2003lx470

hello members,

this is my 1st post.

i bought a 03 lx 470 from a dealer. they want to go through the car before handing me the keys. can some one tell me what things i should check to make sure they are in working condition before leaving the lot.

thanks in advance

juice14

always check te paint and also check for dents. my car had 2 dents on the roof and the dealership fixed them for free.

BTUMAN

Here are some major things to check-
1. Run a CarFax to see what it tells you. Don't trust is 100%. Only reports accidents reported by state and some insurance companies.
2 Ask them to run the Vehicle in their system and show you the service history, they can get it. Or, if you have the VIN, you can go to Lexus online and say it is yours and your history will show online (although not as detailed).
3. Check for VIN stickers on each door, hood, body panel. If missing it has been wrecked. Check for frame damage.
4. Check the Nav and the DVD\CD and tape player. take one of each with you to test.
5. Check backup camera, power mirrors.
6. Check transmission shifting from park to nutral and then to drive. Listen for clunks. While driving give it the gas and then let off and see how it downshifts...should not hear or feel a clunk.
7. Check tires for even wear, uneven where is not a good sign.
8. Look for tape lines under hood, ect where a repaint was done.

Hope that helps you out...don't rush into it.

Jayson

Keep in mind that if you do find that the vehicle has been in a wreck that doesn't mean you shouldn't by the LX. Definitely take it for a spin and if tracks right and rides smooth, the repairs were probably done correctly and to Lexus standards.

Make sure the LX has the NAV disc. If it doesn't you're looking at ~$300 for a new disc.

We couldn't believe the difference in ride quality when we had new tires installed. Our vehicle came with matching tires from Lexus dealership, however, that didn't mean they were new, whcih we later found out. We installed Yokohama Geolanders and they are wonderfully quiet and smooth.

Congrats on your purchase and good luck!

2003lx470

thanks juice14, btuman, jayson for the infor.

V8_Fan

Make sure the dealer has BOTH master keys. If not, a replacement is $200 + $50 to program it! If you lose both, you have to replace the entire ECU...$2K!! The '03 doesn't have a rear view camera, only the '04+. Drive the car to around 55-60mph and make sure there are no vibrations in the steering. Also drive around 45mph+ on a straight, flat (side to side) road, let go of the steering wheel and make sure the car tracks straight. Also make sure the wheel is centered when driving on a flat road. For my rig, I had to turn the steering wheel about 10 deg to the left to keep the car straight, yet if I let go of the wheel, it tracked straight. That meant it wasn't an alignment problem. Dealer diagnosed it as a bad VGRS (variable gear ratio steering, introduced in '03) ECU. Replacement ECU was $800(!!), but it was covered under the CPO warranty. My rig also came w/ only 1 master key and 1 valet. I had to buy another master ($250, programmed) after shelling out $46K for the rig! Arrrgh! I made the assumption when signing the requests before delivery that it come w/ 2 master keys. Upon delivery, salesman said lexus is only required to provide 2 keys for CPO vehicles. Nothing about them having to be master keys.