I Got a GX 470!

"Shift24" (the-nope) 08/15/2018 at 11:30 • Filed to: GX470, GX 470, Lexus, OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, Driver_41, HammerheadFistpunch

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Over this past weekend I went up to Chicago to get a GX470 that has spent all of its life in North Carolina. Its an 05 with just over 103K miles.

We took my E39 up and back. It was a champ for the ~650 miles. Though it did have alittle bit of a BMW fit in that it didnt like Chicago as it through the TCS light coming out of Illinois. It then went away when we stopped at a rest stop in Ohio.

So in the 400+ miles i have driven the GX470, I am impressed. It takes the bumbs with no problem. Great turning radius for how big it is. The GX does have some lean to it in comfort mode but sport definitely is tighter and more responsive. The interior is possibly the nicest I have even had the. The dash has a few cracks as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!   said happens. I am going to check the recall status to see if its covered. If not its still not that bad.

A few things I found out driving back. The car had sat for almost 9 months so there is some shaking of the cobwebs off. The wheels have a little shake to them and as we were driving back it was greatly reduced but might need to be re-balanced. The over for the sun roof likes to rattle on big bumps. So have to figure that out. Also some surface rust on the under body but fairly clean for the age, might consider have the bottom coated again as its going to see Ohio winters. Also need to attach a hitch, luckily wiring is already there.

Overall very pleased with the purchase. I would like to thank all the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! helping me to decide on buying it. And the family was also overall happy with the purchase as well. And a full review to come.

Captain of the Enterprise > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 11:32

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Congratulations it looks like a great find especially with no rust!!

Jack Does Cars > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 11:38

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NC vehicles cannot nor will not die.

HammerheadFistpunch > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 11:38

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Looks like a good find! I would suggest a couple of things:

1. raise the air suspension up to full height and look for cracks in the airbags, they should be starting to form about now.

2. The TCS light could be a faulty ABS reading. You can pull the sensors and clean them off the hubs pretty easy.

bob and john > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 11:42

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vibs is probably just flat spots in the tires. they will work themselves out. 

Shift24 > Captain of the Enterprise 08/15/2018 at 11:58

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Thanks! It was worth the drive. Thought it was weird it was in chicago but the dealer said he pulls a ton of vehicles from there as Chicagoans will normaly pay extra.

Shift24 > bob and john 08/15/2018 at 12:25

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Thats what i was thinking. Like I said it lessened as I was driving back. It actually moved mph from 60 to 70. We will see but if need be I can have them balanced for cheap

Shift24 > Jack Does Cars 08/15/2018 at 12:26

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I like your thinking. And why I drove up there for it

bob and john > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 12:30

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the problem if you balance it is as they work out, they will get unbalanced again. so you are pretty much just wasting time and money

Shift24 > HammerheadFistpunch 08/15/2018 at 12:36

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Thank you! And we did raise and lower it but for got to look for cracks. I will do that anyway. But it seems to work great so far.

And yeah probably, I have new sensors at home but it was just very BMW to throw something. 

Shift24 > bob and john 08/15/2018 at 12:37

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True, how should it take for the flat spots to work them selves out?

bob and john > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 12:40

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really depends on driving style and conditions. Give it a week and a bit of normal commuting where the tires get up to their regular temp. 

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 13:09

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Was that one online somewhere? I remember looking at a black 05 near Chicago. Is it nav or non-nav?

I gave up on finding a decent GX near to me...

Shift24 > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 08/15/2018 at 14:38

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It has Navi and I found it on cars.com. I gave up as well as most were ether rusty or had 250K on the odometer. Luckily like I said above the dealer I went to pulls cars from the south as Chicagoans pay extra for southern cars. He had marked this one down as it had been on his lot for 6+ months

And if you are looking to finance i would check out DCU . Their process is very weird so I would call them to understand it but they were full percentages cheaper than what the dealer could get. Im talking 1 to 2 % not a quarter or half.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 14:50

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Glad you found a good one. I financed my Rover through my CU at 2.49%...the guy at the dealership said that even the rates the *dealership* was getting weren’t that good anymore. 

Tron28 > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 15:10

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Congratulations! I have a 2005 as well and I really like it . How much did you pay for yours?

Did you get all of the maintenance records so you can see what upkeep needs to be done soon? Hopefully the timing belt was changed recently.

Islexic > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 15:34

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Start saving for when the secondary air injection system goes down. Change the power steering fluid as it is probably black by now and stains the resivoir so you can’t read the level without shaking it. Otherwise they are very durable. My 2005 has 135000 miles.

Driver_41 > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 15:38

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Nice find! Looks pretty clean and that’s low mileage. GX’s seem to be the new FiST on Oppo, there must be 4 of them now. They’re an essential part of a balanced driveway.

Saracen > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 17:40

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Congrats! These seem like quite a bargain these days.

Time for an expo vehicle build?

M.T. Blake > Shift24 08/15/2018 at 18:09

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Excellent! I was steered towards one but personal preference got me a 4Runner. Hopefully it was a steal of a price! When ever I think about guessing the price someone paid for a car I think of this scene:

Shift24 > Driver_41 08/16/2018 at 09:39

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Thanks! And yeah very true, at least 3-4 on this page alone. And I think OpposResidentLexusGuy and BrianGriffin   said they were looking for one soon.

And agreed, best way to balance a drive way. Even if there is a Mustang instead of a Camaro . Just joking though looks like a fun driveway.   True story though have my 98 Camaro parked right next to mine .

Shift24 > Saracen 08/16/2018 at 09:50

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Would like to, I have seen some mods I would like to do right away with some in the future. This is well down the road and possibly a dream as some are $2k but there are a couple offroad bumpers that I really think makes the GX look way better.

Shift24 > M.T. Blake 08/16/2018 at 10:11

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I took me awhile to realize that was Rat Race. Great movie. But yeah I paid a tad more than I really wanted ( even though it was still in the budget) as I really tried to get him to move on price but he was selling at a loss already. And I wasn’t going to give up on a low mile southern car I drove 300+ miles to see.

Shift24 > Islexic 08/16/2018 at 10:17

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Emissions air pump? huh wonder if there is a way to by- pass it, probably not . And ill check on that, I will say though who ever had the car before me took really good care of it and followed maintenance intervals. So maybe Ill get lucky

Shift24 > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 08/16/2018 at 10:19

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Yeah I was really surprised about that. He said he was getting 7 to 8 was his best. I know I dont have the best credit but I got 2.79%. Credit unions are the way to go.

Saracen > Shift24 08/16/2018 at 11:57

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I’m looking at similar bumpers for my F250. There are kits out there for a fraction of the price, you just have to weld them up yourself, or pay a shop to do it.

ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper > Shift24 08/16/2018 at 14:16

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How much did it set you back by?

Shift24 > Saracen 08/16/2018 at 23:24

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Thats an idea. To be honest I have never really been exposed to off road or 4x4 community. I mean i had a truck but it was mainly meant to move stuff.  

J ust was never prevalent when I was growing up, s o i have alot to catch up on.

Shift24 > ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper 08/16/2018 at 23:45

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So I try haggling him but he already was selling it at a loss. Very stand up guy and upfront about it (Even showed his spread sheet on  how much of a killing they make on wranglers) but $11.6k.

Might have over paid a little bit but my keys were mileage, 2005 or newer (vvt-i first year, 270hp vs 230hp), timing belt and pump done at 95k (so basically have 100k till the next one), clean carfax history, and from the south. Big key there as these are not the best with rust. I looked for 2-3 months for similar gxs and none hit all the points but one other and it had some awful exterior mods and they wanted $12.5k (06 though). So instead of trying to haggle and 6 hours of driving, I wanted it so I was like just get it done.

Jafddhbh > Shift24 07/29/2019 at 08:35

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You can install the bypass plate now to avoid the expensive fix later. Do it