waldeck1 Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 Would appreciate any helpful comments on my search for a used LX470 for my wife. She currently drives an '01 RX300, loves it, but wants the bigger beast. Can't blame her - I tried to talk her into that originally. We need to have the Navigation system, but beyond that just want low mileage. Any comments on what to look for, avoid, etc?! Better or worse years in that range (stopped at '01 due to price), options that are 'must haves' or 'must avoids'? Thanks to any and all who take the time to educate this rookie. Mike in Atlanta, GA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antss Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 would look at 00 or 01. these units have the traction control. i'd avoid the nav system. can't use it while driving anyway, the car must be in park in order to program. you can get a portable Garmin with color screen for around 900 bucks that you can use anywhere. if the toyota unit fails your nav, air cond. , and radio will all be affected. I think the unit sells for aroun $4000 some have experienced problems with the Nakamichi cd changer, others not a bit. the mark levinson in 01 didn't seem to have the problems. i'd not consider a unit without a service history. the 30k and 60k are big ones and expensive. the Michellien tires are the best in my opinion for this truck. i'd insist on 2 remote keys if buying from a Lexus dealer, don't let them BS you. these are any where from $150 -$250 each. i'm in the ATL also; if you want to email me........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drb Posted August 12, 2004 Share Posted August 12, 2004 i have a loaded grey 2001 in mint condition for sale. the navigation is wonderful. set up to play dvds! want more info? contact me @815-389-5400. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldeck1 Posted August 12, 2004 Author Share Posted August 12, 2004 Antss: Thanks for the info - very helpful. We have our RX serviced (mostly warranty only- I do a lot of reg maint myself) at Hennessy on PTInd- have had great service from Brian there. How about you? I found an '01 in Auto Trader.com - turned out to be a scam. The person (posing as 'Susan' ) gave me a line that 'she' had recently been transferred to London, but the car was in CT (even thought the phone number listed in the ad was AR). Many back/forth- looked very convincing. Did a CarFax- bad VIN orig listed, 'she' then gave me the right one. Checked clean. Then the kicker- 'she' wanted a deposit as good faith before the 'hassle' of taking a plane trip over to transact. I said fine- will have my lawyer friend do and escrow account. 'She' said - do a Western Union in any name - even my wife's - 'she' just wanted the name and account number so 'she could verify funds'. What a crock. Reported to fraud folks at the .com Anyway- appreciate your help. Mike (waldeck1@mindspring.com) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldeck1 Posted August 12, 2004 Author Share Posted August 12, 2004 DRB Are you a dealer? I am looking only at private sales. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r3run33 Posted August 14, 2004 Share Posted August 14, 2004 all 98 and above are good basically you have to decide how much you want to pay; also shop around with gas prices going up you may find a really good deal but best advice to give ya is to go thru lexus dealerships becasue you can get a certified one with a warranty up to 100k bumper to bumper. Private sale wont get ya that. I recently did a lot of shopping around email me if you want some of the places (floirda and New Jersey) it may sound crazy but we saved close to 15k on the purchase and the road trip was actually fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldeck1 Posted August 15, 2004 Author Share Posted August 15, 2004 r2run33 Thank you for your reply. I would love to get your sources, but can't email you directly (due to administrator- I guess I don't have enough posts). I like the road trip aspect, too- flying around to look at prospects would be easy and fun for me. Mike waldeck1@mindspring.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r3run33 Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 sorry that is wierd about the e mail thing well here are some of our research things we did before we got our 99 lx 470 we live in jersey close to phila several dealerships had lx's cherry hill lexus had 2 great ones but expensive (2000 for 46k with 55k miles and a 2001 with 33k miles but i cant remeber the price) well in florida were my sister lives we got a 99 with 55k miles for$28k) now the best thing i can tell ya is to look at autotrader and put in the places which you are familiar with and are willing to travel to. now once again we did not want to spend 30k to a private sealer at least with a dealership you know you can go back to tell and stuff like that besides we actually financed 1/2 because the interest rate was low as well. now i might get some people angry at me here but from 98 to 2005 the outside body is exact (on a 2004 they have a extra reverse light set up on the license plate area) nothing else is different. now the inside changes from 2000 interior is nicer plus navigation is offered i dont know what year the transmission changed either 2000 or 2001. nothing else changed outside or motor wise. now we were also shopping for a land cruiser which i usually not as nice interior wise but there are some models fully loaded that are nice both vehicles run forever i have seen an lx with 180,000 selling for 18k in north jersey which i thought was a high price. now as for care 60k miles is a big service for the vehicle fairly expensive if i can thinalso so if the vehicle has more then that make sure they did the service also 90k is the timing belt which is not hard but labor intensive and costs alot. tires and brakes usually depend on the owner driving style so watch for that but as for problems with the veichle there are none; a gasket problem sometimes but no real mechanical ones.if i can think of other things i will post them again just do your shopping we saved clse to 15k buy buying our truck in floirda (spent 150 for airfare to fly down for me & the wife and then 120 in fuel cost to drive back to jersey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldeck1 Posted August 16, 2004 Author Share Posted August 16, 2004 Awesome reply- thanks for the time and help. I seem to be on the same wavelength as you on my search. Test drove an '01 today with 51k miles- off lease vehicle- they want $39k walk away (has Levinson and Nav). I will keep looking for one that has more verifiable service history. Seems like a lot of off lease vehicles stop having maint at 36k miles. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alvette5 Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 We have the '00 without Navigation. The only problems we had were the stereo. Nakamichi brand. The CDs were stuck and we got the error message. It has a problem playing "burned" CDs sometimes. I have navigation on my bmw and I don't use it much, it's just a novelty and I usually use Mapquest before I go on long trips or use a Thomas Map. With the Lexus we also had problems with the sideview mirror not going back up after backing up. All was fixed under warranty. We got an extended warranty to 100K miles, just in case. Repairs are expensive so a warranty is worth having. We owned a Land Rover before we bought the Lexus so we know what were talking about. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drb Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 Hi Mike, I am drb... and I am a private owner. Bought it in December from the dealer who sold it new. Original owner traded it in on a new one. (must be nice!) I love it but am looking at buying some additional property and should lose the car payment first. Already sold my wifes BMW so I would need to find something to replace the lx before I could sell it. Maybe we could make a car swap if we liked each others cars. If you have any questions, give me a call @ 815-389-5400 days, or before 9pm cst. Thanks drb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r3run33 Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 hey there 39k seems high keep shopping and keep that number handy or even make them an offer check kelly blue for the actual price and then make an offer see what happens the reason we wanted the factory navigation was to be able to play dvds i have not had time to change the radio in our 99 yet. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r3run33 Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 hey i forgot i important thing as of 2000 the tlc and lx had asc which is an important option and very important safty tool which you may want to consider does the brake thing on each wheel to stop skids or tipping over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldeck1 Posted August 25, 2004 Author Share Posted August 25, 2004 Thanks R3 Decided to keep looking - looks like plenty available at that price. Ideally would like to buy from original owner. Have had great success in past by just sticking to that principle. I found that if I meet the owner, I can tell almost immediately if they are the kind of person to take care of the vehicle. Also have the advantage of seeing records, etc. I have narrowed down the search, though. Colors: only White, Gray or Black (preferably White); below or at 45k miles, navigation system. Location is irrevalent- I will travel anywhere to get the one we want. There are posts on how to convert the Nav to play DVD's - even when moving. Seems pretty simple. Thanks for everyones thoughts Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r3run33 Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 Good luck with the search; I had a real hard time with my wife; she really liked a white one we found in Jersey but the Lexus dealership wanted to much for it. They actually said the price is higher because of the color (Blizzard is very popular). Back to the dvd thing I will try to attach the file how to swith so it will play while in drive. If nothing shows check out another site ( IHmud.com) or just search farther back in this site it has been done several times all you have to buy is a bypass wiring set (aprox $30) and just plugs right in to the harness behind the system. Hey you also said you wanted to go thru a private purchas but the warranty will only go to 50K miles thru a dealership you can get the certified vehicle to 100K. I guess you can purchase this seperatly but i may be expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r3run33 Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 hey here is a 2001 lx 470 with 53k miles on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...2488819073&rd=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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