2001 LX470 Price and what to look for

[qwopzxnm]

Hello-

I am new to the forum but wanted to get your opinions on my possible purchase.

First off, please know that I would normally scour these and other forums trying to get educated on the subject but timing has me in a crunch. So thank you in advance for the help.

I have been looking at buying a Jeep for the last month because I'd like to do some easy to moderate local trails (Southern California) and go camping with my wife and two children. In researching that, I found out about this site and Expedition rigs which seem more along the lines of what I'd like to do (driving distances and camping as opposed to trying to tackle extremely technical and difficult terrain). Anyhow, one of the executives I work with has a 2001 LX470 with 172K miles on it. It's in amazing condition and was used as a DD for is wife to haul the kids around. He's willing to sell it to me for $8,000 which seems like a good price but here are my problems.

1. He'd like an answer within the next day or two because he has other offers. (This is why I am posting without much research being done)
2. The high miles scare me, but it seems that these 100 series can run for a long time.
3. I've been researching Jeeps for the last month and am not familiar with the capabilities of a stock LX470.
4. I also don't know what types of modifications are most common or most needed and how much they cost.
5. I don't know what problems to look for, or signs of things about to go wrong

Any help you guys could provide would be great, thanks again.

 

[kman62]

First of all, if you haven't already please read and reread the resources below:

Slee Off Road 100 series Newbie Guide http://www.sleeoffroad.com/newbie/newbieUZJ100.htm
IH8MUD 100 series FAQ http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/100-series-lc-lx-faq-and-featured-trucks.30754/

 

[mhiscox]

The miles would not scare me if there was a demonstrable service record. To the extent that the vehicle was serviced at Lexus dealers, the entire history will be accessible to any Lexus service writer by typing in the VIN. I wouldn't be too enthusiastic about an LX470 that hasn't been serviced regularly.

An 100 Series is one of the most reliable vehicles in the ever made, but do set aside some money for parts that will go out. The truck as a whole will likely stay solid, but after 13 years, it wouldn't be unreasonable to have to replace an alternator, power steering pump, window motor, power seat motor, etc., and the parts and labor are expensive.

You'll be coming up on the every-90K timing belt replacement service, which is also expensive.

The ATRAC system in the LX relies on computers rather than the driver to decide how to manage traction, and it has some idiosyncrasies (well detailed on IHA8MUD). However, for most everyone, the benefits of having always-on computer-controlled all-wheel drive outweigh the disadvantages, certainly on pavement and frequently on gravel or dirt. A bit less competent than most built Jeeps for "wheeling," but never embarrassing.

In 2003, the truck got a five-speed automatic, which is a noticeable improvement over the four-speed. On the other hand, 2003s don't cost $8,000.

Good luck. They're great truck, great for daily driver use and long trips, but with surprising off-pavement capability available without much more than more aggressive tires and removal of the running boards. The ones I had were two of the best vehicles I ever owned.

 

[qwopzxnm]

First of all, if you haven't already please read and reread the resources below:

Slee Off Road 100 series Newbie Guide http://www.sleeoffroad.com/newbie/newbieUZJ100.htm
IH8MUD 100 series FAQ http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/100-series-lc-lx-faq-and-featured-trucks.30754/

Kman62: Thank you so much for those great resources. Both have been bookmarked and will be read through tonight.

Mike: Thank you for your thorough response. I'm excited to hear that removing the running boards and adding some bigger tires is all it will take as a first step in getting a rig like this off road.

 

[mhiscox]

Mike: Thank you for your thorough response. I'm excited to hear that removing the running boards and adding some bigger tires is all it will take as a first step in getting a rig like this off road.

One of the great things about the 100s is that they came stock with big tires, so while a modest increase in diameter is useful, getting the compromise you want in tread pattern is more important.

One advantage to your older truck is that it'll have 16 inch wheels, rather than the 18s of later LX470s. There are a ton of fine tires available for your use, and you can read all you care to about them on the web forums. There's one pretty relevant thread with useful pictures here:

http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/lx470-tire-upgrade.5562/,

among several hundred "what tire for my Hundy?" threads scattered around everywhere.

This thread I gave you shows some pretty gnarly treads. For my part, I ran Michelin LX/2 M&S tires on both of mine and thought them brilliant, mostly for giving good overall traction while not ruining the luxury of the truck in a highway cruise. They also worked very well in snow and on dirt and gravel roads. They would have given away a lot to a more aggressive tire in mud or on rock, but mud-terrains or a particularly aggressive all-terrain would also take away from the splendid on-pavement character of the LX470. So unless you are really going to spend a lot of time "wheeling"--and it sounds like you aren't--my advice is to not be super-aggressive with your choice.

 

[mhiscox]

I should havee mentioned that when you take off the stock running boards, you may want to consider these sliders from MetalTech:

They have a version for the LX. Be careful about to check whether other Hundy sliders will actually fit an LX. LXs have components for the AHC right where it'd be most convenient to put a slider support, so MetalTech had to fab up an alternate version.

There's a brief thread about them here:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/76864

 

[kman62]

You can use this tool to check out the Lexus dealer service history for the vehicle:

https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/profile/my-vehicles/add-vehicle-submit

Kman62: Thank you so much for those great resources. Both have been bookmarked and will be read through tonight.

Mike: Thank you for your thorough response. I'm excited to hear that removing the running boards and adding some bigger tires is all it will take as a first step in getting a rig like this off road.