LX Owners = BMW owners?

[JunkCrzr89]

The 200 market is a little different. There are a lot more LX than LC out there. Not to mention, the LC owners hang on to them. With the 100's, the numbers are about the same and LC's are on second and third owners, so the market it pretty much level between the two.

Plus if you get an LX570 you get the sweet predator grill

 

[AlpineAccess]

I'm looking for a 20 year old, $10-15k vehicle and what "upsets me more than anything" is that someone didn't have the money or time to research how to maintain it to my standards.

I have a fleet of vehicles here's a picture of my lambo.

 

[suprarx7nut]

I'm looking for a 20 year old, $10-15k vehicle and what "upsets me more than anything" is that someone didn't have the money or time to research how to maintain it to my standards.

I have a fleet of vehicles here's a picture of my lambo.

Literally lol'd.

That said, financially speaking, you could spend $100k on far worse things than a gated manual Gallardo.

View attachment 2568245

 

[jLB]

I do have to point out that I find a a rant from a perspective 2nd or 3rd owner, of a ~14-23 year old, 200k mile, non-collectible vehicle, about what previous owners have done to their own vehicles somewhat amusing. Maybe you should've bought one new, and done what you wanted to it?

I'm looking for a 20 year old, $10-15k vehicle and what "upsets me more than anything" is that someone didn't have the money or time to research how to maintain it to my standards.

I have a fleet of vehicles here's a picture of my lambo.

Exactly!

 

[jLB]

Literally lol'd.

That said, financially speaking, you could spend $100k on far worse things than a gated manual Gallardo.

View attachment 2568245

Like a shiny new LX570, with a more advanced version of AHC than was offered in the LX470?

 

[Shortpencils]

Real Land Cruisers never came with AHC.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Like a shiny new LX570, with a more advanced version of AHC than was offered in the LX470?
View attachment 2568283

Re: predator grill

 

[AlpineAccess]

I'm the same way and sometimes can't understand how that would happen. Though, I like to find four TTTTs deals for $3,500 or less.

The four Ts.

Twenty - Age (18 to 21)
Trashy - Needs a good detailing. No body damage or rust. Things I can clean up in my driveway.
Troubled - Usually throwing codes for O2 sensors or something easy that I can fix for $500 or less.
Toyota - or Lexus

Baselining goes above and beyond the basics to transform an abused vehicle into something exceptional That's a decision I make after I see the vehicle is worth the initial (minimal) cash.

If you are willing to invest some time, transforming Eliza Doolittle into My Fair Lady is a rewarding experience.

To be clear, I am mocking the OP by speaking his own words back. I don't agree with his views or attitude at all.

 

[tshandonay]

I didn't take the time to read all the responses or even understand the full premise of the original post....but I can say that I've owned quite a few BMWs. My current is a 2011 335d and I'm going down the same path as the others. Drive the LC through the winter while I fix everything on the BMW and hope the BMW works until the next winter. Been doing this for at least 10 years. The LC just always works. Oil changes only.

 

[katit]

I didn't take the time to read all the responses or even understand the full premise of the original post....but I can say that I've owned quite a few BMWs. My current is a 2011 335d and I'm going down the same path as the others. Drive the LC through the winter while I fix everything on the BMW and hope the BMW works until the next winter. Been doing this for at least 10 years. The LC just always works. Oil changes only.

I drive my BMW while I fix LX, how about that?

 

[rdsmvp]

I do have to point out that I find a a rant from a perspective 2nd or 3rd owner, of a ~14-23 year old, 200k mile, non-collectible vehicle, about what previous owners have done to their own vehicles somewhat amusing. Maybe you should've bought one new, and done what you wanted to it?

Well maybe I do not want to spend a huge amount of money on a non-collectible vehicle that I know will lose 40-50% of its value by the time the warranty is over. Different story with my Gallardo for example, that is now going up price wise thanks to no more manual cars from Lamborghini and most of these already destroyed by wanna-be racers.

What I find more amusing is, these cars are now (the 570) over 100K here in Canada. With taxes in, we are talking about CAD 125,000 or USD 100,000 out of the door. Then when time comes to work on some issue the car has, at 4-5% of the original value (i.e. AHC work at the dealer at USD 5000) and on something that will certainly last another 10 years minimum (as you mentioned about your own car), the first owners choose not to. That is what is odd to me, people getting into 100K cars when new, expecting them to cost Corolla money to maintain. Like my 750iL. USD 95,000 new in 1999. No way that car would cost the same to maintain as a 318i, used or new.

Sorry for the rant and potentially different opinion but I guess I am coming more from a car enthusiast standpoint and not from someone that see a car as a way to get from A to B (and back to A if using a Toyota/Lexus - Land Rovers may get you from A to even C but no guarantees you will make it back ).Given all I have seen regarding butchering vehicles and going cheap on maintenance, I became a very disturbed person. LOL

Cheers!

CR

 

[rdsmvp]

I own a BMW and while it's a great car from a driving experience standpoint, it's absolute garbage in the build quality and reliability department. Can't imagine buying a bimmer that wasn't a sports model, that's really the only reason I put up with its s***, a luxury model like the 7 series would just be a pain for no gain.

Nah. Once you drive a V12 7-Series where everything works as it should, trust me, there is nothing like it. I still own an E36 M3, an E92 M3, Porsches, the Gallardo, etc. Nothing comes close to the V12. Not even remotely close. It is like heaven on wheels.

 

[rdsmvp]

I'm looking for a 20 year old, $10-15k vehicle and what "upsets me more than anything" is that someone didn't have the money or time to research how to maintain it to my standards.

I have a fleet of vehicles here's a picture of my lambo.

Well we can disagree on many things. That said, there is only one way to maintain a vehicle. That means properly in my book. Do not get me wrong. The Lambo is a great example. It shares a ton of parts with Audi and even VW. Fuel injectors and braking system are great examples. Even the climate control unit is Audi. Navi is Audi for God's sake. When I have to do the maintenance, do I go for the Lamborhini stamped parts or the Audi ones that are identical? Go for the Audi/VW ones at 1/10 of the cost.
But there is a difference between getting the exact same part from the parent company (VW) versus ripping it out. That is what I am talking about here. It is just odd to me that people get into cars that were 100K new and expect these to cost the same to maintain as one that was 20K new. That is all.

Not blaming anyone, after all we are all free to do whatever we think is right for our budget/current situation. The same way we are free to have disagreements and healthy conversations where we can all have an opinion.

CR

 

[suprarx7nut]

Well we can disagree on many things. That said, there is only one way to maintain a vehicle. That means properly in my book. Do not get me wrong. The Lambo is a great example. It shares a ton of parts with Audi and even VW. Fuel injectors and braking system are great examples. Even the climate control unit is Audi. Navi is Audi for God's sake. When I have to do the maintenance, do I go for the Lamborhini stamped parts or the Audi ones that are identical? Go for the Audi/VW ones at 1/10 of the cost.
But there is a difference between getting the exact same part from the parent company (VW) versus ripping it out. That is what I am talking about here. It is just odd to me that people get into cars that were 100K new and expect these to cost the same to maintain as one that was 20K new. That is all.

Not blaming anyone, after all we are all free to do whatever we think is right for our budget/current situation. The same way we are free to have disagreements and healthy conversations where we can all have an opinion.

CR

I think in the case of the LX, most the new owners maintain it phenomenally. It's odd for a 1-owner LX to be anything other than pristine and pampered by the Lexus dealer.

The issues you're referring to come about with the 2nd, 3rd, 4th owners. The folks that buy it at 30% or less of it's MSRP and probably wanted a Land Cruiser, but settled for an LX because they are more plentiful. For those folks, when things like AHC need any work, their basis for comparison is the Land Cruiser. The Land Cruiser is a nice vehicle with $40 OEM shocks.

I'm with you that it's crazy how often folks remove AHC, but I understand some of the nuance that leads people to that unfortunate (and I still think misguided) conclusion.

 

[rdsmvp]

I think in the case of the LX, most the new owners maintain it phenomenally. It's odd for a 1-owner LX to be anything other than pristine and pampered by the Lexus dealer.

The issues you're referring to come about with the 2nd, 3rd, 4th owners. The folks that buy it at 30% or less of it's MSRP and probably wanted a Land Cruiser, but settled for an LX because they are more plentiful. For those folks, when things like AHC need any work, their basis for comparison is the Land Cruiser. The Land Cruiser is a nice vehicle with $40 OEM shocks.

I'm with you that it's crazy how often folks remove AHC, but I understand some of the nuance that leads people to that unfortunate (and I still think misguided) conclusion.

That was a great way to put it. If that is indeed the case, where you are settled on a LC and cannot find one but do find plenty of LXs, sure. That I do get it.

 

[jLB]

Sorry for the rant and potentially different opinion but I guess I am coming more from a car enthusiast standpoint and not from someone that see a car as a way to get from A to B (and back to A if using a Toyota/Lexus - Land Rovers may get you from A to even C but no guarantees you will make it back ).Given all I have seen regarding butchering vehicles and going cheap on maintenance, I became a very disturbed person. LOL

Cheers!

CR

And from my slightly different perspective, also as an enthusiast, I saw it as a dealer's offer of a little less than ~10% of original cost to keep it stock, or a little less than ~10% of the original cost to tune/tweak/change the suspension in the vehicle. Going cheap? I did not save any money at all with my suspension swap, and that really wasn't my intent. Yes, I've swapped coils, torsion bars, and shocks more than once over the last ~3 years, each time getting it a little closer to "my" perfect.

Having driven a stock AHC equipped 98 LX from 98-04 (T-boned), and a stock AHC 06 LX from 06-18, I believe I'm entitled to my own opinions as to AHC's strengths and weaknesses.

Considering the money and effort that I've thrown at refurbishing our old "beater" 99 LX, I don't really think that I'd call myself cheap on maintenance, a collector's item it is not, but it is very definitely an enthusiast's vehicle that makes me happy. I don't think any of my vehicles are simple A to B transportation appliances.

 

[rdsmvp]

And from my slightly different perspective, also as an enthusiast, I saw it as a dealer's offer of a little less than ~10% of original cost to keep it stock, or a little less than ~10% of the original cost to tune/tweak/change the suspension in the vehicle. Going cheap? I did not save any money at all with my suspension swap, and that really wasn't my intent. Yes, I've swapped coils, torsion bars, and shocks more than once over the last ~3 years, each time getting it a little closer to "my" perfect.

Having driven a stock AHC equipped 98 LX from 98-04 (T-boned), and a stock AHC 06 LX from 06-18, I believe I'm entitled to my own opinions as to AHC's strengths and weaknesses.

Oh for sure. And as I said, I do understand that people have different uses in mind for these. As others mentioned if someone is doing overland trips to remote areas, the less stuff to break/go wrong, the better. Good example of that is the ATS on the Land Rovers. Pretty amazing but would I go for a two week trip in the bushes with it? Probably not. Would have no issues going on my son's Discovery 2 with no electronics of any sort on the suspension though. My main thing was not really to praise (or not) the AHC but simply the trend of completely ripping it off from the car based on maintenance costs alone and not really on usage needs. Or as you mentioned, getting one step closer to your own perfect take on what a perfect 100 would be based on your needs. I get that and I am with you for sure in this case.

CR

 

[suprarx7nut]

My main thing was not really to praise (or not) the AHC but simply the trend of completely ripping it off from the car based on maintenance costs alone and not really on usage needs.

This is at the heart of my enthusiasm for spreading information on the system. A portion of owners are misguided into thinking AHC maintenance and repairs are too expensive and require a near genius to execute. They are often not expensive and as simple as any other modern auto task. At times, the people trying to escape the costs of AHC spend more converting it properly than they would have to just fix it correctly.

Fearmongering and erroneous repair estimates from the previous 10-15 years have doomed the AHC system in the used market. We're trying to undo some of that harm in the community here, but it's a hell of a task.

 

[jLB]

Re: predator grill

Yes, I believe I've already given my opinion on the "spindle grill", but you have to pick your poison...

Well, if some "genius" hadn't put that "spindle"/"predator" grill on the LX570...

I'm not a huge fan of it on the smaller cars, but on the front of a big SUV it's the thing of nightmares.

View attachment 1993978

 

[ramangain]

This is at the heart of my enthusiasm for spreading information on the system. A portion of owners are misguided into thinking AHC maintenance and repairs are too expensive and require a near genius to execute. They are often not expensive and as simple as any other modern auto task. At times, the people trying to escape the costs of AHC spend more converting it properly than they would have to just fix it correctly.

Fearmongering and erroneous repair estimates from the previous 10-15 years have doomed the AHC system in the used market. We're trying to undo some of that harm in the community here, but it's a hell of a task.

Screw the polar bears, save the AHC!