Well this followed me home today....
I can't tell you how many hours were spent on the phone getting details on every LX within a 500 mile radius, but I think the hunt was worth it. I settled on a 2014 with 80K.
The good
Super clean
Zero Rust
Price was in my budget (barely)
The bad
Higher miles than many of the other 2014s
Has early signs of radiator cracking
Some minor interior wear on leather
Lessons Learned
1- RADIATORS - There are a lot of cracked radiators out there. I asked everyone I called to pop off the engine bay covers and inspect. More than half (not kidding) did. There was one in Dallas (Auto Nation) that put theirs back to wholesale once they noticed it. Why wasn't this a recall? Especially on a flagship model like the LX.
2 - RUST - This might be because of my geographic location, but there are a lot of rusty ones from the Northeast. Thank you
@bloc for talking me off that ledge. I nearly pulled the trigger on a low mile, well serviced New Jersey car until I had them take pics on a lift...Nope! I did the same for a couple of NY and PA imports as well. I can only assume these southern dealers buy them because people in the south don't think about rust and it makes them easier to off-load.
3 - E-BRAKE - It's just terrible. It works on this particular LX but most won't hold on a decent incline. Not a big deal, but surprising how many don't hold.
Conclusion
It was hard selling a 2018 Tacoma (my third taco) to buy an older model LX with higher miles for the same money, but after driving a few of these the Tacoma just felt pathetic and weak. I plan on replacing the radiator, water pump, and t-stat as well as flush the transmission next week. I think this would normally be a 100-120K item, but since it's showing early signs, I'm just going to do it all and (hopefully) not worry about it for another 100K. If anyone has any other suggestions while I have it apart, I'm all ears.
Thank you all for your advice and the MUD resources in general. This site is a wealth of information.
