So I may have another vehicle soon-- Update

Dave951

Dave951

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Doing foundation and termite repair work for a client and the bill is getting up there cause of things found in route to fix other things. House dates to 1840 and some jackleg in the 1970s botched the termite repair. Her husband passed away several years ago and he and I got along pretty good. Anyway, she's offering one of his cars as partial payment on the bill. I have some numbers in mind for the value of the vehicle but here's the particulars-

1998 Lexus LX470, 330k miles. Undriven since 2013, not started, sitting under an oak tree since 2013

Body- straight, minor scuffs on bumpers, small rust bubbles around rear window

Interior- Leather. dog destroyed the front seats. They're only marginally better than sitting on a 5gal bucket. Smells of dog. You can imagine how the carpets look...... Second & third row not too bad

Mechanical- unknown on timing belt change, tried to start it today (need new battery, no surprise) Found chipmunk nest in air filter box but no sign of further incursion into the intake. (air filter was intact). Class III hitch receiver. Tires were nearly new when he parked it. No sign of leaks around windows.

Her husband and I were discussing fixing it up and repairing the interior until he got sidetracked onto another project and then passed away.

So to the question- what would you think it's worth in current condition?
 
$300 car....because that's all the scrapyard will give you for it. Sitting, undriven is worse than its mileage....timing belt prob won't last 2 miles driven. Steer clear bud.
 
I agree. You'd be restoring it just to try to recoup your investment. And unless you planned on driving it a long while, you'll never get the value out of it.

It's basically scrap at best.
SPST said:
Doesn't sound like it's worth trading out to me.
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That would be be a no go, if you need to pay the bills. There is no money left in that car. It's a money pit.
 
I'm with the others, not worth the trouble. 330k mi, been sitting for 5yr, interior is shit, I don't see the appeal.

If you had to assign a value to it, $300-500.
 
Salvage calculator said $1800 when I ran it with a charlotte zip. Might be worth a few bucks but no way I’d do anything but scrap it.
 
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Asking for a possible electrical nightmare to get it back on the road. As others mentioned i would figure scrap value at best unless your doing a charity.
 
On second thought, it would make a damn fine chicken coup....
 
Catfish said:
Salvage calculator said $1800 when I ran it with a charlotte zip. Might be worth a few bucks but no way I’d do anything but scrap it.
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I'm allowing about half that off her bill and I did run it through a salvage calc too. I'm also famous for the $300 car. Buy the car for $300, put about $300 into for necessary repairs, drive the wheels off, liquidate for $300. I will have spent $300 plus liability ins cost and no car payments, usually for about 4 years worth of driving. Pretty dang cheap.

I'm needing something to tow with and a second vehicle to backup my primary work vehicle. 4wd is a plus. Couldn't care less about it being a Lexus other than some parts costing more than they should but Toyota Land Cruiser parts will cross for critical systems like engine and trans. As I've got it costed out- Aquisition cost ($800) [my labor] + timing belt/waterpump parts ($180) + battery ($125) + tag transfer, gvt mordida. So I'm into this for about $400 cash from my pocket. New seat covers cost about $300 and if the beast runs, I could be doing the seats myself. At the end of that, I'll have a running, 4wd truck with a class III towing capacity and I'm in for about $1600 (again, only about $700 will be actual hard cash). That's still under the salvage value and I'm pretty sure I could liquidate it for more than that to a 4x4 type if only for parts alone.

Just wanted to see what the peanut gallery thought of this one. I feel I'm being generous with her on this and it will help both of us. She gets a black elephant out of her driveway. I get a working tow vehicle that I could always liquidate later or even part out.
 
You can lead a horse to water.....
 
Its been sitting five years uncranked - how many hoses will need replacement? Figure an oil change, for sure, maybe coolant too? Never had a car sit for five years, I dont know if that goes bad or not.
But thats a long time and it not being run at all is really bad for a car.

Not to mention the interior.
 
The two things that would scare me the most is the transmission and fuel injection system. Seals in the trans can go bad when just sitting due to drying out. I would add some trans seal conditioner before even starting to help soften them up a bit. I would also get all the old gas out of tank I could and completely fill with fresh before starting. I would also add Lucas fuel injector cleaner to tank, 3 oz per 10 gallons. I have seen this cleaner help with some minor issues, but it is not a cure all for major issues. A light film of varnish from old gas on the inside of injectors and such is what I consider minor, but can cause some performance issues if not removed. I would also check the manufacture date on tires, since tires over 6 yrs old can be dangerous. I have driven many vehicles with over 300,000 without issue, but I have driven plenty that have sat for years with major issues, most times transmission. Also, since you found an animal nest inside of engine compartment, I would look hard at wiring harness and all hoses for chewing. I've seen several vehicles that animals have destroyed parts of the harness and hoses chewing away!

With all that said would I be scared of a vehicle that has sat for at least 4-5 yrs, nope, sure wouldn't because I have purchased vehicles that have sat for at least 10 years, but I would be prepared for unexpected surprises the first year.
 
I would be using a 110’ pole.

I had a bunch of wiring and hoses chewed up in a car that sat for 1 year and was started and run a while every month.

You could get lucky and it sounds like you may be able to make it work. If so, more power to you.

But as for actual value? Scrap. No more no less.
 
Yeah it's a $500 car. If you are a mechanic, you could probably sell that 4.7L engine easily to the right buyer and part out the naughty bits, then scrap it. Might make a grand or two. But I'm no mechanic so I'd steer clear unless you need it for parts.
 
$700+ cash plus $800 labor, no way.

I hope he was a great friend because you're basically donating $1k to her and getting a headache in return.
 
I really like just about any Landcruiser and I might even pass on this one. I’ve bought a ton of them and newer ones are no fun if they have been sitting. Electronics and wiring harnesses are not fun at all if there has been any sign of animals or rodents. One of my FJ62’s sat for 3 months and mice tore up the wiring harness. If it was older and non fuel injected, it might be another story.
 
I looked at a 68 year old 51,000 square foot building today that sits on 10 acres and is 100% climate controlled, fully sprinkled, and has a 240/480/720 electrical system. It is "For Sale" and the asking price is only 700k.

After walking through it today....... I kept walking. With regards to this Lexus, you should keep walking...... away.
 
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Don’t try and start it with out doing it properly. Check all fluids, belts and hoses. The fuel needs to be drained and fresh added. The plugs need to be removed, cylinders oiled, and engine spun by hand. Reinstall plugs, disable ignition system, turn engine over with starter motor to build fuel and oil pressure. Then try and fire it. As far as trade for labor..... walk away. But that’s the right way to do it if you get it.
 
Coltdefender1911 said:
Don’t try and start it with out doing it properly. Check all fluids, belts and hoses. The fuel needs to be drained and fresh added. The plugs need to be removed, cylinders oiled, and engine spun by hand. Reinstall plugs, disable ignition system, turn engine over with starter motor to build fuel and oil pressure. Then try and fire it. As far as trade for labor..... walk away. But that’s the right way to do it if you get it.
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Understand. Ain't my first rodeo with a "dead" vehicle. My all time favorite was a 1980 Corolla 2dr. Got it from a guy who worked in TRD and it was his project. Hadn't been running for a while, but he had put most of a road racing suspension on it along with a close ratio gearbox. Engine was a performance one that hadn't been running either. Put the engine in, did due dilligence, and oooohhhh baby. Sleeper is a poor description. 3 colors of paint due to mismatched body panels with a couple shades of primer and a patina of rust. Interior was in worse shape than the Lexus in question. But man oh man, I smoked a number of BMWs, Hondas and RiceRockets in CLT with that toy. Nothing like a race car loose on the streets looking like a junk yard refugee.
 
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Dave951 said:
Understand. Ain't my first rodeo with a "dead" vehicle. My all time favorite was a 1980 Corolla 2dr. Got it from a guy who worked in TRD and it was his project. Hadn't been running for a while, but he had put most of a road racing suspension on it along with a close ratio gearbox. Engine was a performance one that hadn't been running either. Put the engine in, did due dilligence, and oooohhhh baby. Sleeper is a poor description. 3 colors of paint due to mismatched body panels with a couple shades of primer and a patina of rust. Interior was in worse shape than the Lexus in question. But man oh man, I smoked a number of BMWs, Hondas and RiceRockets in CLT with that toy. Nothing like a race car loose on the streets looking like a junk yard refugee.
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Apples and oranges.
 
For all the naysayers- Went ahead with the deal. All buttons work except the one to open the sunroof. No mouse damage found. All fluids changed. 4wd works. Auto Height Control works, yup, it'll go up and down at the push of a button. Interior detail cleaned (by me, took 2 days). Runs strong, already been offered more than 3x what I have in it. And to add full disclosure, I was a prof mechanic in the 80s and still have most of my tools, but sold the SnapOn bottom box. What it really needs at the moment are a set of replacement leather front seat covers and I've sourced those but since I'm cheap, I'll stick with the crappy slip overs for the time being. I'm using it now, and not a moment too soon.

Work van came up for tag, insp routine. Check engine light came on that morning on the way to the insp station. Started running rough, so it wouldn't pass. Pulled the codes, catalytic. With nearly 300k on the clock, time for a new one. Friend runs a shop, took it to him, yup, catalytic stopped up. Replaced it, cleared codes, still ran rough, other codes came back. This time codes indicated MFA/MAP. Replaced plugs, wires, cleaned sensors, cleared codes. Still ran rough, code came back for O2. Replaced it. Now no codes, but still runs rough (and I mean barely driveable). Of my old tools, the one tool I need at the moment got broken during a move- my compression tester. So off to the local parts store for a "free" use of their tester to diagnose what's happening. I'm thinking at this point either blown head gasket (compression blow between cyl) or broken valve spring although I've only seen that twice and both times in race cars we maintained that were over revved. Either scenario parts are pretty cheap, it's just a PITA to change a head gasket and marginally less so for a valve spring.

Upshot, I think I've scored on this beast and the more I drive it, the better I like it.
 
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