about 100K. It was a total creampuff. I sold it for $2K more than I paid 2 years later, but I did put about $1500 into it over that time. My friend at the time worked at the Lexus dealership so I paid $450 for T-belt parts and gave him $100 for the labor and he did it on his spare time at work - He no longer works there and is into bikes and stuff so that hook up may have sailed but I have another independent guy up in Round Rock.

I'm usually able to recoup most of my investment back if I catch a good deal, so I'm willing to spend a little more upfront for a prime example, however, $22k is outside my target range. I was hoping to be closer to $15K which as stated is producing 6 figure miles with unknown histories.

We'll see the necessity after the kid comes out. I do have a good independent shop and would do a full inspection on any vehicle I was serious about.

Smitty512

Park Place Lexus in Plano had a black 06 with less than 120k for $16k. 90k service was done.
Give them a call and check it out. Jerry Hinson was the guy that I was working with. He's a straight shooter.

fantic

Like most on here the first thing I did with the GX was to remove the 3rd row seats. To me the GX is a compromise when it comes to the cargo area. I'm also not a fan of the swing out door. Even though it has a latch I'm always fighting it when it's windy or on a slope of any kind. I ended up buying a FJ80 as my "Beater". The kids bikes will fit in the back with the second row still up. Won't in the GX. When taking the kids,dogs or what ever she will take the 80.