Who bought their 100-series new? (1 Viewer)

[shtbrwn86]

Just curious for those of you that bought your 100 series new what was it that made you decide on that? I’m especially curious about the LX since that seems to have been mostly mall crawler original owners. With all the other capable or luxurious SUVs at the time why pick the 100 series?

Really just a curiosity of mine. I see why they make great vehicles on the used car market but new they were pretty pricey and honestly way more than most people needed who were buying them at the time.

 

[MechE30]

One thought: People wealthy enough to buy these new 15-23 years ago likely are old enough now to not be "internet" people. But I do know theres a few here and there on this forum.

 

[hoser]

I didn't buy new but given these choices, I would've probably chosen the LX470 as well. G500 is tempting but the high repair cost post warranty is enough to turn many away.

 

[shtbrwn86]

One thought: People wealthy enough to buy these new 15-23 years ago likely are old enough now to not be "internet" people. But I do know theres a few here and there on this forum.

True. I guess I could expand it to those who bought it when it was still considered more or less a new car? Say within 5 years of the car being released? Or anyone whose parents bought one and they talked about that stuff with their parents?

Basically I am curious who bought these things before they were relegated to off-roaders and overlanders.

 

[TheForger]

I didn’t purchase it new but my uncle did, who then sold it to my dad, who then sold it to me. Still got the window sticker for it too! Adjusting for inflation over the past 21yrs, $53k MSRP would put it right around $86k today. Uncle said it was chosen due to its reputation for reliability, safety, and the fact his wife (my aunt) would be the main driver. He was originally considering an exotic sports car (Ferrari or Aston Martin) until kids and dogs came along. Plus the sports cars he was interested in didn’t have dealerships in my state so they would require shipping it out for servicing

 

[AlpineAccess]

I didn't buy mine new, but the guy I bought it from did. He put 150k on it over 17 years. He was pretty smart in buying it new considering that the other SUV's available at the time at that price point are either in a junkyard or worth $500 at that mileage.

He was a land cruiser guy and said "I spent a lot of money maintaining it, but not a penny on repairing it". It had a stack of receipts about an inch thick and he was right, he didn't replace a single thing (that wasn't a wear item) over that entire period.

 

[jLB]

I thoroughly enjoyed my 1994 TLC (80 series), even though it seemed like a work truck that someone just slapped in some leather and called it a “Luxury SUV”. I drove it for ~10 years without any major issues.

The LX470 seemed like a nice combination of the 1st gen LS (400) that I had owned, and the 1994 TLC that I had owned. Comfortable enough for DD duties, and capable enough to take off-road.

15 years later, it’s still my DD, and I’ve bought two more 100 series (used) to keep it company in the driveway.

 

[BullElk]

I bought my ‘99 LC from the original owner about 5 years ago here on the Mud site. He bought it with a sticker of $53,566. He put 312k miles on it and sold it to me for a sticker price of $2,800. Currently at 449,200 miles as my DD, work, huntNgathermobile. Those were the days when most folks were afraid to buy a 300k mile LC.

 

[OEMGUY0720]

When I bought my 06Lx 3 yrs ago I told the dealer that the deal-breaker will be the sticker literature. Lol

I don’t buy new as well, I picked the 100 over the 200 because of mainly the budget I was working with during that time.

 

[vcheng]

Just curious for those of you that bought your 100 series new what was it that made you decide on that? I’m especially curious about the LX since that seems to have been mostly mall crawler original owners. With all the other capable or luxurious SUVs at the time why pick the 100 series?

Really just a curiosity of mine. I see why they make great vehicles on the used car market but new they were pretty pricey and honestly way more than most people needed who were buying them at the time.

I bought my 05 LX470 new, and I still have it.

Why pick a 100 series? To me, there was, and is, nothing comparable still. I have an FJ and a 200 series, but the LX is the best among them too. Smooth, silent, capable, reliable, what's not to like?

 

[ed94r]

I bought my 05 LX470 new, and I still have it.

Why pick a 100 series? To me, there was, and is, nothing comparable still. I have an FJ and a 200 series, but the LX is the best among them too. Smooth, silent, capable, reliable, what's not to like?

Just curious for those of you that bought your 100 series new what was it that made you decide on that? I’m especially curious about the LX since that seems to have been mostly mall crawler original owners. With all the other capable or luxurious SUVs at the time why pick the 100 series?

Really just a curiosity of mine. I see why they make great vehicles on the used car market but new they were pretty pricey and honestly way more than most people needed who were buying them at the time.

We bought our '98 with 64K miles on the clock in 2004 for $26K. It was meant as a replacement for a 2 door E30 that was our -family of 3- DD. We needed the extra space b/c the E30 is a tiny car. The LX was/is the perfect size.

Still have the E30, and the 98 is still my wife's daily driver @245K

I don't collect cars, I accumulate them, lol.

 

[BullElk]

I have an FJ and a 200 series, but the LX is the best among them too. Smooth, silent, capable, reliable, what's not to like?

With nonhighjacking intentions….This type of real world ownership comparison is what I would like to know more about. Which is preferred, better, and why? I certainly haven't owned anything else in 25+ years to make a comparison and when I ride in someone else's nonLX/LC machines I immediately notice how cheaply made they are.

 

[BullElk]

I know I’ve said it before but we bought one of our 2000 LX from the original owner in 2004 with 43k miles. He was a friend of mine and MLB pitcher for the Cubs, Yankees, etc. He gave me a deal that was $16k under the loan value. We took our daughter to kindergarten in that LX. Today at 23, married and registered nurse, she still drives it with 372k. But as soon as she gets a bug and wants a different vehicle, that beast is coming back home to Daddy.

 

[Zer0zg]

@BullElk Reading your signature, that is a ton of cruiser miles. I'm sure you didn't do all of them yourself, but that is conservatively a half million bucks worth of gas, crazy.

 

[vcheng]

With nonhighjacking intentions….This type of real world ownership comparison is what I would like to know more about. Which is preferred, better, and why? I certainly haven't owned anything else in 25+ years to make a comparison and when I ride in someone else's nonLX/LC machines I immediately notice how cheaply made they are.

To be brief, LX quality, from its burly frame right down to the anti-kink springs in its windscreen washer tubing, is in a class by itself that even other Toyotas do not match. Nearly 17 years in harsh upstate NY, but still a baby at under 100k miles. Utterly smooth and relatively silent.

The FJ is very functional, but one can see the use of cheaper parts, for example the brakes. However, I still love it for its 6-speed manual gearbox, despite the idiotic design of the transmission quill. Yes, the visibility is horrible and the suicide doors impractical, but it is still going strong at 117k and 14 years.

The 200 TLC is relatively new at 3 years, but it is a burly beast indeed, although the product of a different design philosophy compared to the 100 series. For example, the 100-series platform is designed to be field-serviceable, but the 200-series is designed to be held hostage to dealers for driving service revenue to them. I bought it over the new LX for its better looking design and the touchscreen interface. The engine is a gem, but the transmission has a few extraneous gears, just another example of legal mandates of all kinds imposing certain compromises on vehicle designs, including the hideous AIS.

Such nitpicks aside, I love them all. Even at their worst, they are much better at what they do than any of the alternatives in the US market, in my opinion.

 

[vcheng]

I don't collect cars, I accumulate them, lol.

I may resemble that remark.

 

[OwnerCS]

It would be an interesting survey to see across different makes, models, and years. I know of several 1st gen Tacoma original owners that will not part with their trucks.

 

[BullElk]

@BullElk Reading your signature, that is a ton of cruiser miles. I'm sure you didn't do all of them yourself, but that is conservatively a half million bucks worth of gas, crazy.

My Lexii don’t age…. they marinate.

 

[Manhattan]

I bought my 2006 when it was four 4 years old with 39,000 miles. I figured I'd have it for between 1 and 3 years... like every other car/truck I've owned. 11 years and 130,000 miles later... I still look back at it in parking lots.

 

[ericbauer]

My inlaws bought our 98 LC100 new.
They didn't go anywhere with it - definitely a mall cruiser life with them.
We got it from them at 150k in 2008 w bald tires & nearly worn out brake pads, because they "upgraded" to a used LX470 they got from one of their friends.

Currently at 380,000 miles

Other than the driver's seat leather being a bit torn up, everything functions as it should ...