Looking at a 2003 Lexus LX470 thoughts??

[JCDriller]

I've been looking for a new daily driver for my wife. We've got our first child coming and when you factor in our German shepherd she needs something larger than her Hyundai Elantra. I'm going back to school soon so I'm trying to keep her next ride under $20k. After looking at land cruisers I found they all had higher mileage, but their Lexus equivalents were most the time lower mileage. I've currently got my eyeball on a 2003 LX470 that has 56,xxx miles in it. Trying to get it for <$20,000 out the door. I realize the suspension on these can be tricky and the stereo is damn near impossible to upgrade. Anything else I should know? I'm on the other side of the country from this LX but it may be worth a airplane ticket to pick it up.

Thanks!

 

[ExPo4Runner]

I just bought my lx and all I can say is this thing is cherry! '00 with 115,000 on the clock, everything in great condition. My AHC works perfectly and as far as I understand its not that hard to upgrade the stereo. But at the moment my stock nakamichi sound system is working great. You will definitely love the vehicle.

 

[hidesertwheelin]

I have a 2000 LX470 and love it so far. If you can get the vin #, you can log onto lexus.com and look and see what services/maintenance was done by the dealer.

 

[JCDriller]

I have a 2000 LX470 and love it so far. If you can get the vin #, you can log onto lexus.com and look and see what services/maintenance was done by the dealer.

Wow, thanks for pointing that out. The carfax is completely clean, but in 2008 with 21k miles it had the frame replaced from collision. Wow! Likely saved me from buying a lemon.

 

[mhiscox]

I've had an 2005 and a 2000. I enjoyed the '05 more because of the move in 2003 to a 5-speed transmission. It resulted in a better power band and perhaps an extra mile per gallon. Fuel economy is mediocre at best.

The suspension gets written up as a hassle, but my Lexus people have said that they actually pretty trouble free with failures in "normal" use being rare. Your mileage may, of course, vary.

If you haven't been there already, go to the Slee 100 Buyer's Guide to read important things and to see what you get with decreasing age:

http://www.sleeoffroad.com/newbie/newbieUZJ100.htm

It is my opinion that the Hundreds are the best combination of family daily driver crossed with overlander you can find. I highly recommend them, and feel like the only real downside is that most of them are too nice for you to feel good about beating them up on a trail. If you can get by that, though, they'll do well for you.

 

[sseaman]

Wow, thanks for pointing that out. The carfax is completely clean, but in 2008 with 21k miles it had the frame replaced from collision. Wow! Likely saved me from buying a lemon.

Wonder why this didn't show up on Carfax?

 

[JCDriller]

Wonder why this didn't show up on Carfax?

I don't know, when reading its service history the only thing that stuck out was about 4-5 alignments due to it pulling, then finally I got back to 2008 and it stated alignment after frame replacement from collision. :Wow1:

 

[MightyP]

Wonder why this didn't show up on Carfax?

Carfax is a great tool, but not perfect. Accident where police aren't called and insurance isn't use to pay for repairs won't always show up. If both those things are eliminated, it's up to the dealer to report it to Carfax and most just don't have a process in place. But I'm sure glad you caught it!

And I can't speak to the LX specifically, but have been a fan of Lexus for a while. Wife had an IS350 a while back and it's her favorite car to date. Plus, I'm not a fan of dealership maintenance, but they took great care of her while I was deployed and we had a newborn. They let her nurse in an office, gave her free oil changes and helped her get the car seat out of her car and into the loaner and back when she had service done. Might have just been the one she went to, but we were happy. Plus, you get Toyota reliability.