On a budget... decide for me!

[Chocolate]

I also run vins, do appraisals, and know what we would take a vehicle in for trades so I do look at things differently because I know that city vehicles will have maintenance records and rural owners won't. Etc etc etc.

As they say, different strokes for different folks. I specifically avoided any vehicles used in a dense urban environment, as my reasoning is that 50K NYC miles are harder on a vehicle than 50K suburban/rural miles.

 

[ColoradoSequoia]

We have 3 kids and have owned 2008 sequoia and now 2013 LC. Sequoia has a lot more passenger room and convenience storage. It had captains chairs which limited seating and sometimes was a pain but three people in the third row was no problem. It was an excellent car.

However, as someone else said, not a lot more cargo room with third row up. Honestly the LC has seemingly as much passenger room (maybe slightly narrower) as our Yukon xl only less cargo.

LC is higher build quality all around and it’s much nicer, but Sequoia is still far better than the MY13 Yukon. With 140k miles, still not one interior component broken or worn out on Sequoia. I can’t say the same for the Yukon with half as many miles.

If you’re at all worried about passenger volume and need to have three car seats across the second row, get a Sequoia. Not saying you can’t get three car seats in LC but it’ll be tighter.

All that said, if you really WANT an LC, just get one now rather than later.

 

[coleAK]

Honistly for me we have 2 kids and the 3rd row in the 200 is not very functional. I think of it more as an occasional use 3rd row. With it down you have almost no cargo space. So forget space for much more than a few bags of groceries or 4 back packs for school. Yes, roof boxes, trays, and hitch racks serve a purpose. I have two Yakama boxes that I put on the roof in the winter when we are traveling longer distances to ski races. But I only put them on when I need them. I just put one on the other day when we went gold prospecting then took it off when we got home. But keeping a roof box on and using it every day for things like a stroller for me (and more so my wife) would get old quick. Also unless you have a >9’ garage door you can’t park inside with one on. And I use hitch trays all the time for fishing and hunting.

Last thing I’ll mention is my brother has 4 kids and loves my LX but has mentioned many times he will start looking for one to replace his suburban in the next year or 2 because his oldest 2 kids will both be graduatied from HS in 3 years.

So If it has to be Toyota I vote sienna AWD van 2nd would be sequoia. But if it were me I would searously look at the newer expedition’s, they are really nice.

Here is my LX loaded up to dip net Sockeye on the beach, gear on the roof and hitch. Takes me and me 2 teens 30 min to load and unload on each ends.

 

[ceb]

“Maint record irrelevant”?
Expensive vehicles are “100% always taken care of”???

Don’t mean be harsh...but that is perhaps the worst used-car-shopping advice I’ve ever heard.

Expensive vehicles can absolutely be abused. Many who can easily afford them may also feel they can afford to **neglect them**...because they aren’t emotionally invested long-term...or because its simply one of many vehicles, and they don’t focus their attention on it. Or...they know the stock market, but zilch about card.

Personal example:
I once salvaged a steel bumper from the LC of a local “celebrity...” -a well-known guy with plenty of $$. He’d been in an accident that t-bone-totaled his LC...but the rear bumper was untouched...so I went to remove it and did.

But...when I looked inside the vehicle, it was easily the most filthy, abused interior I had EVER seen in an LC. Looked in the engine bay, and it was filthy. Brakes were barely there—which was easy to see because a wheel was gone.
Clearly he wither didn’t care...or didn’t know how to care for it.

My 1.5 cents: #1 Job buying any used car is to check for proper maint— No matter how expensive or who owned it. It might not be typical for nice cars to be abused...but it definitely happens.

So true. I've found that the more expensive the car, the more clueless the owners are about maintenance and are too busy to worry about it anyway.

Many cars in this price range have "deferred maintenance".

 

[coleAK]

“Maint record irrelevant”?
Expensive vehicles are “100% always taken care of”???

Don’t mean be harsh...but that is perhaps the worst used-car-shopping advice I’ve ever heard.

Expensive vehicles can absolutely be abused. Many who can easily afford them may also feel they can afford to **neglect them**...because they aren’t emotionally invested long-term...or because its simply one of many vehicles, and they don’t focus their attention on it. Or...they know the stock market, but zilch about card.

Personal example:
I once salvaged a steel bumper from the LC of a local “celebrity...” -a well-known guy with plenty of $$. He’d been in an accident that t-bone-totaled his LC...but the rear bumper was untouched...so I went to remove it and did.

But...when I looked inside the vehicle, it was easily the most filthy, abused interior I had EVER seen in an LC. Looked in the engine bay, and it was filthy. Brakes were barely there—which was easy to see because a wheel was gone.
Clearly he wither didn’t care...or didn’t know how to care for it.

My 1.5 cents: #1 Job buying any used car is to check for proper maint— No matter how expensive or who owned it. It might not be typical for nice cars to be abused...but it definitely happens.

Well said

 

[mike552]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone and let you know I ended up buying a 2015 LX in atomic silver over parchment, with full service records, 67,000 miles, Texas car.

Here is a pic. Thanks again y’all!

Mike

 

[1world1love]

Nice ride and great decision. I would invest in a hitch carrier and a good roof rack and roof box/es, or consider a basic off-road trailer.

You may not necessarily need any of them, but you’ll be more likely to take spontaneous weekend trips with the family if you have plenty of options.

 

[mike552]

Nice ride and great decision. I would invest in a hitch carrier and a good roof rack and roof box/es, or consider a basic off-road trailer.

You may not necessarily need any of them, but you’ll be more likely to take spontaneous weekend trips with the family if you have plenty of options.

Thank you. I don’t have the vehicle yet as it is being shipped. I will post detailed pics when it arrives.. but you are absolutely right I will build a nice trailer for it since I have an unused HF trailer, a MIG welder, and a bunch of steel rods hanging around!

 

[milellie111]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone and let you know I ended up buying a 2015 LX in atomic silver over parchment, with full service records, 67,000 miles, Texas car.

Here is a pic. Thanks again y’all!

Mike

View attachment 2082917

Nice truck! Options it came with? Price paid?

 

[mike552]

Nice truck! Options it came with? Price paid?

Thank you! It has every option available for a 2015.
I paid a lot of money for it... 43500... but it has been nicely reconditioned for that money and it needs nothing. New brakes, tires are almost new, interior looks fantastic. I know i overpaid by a couple thousand but knowing that it has been a TX car its whole life and the fact that it has full service records... well, I saw the value in those things.

Pic of the driver’s seat:

 

[milellie111]

Thank you! It has every option available for a 2015.
I paid a lot of money for it... 43500... but it has been nicely reconditioned for that money and it needs nothing. New brakes, tires are almost new, interior looks fantastic. I know i overpaid by a couple thousand but knowing that it has been a TX car its whole life and the fact that it has full service records... well, I saw the value in those things.

Pic of the driver’s seat:

View attachment 2083597

Great pick up! Sometimes you gotta pay more to get the right one. At the end of the day, price is all relative and the feeling you “overpaid” will be long forgotten as you will just be enjoying the truck. I just bought a clean 2013 all options Starfire Pearl exterior white interior but with 92k on the clock. Impressed with the craftsmanship, durability and style for a vehicle already almost 7 years old. At $92,000 brand new with great longevity, these trucks are a bargain in the 30k-40k range.

 

[mike552]

Great pick up! Sometimes you gotta pay more to get the right one. At the end of the day, price is all relative and the feeling you “overpaid” will be long forgotten as you will just be enjoying the truck. I just bought a clean 2013 all options Starfire Pearl exterior white interior but with 92k on the clock. Impressed with the craftsmanship, durability and style for a vehicle already almost 7 years old. At $92,000 brand new with great longevity, these trucks are a bargain in the 30k-40k range.

Thank you, I did see your post and posted that you got a wonderful deal, as well!

I forgot to mention that for my truck it was exactly what I wanted color-wise. Color choices are subjective of course but the atomic silver over parchment just ages beautifully, I think.

 

[SQRRRL]

Nice ride and great decision. I would invest in a hitch carrier and a good roof rack and roof box/es, or consider a basic off-road trailer.

You may not necessarily need any of them, but you’ll be more likely to take spontaneous weekend trips with the family if you have plenty of options.

 

[mike552]

View attachment 2083695View attachment 2083696

That’s a good setup right there. I have a Thule rooftop carrier and am hoping to build my trailer out from 4x8 to 5x8 and make it enclosed! (Not til next season, though...)

 

[SQRRRL]

That’s a good setup right there. I have a Thule rooftop carrier and am hoping to build my trailer out from 4x8 to 5x8 and make it enclosed! (Not til next season, though...)

It has pros and cons. Slower driving but I’m on a road trip........right? Not a big deal. The kicker is unloading in the middle of the night. Easy to load and unload. I’m not climbing on the rig . When I arrive at my destination I unhitch the trailer and go. No cargo box shifting around while off roading. Nice and quiet. BOOM.......

Good luck brah!

 

[mike552]

Good luck brah!

Hahaha, thanks! Yeah I’ve got a bad back so I was looking at that low mounted cargo carrier with envy! Looking to do the same on mine!

 

[risban]

Thank you! It has every option available for a 2015.
I paid a lot of money for it... 43500... but it has been nicely reconditioned for that money and it needs nothing. New brakes, tires are almost new, interior looks fantastic. I know i overpaid by a couple thousand but knowing that it has been a TX car its whole life and the fact that it has full service records... well, I saw the value in those things.

Pic of the driver’s seat:

View attachment 2083597

I don't think you overpaid. You got the best vehicle that your budget allowed, which was configured the way you wanted it.

Last week I bought a loaded certified 14 LX with 61k for $44k in Houston and had it shipped to OR. It was exactly the configuration I wanted, single owner, serviced every 5k at the Lexus dealer.

I think you did well.

 

[mike552]

I don't think you overpaid. You got the best vehicle that your budget allowed, which was configured the way you wanted it.

Last week I bought a loaded certified 14 LX with 61k for $44k in Houston and had it shipped to OR. It was exactly the configuration I wanted, single owner, serviced every 5k at the Lexus dealer.

I think you did well.

Thanks, I appreciate it. It seems like you got a good deal with the 2 year L/certified. I was scouring the internet off and on for two months now and every time a good car (in the color i wanted) popped up it seemed like it sold very quickly. On top of that, it seems the market for the used LX’s is almost one of perfect competition where if you take away the outliers it becomes a very stable pricing pattern. So, it seems that there are no screaming deals on these cars unless I was willing to entertain a car with an accident and/or no service records.

If you really start looking at some of the histories on these cars, there are records of stolen airbags, valvoline oil changes, etc. One may say that a quick lube change is better than no oil change but I worked at one of those places when I was 16 and trust me you dont want to hear the horror stories. And those are the “knowns”.

What I did notice is that there are copious amounts of nebula greys with parchment as well as black on black combinations. If these two combos appeal to a buyer then I believe there is more leverage on these for well maintained vehicles with complete service records.