Back in a wagon - 2007 LX470 (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

S4Cruiser

SILVER Star
Joined
Mar 15, 2006
Threads
169
Messages
5,329
Location
Durham, NC
It's been maybe 8 years since I sold my 80 series and I've regretted it ever since. While I've enjoyed driving nice new cars over the past few years, the practicality / functionality of Land Cruiser suvs drew me back in.

I've been sleuth searching for a year or so and a serious buyer over the past few months, knowing my S3 lease return is in November. Patience appears to have paid off as a very nice example LX popped up in Raleigh late last week. I was the first to respond to the add and after viewing/driving it I put down a deposit...for close to asking. It's that clean.

2007 with 110k miles and shows like it only has 30k. Decent service records from Lexus and Toyota dealerships plus recent ones performed at a Raleigh indy shop. It's lived it's entire life in NC. Purchased new from Johnson Lexus in Durham. Current owner has only put 14k miles on it in the past 3.5 years.

Super excited to daily drive this and being able to camp / attend events without bring truck trailer 40 sreies and the rest of the house with us (sometimes ability to bring lots of s*** is a curse). Pick it up tomorrow.

First order of business is new tires (baseline fluids is a given too). Since it will be my daily driver I 'think' I'm leaning toward the Michelin Defender LTX in stock size - 270/65r18. I considered the KO2 but they are an E rated tire and don't want to really sacrifice comfort for an AT that I likely won't need or use. Convince me if I'm making a poor tire choice!

Second order is headlight upgrades...potentially. I haven't ever driven one of these at night so not totally sure how decent or poor the lights are. Assuming I might be disappointing after being spoiled with the lights on my S3. I'm considering retrofitting with either the Morimoto DS2 5.0 or the Morimoto Mini H1 7.0 plus new OEM glass housings.

Pics...more when I bring it home tomorrow!

IMG_0097.JPG


IMG_0109.JPG
 
Super sharp. Welcome back. Wagons rule.
 
Nice LX...... But is it Jon Mabe nice, that is the question??? LMAO
 
Sweet. Nice Lex!
 
Nice! Decided against the 200 move though - curious on the thought process. I give it 6 months to be fully tricked out :)
 
Nice! Decided against the 200 move though - curious on the thought process. I give it 6 months to be fully tricked out :)

It was a total investment / timing decision. I was pursuing two options;

- LX470 in the price range of 18-22k that I could pay cash for (no car payment) or
- LX570 in the 2013-2015 flavor which would be in the 45-50k range and I would not be able to pay cash for. Resulting payment after cash down would be ~450 per month

In the LX570 scenario we (me and wife) would likely sell her 2018 rx350 (on lease) which we currently pay 440 per month. She'd drive the 570 and I'd daily drive the duramax. Trying to not have 1100 a month in car payments as we are in the process of buying a mountain property.

It just so happened I found a 470 in the condition and pretty close before I found a 570. If going the 570 route I would've wanted CPO and with Lexus/Toyota just now shipping airbag recall replacements there still aren't many CPO trucks in the 500 mile radius. The guy I'm buying the 470 from as a 2011 Land Cruiser and after sitting in it I almost changed my mind, they are super nice and have way more wizbangs.
 
It's been maybe 8 years since I sold my 80 series and I've regretted it ever since. While I've enjoyed driving nice new cars over the past few years, the practicality / functionality of Land Cruiser suvs drew me back in.

I've been sleuth searching for a year or so and a serious buyer over the past few months, knowing my S3 lease return is in November. Patience appears to have paid off as a very nice example LX popped up in Raleigh late last week. I was the first to respond to the add and after viewing/driving it I put down a deposit...for close to asking. It's that clean.

2007 with 110k miles and shows like it only has 30k. Decent service records from Lexus and Toyota dealerships plus recent ones performed at a Raleigh indy shop. It's lived it's entire life in NC. Purchased new from Johnson Lexus in Durham. Current owner has only put 14k miles on it in the past 3.5 years.

Super excited to daily drive this and being able to camp / attend events without bring truck trailer 40 sreies and the rest of the house with us (sometimes ability to bring lots of s*** is a curse). Pick it up tomorrow.

First order of business is new tires (baseline fluids is a given too). Since it will be my daily driver I 'think' I'm leaning toward the Michelin Defender LTX in stock size - 270/65r18. I considered the KO2 but they are an E rated tire and don't want to really sacrifice comfort for an AT that I likely won't need or use. Convince me if I'm making a poor tire choice!

Second order is headlight upgrades...potentially. I haven't ever driven one of these at night so not totally sure how decent or poor the lights are. Assuming I might be disappointing after being spoiled with the lights on my S3. I'm considering retrofitting with either the Morimoto DS2 5.0 or the Morimoto Mini H1 7.0 plus new OEM glass housings.

Pics...more when I bring it home tomorrow!

View attachment 2070549

View attachment 2070548
It was YOU! I was second in line behind you. Had a check in hand and was ready to make the trip last Saturday. Congrats, Mr. Mabe. That truck is sweet! Glad to see it went to a good home.
 
Last edited:
Dang, that's nice man! Congrats!!
 
It was YOU! I was second in line behind you. Had a check in hand and was ready to make the trip last Saturday. Congrats, Mr. Mabe. That truck is sweet! Glad to see it went to a good home.

DOH...yes it was me! I emailed him maybe minutes after it was posted (luck of the draw viewing my craigslist alerts) and was scheduled to look at it that same day but Scott was like - there are a lot of people interested, can you come sooner. Saw it last Friday and put down a deposit almost immediately!

It is a clean truck - how bought this, if / when I decide to sell it, I'll give you first dibs!
 
DOH...yes it was me! I emailed him maybe minutes after it was posted (luck of the draw viewing my craigslist alerts) and was scheduled to look at it that same day but Scott was like - there are a lot of people interested, can you come sooner. Saw it last Friday and put down a deposit almost immediately!

It is a clean truck - how bought this, if / when I decide to sell it, I'll give you first dibs!
I'm glad you got it. Seller was a nice guy. Truck looked squeaky clean and carfax showed that it lived not far from me in Waxhaw for a couple of years.

It was going to be tough for me to get to Raleigh anyway. There was a strike here at work and things got real tense last weekend. It worked out better for me to just stay at home and close by the phone. Amanda and I are struggling over whether to sell her GX and get another LX470. We sold her '04 LX a little over a year ago and bought a '17 GX but she never has warmed up to it. She misses her LX. I miss not having a car payment. We will keep looking. If it doesn't work out for you, give me a holla'.

The LX470 lights are actually pretty good. I don't know if they are S4 good, but we never felt the need to upgrade them on the '04 LX we had. They are decent projector lights.
 
Last edited:
here was part of my view from the "activity" @roadstr6 mentioned...

spent 12 hours a day surrounded by a color palette of orange, avocado green, urine yellow, and doo doo brown.

20190826_120435.jpg



I think you got the much nicer interior option!!!
 
......The LX470 lights are actually pretty good. I don't know if they are S4 good, but we never felt the need to upgrade them on the '04 LX we had. They are decent projector lights.....

Glad the lights are aok on the LX470 - they suck on at least a 2002 Land Cruiser, first time I drove at night I questioned if the lights were even on - I still question it.... someday an upgrade ;).....
 
Glad the lights are aok on the LX470 - they suck on at least a 2002 Land Cruiser, first time I drove at night I questioned if the lights were even on - I still question it.... someday an upgrade ;).....
Yup. IMO the projector headlights are probably the only worthwhile upgrade the LX got over the regular LC. The AHC and Mark Levinson stereo are nice too until they quit working. At this age they are both trouble waiting to happen. I know I sent the ML amp off to New York three times within two years for repair on our '04 LX...and the AHC was beginning to act up when we sold it. It had 140K miles on it when we sold it.
 
Last edited:
Sweet ride my friend! Looks familiar.

I think the projector beam upgrade you mentioned is a solid choice. I'm not too impressed with our 2005s low beams, but as @JohnVee said, the high beams are great. @Hokie LX has the Acura TSX HID projector beam upgrade/retrofit, that looked like a really good upgrade to me.

How is the AHC fluid looking on that truck?
 
How is the AHC fluid looking on that truck?

Thanks!

It looked ‘fine’ in the reservoir but I plan to do a few drain and refills over the next couple months to replace the old with new. I’ve got a steep learning curve regarding the AHC system. My preference is to keep it as-is and functioning as intended.
 
Thanks!

It looked ‘fine’ in the reservoir but I plan to do a few drain and refills over the next couple months to replace the old with new. I’ve got a steep learning curve regarding the AHC system. My preference is to keep it as-is and functioning as intended.
I did a flush on mine the weekend before last. It passed the "serviceability" test before I did the flush. I didn't have any ride-quality issues going into the flush, so there wasn't going to be much of a noticeable difference once I did the service.

I'm doing the same thing you are, I'm going to keep it as-is too. Unless the system starts to fail or turn into a money pit, I'll likely keep it that way longterm.

Since this is replacing the S3, is the truck going to be your DD? Any future plans for mods?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom