frankiec

I'm in the market for a Lexus LX470 99' to 02' is my budget. I love this SUV, but not sure its practical as a daily driver about 30 miles total day and when I have meeting out of the office about 100 a day (only about 1 time a week).

The SUV's I've been looking at all have anywhere from 90k to 130k miles on them just don't know if I can get myself to buy a SUV with that many miles even though I know these can handle a couple of hundred thousand.

Da Hapa

We use our 06 LX as our daily driver.

My honest opinion is that unless you're going offroad, or carrying a whole lot of material or people, these things make lousy commuters.

While they ride great for body on frame vehicles, they're nowhere near as comfortable as most unibody vehicles (from a NVH standpoint). They get good gas mileage for what they are... but lousy mileage compared to a Camry. They have good power for what they are... but can't compare to the passing power of an avg. new V6 mid sized sedan. They are easy to park for what they are... but again, not compared to...

Get my drift?

The one area the LX outshines so many other vehicles on the road is sightlines. There are almost no blindspots and you can see the road to all sides very easily. This helps me (I'm blind in one eye) to no end while negotiating CA traffic.

We love our LX and as I said, we use it as a daily commuter (44 miles roundtrip from work 5 days a week in S. CA traffic). But that's really only because it's what my wife really wants and it would not be my first choice for a commuter car.

But it is an amazing vehicle.

1loudLX

I drive mine between 30-60 miles a day commuting(depending if I want to go home for lunch), plus all that other crap you end up having to do on a normal day. Mines an 00 with 137k not-so-easy-miles.

LStyle

Other than mpg I have no issues with this daily driver. We love our and it's very comfortable. We have a kid and a dog and this car is very comfortable. The only down side is gas mileage but well worth the comfort and stability. This car handles more like a car than as SUV and as previous post mentioned great visibility. Overall this is a great truck.

Hoser

I think Da Hapa said it well. The LX470 may not be an ideal daily driver but for an SUV it does it well.

I would not hesitate to buy one with 130k miles on it as long as it has been maintained. The drivetrain will last a long, long time. The suspension?? may not be so trouble free. But going to traditional suspension is always an option.

frankiec

Thanks for the comments guys. I have a few months before my lease is up on my Audi. I'll be searching for one hopefully can get a good of a deal as I did on my LS430.

CSG

I just dropped a lease on a Miata and replaced it with a 2002 LX. It's now my daily driver but I don't drive everyday. I bought it because it's such a capable vehicle and I live in snow country. If you can afford the gas, the rest is easy as long as you are not looking for sports sedan performance. Our other main vehicle is a Camry Hybrid so we figured we could pay the gas penalty on the LX. So far I'm getting about 14 on regular.

frankiec

Now the question is do I get a 1999 with 89k miles for like 15k or do a get a 2005 with about 61k miles for double that.

werewolf

How long do you want to keep it?
Do you do your own repairs?

bacaudio

I would go with the 99 with 89k. You would figure to get one with 45k on it for double the price.

1loudLX

exactly. Gonna wheel it offroad? Beat it up? 99. Gonna enjoy it on-road? 05, the 5spd will be more enjoyable.

AKoch

I have had it since 99. Actually 98 model since 99 for 170k miles, now on the 06 model for the last couple of years. Over 200k miles as a daily driver in urban area. Can't find a single issue with it, aside from a a relatively high gas consumption. Well, I'm keeping it for another 7-10 years, what more can I say?

V8_Fan

x2. It's not an ideal commuting car unless you have to drive in snow or offroad to get to work. I bought a LS430 as my commuter...much nicer to drive, more power, quieter, more goodies, 22 mpg in the city and 27.5mpg on the interstate going 77-80! Pretty darn good for nearly the same engine (4.3L 3UZ vvti V8 vs. 4.7L 2UZ V8). The LX is more comfortable over long distances (like 300+miles), though. I only drive 44 miles/day.

DaveN

One consideration. While the gas mileage is sub-par compared to a sedan, I view the extra cost as the cheapest life insurance that you will ever find. Get in an accident with an LX470 and a Camry and you know who will walk away.

Da Hapa

MO, and only MO, partially true.

The advantage a Camry has is that you may be able to avoid some accidents that you simply can't in an LX470. Most sedans today brake, steer, and handle much better than a well driven LX470 ever could.

I love my LX but I'll be honest... I have to change my mindset when I'm driving to not try and swerve around things in the road. Despite the impressive array of safety doo dads on the LX, it simply can't swerve at highway speeds the way a good sedan can. I've had to force myself to brake and simply run over crap in the road more than once rather than trying to swerve around it.

But yes... in a car on car accident that can't be avoided, you're probably going to do much better in the much taller, much, much heaver LX than you would in a sedan.

Get hit by a Kenworth and it won't matter either way.