Gents,
Honest question and probably also a thread for me to vent my frustration (LOL - in a good way really).
I have been looking for an LX 470. Year and mileage not really a concern, assuming the vehicle was properly maintained and has no major rust. I am not expecting a garage queen or anything as I do understand that a 20+ year old vehicle will have wear and tear. Even in the undercarriage. But of course one thing is looking at a vehicle that spent its whole life in upstate NY versus one from Phoenix, AZ. I get that.
My frustration is simple: almost all cars I have found for sale (i.e. Cars.com, Autotrader.com) in a reasonable condition, had the damn AHC removed.
That leads me to my Lexus owner/BMW owner comparison.
I have a little fleet at home with several different vehicles, from a Mini Cooper to a Lamborghini Gallardo. Out of all these, my favourite by far and the one I would keep if I had to sell all other cars, would be my 1999 BMW 750iL. A V12 beast with all the bells and whistles you can think of in a modern car. Built-in navigation, phone, Bi-Xenon lights, heated seats in the front and rear, etc. It is all there. In damn 1999.
As the LX 470, the car has front EDC shocks and SLS in the back (hydraulic). Guess what the second or third owners on these vehicles remove first? The DAMN SLS.
And that pisses me off in ways you cannot even imagine. The best thing on the car is the V12 AND the smoothness of that suspension, what I assume the AHC gives you. Certainly I get why some people remove the AHC, if definitely using the car mostly for off-roading with big 35" tires. Sure,
Now the BMW is not an off-road vehicle so why they remove it? Because they are damn freaking CHEAP owners. Instead of properly maintaining the car and keeping it 100% functional as per the factory build, they start butchering such amazing cars just to save USD 1800 (what a full rebuild on all four corners cost you).
All the LX 470s I was looking at were all mall crawlers for sure with very little, if any, off-roading done. That leads me to think the only reason these owners removed the damn AHC was indeed to save cost (what means being CHEAP like the BMW owners).
And that leads me to think, if someone is completely removing a system where all four globes can be bought for USD 1000 (again being cheap) what else did they want to save money on, maintenance wise? If the car is maintained at Lexus, I am pretty sure they would never put in the wrong fluid for the AHC system (what I have heard it was the case with several cars not maintained at Lexus - and yes, I do get the reason why people avoid the 'stealership' for maintenance).
What do you guys think? Are most second/third Lexus owners really like that, falling into the cheap category and the main reason behind AHC being deleted from all these?
And by the way if anyone has a lead to a vehicle that meets the requirements I mentioned let me know.
Honest question and probably also a thread for me to vent my frustration (LOL - in a good way really).
I have been looking for an LX 470. Year and mileage not really a concern, assuming the vehicle was properly maintained and has no major rust. I am not expecting a garage queen or anything as I do understand that a 20+ year old vehicle will have wear and tear. Even in the undercarriage. But of course one thing is looking at a vehicle that spent its whole life in upstate NY versus one from Phoenix, AZ. I get that.
My frustration is simple: almost all cars I have found for sale (i.e. Cars.com, Autotrader.com) in a reasonable condition, had the damn AHC removed.
That leads me to my Lexus owner/BMW owner comparison.
I have a little fleet at home with several different vehicles, from a Mini Cooper to a Lamborghini Gallardo. Out of all these, my favourite by far and the one I would keep if I had to sell all other cars, would be my 1999 BMW 750iL. A V12 beast with all the bells and whistles you can think of in a modern car. Built-in navigation, phone, Bi-Xenon lights, heated seats in the front and rear, etc. It is all there. In damn 1999.
As the LX 470, the car has front EDC shocks and SLS in the back (hydraulic). Guess what the second or third owners on these vehicles remove first? The DAMN SLS.
And that pisses me off in ways you cannot even imagine. The best thing on the car is the V12 AND the smoothness of that suspension, what I assume the AHC gives you. Certainly I get why some people remove the AHC, if definitely using the car mostly for off-roading with big 35" tires. Sure,
Now the BMW is not an off-road vehicle so why they remove it? Because they are damn freaking CHEAP owners. Instead of properly maintaining the car and keeping it 100% functional as per the factory build, they start butchering such amazing cars just to save USD 1800 (what a full rebuild on all four corners cost you).
All the LX 470s I was looking at were all mall crawlers for sure with very little, if any, off-roading done. That leads me to think the only reason these owners removed the damn AHC was indeed to save cost (what means being CHEAP like the BMW owners).
And that leads me to think, if someone is completely removing a system where all four globes can be bought for USD 1000 (again being cheap) what else did they want to save money on, maintenance wise? If the car is maintained at Lexus, I am pretty sure they would never put in the wrong fluid for the AHC system (what I have heard it was the case with several cars not maintained at Lexus - and yes, I do get the reason why people avoid the 'stealership' for maintenance).
What do you guys think? Are most second/third Lexus owners really like that, falling into the cheap category and the main reason behind AHC being deleted from all these?
And by the way if anyone has a lead to a vehicle that meets the requirements I mentioned let me know.