The classic LC vs LX conundrum: 2013s

[Tremek]

Hi guys, I'm back again and actively hunting down either a 2013 LC, or 2013 LX570. That seems to be the sweet spot right now between depreciation, miles, and money, and they're all essentially evenly priced (nationally - my local market in Denver sucks) between $45k-50k for the good deals.

So now I ask you - LC, or LX? I'm looking at 2013s exclusively - if I understand correctly that was the refresh year for the LC to get all options as standard, and the same year both the LC and LX got the updated headunit and (maybe only in the case of the LX? - HIDs?)

I have a desire to mod, but it may not happen immediately. I realize this tilts things in the direction of the LC. If I go LC, what am I going to miss versus an LX? I get the impression the LX interior is significantly nicer. Would very much appreciate any and all thoughts. Thank you!

 

[codyaustin5]

If your going to mod then get the LC. Just much easier. Personally I don't think the LX is leaps and bounds ahead of the LC with the interior. You get some more electronic power options and real wood but I've never had anyone comment about my "fake wood". You are correct the '13 LC has all the options and upgrades that the LX typically has including hids.

I just got a '16 GX460 and it's not that much nicer than the LC either for the interior.

 

[Tremek]

Cool, thank you for the thoughts on this. Given how little an impact miles seem to make on these trucks, I'm heavily considering this one with Carmax - I spoke with them yesterday and they're transferring it - for free - to my local Carmax 5 miles away! This is the least-expensive 2013 LC I have seen and I'll get first crack at it.

The other options are closer to $50k, but with half the miles and are Toyota Certified. Is that worth an additional $7-8k in your minds? Thanks.

 

[txtortoise]

CPO on the LX should be around $3K variance, if I remember correctly. Some dealers will sell it either way, but I think it has to be under 60K miles to be CPO eligible. Just do the usual due diligence on service history, where it lived and rust. Most folks suggest looking for possible leak around water pump, but I like to think that was for early models.

Going sideways a bit, since you mentioned it, but a minor data point on the whole CPO vs Platinum Warranty, at least for Lexus.

Platinum Warranty is a wrap-around warranty and starts at Date of Svc. So while mine was a 2013, it was born in mid-2012, which eats up some of the year count you might purchase.

CPO is an extended warranty and starts with the date of purchase, but you can buy up to three additional years.

In my case I was able to get the same coverage as the Platinum with the CPO+3 years/100K, but netted an extra year of coverage, i.e., six vs five...both at the same asking price, which was then negotiated down. When you confuse the finance officer, you know you must be doing something right.

 

[Tremek]

Have you used or needed your warranty at all?

 

[Chocolate]

The other options are closer to $50k, but with half the miles and are Toyota Certified. Is that worth an additional $7-8k in your minds? Thanks.

Yes - IMO.

I spent 56,700 on a CPO 2013 LX with 29k miles. Original MSRP 91,000 dollars.
Yes, these trucks are good for many miles and I had 133k on my ES trade in (good for many more), but IMO the market is not giving enough discount for the extra 60,000 miles. My thought was I'm already making a big purchase, might as well spend a little more and get 1/3 the miles.

 

[txtortoise]

>> Have you used or needed your warranty at all?

Only put about 10K on it so far at 38K, but annual cost worked out to about $300 over six years and given what I had happen on my LX470 between 60-120K, i.e, bad wheel bearing, CV boots leaking, water pump due to seal leaking above it and squeaked in new steering rack right before warranty ran out. It seemed like cheap insurance given the overall price of vehicle. My guess is it will go unused, unless something weird happens.

FWIW, my 200 was $64,500 @ 27K miles last October, so seeing pretty good hit in depreciation this year, though not unexpected. Probably what a 2014 is now, and most of the LXs in that year started to come with Pre-Collision.

 

[Reckless]

Personally, I was debating between a 2009 LC vs a 2009 LX 2 months ago. I was all set to buy the LX. I ended up with the LC because as a driver I prefer the spring suspension. Also, the LX was way too bouncy in all the comfort/sport/etc modes. I am sure the wheels were part of the problem but no matter what the ride didn't feel great even on flat roads. Also, I don't think I'd feel comfortable putting an ARB front and rear bumper on the LX.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

Here are my 2 cents...

1. If you are planning on doing modifications, go with the LC. The LX will be much more expensive to modify, plus with the LC you will have options on the kind of lift you want to do. With the LX, it comes with the lift (AHC - High). At this time, it is the ONLY lift available. Think rims too. It is the first mod. On the LC, you get 18's, on the LX, your get 20's. My 20s are sitting in storage. $$ taking up space.

2. If you are going to tow, at all, I would go with the LC, as the dynamic changes on the AHC can be unsettling. (I tow quite a bit with my LX.) There are times when the AHC is very nice though and if you were NOT going to mod it, I would recommend going with the LX, as it gives you great capability and the clearance of a 2.5" lift with no extra expense. Plus, you can drop the ball right out of the hitch when unhooking the trailer versus jacking it WAY up. (Nice feature of the AHC. Key thing is to keep a door open until you are ready to have the ball drop, and then close the door... the truck auto-levels, drops down, and your drive out. Nice.)

3. If your wife is going to be the Primary Driver... go with the LX.... then get yourself an LC to mod later.

 

[linuxgod]

Hi guys, I'm back again and actively hunting down either a 2013 LC, or 2013 LX570. That seems to be the sweet spot right now between depreciation, miles, and money, and they're all essentially evenly priced (nationally - my local market in Denver sucks) between $45k-50k for the good deals.

So now I ask you - LC, or LX? I'm looking at 2013s exclusively - if I understand correctly that was the refresh year for the LC to get all options as standard, and the same year both the LC and LX got the updated headunit and (maybe only in the case of the LX? - HIDs?)

I have a desire to mod, but it may not happen immediately. I realize this tilts things in the direction of the LC. If I go LC, what am I going to miss versus an LX? I get the impression the LX interior is significantly nicer. Would very much appreciate any and all thoughts. Thank you!

I'm with @codyaustin5. If you want to mod, get the LC. I looked at the LX because they were a lot more plentiful, but with the 2013 LC there's little difference in features aside from AHC, electronic suspension, and power tailgate. The LX comfort mode felt slightly better on pothole-riddled city roads. No noticeable difference in the drivetrain otherwise to me. The LX says to use Premium and the LC says Regular gas is fine.

I bought my 2013 LC in January. 49k miles, $49k. It was Toyota CPO (12/12k bumper to bumper, 7/100k powertrain), and I added the $0 deductible Platnium warranty (7/100k bumper to bumper) for about $1250. Even at that price I debated whether the extended warranty was necessary since most people don't see any issues until 100k+, and even those like the water pump or radiator tend to cost less than the warranty price. But I financed the purchase, so $1250 was basically an insurance policy for me. FWIW, I felt like I got a helluva deal at the time though - most other 2013's were going for $54-56k at the time, and Autonation had mine in inventory long enough that they dropped the price to move it.

With the 2013 LC, keep in mind some of them are really 2012.5 models as the 2013 came out in very early 2012, so if age concerns you check the mfr date. Also keep in mind Autonation will ship nationally like Carmax does, they just charge you for transport outside your local area.

 

[linuxgod]

3. If your wife is going to be the Primary Driver... go with the LX.... then get yourself an LC to mod later.

My wife is actually the primary driver of our LC. Other than describing it as "a cheetah with an elephant strapped to it's back" she loves it. She's 5'2" so convincing her to let me lift it might be a challenge, but she's been very excited for me to mod it.

 

[Chocolate]

I did look at both. Buy the best 2013 you can find, I don't think you'll go wrong. I went with the LX because it happened to be the better price.

 

[Tremek]

Seems like sound advice, thanks everyone. We're going to look at a '13 LX tonight to try and get a feel for the differences inside; we drove a '13 LC a few weeks ago and wife liked it, so this will be a good test to understand if she cares about any of the differences.

Since it would be fun to mod down the road though I definitely would still like to lean LC, also for reliability and simplicity's sake. There's a CPO LC all the way up in Maine(!) with half the miles and is still <$50k, that might be the way to go, question is how do I get it to Colorado (2100 mile drive, ick) or do I just throw it on a transporter which I'm sure will also be another $1000-1500 to get it here.

Might consider working with a local Toyota dealer and see what they're willing to do. The biggest problem is that the supply of '13 LCs here or near here is nonexistent right now.

 

[mark71]

Don't know if you have dogs, but I find the interior of the cruiser to be more dog friendly. Without the perforated leather, muddy paw prints wipe off very easy. Center console on the LX, from what I remember, also seemed less friendly to occasional dog traffic (always happens when they see a deer and tear in or out of the front seat).

 

[linuxgod]

Don't know if you have dogs, but I find the interior of the cruiser to be more dog friendly. Without the perforated leather, muddy paw prints wipe off very easy. Center console on the LX, from what I remember, also seemed less friendly to occasional dog traffic (always happens when they see a deer and tear in or out of the front seat).

My '13 has perforated leather. My kids have already managed to embed some sort of food into it in the rear seat...

 

[linuxgod]

Seems like sound advice, thanks everyone. We're going to look at a '13 LX tonight to try and get a feel for the differences inside; we drove a '13 LC a few weeks ago and wife liked it, so this will be a good test to understand if she cares about any of the differences.

Since it would be fun to mod down the road though I definitely would still like to lean LC, also for reliability and simplicity's sake. There's a CPO LC all the way up in Maine(!) with half the miles and is still <$50k, that might be the way to go, question is how do I get it to Colorado (2100 mile drive, ick) or do I just throw it on a transporter which I'm sure will also be another $1000-1500 to get it here.

Might consider working with a local Toyota dealer and see what they're willing to do. The biggest problem is that the supply of '13 LCs here or near here is nonexistent right now.

See if a local Toyota dealer will do an exchange or purchase for you (typically called "a locate"). Some are happy to do it because it's a guaranteed sale. You probably won't be able to negotiate the price much, but if it's a good deal and it's CPO then the dealer is "guaranteeing" the overall condition (to get CPO it has to have 50% of brakes, tires, and other consumable remaining, no leaks, etc).

Biggest thing I did before buying is try to come up with a story from the carfax and/or toyota maintenance records online. If it was a NY vehicle, it might only have 30k miles but they may be all NYC driving, for instance. If it's a ME vehicle there's a risk of rust but if you live in Colorado you're going to have to deal with that anyway.

Autonation charged me $585 to have my LC shipped from Houston, TX to Chicago, IL - about 1000 miles. (They required a $1,000 non-refundable deposit for them to ship it, but the rest of the deposit went to the vehicle price). Granted both stores were AutoNation... not sure how it would've gone down if it was a competing dealer. If you consider the cost to fly out there and drive back though it's worth shipping it - I figured it would've cost me at least $500-600 in roundtrip airfare and/or gas anyway.

 

[jblatl]

The ventilated seats are perforated, 2011 is the last year of solid leather. Someone corect me if I am wrong. All LX trucks are ventilated also.

I love my 2011 LC

Good luck. It is worth the hunt.

 

[Markuson]

Hi guys, I'm back again and actively hunting down either a 2013 LC, or 2013 LX570. That seems to be the sweet spot right now between depreciation, miles, and money, and they're all essentially evenly priced (nationally - my local market in Denver sucks) between $45k-50k for the good deals.

So now I ask you - LC, or LX? I'm looking at 2013s exclusively - if I understand correctly that was the refresh year for the LC to get all options as standard, and the same year both the LC and LX got the updated headunit and (maybe only in the case of the LX? - HIDs?)

I have a desire to mod, but it may not happen immediately. I realize this tilts things in the direction of the LC. If I go LC, what am I going to miss versus an LX? I get the impression the LX interior is significantly nicer. Would very much appreciate any and all thoughts. Thank you!

If you see a lift/suspension upgrade in your future?

LC

Sliders?

Slee working on an LX version...

Wanna remove third row for drawers?

LC much simpler with a cleaner result....but you can remove them from both.

To me, the fact that you are already talking about mods means go LC and be done with it.

 

[txtortoise]

If you are two or three years out on an LC build, maybe you do the LX now and in two years prices are lower or you get a newer LC.

 

[Tremek]

Given what we're discussing I think an LC is perfectly fine at this point - then I never have to ask myself "what if" re: having an LX and being unable to mod it.

So now, the hunt for the LC... Sold our '10 GL550 yesterday, now to find a buyer for our '11 X5M (or a dealer within reasonable distance to trade it to as I get a tax advantage in CO for doing so) - and then to find a '13 that isn't ridiculously overpriced.