z0lt3c

iTrader: (1)

Hi guys... New member, first post. I put a deposit down on a 2004 GX470 today at a northern NJ area Lexus dealer. It has 69k miles, gold ext, tan int and has the nav/ML/camera, 3rd row and trailer prep with a 1/2004 production month.

I've spent the last few hours reading about clunks and steering wheel vibrations and I was hoping to get some opinions on the situation with this vehicle. The Lexus dealer provided the complete service history, and from 100 to 3000 miles it was owned by somebody who complained repeatedly about vibrations around 60mph. There are records for new wheels, tires and multiple attempts at rebalancing. It seems the original owner wasn't satisfied (escalated to FTS and took to a 2nd dealership) but Lexus claimed it was operating as designed after the last rebalancing. I do know the vin puts it AFTER the dampener TSB.

From 5000 miles to 60000 miles (2nd owner) there are no records of complaints about the steering (or any other issues with the car). The seller dealer rebalanced the tires again, before I drove it recently. I did not feel any vibrations or clunks but I can't say I was looking for them. The dealer also replaced both front brake callipers which they claimed were sticking.

Should I be concerned about this vehicles history? I thought the truck drove well and all the other systems (4wd, ride control, height control) worked as expected.

Some more minor questions; It does have the chrome factory wheels, but they have become very pitted ... any way to clean them up? The headlight have become glazed over, is their a product that really clean these up? The front seats have show some wear in the leather. This seems to be common because just about every GX (even 08's) I've seen has some wear. Can it be restored at all?

Thanks in advance.

ALAN553

Did I see this one at tri county in little falls?

Drew903

There is nothing you can do with the wheels other than have them totally refinished, so at that point you might as well get new ones. Is it "certified" and does it come with a warranty? Also, the 2004 model was the most sold year for the GX, somewhere around 35000, so if you don't love this one there are more out there. Depending on the price the tires should be new as well. The seats are just in a position that you rub the edge when you get in and out, but there should be any cracks or rips. Did you see the car fax and the print out from the lexus dealer on what maintenance was done? Like the 60,000 mile maintance? If you have the VIN number you can go to this site https://secure.drivers.lexus.com and see the work that was done at the Lexus dealer. Good luck, once you find the right one your going to love it!

z0lt3c

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the comments...

Yes.

It's been an incredible challenge finding a well priced GX in the NY/NJ/CT area. The ones that do become available are sold in hours, in many cases. If you wanted to pay $3000 over book value, you could find one... but some of the prices these dealers are asking are incredibly high.

Tri county came down from their price over $3000 to sell me this vehicle. I was really hoping to find one with grey interior -- but it seems only 1 out of 10 I see have the grey interior and, in most of those cases, it does not seem to have aged as well as the beige.

It's not 'lexus certified' but it does come w/ the dealerships 3000 mile warranty and they have receipts totalling close to $2800 for service performed, including the 60k miles service, to get it retail ready.

kphu

iTrader: (8)

You can try and ask the dealer to replace the wheels. I was able to get mine replaced for free. If not then ask them for a credit or better yet ask them to replace it with the new GX460 wheels - getting another set will just leave you in the same situation in a few years from now as it'll start to pit again.

The glazing on the headlight can be fixed. You can get a headlight restoration kit like Mequiars at any autoparts store. Read below.

Meguiars® Headlight and Clear Plastic Restoration Kit restores like-new clarity to cloudy, scratched, oxidized and yellowed, uncoated plastic surfaces.

As for the leather, you can't do much if there are any deep scratches or rips but you can maintain the plushness of it. I do a 24 hr cleaning job on my leather seats at least once a year.

I use lexol leather cleanser: with a damp cloth and cleanser give the seats a good massage it'll get a little sudsy, wipe down seats with damp cloth, wipe down with dry cloth.

Put on some gloves, take lexol leather conditioner and apply liberally, massaging the conditioner everywhere. Keep the windows rolled up and let it sit in the sun for a day and overnight - the excess conditioner will be soaked up by the leather. Next morning wipe it down with a moist cloth and then with a dry cloth.

It makes it look nice and new, soft and smooth.

jugdish

You can sandblast the rims and either re-chrome or paint.....

ALAN553

leather interiors can be "refinished" I had some scratches in some leather seats on my last audi, a body shop had someone come in, sanded the leather down just a bit and redyed the leather to match, seat looked like new. Headlights, just another plastic..any good polish will bring the clarity back, Plexus works good, designed for Lexan plastics....just i bit of rubbing to bring back the shine, just like the paint. I would be really surprised if those guys did anything about the wheels on a 2004. the price is probably reflective of its age and wear...but there are some guys off route 46 in the pio costa complex, fairfield that refinish wheels or they just swap your wheels for a set they have already refinished and have for sale with trade in....Saw a nice 08 pearl white with gray interior on the showroom floor of Warnock the other day, i think they are asking 38K but it is certified, 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty or 6 years from in service date, which may give you 3 more years?

z0lt3c

iTrader: (1)

Tri county had it listed at $21,995 but I got it for $19,150. They insisted on including "cosmetically as-is" in the terms -- this includes the wheels although they did just road force balance the tires.

Thanks for the tip. I'll see if I can find this place when I go and pick it up. Obviously I am nowhere near 2008 price range...

meyer65

That's a good price. You're already ahead of the game by at least a couple grand... so replace the wheels and go driving. If there's a clunk, buy a new drive-shaft for $270 from Sewell and 1n hour later that problem is solved. Get a road force balance if you feel vibrations. These are annoying problems but easy and relatively inexpensive to fix.

Enjoy your new GL

ALAN553

well enjoy, i have an 04 with 113K on it, runs perfect, i work close to tri county, but i am a bit more comfortable with needed service at warnock...good luck

Wronglane

Alan,did you get the timing belt done at 90k? I have a 2004 also that we bought from Tri County 2 years ago.

We used to go to Tri-county for servive despite Warnock being 2 minutes from our home. We are not fond of Tricounty now as the old used car manager left and also the service manager as well as a salesman that we liked also left.

The service manager is now at Warnock. If anyone goes there,PM me and I will tell you who to see if you are unhappy about something.

z0lt3c

iTrader: (1)

I have a few friends who purchased from Tri County and most have positive reviews of the sales process but lukewarm reviews of the service department. Seems in line with comments here.

I live about 75 miles away, in Hunterdon County, so Tri County will, most likely, never see the truck again. One of my good friends is a certified mechanic for a local Toyota dealer and does most of my service on the side. He hasn't worked on many GXs but he has worked on a ton of 4runners and didn't seem to be too concerned with the differences.

I do, for right or wrong, feel safer purchasing a Lexus from a Lexus dealer. Hopefully when they prepped it for resale they had a good idea of what it needed. I'm hoping it will be maintenance free up to the 90K service.


So far no comments have talked me out of the purchase... as of right now I'm hoping to be taking some new pictures of it in my driveway on Thursday. Thanks!

ALAN553

Yes, negotiated warnock down to 850 after getting a price from Caldwell Toyota, I told warnock if they throw in the drive shaft lube they could do it. They are hungry for work? Oh I forgot to mention, that included the water pump too.

ALAN553

From underneath the truck, a 4 runner and the gx look the same to a mechanic....they are both just toyota's.

diver110

Of course, watch out for rust. I am looking for a GX myself, but would be reluctant to buy one driven in the northeast due to salt on the winter roads.