I own a Black Onyx 2008 GX 470 with 2.5K miles. Here's some things to consider before you buy:

1. My hood has over 25 .25"-1" fibers embedded in the paint from the factory. Note: Lexus Factory rep said the dealer embedded the fiber in the paint. Say what? How would that be possible on factory paint?

2. The rear door paint is already flaking off near the left side of the license plate near the 2 piece section. I went to a dealer and found the same problem on 2 brand new black and 1 red GX's. Note: Lexus Factory rep said I did something to the paint. She refused to go on the Lexus dealer lot and look at the 3 new black and red Lexus GX's with the same problem. She said she did not have time and they NEVER! have or had problems with Lexus paint. "You should see are paint facilities!" She offered to repaint my back door. SAY! WHAT! on a new 50K CAR!

3. 6 Disc CD Changer will neither Display Title nor Track on any store bought CD's. Lexus dealer said tuff. No Fix. I spent 50K on a vehicle and I can't even display Title-Tracks to over 60-80 songs on 6-CD's. That like surfing for sites on the net without an index like google. ha!ha!

4. Extremely POOR Paint Quality. This vehicle has ONLY been hand washed and waxed with the best products, yet it's easily scratched and easily etched with water stains from rain. After I purchased the vehicle, I sealed and waxed the paint with very good products. When it rains, the rain water stains are etched into the paint and require numerous hours to remove. Now that's funny, I've never had this problem on 5 other black car's I've owned.

5. Poor glass quality. After 2.5K miles all the windows where etched with water stains from rain water and required numerous hours to remove.

Hey I could easily name another 20 items I'm disgusted with, but who's counting?

If you like restoring new cars, then the GX is your BEST BET!

 

The Lexus rep offered to repaint the door...WHAT DID YOU EXPECT HER TO OFFER YOU?? Did you want them to lemon your GX over a paint spot and offer you a brand new one?? I don't get what you find so ridiculous with what she offered.

Your CD titles not appearing is probably a disc fault, not your CD player. Many CD's today do not have the embedded title/track/name. I have a Sienna and it does not display it either on many CD's i have, including the new CD by Leona Lewis. Maybe you should complain to your CD manufacturer instead of Lexus.

As for poor glass quality, i hope that you know that your front door glass and windshield are covered with a special hydrophobic coating to cause "beading" when it rains...aka similar to Rain-X effect. The coating lasts a long time. However, if you use detergents or whatnot, then this coating may get damaged and you will have streak marks on the glass for a long time. I personally like this coating.

Hard water is hard water...it will leave spots on all glass. My Mercedes has them, my Corolla has them, and my Sienna have them.

Sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction, but i think that most of your complaints are petty. No offense intended.

 

The Lexus rep offered to repaint the door...WHAT DID YOU EXPECT HER TO OFFER YOU?? Did you want them to lemon your GX over a paint spot and offer you a brand new one?? I don't get what you find so ridiculous with what she offered.

HA! 50K for a car that's been painted and depreciated with 2.5 K miles! NOW THAT"S FUNNY!

Your CD titles not appearing is probably a disc fault, not your CD player. Many CD's today do not have the embedded title/track/name. I have a Sienna and it does not display it either on many CD's i have, including the new CD by Leona Lewis. Maybe you should complain to your CD manufacturer instead of Lexus.

HA! My $20 dollar portable displays all Title and Tracks!

As for poor glass quality, i hope that you know that your front door glass and windshield are covered with a special hydrophobic coating to cause "beading" when it rains...aka similar to Rain-X effect. The coating lasts a long time. However, if you use detergents or whatnot, then this coating may get damaged and you will have streak marks on the glass for a long time. I personally like this coating.

HA! I have 4 other cars of which are 4-8 years old and NO water spots ON WINDOWS or PAINT!

For such a fast response, I know you work for LEXUS!

 

trade it for a gl450 a bit more but imo a much nicer car

 

you are the only person i know who has had a bad experience with a gx, my neighbor likes them so much he owns 2 at once sounds like yours is a dud

 

Have to agree, some pics would be nice to validate your post as your very first thread is of this nature. The paint, glass are very good on my example and it has a few years on it with some well driven miles. No issues. Have not heard of it being an issue with others either.

You also need to take a step back before you throw around false accusations as you did above. CL has many members and visitors and your thread will be met with skepticism from others; based on what I stated above.

If you provide some pictures of your complaints it would go a long ways in supporting your claim. BTW, welcome aboard to CL.

 

I too just got an 08 GX470 two days ago in blizzard pearl, but unlike the OP, I am very impressed so far. I also got it below invoice price so I am not sure why it cost him 50K.

By the way, I tried to get the rear entertainment system and the KDSS, but was told by all the dealers in my area that Lexus stop making those options available in 08 models. Any suggestions on RES? I have vizualogic headrest monitors with bulilt-in DVD player on our Honda Pilot, is there anything better out there or any brand that better suits the GX?

 

Some of these vents you have about the car require I see some pictures, so I hope your not here just to bash the GX 470 because it is a great SUV. Also the CD text thing if you don't have text on the CD it's not going to have text on there and that goes for any car that has the CD text option.

 

Anyway, I think the "dude" bought a GX the dealer repainted and possibly repaired for some reason. This is not uncommon. Black cars never shine up well, usually spider webs, scratches, or water spots dominate the paint.

As for the glass, move away from where the acid rain is.

The CD titles not showing up, oh well.

The GX is any outstanding vehicle with a stupid rear door with stupid fixed glass.

I wisely chose Blizzard Pearl and love my GX.

Lou
OIF Vet

 

Members I've edited posts and removed some personal insults that are very inappropriate. If you get a PM from me I'll ask you to please exit this thread and not post in it again.

Please keep this thread mature and constructive.

 

You might be a little harsh, no need to insult the GX or the people who really enjoy having one, I think you should realize is, your driving a vehicle better they most cars on the road that many will never afford, granted if your unhappy with certain things every little thing will suddenly get magnified.

1. Your hood with the fibers, I don't understand what you mean by fibers, maybe the angle of the hood makes the metalic flakes more noticeable.

2. Do you have any pics of the back door and the paint flaking off, Im not a Lexus fan but as far as paint jobs go, from what I've seen Lexus does a pretty good job, I would take them up on their offer, I'm not familiar with the rear of the GX, is the part thats flaking actual sheet metal or plastic, I've heard of Lexus ordering pre-painted body panels, look at the bright side you will probably never get rear ended

3. Your audio problem with the CD, does the GX have an ipod connection or mp3 connection of some sort, Im sure plenty here could point u in the right direction, Im confused as to how you can blame a 6 disc CD changer for not reading your 60-80 CD's, a simple search online could have given you all the answer before your 50k purchase, as well as a test drive, salespeople at Lexus would have let you try your CD's.

4. Poor paint quality, just what good products did you use and how did you use them, black stays clean for 5 minutes and looks best in the evening and night, no sun my car is black and it's like cleaning a mirror, and rain is a pain, I feel I can control the weather with my car, everyone who has black knows the emotional torment rain causes, your not alone

5. Glass quality is the same as paint, don't tailgate and get use to cleaning the glass after it rains, come on man your in Florida where you can set your watch to afternoon thunderstorms, Florida also has a major bug problem are you gonna blame the your GX for not repelling hundreds of thousands of bugs , keep in mind many products that are bought to clean cars leave a residue on the paint and glass, thats why many professional detailers will wash with dawn first, RainX is known for that, many new cars get soaked in cleaners before the new owners receive them and those products take months to wash off.

It seems like you could be unhappy with anything, you are counting, drive it and enjoy it, life is short and Im sure your gonna have many more cars, all the cars I owned if I did everything I wanted to thats another 25k ontop of the price of the car, your not alone

 

here's your PROOF! pic of the paint peel:

a dealer has 3 on the lot with the same problem - u want me to get you the VIN's so you can research IT! THESE ARE BRAND NEW GX'S! I offered to show the Lexus FACTORY REP the GX's with the SAME problem on the dealer lot, yet she said she didn't have time. She refused to walk 100 feet so I could show her the same paint peeling on other BRAND NEW GX's. Hmmm?

My vehicle was not painted. It had the shrink wrap on it from the factory. You want the Service Manager name and Saleman who will verify their are fibers embedded in the paint from the FACTORY! It not just in my hood either, I also found a 1 inch fiber embedded in the paint on my rear bumper yesterday while restoring my GX.

 

You need to LEMON THAT POS!! (my advice)

 

Plus one. Looks like quality has really gone downhill since the GX model debuted for '03 - I'm guessing the boys in Tahara are starting to slack off after all these years. The good news is all those flakes and fibers in the paint are good for the digestive tract

 

I have had my GX for over 3 years, which for me is a long time. I really like ours and it has been great for the abuse it has been given. I have washed it by hand once, and waxed it once. Other than that it is ALL automatic car washes and a lot of them. My paint looks great. There are a few chips on the front where rocks have missed to the 3M guard. Otherwise flawless.

Take your car to an independent shop and have them look at it to give their opinion as to whether it has been repainted, or at least what is going on with the paint. Your problem sounds unique. Take their info and reconsult your Lexus Rep. I took this route with a Touareg that ended up being repurchased by VW due to a bad factory paint job.

Good luck, hopefully you come to a resolution that works for you. Hoprefully, the process doesn't burn you out on the car. They really are pretty good.





One small gripe; throwing around the "its a $50k car" might not help you in your cause with the reps. or here. Lots of SUV's are into the $50msrp including Chevy, Ford, Nissan, VW, Toyota, Audi, Etc. We aren't talking about one off AMG's here, just a 4 runner with leather and some nice amenities..