B33R_Runner
New member
I currently drive an '03 SR5 4WD that I purchased just under two years ago. I love it. It's my daily driver and also serves as our (married, one dog, no kids) trusty road trip vehicle.
Like most 4Runner owners, I became aware of the GX, naturally. I was intrigued by them, and we thought it'd be a nice vehicle to maybe own some day. Well, that "some day" came much quicker than expected.
I noticed one for sale in our neighborhood a couple weeks ago. We decided to go check out the info on the sign just out of curiosity.
2005 Lexus GX470
140,000 miles
new tires
front brakes
alternator
F&R shocks & bags
F/E alignment
battery
$10,000 firm
:shocked: My interest was piqued. I was not familiar with the current GX market, but that seemed like a heck of a deal considering the going rate for 4Runners right now. After doing some quick research, I learned that the asking price was actually not too far off from the norm for a used GX. (Geez, 4Runners are expensive.) But it still looked to be on the lower end of the spectrum and worth considering a purchase.
We met the current owner and test drove it on 2/5. The owner is in his 60s. He purchased it in 2007 when it had 17K miles, and a few years after that, he gave it to his daughter. Now, he's was getting rid of it because he bought a new GX for her as a wedding gift. :wow2:
So, it has had a few drivers, but it looked clean and drove great. It's grey interior with the regular wood trim and navigation (unfortunately). Third-row seats. The driveline clunk is there, and the dash is trashed (I went thought the whole process of replacing the dash in my '03 and am familiar with the process, so hopefully I'll be able to get this one fixed right away). The seats are worn but not ragged by any means.
The previous owner provided all his regular maintenance records (Firestone shop). Timing belt was replaced at 104K miles. Front pads & rotors and the suspension were in fact replaced not too long ago. The Bridgetones have 6,000 miles on them -- wouldn't be my first choice of tire, but at least they won't need to be replaced for a while. He said the transmission and transfer case were replaced under warranty by a dealer at around 30K miles. He didn't really know what happened and why they needed replacing. This was a red flag, but considering the replacements are still going strong after an additional 100K, I felt ok about it. I'm hoping to clarify with Lexus exactly what the deal was -- that's extreme for 30K miles.
Overall, the pros outweighed the cons, and less than 24 hours after test driving it and $9,750 less money in the bank, the keys were in our hands. I love the way it drives. It's much more stable and planted than my 4Runner. Very comfortable.
To clarify, this is not replacing my 4Runner. No way. It's my wife's. But when the '03 craps out (will that ever happen?!?!), I'll gladly drive the GX.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolffman17/32764860695/in/datetaken/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/436/32764860695_e8bc74afc7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Untitled">
Like most 4Runner owners, I became aware of the GX, naturally. I was intrigued by them, and we thought it'd be a nice vehicle to maybe own some day. Well, that "some day" came much quicker than expected.
I noticed one for sale in our neighborhood a couple weeks ago. We decided to go check out the info on the sign just out of curiosity.
2005 Lexus GX470
140,000 miles
new tires
front brakes
alternator
F&R shocks & bags
F/E alignment
battery
$10,000 firm
:shocked: My interest was piqued. I was not familiar with the current GX market, but that seemed like a heck of a deal considering the going rate for 4Runners right now. After doing some quick research, I learned that the asking price was actually not too far off from the norm for a used GX. (Geez, 4Runners are expensive.) But it still looked to be on the lower end of the spectrum and worth considering a purchase.
We met the current owner and test drove it on 2/5. The owner is in his 60s. He purchased it in 2007 when it had 17K miles, and a few years after that, he gave it to his daughter. Now, he's was getting rid of it because he bought a new GX for her as a wedding gift. :wow2:
So, it has had a few drivers, but it looked clean and drove great. It's grey interior with the regular wood trim and navigation (unfortunately). Third-row seats. The driveline clunk is there, and the dash is trashed (I went thought the whole process of replacing the dash in my '03 and am familiar with the process, so hopefully I'll be able to get this one fixed right away). The seats are worn but not ragged by any means.
The previous owner provided all his regular maintenance records (Firestone shop). Timing belt was replaced at 104K miles. Front pads & rotors and the suspension were in fact replaced not too long ago. The Bridgetones have 6,000 miles on them -- wouldn't be my first choice of tire, but at least they won't need to be replaced for a while. He said the transmission and transfer case were replaced under warranty by a dealer at around 30K miles. He didn't really know what happened and why they needed replacing. This was a red flag, but considering the replacements are still going strong after an additional 100K, I felt ok about it. I'm hoping to clarify with Lexus exactly what the deal was -- that's extreme for 30K miles.
Overall, the pros outweighed the cons, and less than 24 hours after test driving it and $9,750 less money in the bank, the keys were in our hands. I love the way it drives. It's much more stable and planted than my 4Runner. Very comfortable.
To clarify, this is not replacing my 4Runner. No way. It's my wife's. But when the '03 craps out (will that ever happen?!?!), I'll gladly drive the GX.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wolffman17/32764860695/in/datetaken/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/436/32764860695_e8bc74afc7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Untitled">
