Hi everyone,
Thank you in advance for your time on this. I've yet to purchase a LC but finally settled on a 100 series. There are currently two I'm considering.
1) a really clean black 2004 LC with 240K miles being sold by a small-volume car dealer. It has custom HID headlights (I really like them, but potential pain to replace/fix down the line?), an adjustable ARB torsion bar, and an ICON 2" lift. Seller wants 17K but seemed flexible, so I'm thinking I could get it down to $15.5K or $16K.
2) a decently clean white 2000 LC with 160K miles, all stock, from a private seller. Seller asking $14K.
Notwithstanding detailed mechanical inspection, and assuming the drivetrains are solid and properly maintained (with timing belt replaced, etc.), which would you guys choose?
The main thing for me is weighing the advantages of the 04's, those being:
- 5-speed transmission (vs 2000's 4-speed)
- better interior and exterior condition
- better color (at least to me)
- quality lift kit already done (which I recognize I don't need off the bat, but it felt amazing driving it and know I'd want to do it eventually but would put off indefinitely)
against the 2000's major advantages, those being:
- slightly better price
- 80K less miles
To what extent does that 80K mile difference matter? Will these cars really last to 500K miles with proper maintenance? Also, how much better is the 5-speed than the 4-speed transmission?
Thank you again for the pointers! Pictures below.
Thank you in advance for your time on this. I've yet to purchase a LC but finally settled on a 100 series. There are currently two I'm considering.
1) a really clean black 2004 LC with 240K miles being sold by a small-volume car dealer. It has custom HID headlights (I really like them, but potential pain to replace/fix down the line?), an adjustable ARB torsion bar, and an ICON 2" lift. Seller wants 17K but seemed flexible, so I'm thinking I could get it down to $15.5K or $16K.
2) a decently clean white 2000 LC with 160K miles, all stock, from a private seller. Seller asking $14K.
Notwithstanding detailed mechanical inspection, and assuming the drivetrains are solid and properly maintained (with timing belt replaced, etc.), which would you guys choose?
The main thing for me is weighing the advantages of the 04's, those being:
- 5-speed transmission (vs 2000's 4-speed)
- better interior and exterior condition
- better color (at least to me)
- quality lift kit already done (which I recognize I don't need off the bat, but it felt amazing driving it and know I'd want to do it eventually but would put off indefinitely)
against the 2000's major advantages, those being:
- slightly better price
- 80K less miles
To what extent does that 80K mile difference matter? Will these cars really last to 500K miles with proper maintenance? Also, how much better is the 5-speed than the 4-speed transmission?
Thank you again for the pointers! Pictures below.
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