Analysis paralysis - need some help (1 Viewer)

[Lebowski801]

I’ve hit a wall. Could use some direction. I am ready to build an overlanding - 4 wheeling rig and I like that Toyotas last forever so I’m going with a Toyota. I have narrowed the list to 3 vehicles and each one has positives and negatives obviously. I need your input as to which one to get. I have a feeling I will get responses split evenly among the three but let’s do this anyway. If I am in the wrong spot in the forum, let me know. It’s my first post so I am open to being scolded for posting in the wrong place.

Vehicle 1
2011 Lexus LX 570, 145,000 miles, $27k. The hydraulic lift gate glass doesn’t lift but it closes. Assume it can be fixed but for my purposes, I don’t care if I have to manually lift it. Vehicle interior is in great shape and runs great.

Vehicle 2
2011 Land Cruiser, 173,000 miles, $22k. It’s in pretty good shape. Some dents and dings that won’t affect my purpose of the vehicle. Rides the least smooth of the three but the engine sounds great and I assume the new suspension I put on it will help with the smoothness of the ride.

Vehicle 3
2012 Lexus GX 460, 116,000 miles, $19k. Interior is very good. Rides pretty decent. Engine feels much less responsive than the LX and the LC. Big difference between the 4.6 and the 5.7. The swing open tailgate is weird to me. If I’m parked in a parking lot and someone parks behind me, I just can’t open the tailgate. That seems like an odd design.

The local shop I am planning to use to modify this thing actually recommended the GX460 over the others to modify. They said it’s the easiest and has the most options which surprised me.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and sorry for such a long first post.

 

[e9999]

Welcome! The first thing that came to my mind is that while they are all good vehicles in the absolute, the GX is a different class of vehicle compared to the LC/LXs. So a bit of apples and oranges. Seems to me that you should first figure out which side to go for. And that of course is a function of your needs, wants etc, nobody else can answer that for you.
I'm thinking that it is entirely possible that the GX is easier to modify -I don't know- but that does not mean it's better in other ways. Think Wranglers for instance, huge enviable aftermarket but that does not make them very good overall necessarily. The shop may be thinking more about themselves now than about you later on.

 

[Lebowski801]

Welcome! The first thing that came to my mind is that while they are all good vehicles in the absolute, the GX is a different class of vehicle compared to the LC/LXs. So a bit of apples and oranges. Seems to me that you should first figure out which side to go for. And that of course is a function of your needs, wants etc, nobody else can answer that for you.
I'm thinking that it is entirely possible that the GX is easier to modify -I don't know- but that does not mean it's better in other ways. Think Wranglers for instance, huge enviable aftermarket but that does not make them very good overall necessarily. The shop may be thinking more about themselves now than about you later on.

It’s funny you say that about the shop. I was just barely thinking that they may just make more money on GX mods than the others. I’m currently leaning toward the Land Cruiser because they just seem so hard to find and I love that engine. Thank you for the reply. I really appreciate it.