Austintx

Looking for a used LX. Been talking to a dealer in Jacksonville FL about this one:

http://showroom.auction123.com/kings...ariot_featured

It is super clean and the dealer has a very good reputation for selling clean used cars. But I'm sitting here thinking should I spend $25k on a 12 year old car with 135k miles on it? I've found other 2004s +\- with less miles and cheaper but without the suspension upgrade and new tires and not as clean. I have kids so having the LATCH system and safety upgrades post 2002 is important as well as backup camera. I could buy a new Subaru WRX with 25 grand so I just want others with knowledge of the LX to tell me I'm not out of my mind for spending this kind of cash for an older model with more than 100k miles. Thank you.

dannytx

I completely understand-- I was hesitant to spend big $$$ on an older car as well. Mileage on these cars seems to be less of a concern than maintenance/condition.

Before I bought my LX, I went to the owner's section of Lexus.com website and used my VIN to pull the dealership service history for free. This sealed the deal for me-- the car had EVERY scheduled service done on time at Sewell in Dallas. Every single one. You might be able to see when the T-belt was last changed.

I have owned the car for about a year now (mine is older- a 99, with 143k). So far, I haven't had any issues. I know my rear upper control arm bushings are shot, but that's about it. Even the AHC works great-- thanks to the regular fluid changes. AHC seems to be this car's achilles heel... And luckily, that won't be a problem for you with the OME suspension. Be sure and check out the websites for SLEE and ih8mud for more info.

Another helpful website: mytxcar.org. You can look up vehicles in Texas and pull the state emissions test history.

Good luck! -Danny

hankinid

Imo, price is maybe high by $3-4K, but the OME covers part of that. You could indeed pick up a new WRX. That would get you not nearly as much room as the LX, which becomes more important as the kids get bigger. You'll also get to eat the first couple years of depreciation. By then, the typical plastic Subie interior looks like crap.

You need to do some homework. As dannytx posted above, get the VIN onto the Lexus owner's website and see what kind of repair and routine maintenance has been done by Lexus. Any repair claims by the dealer need to be backed up with receipts. More info as was posted on ih8mud.com as well as sleeoffroad.com.

ETA...I would also want to see pics of the underside of the truck from front to rear, with the 2 skid plates removed, on a lift. That's important on any car, particularly one who's lived most of its life on the east coast.

KiPod

iTrader: (31)

Don't let the mileage scare you.
It's all about the condition of the vehicle itself.
I have purchased multiple Lexus vehicles with 100k+ and never had an issue.
My second 2G GS had 174k when I bought it just as an example.
I will also use my LX as a tow vehicle occasionally so that helped push it over a Subaru (which I was considering as well).

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

For that clean truck, that is a great price.

That is A LOT of vehicle for the money. Buy it and don't look back. You can have lots of great memories in something like that. All it needs is a front and rear locker and you have an unstoppable 4x4 vehicle.

hankinid

It's a truck built with 100% Japanese content...Toyota puts a bunch of care into that particular assembly line. Tons of examples of LX and LC's running well past 300K. Odds are if you take care of it you'll teach a generation or 2 to drive in it.

I don't feel at a big disadvantage with ATRAC and no lockers but the transfer case. Far easier (for me at least) to drive on snowy sloppy icy roads v. a truck w/ lockers. It's also on all the time, so one less thing to think about.

lexusrus

Maintenance records will be the key factor.

When we traded our 2000 LXLX470 with over 280k+ miles for another brand new 2013 LX570, we would have kept the old LX470. But wife wanted the new technologies in the LX570.

We always serviced our LX on time. No major problems. It is a lot of car.

True, you can spend the same amount on a NEW CHEAPER SUV/car, but I can tell you for sure that it ain't the same thing.

If serviced regularly on time, these LX's should have no major problems all the way to like 300k+ miles . Somewhere I read that Toyota HQ tests the LC/LX to very extreme conditions way more than anyone of us will ever experience to make sure the LC/LX will last to at least 300k miles WITHOUT requiring an engine or transmission rebuilt.

So you must decide for yourself. If you get a new car for the same price, then most likely it will have all the modern technologies, i.e., bluetooth, backup caneras, and etc. Whereas if you get the older LX you maybe missing some of the technology stuff.

IDK, is the LC of the same year on the used market any cheaper significantly? I doubt it bc both the LC and the LX are in limited production and rare.

toddmorr

not a great price. bought my 05 with 105k miles, perfect maintanence, decent tires, $22.5k a year ago. timing belt was done too.

hankinid

Could be area dependent.

Prior to finding my LC, I tracked an '07 LX with 74K for sale In the SF bay area. It was white, no accidents, one owner with complete records. It started at $28.5K and dropped down to $26.5K before I found my Cruiser.

hankinid

Could be area dependent.

Prior to finding my LC, I tracked an '07 LX for sale In the SF bay area. It was white, no accidents, one owner with complete records. It started at $28.5K and dropped down to $26.5K before I found my Cruiser.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Keep in mind it's got new suspension mods so that might be worth it for somebody who is considering actually taking one of these offroad. And it's a Florida car so I am willing to bet it's MUCH cleaner underneath than a NE truck that went through many seasons of winter and road salt (of course this is all speculation not knowing if either your truck or this truck was used in salty/snowy conditions).

Edit: Never mind, just checked the carfax on it and it was an OH/IN truck during the possession of the first two owners.

YotaMD

Provided it's rust free, that's a reasonable deal. My 99 LC has 235k and still feels new. The LC and LX vehicles are built to a very high standard and run nearly forever. If it's been cared for it will run for decades more.

The lift is a detraction of value, IMO, and I'm an off-roading guy. They don't mention aftermarket UCAs, which are pretty much a requirement with a lift over 2" or so. Without the UCAs, you will struggle to align it well because the factory UCAs run out of adjustment. If you plan on some serious off-roading then the lift is great. If you plan on only seeing maintained dirt roads... it's a waste. The air-ride system is awesome on these cars and isn't necessarily a money-pit, provided you can do work on your own.

Overall though, the LX470 and LC are amazing vehicles. I've bought and sold a dozen cars or so and the LC is by far my best purchase. They are the best built vehicles I've ever worked on.

LSxtacy

I bought an 06 in January with 70K miles, super clean for $23k

LSxtacy

I bought a 06 in January with 70K, no rust, super clean with all the records for right at $23k. Make sure it's not rusted underneath.

rktinc

I bought a 2002 LC with 62k miles in October for $17k. It is very very nice. It was at a Toyota dealer who traded for it. They ended up putting too much in it and had to ask way over "book." The Manager regarded it as just another used car and wanted it gone! I got it home and spend a few days brushing and sanding the diff and frame joints for surface rust and I am very very pleased with this rig. I traded a 2004 LC with92k miles in on a newer LX 570 this last spring and got $18k trade in. It ended up in Oklahoma at a used car store that specializes in LC/LX models. The ask for my old One-owner, nearly perfect LC was $25995. Seems like the range for really nice LC/LX are from 15 to 25k with 25 for the newer 04,05,07 versions.