A "new" used Land Cruiser? (1 Viewer)

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LCH21

LCH21

Joined
Jul 15, 2022
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16
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Location
Lake Arrowhead, CA
The wife has gotten a wild hair and is discussing ditching the Porsche Macan Turbo and getting a Land Cruiser. She says that she wants to have a higher driving position and something that is cheaper to maintain. The Porsche is ridiculously expensive to maintain, even doing a lot of my own work on it. She also said that she wants a low step-in. High driving position and a low step-in? Uh, okay.... Anywho, I am finding that a good low-mileage (less than 60,000) post 2018 MY tend to be as, if not more expensive as the new 2024 model. I would prefer to have the larger brakes and new radiator, but would consider an older one too. Any down sides to go with an older, higher mileage one? Any opinions on the new LC? I haven't paid them much attention. The thought of the new high-strung turbo 4 in a Land Cruiser just doesn't sit right with me. I just don't want to get into something with heater tee, valley plate, water pump, cam tower leaks and timing chain issues. The other option is one of the old V8 4Runners. Those were last made in 2009, so good luck on that....
 
I have a 2016 LC with just over 100,000 and my son has a 2005 4Runner V8. Even with a 2" lift on the 4R, I would not call it an elevated driving position compared to the LC. I have a new radiator waiting to go into the LC pretty soon and no leaks or timing chain noise at the moment. For my wife, I would definitely go newer than a 4Runner V8. Even with low miles, everything else on the car is old enough that you'll be chasing little things all the time. We are at the moment, things like weather seals, squeaks and rattles in the suspension (it's a new Dobinson IMS setup but still all the rest of the bits are old), HVAC blend door - it's a great vehicle for someone who likes to mess around with it, but you need to know what you're getting into.
 
If you compare LC to LX570, then there are more substantial differences to take into consideration. Your wife's wishlist does indicate one advantage of the lexus: it has a "kneel" function like a city bus, to lower the car for ingress/egress. Also a much different interior to the LC, very different suspension. She might be into the Lexus. The Lexus is also cheaper than a Toyota, given the same year/condition/miles.

They're reliable. Just a handful of common issues to keep an eye out for (and for most, they never happen), and otherwise, basic maintenance routine will be all that's needed up into very high mileage.

As for comparison of the 200 vs. the 250, all I can say is you're probably going to want to drive them both (or have your wife drive them if she's the principal decider). I haven't driven the 250 yet, but they're definitely going to feel pretty different. I think the 200 will have more of a luxury feel, even if the design and tech are old school.
 
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"High driving position and a low step-in? " - that is an LX right there. The LX is automatically lowering (by a lot) when you park. Then when you drive off it raises to the right height for the speed and other stuff. It is a wonderful system called AHC (active height control) and comes standard in all 200 LX's.
 
Have her drive the new 250 and see what she thinks. :meh:
 
LCH21 said:
The wife has gotten a wild hair and is discussing ditching the Porsche Macan Turbo and getting a Land Cruiser. She says that she wants to have a higher driving position and something that is cheaper to maintain. The Porsche is ridiculously expensive to maintain, even doing a lot of my own work on it. She also said that she wants a low step-in. High driving position and a low step-in? Uh, okay.... Anywho, I am finding that a good low-mileage (less than 60,000) post 2018 MY tend to be as, if not more expensive as the new 2024 model. I would prefer to have the larger brakes and new radiator, but would consider an older one too. Any down sides to go with an older, higher mileage one? Any opinions on the new LC? I haven't paid them much attention. The thought of the new high-strung turbo 4 in a Land Cruiser just doesn't sit right with me. I just don't want to get into something with heater tee, valley plate, water pump, cam tower leaks and timing chain issues. The other option is one of the old V8 4Runners. Those were last made in 2009, so good luck on that....
Click to expand...
When your wife says she wants a high driving position and low step-in, she is referring to an LX with AHC.
 
Lower step-in ✅️
Higher driving position ✅️
Cheaper to maintain.. 🤷‍♂️

1000010769.jpg


On a serious note, she wants the LX. She just doesn't know it yet.
 
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Lots of "wives" driving the new Prado 250 and the dudes keeping the 200 for themselves. The 250 (or new GX550) is the perfect replacement for a 5th gen 4runner or the old GX460 - which women seem to love more than make-up. Most I have seen do not seem to like the hefty feeling of the 200 (either LC or LX) and prefer something lighter. Enter the GXs.
 
Wife and I have been having a very similar conversation on and off over the last couple months. She’s ditching a 09 Honda Fit with a 5 speed and a missing hubcap and is not happy with the lack of manual gearboxes out there these days.

Finding the same as you as far as pricing goes. We’re looking at 2018 or newer to avoid the radiator issues and better odds for lower mileage.
 
Artie said:
Wife and I have been having a very similar conversation on and off over the last couple months. She’s ditching a 09 Honda Fit with a 5 speed and a missing hubcap and is not happy with the lack of manual gearboxes out there these days.

Finding the same as you as far as pricing goes. We’re looking at 2018 or newer to avoid the radiator issues and better odds for lower mileage.
Click to expand...
Not sure why folks are so afraid of the radiator issue.. Its like $200 for a rad itself and a few beers to replace it in the garage.

I can see being concerned about warped block due to overheating, but so long as it was replaced proactively, its not an issue.
 
LCH21 said:
The wife has gotten a wild hair and is discussing ditching the Porsche Macan Turbo and getting a Land Cruiser. She says that she wants to have a higher driving position and something that is cheaper to maintain. The Porsche is ridiculously expensive to maintain, even doing a lot of my own work on it. She also said that she wants a low step-in. High driving position and a low step-in? Uh, okay.... Anywho, I am finding that a good low-mileage (less than 60,000) post 2018 MY tend to be as, if not more expensive as the new 2024 model. I would prefer to have the larger brakes and new radiator, but would consider an older one too. Any down sides to go with an older, higher mileage one? Any opinions on the new LC? I haven't paid them much attention. The thought of the new high-strung turbo 4 in a Land Cruiser just doesn't sit right with me. I just don't want to get into something with heater tee, valley plate, water pump, cam tower leaks and timing chain issues. The other option is one of the old V8 4Runners. Those were last made in 2009, so good luck on that....
Click to expand...
Lots of opinions on the LC250/GX550 in that section of the forum.
 
Artie said:
Wife and I have been having a very similar conversation on and off over the last couple months. She’s ditching a 09 Honda Fit with a 5 speed and a missing hubcap and is not happy with the lack of manual gearboxes out there these days.

Finding the same as you as far as pricing goes. We’re looking at 2018 or newer to avoid the radiator issues and better odds for lower mileage.
Click to expand...
sell me your Fit
 
Supra Turbo said:
Not sure why folks are so afraid of the radiator issue.. Its like $200 for a rad itself and a few beers to replace it in the garage.
Click to expand...
You buy the radiator that is cheap now in sale, and you schedule the replacement during coolant regular maintenance, for not much extra labor.
 
Supra Turbo said:
Not sure why folks are so afraid of the radiator issue.. Its like $200 for a rad itself and a few beers to replace it in the garage.

I can see being concerned about warped block due to overheating, but so long as it was replaced proactively, its not an issue.
Click to expand...
It’s the overheating. God forbid we buy a great looking example only to discover it was the grocery getting mall crawler with the soccer mom driving it home while steam pours out from under the hood while she’s on her cell in a panic call with her husband “I don’t know what’s wrong but I’m almost home”….

Yeah, maybe a little too on the nose but I literally just saw this happen the other day…. Poor lady, poor car.

The 8 speed is nice as well.
 
ryanCA said:
sell me your Fit
Click to expand...
You should see this baby, it still has a little bit of the clear coat left. You can’t fake that kind of patina.

All jokes aside, it’s a great car, I just want her in something safer. Her commute is on curvy secondary roads with much bigger vehicles. After seeing a few head on collisions it’s hard to not wonder how a Fit would fair VS a 3500 towing a bobcat and distracted driver.
 
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