We took delivery of a 2017 Land Cruiser about a week ago and quickly found this forum to be the most active and informative. Thought I'd introduce myself and explain a little of our LC200 purchase calculus.
Like many, our expanding family drove us to look at 3rd row equipped vehicles and we initially rejected the Land Cruiser for several reasons. We really only considered it because I'm a long time 4x4 Toyota lover with a built 4th Gen 4Runner that I might want to replace with an LC someday, but we were replacing my wife's daily driver, and she was coming from back to back BMW X5's, a 2011 e70 and a 2015 F15.
The Land Cruiser just didn't feel right to her, and the price seemed outrageous for what you got. It scored low on the mommy convenience scale, so to speak; no power lift gate, no power folding 3rd row, terrible fuel economy, honestly a little plain looking. Our search/analysis continued, and I dropped little bits of the stuff LC200 purchase decisions are made of when opportunities presented themselves. Eventually, the pendulum began to swing, and I think the factors that contributed to our eventual decision really capture some of the magic behind the LC200 value proposition.
First let me say I think it's a bit odd for reviewers to even try to explain something so personal as car buying decisions. Invariably they disappoint the biased devotees and miss the intangibles that can often only be revealed by a little of said bias. As one commenter on a review said, this very well may be the last vehicle so well built it can be considered an heirloom vehicle; something your kids will fight over when you're dead. As many of you must have realized, I think there's a solid objective case to be made for this vehicle, too.
In our case, our first X5 was repurchased by BMW for mechanical issues. For those who haven't had a vehicle repurchased by a manufacturer, this is a good deal. They essentially pay off whatever loan balance you have and refund all of your payments less depreciation. We dodged a bullet by about 2000 miles on that deal, as it was going out of warranty very soon. Our second X5 depreciated over 50% from MSRP to private sale price in just 3 years. It was so difficult to sell that we considered keeping it and extending the warranty. An extra 2 years and 24k miles was $5500. Out of warranty ownership simply is not an option at our risk tolerance. We cut our losses and unloaded it.
We shopped Volvo XC90, Audi Q7, BMW X5, Acura MDX, Toyota Sequoia, Chevy Traverse, various Land Rovers, and of course, the Land Cruiser. All but the Toyotas promised to put us right back in this "going out of warranty" paranoia in 3-5 years, and comparably equipped the luxury brands were also comparably priced. That's when it really hit us that the Land Cruiser's price was a bargain. Reviewers had so consistently pounded it into our heads that it was overpriced relative to competition that we'd almost mindlessly accepted that idea. In reality though, a fair price comparison to the Land Cruiser actually needed to include two purchases of any non-toyota competitor to achieve the same usable lifespan. The only Toyota that compared was Sequoia, but that was really moot, since that's not a heritage vehicle and it could end up dangerously close to LC price with similar options. Not to mention the girth and construction didn't fit my long term plans for the vehicle. In any case, we realized we'd have to buy two $80,000 X5's to get the same number of years of reliable and financially secure utility from BMW as you get from one Land Cruiser. This epiphany really tipped the scale. It meant the LC offered a $70k discount over the next decade. There were countless other factors, but again, they're almost too personal to bother describing.
Changing cars, especially in CA, is time consuming, tedious and expensive. We extended our warranty to 10yr/100k and can't believe the weight that was lifted off our shoulders knowing that we won't be pressured or "paranoid" into our next family hauler decision.
When my wife is ready for something else, the LC will be built to replace my 4Runner. For now, we love everything about the vehicle, and it feels like slipping under a warm blanket after so many years of harsh riding BMWs. We even love the rear seat entertainment, including the "huge" screens. Never understood why people would want wires hanging off of ipads clipped there.
Like many, our expanding family drove us to look at 3rd row equipped vehicles and we initially rejected the Land Cruiser for several reasons. We really only considered it because I'm a long time 4x4 Toyota lover with a built 4th Gen 4Runner that I might want to replace with an LC someday, but we were replacing my wife's daily driver, and she was coming from back to back BMW X5's, a 2011 e70 and a 2015 F15.
The Land Cruiser just didn't feel right to her, and the price seemed outrageous for what you got. It scored low on the mommy convenience scale, so to speak; no power lift gate, no power folding 3rd row, terrible fuel economy, honestly a little plain looking. Our search/analysis continued, and I dropped little bits of the stuff LC200 purchase decisions are made of when opportunities presented themselves. Eventually, the pendulum began to swing, and I think the factors that contributed to our eventual decision really capture some of the magic behind the LC200 value proposition.
First let me say I think it's a bit odd for reviewers to even try to explain something so personal as car buying decisions. Invariably they disappoint the biased devotees and miss the intangibles that can often only be revealed by a little of said bias. As one commenter on a review said, this very well may be the last vehicle so well built it can be considered an heirloom vehicle; something your kids will fight over when you're dead. As many of you must have realized, I think there's a solid objective case to be made for this vehicle, too.
In our case, our first X5 was repurchased by BMW for mechanical issues. For those who haven't had a vehicle repurchased by a manufacturer, this is a good deal. They essentially pay off whatever loan balance you have and refund all of your payments less depreciation. We dodged a bullet by about 2000 miles on that deal, as it was going out of warranty very soon. Our second X5 depreciated over 50% from MSRP to private sale price in just 3 years. It was so difficult to sell that we considered keeping it and extending the warranty. An extra 2 years and 24k miles was $5500. Out of warranty ownership simply is not an option at our risk tolerance. We cut our losses and unloaded it.
We shopped Volvo XC90, Audi Q7, BMW X5, Acura MDX, Toyota Sequoia, Chevy Traverse, various Land Rovers, and of course, the Land Cruiser. All but the Toyotas promised to put us right back in this "going out of warranty" paranoia in 3-5 years, and comparably equipped the luxury brands were also comparably priced. That's when it really hit us that the Land Cruiser's price was a bargain. Reviewers had so consistently pounded it into our heads that it was overpriced relative to competition that we'd almost mindlessly accepted that idea. In reality though, a fair price comparison to the Land Cruiser actually needed to include two purchases of any non-toyota competitor to achieve the same usable lifespan. The only Toyota that compared was Sequoia, but that was really moot, since that's not a heritage vehicle and it could end up dangerously close to LC price with similar options. Not to mention the girth and construction didn't fit my long term plans for the vehicle. In any case, we realized we'd have to buy two $80,000 X5's to get the same number of years of reliable and financially secure utility from BMW as you get from one Land Cruiser. This epiphany really tipped the scale. It meant the LC offered a $70k discount over the next decade. There were countless other factors, but again, they're almost too personal to bother describing.
Changing cars, especially in CA, is time consuming, tedious and expensive. We extended our warranty to 10yr/100k and can't believe the weight that was lifted off our shoulders knowing that we won't be pressured or "paranoid" into our next family hauler decision.
When my wife is ready for something else, the LC will be built to replace my 4Runner. For now, we love everything about the vehicle, and it feels like slipping under a warm blanket after so many years of harsh riding BMWs. We even love the rear seat entertainment, including the "huge" screens. Never understood why people would want wires hanging off of ipads clipped there.
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