Buying my first 100 series, how many miles is too many to start?
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That's the part the globe screws into:
Posted the links to the globes in another thread:
We should hang out. My son is getting my 95 LC but I replaced it with a 2000 LX BEFORE I SAID YES TO THAT!
nashville needs a 100-owners hang!
And to the OP, +1 for the LX comments. When I started looking, I read Slee’s newbie guide to zone in on the year I wanted to look for, as each year of the LC, they added features. Then at the end it said, all features were included on the LX from 98 on. Sold it for me, cuz I wanted the AHC and other features. Then it was just a matter of finding one I could afford without rust. Landed on the 2000 in my sig, and it already had 315k on it. But also seconding the above post, records for DAYS. Most of the work done at one dealer. And I’m loving the ride upgrade from my 80 series.
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Just some information from the western half of the country as I just upgraded my Tacoma to an LX. Maybe the market is worse here but here are some Mountain West stats from someone who spent a year and a half watching the market before being able to make a move.
I just bought a 2001 LX out of Montana. It lived in Texas from new until 2014 when sold into Montana. 130k miles. Yearly dealer maintenance until 75k/2011. CarFax shows regular non-dealer maintenance since then. Timing belt done at 120k. Vehicle had an interesting AHC “conversion” done at some point.
I paid 18,500.
A 2006 LX needing major VGRS work, timing belt, etc. with 120k sold at a dealer here in Salt Lake for 20k. A 2006 LX with 100k sold at a different dealer in Montana for 26k. Both dealers received multiple calls per day from all around the country on both vehicles.
Since buying mine three weeks ago it has gotten the following:
OME 2.5” medium w/Slee diff drop
Slee stainless brake lines
285 Yokohama Geolandars
The next items were all the issues when I bought it. It had a PPI at a Toyota dealer and they missed everything listed below. Cost at a local LC specialty shop was about 2500 total.
NEW STEERING RACK
HEATER T’s
RADIATOR AND ASSOCIATED HOSES
SERP BELT
I just bought a 2001 LX out of Montana. It lived in Texas from new until 2014 when sold into Montana. 130k miles. Yearly dealer maintenance until 75k/2011. CarFax shows regular non-dealer maintenance since then. Timing belt done at 120k. Vehicle had an interesting AHC “conversion” done at some point.
I paid 18,500.
A 2006 LX needing major VGRS work, timing belt, etc. with 120k sold at a dealer here in Salt Lake for 20k. A 2006 LX with 100k sold at a different dealer in Montana for 26k. Both dealers received multiple calls per day from all around the country on both vehicles.
Since buying mine three weeks ago it has gotten the following:
OME 2.5” medium w/Slee diff drop
Slee stainless brake lines
285 Yokohama Geolandars
The next items were all the issues when I bought it. It had a PPI at a Toyota dealer and they missed everything listed below. Cost at a local LC specialty shop was about 2500 total.
NEW STEERING RACK
HEATER T’s
RADIATOR AND ASSOCIATED HOSES
SERP BELT
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ramangain
Clarksonian disciple
This is exactly why I will walk each and every serious buyer through every inch of my rig - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. I've done this before on cars I've owned and sold, and because of this, I always manage to get the seemingly higher sales price that I ask. Folks end up knowing EXACTLY what they are buying.
The buyer can also get a PPI done, but I'll bet dollars to donuts I'll help them develop a "needs to improve" list that is longer than any PPI can generate.
Les Summer
SILVER Star
Bought mine with more than a quarter million, and it feels like I'm still on my honeymoon almost 6 months later.
Les Summer
SILVER Star
have you ever replaced the fuse box? congrats. hope you are still running it. would love a list of what you've done.
I have a 2002 LX470 that I purchased with 24K miles, now has 68K miles.
I bought my son a 2004 LC with 180K miles, now has 240K miles.
Truthfully, I kinda like my the way my son's LC drives better.
From my experience, just find a well maintained LC or LX with 240K miles would be fine.
Going forward I suspicion even 300K or more on a well maintained rust free example is A OK.
I bought my son a 2004 LC with 180K miles, now has 240K miles.
Truthfully, I kinda like my the way my son's LC drives better.
From my experience, just find a well maintained LC or LX with 240K miles would be fine.
Going forward I suspicion even 300K or more on a well maintained rust free example is A OK.
I bought a well maintained, zero/next to zero rust 2001 LX470 last week with 240k. Drives better than any 22 year old vehicle has a right to. I figured for the price I got it, if the transmission and engine both exploded in the next 2 years (pretty unlikely given the maintenance history), I'd still be less than a quarter of the way to a new vehicle with the same pedigree after replacing them both. Plus there's just something about a 20 year old vehicle that seems to fit me better than a new one.
Bought mine from a Mud member that I had sold an FJ60 to back in 2010. Has 287K on the clock with a timing belt/waterpump service 17K prior to that (It's 4th including original) purrs like a kitten and doesn't smoke. It's all about the maintenance. But as these get older, non-mechanical stuff will start to wear out, door lock actuators, seatbelt return units. Just little stuff that's easy to knock out at a leisurely pace. Only real issue of consequence is exhaust manifolds cracking and causing an exhaust leak but that isn't anything that stops it from being driven.
What Trapper50Cal said...so true!
I bought mine 6 years ago with 243K, Texas truck with no rust and it came with a book of maintenance history. I've since done the "little stuff", some bigger than others...steering rack, brake module (most $$$), alternator, etc.
I've spent some money on it, they aren't cheap to maintain and I recommend only OEM parts. Knowing what I know and have spent, I'd do it again in a heartbeat! I love my 24 year old LC more than any vehicle I've owned.
I bought mine 6 years ago with 243K, Texas truck with no rust and it came with a book of maintenance history. I've since done the "little stuff", some bigger than others...steering rack, brake module (most $$$), alternator, etc.
I've spent some money on it, they aren't cheap to maintain and I recommend only OEM parts. Knowing what I know and have spent, I'd do it again in a heartbeat! I love my 24 year old LC more than any vehicle I've owned.
I bought a 2007 LC with 230k miles for around $17,000. Sounds a bit high typing that out but I don't regret it one bit, it's been such a joy to have. This one in particular was 1 owner and all service was done at Toyota so I can view the records online and the previous owner went in every 5,000 miles; I don't think I would have pulled the trigger without that, hell I even spent a lot at Toyota baselining it when I first got it just so the records showed new owner cared.
I've since done about 30,000 miles and no issues, I fully intend to get the 25 year service life out of it.
I've since done about 30,000 miles and no issues, I fully intend to get the 25 year service life out of it.
do you mind sharing what you paid? I bought an '01 LC in 2019, with 270K for $9K. current odo is 335K and some but not a lot of $$ in prevent maint...been great.
I would suspect a big difference between 2019 pricing and 2023 pricing ... a bit jump up in pricing.
I bet you're wondering what your '01 LC is worth 2ith 335K miles.
I would suspect its worth more than the original $9K price you paid for it.
I bet you're wondering what your '01 LC is worth 2ith 335K miles.
I would suspect its worth more than the original $9K price you paid for it.
I bought a two owner 2001 LX with 240k for $9k from a private seller. From what I saw, a similar year/mileage LC would have been closer to $12k unless I had just been fortunate to find a steal, which I missed on by about 20 minutes on a 2004 stock one-owner with 212k in Arizona for $10k, she said her phone blew up after listing and was sold sight unseen in about 7 hours. The LC tends to carry a bit of a premium.
While 'condition' trumps 'miles', what you get in a 300K+ mile truck are things like: many dash light bulbs are burned out, the HVAC buttons need cleaning or replacement, the door lock actuators don't always work on hot days, the cladding clips (Lexus) rust away, leaving your cladding flapping. My brake accumulator/booster/master died, my alternator died, and I just replaced the fuel pump, all since I bought it. The radiator was replaced right before I got it, at 308K miles. All of these parts were original.
I'm not complaining, as own lots of high-miles trucks, but you should NOT buy one unless you do all the work yourself. I want my truck to be 100% (meaning stuff like all the dash lights), and it's been a long, fun journey, but not one that I'd like to pay someone else to do. I paid $8K and the truck is in m sig line.
I'm not complaining, as own lots of high-miles trucks, but you should NOT buy one unless you do all the work yourself. I want my truck to be 100% (meaning stuff like all the dash lights), and it's been a long, fun journey, but not one that I'd like to pay someone else to do. I paid $8K and the truck is in m sig line.
Yep. I'd say - read first 20 pages of this forum, put all issues/problems mentioned twice and count on dealing with those if over 200k and wasn't done before. I had one truck which I baselined completely and now I just bought another (2000). Plan on 5k in parts. And lot's of labor.
Purchased our 2004 LX470 with 97,000 on the clock. Paid $19,000, that's SoCal pricing for you bought 2021. It was a 3rd car parked up north at our other home, now we live here full time and it's been a fantastic vehicle. It now has 112,000 miles and going to drive it to SoCal tomorrow (1600 miles round trip), finally going to do the base line maintenance. Having the timing belt, water pump, plugs and all fluids changed and whatever else the mechanic says it needs. Been a great vehicle and since purchase have only done oil changes, the last 3 years. original paint, couple of dings and ZERO rust. I plan on keeping it for 20 more years, but it's the wife's car and she keeps looking at the new LC250s. So may be for sale in the next year or so.
Been selling used cars for a long time, going into 16 years already, between my own investing flips to monster 400 cars dealers, every position in the rank list. never owned a new car. I remember my dad buying a couple new cars (Subaru 1600s remember those?) and driven every thing with 4 wheels or more.
Before that I restored several classics, mostly aircooled VWs, some 3 wheelers and buggies.
I deal with customers saying that over 12k miles a year is instant death, and dealt with every stupid superstition related to buying a car.
Too many miles! Date of manufacture of the tire! Miles per gallon (really? 33 mpg on a pickup truck? Do you really believe that?), now with these EVs it's a different game, you get morons that never left the front of a computer screen become experts, you have no idea!
Which motherboard? Intel, AMD? Has the battery degraded over xxxx%? I mean, c'mon! The car is made out of toilet paper glued with mucous, give me a break! Who cares what's in the computer? Anyway you're trading it in in 3 years!
I never look at mileage for my own or my family's personal transportation. I buy Toyota and Lexus for my family, and domestic for my business. (Grand caravans are cheap and plentiful).
I don't care how many miles, completely irrelevant. The opposite! The higher the mileage the cheaper!
A car that was taken care of will outlast anything as long as you keep at it.
Before that I restored several classics, mostly aircooled VWs, some 3 wheelers and buggies.
I deal with customers saying that over 12k miles a year is instant death, and dealt with every stupid superstition related to buying a car.
Too many miles! Date of manufacture of the tire! Miles per gallon (really? 33 mpg on a pickup truck? Do you really believe that?), now with these EVs it's a different game, you get morons that never left the front of a computer screen become experts, you have no idea!
Which motherboard? Intel, AMD? Has the battery degraded over xxxx%? I mean, c'mon! The car is made out of toilet paper glued with mucous, give me a break! Who cares what's in the computer? Anyway you're trading it in in 3 years!
I never look at mileage for my own or my family's personal transportation. I buy Toyota and Lexus for my family, and domestic for my business. (Grand caravans are cheap and plentiful).
I don't care how many miles, completely irrelevant. The opposite! The higher the mileage the cheaper!
A car that was taken care of will outlast anything as long as you keep at it.
