2011 LX570 - Trading it in

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Chaldaean

Chaldaean

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Threads
70
Messages
592
Location
Seacoast NH
I'm struggling with the decision, but I'm trading the LX570 in for a 2024 Ford Lightning Platinum (all electric vehicle). We have solar panels on our house that make 200% of our needs and my commute is over 50 miles per day, so I think this move makes sense.

The LX570 has 220,000 miles - I just had the valley plate leak taken care of by a local shop that specialized in Lexus/Toyota and also installed a new water pump for $4,800 total. I had a Blackstone Oil analysis done at 211,000 miles and the report begins with "What a wonderful way to kick off your LX570's file! This report is spotless, with no out-of-line results to note." Zero rust on the frame (it was a Florida car and it's been oil undercoated each year).

Does anyone have experience with trade-in values at dealers? I'm not sure what to expect. I assume they don't increase the value based on aftermarket additions (K9 Roof Rack, Bud Built Skid Plates, Slee Battery kit with billet terminals, Trailer Brake, etc)

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I don't have experience with a dealer trade in, but at one point one of the local Ford dealers here in Denver offered me around 15k on my 2009 LX with 180k miles. I ended up paying cash for my truck, so my LX is still in the driveway, I'm trying to decide the best way to sell it.
More so I just wanted to comment about the Lightning... I went back and forth for a while but I finally bought a 24 Lightning Flash and I 100% love everything about it. I have driven land cruisers for 20 years, so it was a very hard decision, but every time I drive my LX now, I just cant see myself ever going back. Yes the fit and finish and build quality of the Ford is nowhere near what a Land Cruiser is, but the usability of the Lightning is so good, and the instant torque and smooth driving is addicting.
Sorry that probably doesn't answer your question, but just wanted to say... you will love that Lightning
 
cathaan said:
More so I just wanted to comment about the Lightning...
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@cathaan, thank you for the confidence boost. Going from a 14 year old LX570 to a new vehicle is quite a leap - twice as fast and tons of tech.

I originally looked at the Flash because I hate sunroofs (I never use them and they inevitably leak), but the used Platinum with 9,000 miles popped up with all the bells and whistles. The downside of the Platinum is that is has a reduced tow rating, reduced range and dumb looking rims, but I can accept those.
 
You'll get a hair under wholesale, perhaps 12K give or take 1-2K. You should be able to sell it private party for 18-20K depending on other maintenance and work that was done outside the valley plate and water pump.
 
I think you need include maintenance history. $4800 probably included timing chain cover reseal. Just my two cents.
 
The dealer wont likely care about the valley plate leak (or know what it is), any modification, etc. In fact, they might detract from the offer for those, which will be piss poor to begin with. Like some of the others mentioned, sell it privately.
 
Yeah, make sure this goes to an enthusiast. Dealership won't give two turds about stellar maintenance, oil analysis, RW wheels, etc. You'll probably make more selling it to a cruiser head than you would save in sales tax by trading it to the dealer (assuming that's the way it works in your state). If, for convenience sake, you decide to trade in, pull all the aftermarket parts off and sell them separately. Like I said, the dealership won't give you anything for them.

Awesome picture, by the way, that canoe looks perfectly at home :)

Enjoy the lightning--I've been DD'ing electric for about 10 years now. Hard to argue with the math $$$, doubly so if you make your own electricity.
 
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I ended up selling the LX570 to the garage that fixed the valley plate leak for $15,000 (I had just paid them $4,800 to fix the valley plate leak and install a new water pump, so it really only felt like I was getting $10,000). I could have hung on to it and waited for a better offer, but I wanted to expedite the process as I have a bunch of other projects going on.

Dealers were offering around 13,000 as a trade-in (one offered $15,500, but I didn't really want to go through a dealer trade in since there were aftermarket changes that may have lowered the trade-in value such as removal of the rear spoiler which interfered when I had a canoe on the Eeezi Awn K9 rack.......I'm certainly going to miss that rack).

Thanks for all the support. I'm slated to pick up a used 2024 Ford F150 Platinum with 9,000 miles in a couple of days. No more coolant leaks. No more oil changes. Brake pad changes are every 100,000 miles or so if I drive in "one pedal" mode. Active cruise control. Headlights that aren't cloudy.

When I sold the LX570, I drove away silently with the radio off and reminisced. It was a good rig.
 
You may want to also think about selling it to Carvana. I actually got pretty decent money for my 2016 when I was moving to the 2008 that I have now.

Carvana gave me a much better price than Carmax, and I didn’t have to hassle with selling it private party.
 
I’ve also been DDing an EV for >10 years now and in Alaska (and have had 7kw of solar on my home for 9 years) for all that that matters. As soon as I can get an EV truck that will tow my camper comfortably 300 miles my LX570 is gone. GM is getting close with their massive batteries.

Good choice in the lightning!

Like others have said sell it privately if you want top dollar.
 
Chaldaean said:
I ended up selling the LX570 to the garage that fixed the valley plate leak for $15,000 (I had just paid them $4,800 to fix the valley plate leak and install a new water pump, so it really only felt like I was getting $10,000). I could have hung on to it and waited for a better offer, but I wanted to expedite the process as I have a bunch of other projects going on.

Dealers were offering around 13,000 as a trade-in (one offered $15,500, but I didn't really want to go through a dealer trade in since there were aftermarket changes that may have lowered the trade-in value such as removal of the rear spoiler which interfered when I had a canoe on the Eeezi Awn K9 rack.......I'm certainly going to miss that rack).

Thanks for all the support. I'm slated to pick up a used 2024 Ford F150 Platinum with 9,000 miles in a couple of days. No more coolant leaks. No more oil changes. Brake pad changes are every 100,000 miles or so if I drive in "one pedal" mode. Active cruise control. Headlights that aren't cloudy.

When I sold the LX570, I drove away silently with the radio off and reminisced. It was a good rig.
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If the garage bought it, they knew they were getting a solid rig at good value. Nice call with not doing the dealer options. When I last sold a car, carvana low balled me and by far was the worse offer. They clearly didn’t want my old truck.

FWIW, I’m at 88k on original brake pads/rotor with my 200. Tbf I know I wouldn’t be were I spending more time in the city driving exclusively. That regen braking is cool tech for sure. I hope you enjoy your new truck.
 
Chaldaean said:
I ended up selling the LX570 to the garage that fixed the valley plate leak for $15,000 (I had just paid them $4,800 to fix the valley plate leak and install a new water pump, so it really only felt like I was getting $10,000). I could have hung on to it and waited for a better offer, but I wanted to expedite the process as I have a bunch of other projects going on.

Dealers were offering around 13,000 as a trade-in (one offered $15,500, but I didn't really want to go through a dealer trade in since there were aftermarket changes that may have lowered the trade-in value such as removal of the rear spoiler which interfered when I had a canoe on the Eeezi Awn K9 rack.......I'm certainly going to miss that rack).

Thanks for all the support. I'm slated to pick up a used 2024 Ford F150 Platinum with 9,000 miles in a couple of days. No more coolant leaks. No more oil changes. Brake pad changes are every 100,000 miles or so if I drive in "one pedal" mode. Active cruise control. Headlights that aren't cloudy.

When I sold the LX570, I drove away silently with the radio off and reminisced. It was a good rig.
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I definitely see the appeal for a newer car, especially when you are talking about immediate maintenance and interval stuff.

That being said, the 200 has just the right amount of Tech. My 08 has parking sensors and other than that, it leaves me alone and lets me drive, lol
 
How much is the F150 Lightening? How long will it take to make up that cost (plus the solar panels) at the gas pump?

I wouldn't be so sure bout "no more coolant leaks" BEVs have extensive thermal amangement systems, far more complicated than ICE.

 
slipkid13 said:
How much is the F150 Lightening? How long will it take to make up that cost (plus the solar panels) at the gas pump?

I wouldn't be so sure bout "no more coolant leaks" BEVs have extensive thermal amangement systems, far more complicated than ICE.

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I own EVs and I’ve done the math, EVs are insanely cheep to own/drive. In my model 3 vs LX, if I had driven the LX every mile I’ve driven my Tesla over the last 7 years it would Have cost me at least $40k more, so my Tesla had almost paid for its self. Think about this, with my solar (even in Alaska where ~4 months a year I produce none) I’m at ~$100-150 a year to charge. The cost of one tank of gas in the LX charges me for at least 6 months.

I’m at 11 years now and 95k miles between 2 teslas (2014 S for 4 years and now a 2018 3 for over 7 years) my total cost of ownership is ~$1k for charging, one set of winter tires on the S, one set of summer tires for the 3 and 2 sets of winter tires on the 3 the only maintenance in 11 years is a brake fluid flush every other year that I DIY.

When I can get an EV truck to pull My camper I’ll charge at the camp site (for free). In the summer I’ll save probably $1k a month when we are camping often.
 
coleAK said:
I own EVs and I’ve done the math, EVs are insanely cheep to own/drive. In my model 3 vs LX, if I had driven the LX every mile I’ve driven my Tesla over the last 7 years it would Have cost me at least $40k more, so my Tesla had almost paid for its self. Think about this, with my solar (even in Alaska where ~4 months a year I produce none) I’m at ~$100-150 a year to charge. The cost of one tank of gas in the LX charges me for at least 6 months.

I’m at 11 years now and 95k miles between 2 teslas (2014 S for 4 years and now a 2018 3 for over 7 years) my total cost of ownership is ~$1k for charging, one set of winter tires on the S, one set of summer tires for the 3 and 2 sets of winter tires on the 3 the only maintenance in 11 years is a brake fluid flush every other year that I DIY.

When I can get an EV truck to pull My camper I’ll charge at the camp site (for free). In the summer I’ll save probably $1k a month when we are camping often.
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Cool but Alaska is wildly more expensive than the lower 48 for just about everything so it's not an apples to apples comparison. No one ever mentions much the solar cost to install, panel life, etc.they just act like its instant free electricity.

I get it it's cheaper to charge your Tesla than fill up an LX (esp. in Alaska) but what about the capital costs? Everyone seems to leave those out. Spending 60-70K on a BEV to save $100-200/month on gas (on a vehicle you already own) seems foolish. It also seems foolish to worry about gas mileage before purchasing or while owning an SUV like the 200 series esp. if you are commuting over 50 miles a day.

If folks are into BEVs and solar, awesome, no problems. I just don't see the rational (in most cases) behind dropping 60-70K on a car (plus solar) to "save" a couple of hundred bucks in gas.
 
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slipkid13 said:
Cool but Alaska is wildly more expensive than the lower 48 for just about everything so it's not an apples to apples comparison. hNo one ever mentions much the solar cost to install, they just act like its instant free electricity.

I get it it's cheaper to charge your Tesla than fill up an LX but what about the capital costs? Everyone seems to leave those out. Spending 60-70K on a BEV to save $100-200/month on gas (on a vehicle you already own) seems foolish. It also seems foolish to worry about gas mileage before purchasing or while owning an SUV like the 200 series.

If folks are into BEVs and solar, awesome, no problems. I just don't see the rational behind dropping 60-70K on a car (plus solar) to "save" a couple of hundred bucks in gas.
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I agree with you buying a new EV to replace a paid for reliable ICE takes a long time for the ROI. But for people that change vehicles it completely makes sense.

Our gas is more expensive but so is our electricity, my solar was $8k (9 years ago, did most of it myself) my Model 3 (after the tax credit) was $43k. Driving the EV, I save ~$4k a year in gas and $1-3k a year in maintenance/repairs. The solar ROI was 6 years, not considering the EV charging. I’m very close to covering the total Cost of my model 3 (not just the cost difference), and I’ll likely keep the 2018 model 3 at least another 7-10 years.

My brother (in central Florida) switched from a 2020 gas F150 to a 2024 lightning he pays a flat $31 a month for unlimited off peak home charging. Now he is one of those that gets a new truck every 4-5 years no matter what. The lightning was $7k more than a similar gas. He will make that up in less than 2 years.

Another thing most people don’t think about is the massive amount of time you save home charging an EV, I’ve gotten to the point where it pains me to wait in line and stand there to get gas. I mostly drive my EV within a 100 mile radius of my house so most years I spend a total of 1 hour time spend in charging, compare that to every time you get gas.

I’m not saying Evie either for everyone. If you don’t want to drive an EV and keep spending money on gas. Good for you if that’s your choice. But the misinformation that they aren’t that much cheaper to drive is just ridiculous.
 
"Another thing most people don’t think about is the massive amount of time you save home charging an EV, I’ve gotten to the point where it pains me to wait in line and stand there to get gas. I mostly drive my EV within a 100 mile radius of my house so most years I spend a total of 1 hour time spend in charging, compare that to every time you get gas"

I haven't ever waited in line to buy gas in my life. If a station look crowded I just go to the next one.

Filling up takes 2-3 mins max. It's great if you can always charge at home but I spend a lot time driving all over the West, the time I would waste at charging stations would significantly increase my travel time. People also never talk about the BEV insurance costs and the case of the SUV tire wear. I would pay more to insure a model 3 here in Colorado than it would save me in gas.

It's great your solar was so inexpensive but 99% of us are not able to install and wire it ourselves. I am glad it works out for you and if you are spending 4K a year on gas you must be driving a ton. Your situation seems really unique.
 
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