I would consult with
@mcgaskins. He has had like 150 vehicles and knows a lot about a lot of different makes/models. He has probably had an LX and can give you the skinny.
Not quite 150 yet, but yes 1 LX!
First off
@Desert Yeti sorry to hear about your incident. You did the right thing by protecting life over property which was very smart. It sounds like your buddy could have ended up in a much worse position and probably should have abandoned his rig to ensure his own safety. It's a great learning experience not only for you, but for all of us so thank you for sharing.
Regarding the replacement vehicle, I have long thought the LX is the better value over the LC, but there is a big caveat there. I've had an 08 LX, 08 LC, 13 LC, 14 LC, and 16 LC, and by far the best value of the group was the 08 LX. In my opinion, the LX stock suspension is on par if not better than the BP51s and far better than most aftermarket suspensions. I really don't think there has ever been a more robust, capable, and balanced suspension put in a 4x4 from the factory. If it was available on the LC in the US, I would absolutely 100% buy an LC with AHC.
Of course that is not a reality, so even though the LX gets better materials and more features for less money even with a higher initial price, it also has worse off roading angles/clearance, has a generally less desirable Lexus badge, is harder to modify (special sliders for example), looks less aggressive, and has lower residual than the LC. My opinion is the LX is ideal if you just want to throw on 34s (I did 275/65/20 KO2s) and sliders and either don't mind banging up the plastic or don't go on trails where that's a concern, but if you want to heavily modify, the LC is easier and generally has a stronger resale value. People are probably getting tired of this graphic, but it shows how relatively rare the Land Cruiser is even to the LX and the G Wagon which is one of the reasons its resale is so good. I love the 200 platform and don't think you can go wrong as long as you're happy with what you find. Don't let the insurance company lowball you either on your payout btw. Make sure you highlight all the recent expensive maintenance and find your own comps for recent sales of Land Cruisers - particularly auction sites like Cars and Bids and Bring a Trailer since they are verifiable sales not asking prices. The market has gone up dramatically year over year, so they may need help finding current and relevant information.
