Please talk me out of buying a Santa Fe!

[Docboy]

The SantaFe sounds like a good fit for the use case. I know you wanted us to talk you out of it but that would just be peer pressure on our part. From an emotion and passion stand point you'll have to decide if the SantaFe will work. I've bought cars before that I really liked initially. But then I grew to hate them. I cringed every morning when I saw whatever it was in the garage. I initially loved the LC, but now for me it's neutral. I'm getting to a point in my life where I don't care as much about cars. The LC has legacy but it's not sexy and it's not modern. But it is reliable and comfortable. Then again, many cars these days are too. The SantaFe is a good car. I think it's a good choice. It doesn't have the off-road cachet of an LC, but it doesn't sound like you would use it that way. Better tech, better mpg, better on road manners, better warranty, and less expensive over all - The SantaFe sounds like a practical choice for the use case. Btw- those are the main reasons the LC sells in such low numbers in the US. It takes a passion of the brand and legacy to spend that much on a car, that while very capable off-road, is impractical on paper.

Good advice and completely agree. A friend of mine had a SantaFe for a few years, never gave him any problems, and he used as a family hauler. Though he did later trade it in for an Acura MDX.

The SantaFe is a great buy: practical, roomy, economical, and has modern tech. It's not a "statement" vehicle, and if you don't care about the LC cachet/image and have no intentions of using it off road, it's a good buy.

 

[mcgaskins]

If you visit virtually any enthusiast forum in the world and ask the forum if you should buy said forum vehicle, you will get an overwhelming response that you would be an idiot NOT to buy that vehicle. But here people are open to the idea the 200 may not be the right choice for everyone which I applaud. No offense but if you're cross shopping a Hyundai and a 200, the 200 most likely isn't the truck for you.

 

[trapperbay]

Prior to buying my LC a year and a half ago I was sitting in the Toyota dealership signing paperwork for a new Highlander. Before that I had a 06 & 09 Honda pilots and a 12 MDX. I had a 99 LX470 before the others and missed it. With the Highlander I knew I would be ready for something else in 3 years. Finally decided before my Highlander was available that I wanted a Land Cruiser. I justified it by knowing it's a vehicle I would want to keep and be comfortable keeping for the long haul. Looked for a used one in the same price range as the H'lander and have been happy since. Worst case scenario I can always sell the LC, but the same could be said if you bought the Hyundai. I have learned that there will always be a car available you want. It just takes patience.

 

[Markuson]

If you visit virtually any enthusiast forum in the world and ask the forum if you should buy said forum vehicle, you will get an overwhelming response that you would be an idiot NOT to buy that vehicle. But here people are open to the idea the 200 may not be the right choice for everyone which I applaud. No offense but if you're cross shopping a Hyundai and a 200, the 200 most likely isn't the truck for you.

Exactly...and echoes my observations of the good folks on this forum.

On the other hand...one can find a heck of a great used LC for roughly the price of a new Santa Fe.

 

[Bloembuild]

I really appreciate this forum. Thanks for all the input. I was actually expecting (and hoping) the people on this forum to tell me that I'm crazy, and that it would be a huge mistake to buy a Santa Fe, but it's almost the opposite.
We don't really need a 200 for our daily driving duties. I don't tow with it, I have a truck for those duties. We won't take it wheeling, as it'll be my wife's daily driver. But we do go snowboarding a lot in the winter and take at least a couple trips to the mountains of Colorado every year. And we still have the 100 that we plan to keep.
I could never afford a brand new 200. And a clean 200 with under 100k miles under 40k is damn hard to find. I don't like having car payments, so I gave myself a budget of 40k out the door. So that's why I started looking at other vehicles. I'm curious how many people really "need" land cruisers, or suburbans, or escalades for that matter.

 

[MisterScott]

Buy what you want. Seriously. You only get one turn on this planet. I own a 2015 Ford Edge Sport that I use as a commuter and long highway drives through the central US. It is the best highway cruiser I have ever driven and extraordinarily comfortable to sit in for long hauls.

 

[hj 60]

I wanted to buy my fathers red eco Fiat Panda and bought a red HJ60, I totally wish everybody the other way

 

[Willy beamin]

Purchase the Lady which ever she wants - you have a cool big truck and a 100 series. Make her happy and the rest will fall in place
good luck buddy

 

[SWUtah]

So I've been looking for a 200/LX570 for two months now, and its getting discouraging.
I have about 40k to spend and I've been looking for a clean southern or western truck with excellent service history. This will be our daily driver, my wife's mainly, so we need the 3rd row to haul kids around. We are keeping our 100 to turn into a camping/adventure rig.
I randomly drove by a hyundai dealer and stopped in because they had a LX470 on their lot that looked great. Long story short, I test drove a hyundai santa fe, and it was great. It had everything in terms of tech a 2017 LX 570 had. As much cargo room as my 100, fold flat seats, all wheel drive and a center diff lock. Oh and it had a full panoramic glass roof. This thing was loaded! 290 hp / 315 ft pounds... AVG 20 MPG.
10 year/100k mile powertrain warranty, 5 year/60k bumper to bumper. Best part, 37K out the door.
Am I crazy? Please talk me out of it.....

I rented one for a 3k mile trip. Comfortable ran great your wife will love it for hauling around the kids. The 200 is a beast and one of the best built vehicles made, way more vehicle then she will need or even appreciate to haul around the family.

 

[mtnracer]

Damnit! Just got a call from the dealer and said that the LX I wanted sold yesterday. Pretty pissed to say the least... back to the drawing board.

When we bought our Tundra, we put $5K down via CC on the phone but even with that they told me they would sell it to someone who walks in and wants to buy it. Until you sign on the dotted line the deal is not done. Fingers crossed you will find another LX.

 

[Itsky]

We have a 2015 highlander and it's awesome if every way. We're very happy with it for our family ride.

 

[SWUtah]

I would not count on the warranty being available on the Santa Fe. After the coming war with North Korea I doubt any Korean car companies will be backing up their warranty.

 

[SWUtah]

When we bought our Tundra, we put $5K down via CC on the phone but even with that they told me they would sell it to someone who walks in and wants to buy it. Until you sign on the dotted line the deal is not done. Fingers crossed you will find another LX.

So why would you put $5000 down???

 

[ranma21]

So I've been looking for a 200/LX570 for two months now, and its getting discouraging.
I have about 40k to spend and I've been looking for a clean southern or western truck with excellent service history. This will be our daily driver, my wife's mainly, so we need the 3rd row to haul kids around. We are keeping our 100 to turn into a camping/adventure rig.
I randomly drove by a hyundai dealer and stopped in because they had a LX470 on their lot that looked great. Long story short, I test drove a hyundai santa fe, and it was great. It had everything in terms of tech a 2017 LX 570 had. As much cargo room as my 100, fold flat seats, all wheel drive and a center diff lock. Oh and it had a full panoramic glass roof. This thing was loaded! 290 hp / 315 ft pounds... AVG 20 MPG.
10 year/100k mile powertrain warranty, 5 year/60k bumper to bumper. Best part, 37K out the door.
Am I crazy? Please talk me out of it.....

You are not crazy, Hyundai has gone a long way. LC is certainly not for everyone. Also consider Highlander and Kia Sorento. Another option will be RX350. If you really need 3 row seat, have you looked at GX460? If you test drive the GX460, I bet you will fall in love with it. The refinement is excellent, solid and safe. A 2014 GX460 with low miles fits your budget.

I assume you have test driven a 200 LC or LX570. If not jump in one and it is hard press that any vehicle feels better than the refinement of LX570, oh the ML Reference sound system is phenomenon. I usually drive the Sienna and wife drive the 570. Everytime I jump in the 570 I always enjoy and have the "wow" effect on me. My used 11 570 is way better than the Sienna we bought new.

Another reason to have a 200 is it is super safe, it fair extremely well in accident, I do not think the Santa Fe can match that, in fact most vehicle can't.

 

[Willy beamin]

Notice the make of that bus in the second video. Ironic

 

[kreiten]

Notice the make of that bus in the second video. Ironic

Hyundai! HAH good catch Willy, wow what are the odds, super ironic...

 

[chilibit]

You kept the 100. I suspect you will not keep the Hyundai at the next turn over.

 

[Drew Hall]

Last time we took one out in the desert it came back in three pieces and had to towed to town. The dunes ripped of the front and rear bumper covers and destroyed the radiator and cooling fan. Plus you will be driving a minivan!

So I've been looking for a 200/LX570 for two months now, and its getting discouraging.
I have about 40k to spend and I've been looking for a clean southern or western truck with excellent service history. This will be our daily driver, my wife's mainly, so we need the 3rd row to haul kids around. We are keeping our 100 to turn into a camping/adventure rig.
I randomly drove by a hyundai dealer and stopped in because they had a LX470 on their lot that looked great. Long story short, I test drove a hyundai santa fe, and it was great. It had everything in terms of tech a 2017 LX 570 had. As much cargo room as my 100, fold flat seats, all wheel drive and a center diff lock. Oh and it had a full panoramic glass roof. This thing was loaded! 290 hp / 315 ft pounds... AVG 20 MPG.
10 year/100k mile powertrain warranty, 5 year/60k bumper to bumper. Best part, 37K out the door.
Am I crazy? Please talk me out of it.....

 

[Bloembuild]

HAHA! that video was awesome. So, I found a mint 2008 200, 1 owner, super clean car fax, literally never went over 5000 miles without a trip to the (same) dealer, everything is completely stock, down to the factory tires. The previous owner even took it to the dealer to replace the license plate light... Car was for sale for less than a day, 8 people had called about it, but I put a down payment on it first, and signed a contract.
I'm planning to pick it up either friday or saturday. I'm really excited. I saved a bunch of money too, as I payed 24k for it!
Now I have some money left over to build the 100.
At the end of the day, I couldn't bring myself to drive an "appliance", with no soul. I could just see myself justifying it to my buddies, "yeah dude, its great, errrr, value... bang for the buck, ya know? and it has apple car play.... yawn..."

 

[ranma21]

HAHA! that video was awesome. So, I found a mint 2008 200, 1 owner, super clean car fax, literally never went over 5000 miles without a trip to the (same) dealer, everything is completely stock, down to the factory tires. The previous owner even took it to the dealer to replace the license plate light... Car was for sale for less than a day, 8 people had called about it, but I put a down payment on it first, and signed a contract.
I'm planning to pick it up either friday or saturday. I'm really excited. I saved a bunch of money too, as I payed 24k for it!
Now I have some money left over to build the 100.
At the end of the day, I couldn't bring myself to drive an "appliance", with no soul. I could just see myself justifying it to my buddies, "yeah dude, its great, errrr, value... bang for the buck, ya know? and it has apple car play.... yawn..."

Good to hear that man!! Glad you found one!