The seller of today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe LX470 claims it was built to go the distance. We’ll just have to see how far you might be willing to go to buy it.
Have you ever heard the story of Jennifer Grey, the actress? You may remember her as Ferris Bueller’s consternated sister, or for not getting cornered in Dirty Dancing. The story goes that Grey’s career was ascending nicely when she made a pivotal decision to get rhinoplasty. That nose job rendered her nearly unrecognizable and even Grey admits that it ruined her career.
I don’t want to go so far as to equate Jennifer Grey’s outcome to that of yesterday’s 2005 Saab 9-2X Aero, but the fact that it wears the nose of its Subaru WRX originator does lend an equitable unlikelihood of it ever getting a gig.
The CA$8,998 price didn’t help either, and in the end that crazy mixed up kid of a car took home a 66 percent Crack Pipe loss, plain and clear.
What’s the one thing that you can think of that you’ll likely have forever? Is it that cast iron skillet that was handed down from your grandmother? Or, maybe it’s that face tattoo that is the singular reason that you gave up drinking. Planed obsolescence is the de-facto standard of today’s supply-side society but every now and then an anomaly shows up to ruin the party.
According to the seller of this 2001 Lexus LX470, the luxury SUV is just such a disrupter. Based on the J100 Toyota Land Cruiser—a model already known for its durability and timeless design—the LX470 piled on timeless luxury accouterments and a V8 engine.
That 4.7-litre 32-valve V8 managed to call up 230 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque in its early guise. Behind that sits Toyota’s A343F 4-speed automatic and full-time AWD.
Wrapping it all up is Sonoma Gold over a beige and burl interior. Something else it possesses is a remarkable 270,000 miles on the clock. Yep, over a quarter million miles and it still looks pretty peachy. The seller notes in the ad that it’s “ready to go the distance” and that he personally has seen these with “up to 500K on the original motor. Creeping on high-mileage Lexuses is odd fetish to maintain but to be fair it is uniquely relevant in this case.
To make those kind of numbers, you will need to change the timing belt every so often and it would have been nice if the seller noted in the ad the last time that this one’s was done. It’s such an important component that there’s even a little reminder light on the dash to tell you when its time is up.
The ad does say that there are recently refreshed rear brakes—pads and rotors—and that all the truck’s work has been carried out at a local Lexus dealer where the records may be obtained. Thanks buddy, but I’m not doing your work for you, just let me know the deets.
What is revealed is that, despite the miles, the truck “runs and drives exceptionally well no mechanical issues leaks or drive terrain issues.” That’s excellent news, but it’s kind of the point of entry on these.
An area where Toyota seemingly scrimped on the LX is the upholstery. The leather on these trucks generally ages like an elephant’s ass and can mar an otherwise nice presentation. That’s not the case here as long as you just open the front doors. There you’ll find a pair of reupholstered thrones that look as good as the rest of the truck. The back seats on the other hand, are original and look dumpy in comparison. The third row is absent here.
Chrome factory wheels underpin and look to be fitted with decent tires.
The title is clean and, while the truck is nearly 20 years old, it’s still recent enough to rock many modern conveniences. Still, there’s that 270,000 miles. That odometer is going to be staring you in the face everyday, mocking you for having purchased a vehicle that’s so much more experienced than you are. And you know, those miles are just going to go higher.
But wait, this is a Lexus LX470 we’re discussing, and that’s a model of car that’s almost impervious to miles piled on, or—extant the leather seats—the ravages of time. What’s that all got to be worth?
In the case of this LX470, the asking is $8,000. That’s on the low end for these, but then it’s an earlier model with the lower output engine and honestly the gold paint isn’t the best canvas for gold badges which seems to be applied to these like some sort of right of passage.
What do you think? Could that $8,000 price be a deal even in light of the mileage and disparate seating? Or, is this a Lexus with a price that just sucks?
You decide!
San Diego, CA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to JoyMultiplication for the hookup!
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