LexieLS

Hello all,

I have a 95' LS400 and loving every min. driving it. Now I'm thinking about buying a used LX450. I do not want to spend nore than $12-13K or so. From doing a little bit of research, it seems to be reasonable enough to find a clean LX450 with around 100K miles. What do you guys think? I do have some questions concerning about the purchase. If you dont mind helping me out a bit, plz..

1) What are the things I need to look for in buying a used LX450?
2) When the vehicle has about 100K miles on it, will some of the expensive components need to be changed? What are they and how much are they roughly?
3) Does anybody know where to find a good clean LX at a reasonable price? So far, I have tried local listings, ebay, and autotrader.com - am I missing anything I should be looking at?
4) How much should I pay for a clean 96' LX450 with about 100K miles?
5) Is maintenance on LX more expensive than Land Cruiser? What about parts?
6) Used Land Cruisers and LX's seem to have about the same value - Why is that? If it is that way, Is it a better idea to get a LX?
7) I have looked at some listings for supercharger, what I found is around $3400. Is this expensive? How much does it cost to install? Is it worth it to get the Supercharger kit? Would I have to modify other components such as transmission, brakes, suspension, etc?
8) If I am planning to take the vehicle off-road, would I really need to Dif. Lock?

Thank you very much for helping me out, I do not know much about LX/LC. Any help would be appreciated.

LexieLS

Also, by installing supercharger kit - how much more gas does it use?

Thank you

Nomis

I was in your position about 2 years ago. I ended up purchasing a 1996 LX450 w/70K miles. The truck was/is in immaculate condition. I bought it from a Mercedes Benz used car lot located in Tampa. After haggling I mangage to get the price down from 22K to 19K out the door. Check Edmunds.com for the latest market values on the vehicle. Now on to your questions.

1) Make sure you run a Carfax report. After you've located an LX450 take it to a local mechanic and have it looked over for any blatent problems. These things are literally built like tanks and come equipped with solid front and rear axles, heavy duty transaxles and a full ladder frame. The come standard with 4-Wheel low and a locking center differential. An optional front and rear locking diff was an also offered.

2)Mine has 85K on the clock and unlike my SC400 does not have a timing belt. Instead it has a heavy duty timing chain - no need to change - pretty much ever. These engines will run upwards of 300K without a problem or so I've been told. When you pop the hood take a look at the accessory drive belts; there are two of them, so in the event one breaks out on the trail or hwy, you still have another belt - pretty clever. I've changed the plugs, front and rear diff fluid and replaced the front rotors and pads - kind of a pain here as you have to repack the hubs when replacing the rotors up front. The rears shouldn't be too bad. Oh, some ppl report that the front pads get eaten very quickly. I haven't noticed any heavy wear myself, but would expect it to use pads at a faster rate due to its mass - almost 5000 lbs. Other than that, no major maintenance items.

3) Check EBay for prices but try to buy local, it will save you a lot of headaches.
4) Check Edmunds.com for current market prices - they are almost dead on. Depending on condition, I'd say between 12 and 15 grand.
5) Only if you go to a Lexus dealer. The vehicle is identical to a L/C of the same vintage and parts and service can be done at any Toyota dealer. The only differences are a higher quality leather inside and some additional body cladding outside. They also have additional sound deadening material and better sound systems. Oh, more wood trim too.
6) Go with the LX, better quality interior. I've been told that the Lexus' received the smoother running engines at the factory but who knows. What I do know is that the 1996 model was Lexus first year for its flagship SUV the LX450 and I'm sure they took extra care when assembling these vehicles.
7) Although I personally don't have a S/C I believe the gas mileage was only 1mpg worse, which isn't bad for the additional power output. The vehicle has enough low end torque and power to get around town fairly easily. But don't forget you are driving a heavy duty truck and gas mileage will be horrible I average around 14 -15 mpg - ouch. Mine V8 SC400 gets around 20-22 for comparison. The LX450 has a huge 4.5 liter inline 6 cylinder though and it takes a lot to drive the front and rear axles - a lot of efficiency is lost in the heavy duty drive train.
8) If you can find one with the additional front and rear diff locks go for it. The vehicle price won't change too much for the locking diffs. I don't have the front and rear lockers on mine, just the standard center diff lock and it's okay for moderate off roading. If you really want to you can add air lockers later, although they are pricey. Some guys without lockers run a winch instead, so they can pull themselves out of any trouble they might run into.

The 1996-1997 Toyota Land Cruiser and it's brother the Lexus LX450 are both excellent vehicles. You will not be dissapointed either way. The 1998 and up models - read LX470, lost the solid front axle in favor of a soccer mom friendly indepent front suspension, which made for a softer ride at the expense of the legendary off-road prowess. Still a nice vehicle, but a lot less of a true truck.

Let me know if you have any other questions and good luck with your search.

Shawn

dougjohn

Depends on how much you enjoy the blower

Mileage is about the same. Possibly 1 or 2 mpg better.
It'll require premium though after installing the supercharger.

LexieLS

Thank you very much Nomis, that was very helpful.
One quick question real quick;
- I understand that the engine and the drivetrain of this car is outstanding, what about the electrical items, heating & A/C unit, and other assessories?

Thank you again.

Nomis

I live in central FL and the summer temps can reach up to 100*F, needless to say A/C is a must. The a/c in the LX gets colder faster than my SC400. I did have to replace the contacts in the starter at a cost of about $30 locally. If you ever have a problem where the engine starts and won't turn off even with the key removed (yes you read that right), then it's the starter plunger sticking to the contacts and the only way to turn off the vehicle is to remove the positive lead on the batt. A weird problem for sure, but since I had the contacts replaced, I haven't had the problem since. Absolutely every other electrical part on the vehicle works flawlessly, from the power antenna, wipers, cruise control, moonroof, and power windows, all the way to the lower lumbar support motor in the driver side seat - everything works.

Nomis

The vehicle is not without some basic flaws though, so you might as well know about the few area's I found it lacking.

-Lack of cupholders. Sounds trivial, but it's a pain to have to reach beside the seat to get at a drink. There is another one tucked up under the dash, but that's it - a measely 1 1/2 cup holders in a 7 passenger luxury SUV. I had heard that the Japanese had a disdain for fast food eating Americans and hence the deliberate oversight but who knows?
- Fake wood trim - it's plastic.
- Bad gas mileage - I already detailed as to why this is the case. The fuel tank has a large capacity though.
- The vehicle is huge, you don't realize how big it is until either, A) You try to load something on the roof - in my case a kayak, or B) You try to wash it - takes forever, and I have to stand on the rear tire to reach the roof - I'm 5'9" by the way.

That's about it. So there you have it, minus the few drawbacks, it's a great, well built vehicle.

dougjohn

1) Aside from the obvious stuff like interior/exterior condition...Take a good look at the undercarriage. Look for any leaks. Try to determine if you really have leaks or if what you see are the remnants of someone overfilling. You should see absolutely no leaks. This might sound odd, but make the the antenna works. It should go all the way up when the radio is on and all the way down if the radio is off. If the radio is on, you can control the height of the antenna with the controls on the dash -- all the way down in this case (radio on) leaves about 2 inches of antenna sticking up. When on the test drive, listen for any unusual noises. If you have one with fr/rr diff locks - test them.
2) I had O2 sensors go at about 110K miles. All trucks are different. Don't recall the cost of the sensors -- I replaced both at the same time even though only 1 was out. At 120K miles, it's time for front axle service -- will run you about $1200 if combined with the 120k mile service at a Lexus dealership -- just under $700 at a Toyota dealership for the same work -- somewhat less if you take it to an independent shop.
3) Does it have to be an LX 450? If not, the 95-97 Land Cruisers are pretty much the same rig (less some of the creature comforts you'd find in the LX 450. One thing to note is that although the wood trim in the 450 is plastic, it holds up MUCH better than the fake wood in the LCs. Check carmax.com in their Valuemax section (older, higher mileage cars/trucks) for something clean. For something in the price range you listed -- keep checking the local ads, Autotrader, eBay, etc. Prices for these rigs vary depending on region.
4) I'd guess and say about $11k to $12k for a 96 with about 100k miles -- but don't stress too much about the miles -- anything from 100k to 140k miles will be in about the same price range.
5) I think someone mentioned this already, but it's only more expensive if you get your parts from Lexus and/or get your service done by Lexus. If you must take it to a dealership, take it to your local Toyota dealership -- all the mechanicals are identical between the two trucks.
6) In some areas, the LX is less expensive than the LC -- go figure. Get the best vehicle you can find with everything you want regardless flavor (LX vs. LC)
7) $3400 would've been a bit high for a supercharger -- I had seen them for around $2400. That said, I understand that they're no longer available. Your only bet is to get one used or try to find the small number that some shop might have tucked away. Installation time is estimated at aprox 8 to 10 hours -- multiple that by the rates in your area (although I would've taken mine to either Lexus or Toyota for the installation as it would not have violated the warranty if installed by Toyota/Lexus. Some swear by the supercharger. I've gotten used to moving slower. No changes need to be made if you choose to install the blower -- although it's recommended that you have a compression test done before the installation.
8) If you're serious about wanting to turn the LX/LC into a trail rig some day, you WILL want the locking diffs. If you get one w/o OEM diff locks, you'll end up spending $2K or $3K later to install ARB lockers. Spend a little more time now and save the $$$ for other mods -- like a lift, sliders, bumpers, etc.

Good luck in your search.
Cheers,
Doug

dougjohn

You can get another cup holder from here: slee offroad - OEM toyota cup holder
Only $53 -- it fits in the strange little slot above the radio -- don't know why they just didn't install one from the beginning -- stupid, stupid, stupid...

Anyhow, I have one and use it all the time.

LexieLS

You guys are so kind, thank you.
I was looking on the website you gave me Doug, on cup holder, I scrolled down and saw this item: Toyota OEM Center Diff Lock Switch - here is the picture - http://sleeoffroad.com/products/images/centerdiff1.jpg.

What is the difference between this and the **** right on the left of driver side? Here is the Pic.

LexieLS

What is this? Does it have the same function as the one above?

dougjohn

The **** in the first picture (labeled DIFF LOCK) controls the front and rear locking differential. This was an option in the LX 450 (and LCs). While in 4LOW, if you need additional traction by locking either the rear or both the front and rear axles, you would use this switch. WIth both axles locked, you will have power sent to all 4 tires (rather than just 2 (1 front. 1 rear) in normal/unlocked mode). IMHO, if you're planning on serious 4-wheeling, you'll want diff locks -- maybe not at first, but eventually...you'll want it.

The switch shown in the second picture gives you the option of locking the center differential while in 4HIGH. When you shift into 4LOW, the center differential locks to provide "equal" power to both the front and rear driveshafts and axles - this happens automatically. With this switch installed, you have the option to lock the center diff while in 4HIGH (i.e. normal driving conditions for the 450). A few advantages of this are:
- you get a bit more control when driving on loose gravel roads with power split evenly between front and rear axles.
- the ABS is turned off, which provides (believe it or not) more braking control on gravel roads or washboard type roads. As I understand it, washboard roads can confuse (for lack of a better description) the ABS system to create a situation where you can lose braking ability. With the ABS turned off, you can lock up the brakes if necessary to stop.
- if you're ever in a situation where you damage your front or rear driveshaft, you can remove the damaged shaft, lock the center diff and drive in 2wd mode.

I have the center diff lock (CDL) switch installed in my 450 as well. If you're planning on adding this switch AND the cupholder -- you might as well do them both at the same time since the work is all done on the same part of the dash (you have to remove the same screws to install the CDL switch).

Cheers.