ck90211

Hi everyone, after years of toiling with 95/96 LS's (and all the bad/cheap capacitor gremlins and leaky steering racks), I'm looking at 3 LX's, 2002, 2004 and 2006. Hoping for a $5-30K, foul weather car that can go into woods, tow boat/camper, with 3 rows and looking/feeling expensive. Not planning to go to Moab or safaring, but hope it will last me another 10-15 years without big breakdowns.

I know that budget is wide ranging, and won't be my only car. I am looking because for the past 3 years I had driven/ridden lots of J100's and J200 Land Cruisers living abroad, and crave that sense of security/visibility/road presence. And I don't mind working on cars, as long as it's not incessantly the same thing (where my LS is becoming).

Thanks for any suggestions.

Edit: I already gone through forum reading up various model +/-, and hope for some newer perspectives and what year/options to get or avoid, such as AHC (I had to replace air struts on 96 LS so I hate ticking time bombs). Thanks.

hankinid

I had the same issue last summer. You don't say where you live in CA...I'm in Boise, where people tend to not sell LC's or LX's as long as they keep running, so used up here is both scarce and normally well past 200K miles.

I put up a bunch of tabs on Firefox...Craigslist for Boise, Washington and Oregon, Reno/Sparks, and the SF Bay area...Car Gurus, Auto Trader, and another half dozen I can't even remember.

For model years, any MY LX has AHC. The '06 and '07's have a few more hp, but honestly I can't tell a seat-of-the-pants difference with them v. my '01 LX. You need to open a tab for the owners section of Lexus.com...when you find a truck of interest, input the VIN and you'll see any services performed by a Lexus dealer, as well as services recommended but declined by the owner. I would not think twice about buying an LX with 100K as long as the service was per the book.

Honestly, I'd look at Land Cruisers at the same time...other than no AHC, I don't see any significant differences between them and an LX. Both are 100% Japanese content built on the same assembly line.

Have your financing in place with a commitment from a lender prior to seeing a seller...a credit union generally will give you a better rate than a dealer, some banks are a bit better. Do not lease the car unless you can write off the payments as a business expense. Extended warranties on either an LC or LX are, imo, for suckers...if they weren't, do you think the dealers would offer them. I'd recommend private party purchase, assuming you can find one.

The result of my experience last summer??

I checked out an '11 LX at the local Toyota dealer...39K, great maintenance, and dealer wanted $55K but agreed to $50K. Once I looked at it, I passed. Color was, for me, dealer-breaker black. I live in a heavy agricultural area and washing the truck would last 3-4 hours before she needed another wash. I also noted third row seats were not removable without running into a hydraulic system...not nearly as easy as removing them in a 100 series LX or 100 or 200 series Cruiser.

I found nothing that I thought a good deal for about 3 months...if you're not patient, I would not even start the quest. I finally found a low mileage 2013 Land Cruiser at a Porsche dealer in Spokane. VIN search indicated religiously regular service at Toyota of Kootenai where the truck was purchased new, and the same at Toyota in Spokane. I flew from BOI to Spokane at 6am and was picked up and driven to the dealer. The LC had <50K and ran about $45K out the door including ~$3K in tax, which the state of Idaho credited me and quickly collected from the state of Washington. I passed on a $4700 3-year extended warranty, which the F&I quickly dropped to $3700...I still passed.

A sale guy from the dealer drove me to a local branch of US Bank where I picked up a certified check, drove back to the dealer with it, and drove the LC home that evening. A post-purchase inspection at a top notch indy LC/LX shop in Boise 2 days later indicated zero issues with the Cruiser.

And I'll leave you with once you find one you like, get a pre-purchase inspection by someplace not affiliated with the seller.

You don't say where in CA you are...if you're on or near the SF peninsula I can recommend a great shop for you.

I'd also recommend posting you question on the 100-series forum on ih8mud.com...far more traffic there than here.

Above all, patience is a virtue if you're shopping for either an LX or Cruiser.

PM me if you need more info, and good luck!

Steve

ck90211

Hankinid, thank you for sharing your LX acquisition experience. I definitely will use VIN and Lexus website to look up service history.

I split time between LA/DC, and plan to keep the LX in DC, for winter, for camping, for towing (boat) and Home Depot. Right now I am using my trusty 95 Previa SC AWD van (I'm the original owner), but with kids grown I got the green light for my dream car, which happens to a simple, non-US spec LC with 4.5 turbodiesel or 4.7L gasser (I had both as my daily drivers for the past 3 years living and traveling in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

But since I am back in the US for good now, J100 LC's and LX's seem to best choice for simplicity, longevity (another 10-20 years I hope) and safety. I like J200's but don't want KDSS/AHC troubles down the road (I had to replace 4 air struts on my 96 LS despite of meticulous maintenance).

Anyhow, thanks for any suggestions and inputs.

hankinid

If you want simplicity in the suspension, a 100 series Cruiser is it. Any and all LX's have AHC; all 200 series LC's have KDSS, and the LX's have AHC and KDSS.

The only issues I've seen on KDSS turn out to be frozen Allen screws...balancing he KDSS turns out to be as simple as unscrewing each screw no more than 2-1/2 turns. I'd guess frozen screws can be fixed simply by removing oem screws and replacing with stainless steel versions and a bit of Never-Sieze...but if the screws are removed completely, the system needs to be re-pressurized and that's a dealer or experienced indy shop job only.

Check the 100-series newbie section on sleeoffroad.com...

http://sleeoffroad.com/newbie/newbieUZJ100.htm

I'd also suggest some reading on the 100 Series forum on ih8mud.com,

http://forum.ih8mud.com/forums/100-series-cruisers.26/ as well as the classifieds there...

http://forum.ih8mud.com/forums/uzj100-lx470.329/

I gave some serious time thinking about this one in Pleasanton, CA. It started iirc around $29K and it's definitely low mileage...

http://www.costsalesleasing.net/vehi....php?carid=455

Though it is an LX and you'll get AHC. There are some AHC issues reported on mud, but understand those of us with AHC's that work perfectly normally don't post our positive experiences...I'd have no issue with a 100 series LX...I've already explained my issues with the 200 series and why I picked a Cruiser v. an LX.

Good luck with whatever you get, and don't be afraid to travel to get the truck...normally, it's not too difficult to find somebody from mud to check it out for you if you're too far away to drive.

One more time...be patient.

Steve

ck90211

Thanks Steve, you gave me a class on US spec LX. I still have my trusty 95 Previa AWD for the winter so I will patiently look for the best one. CJ