No, I haven't fallen off another vehicle and banged my head, although to be fair the difference isn't always that easy to spot.
Anyway, after yet another incident of my truck coming back from the shop and having to go back again after a week (in this case, for the problem that just got, well, fixxored), and the Range Rover being more and more of a restoration project, I think it might be time to face the music and buy one vehicle that has less of a chance to spend more time in the shop and in its parking spot at home.
The InterWebz seems to very much believe that amongst the most long lived vehicles, one would find certain Land Cruisers and their Lexus siblings. Fuel consumption is atrocious, but then again we don't drive that much and have other vehicles that get better fuel mileage.
I know that they're pretty slow given the fuel consumption and size of the engine, can tow roughly as much as I'd need to tow (~5k - ~6k lbs), slowly, and that they have a reputation for being indestructable when looked and price tag to match even when used. Oh, and expensive repairs when they break but hey, I've got a Porsche and a Land Rover...
I'm kinda leaning towards the GX as it's a little smaller, which my wife would appreciate, but I basically lobbed in both together into this thread - after all, both were sold in other countries as Land Cruisers.
Anything else I need to know about them?
Love my GX, been in the family since new and I plan on keeping forever. Theyre a little boring but thats kind of a plus for a daily honestly. Here's some real world data for you, I get about 15.5 mpg daily driving (like about 70% highway) and tows 5k lbs easy, I got about ~10mpg towing down to the challenge last fall. Only ever run regular, running a 2" lift and 33s.
GXs have air suspension that craps out religiously but most owners at this point plan on replacing it regardless anyways. UZ starters are a pain to replace (hiding in the valley) but my original one is going on 170k no problem. Look for rust under the back bumper where moisture can get trapped under the styrofoam.
The GXs at least aren't nearly as good of a deal as they used to be. The more casual overlanders finally caught onto them. Are you looking at sequoias too? They're only subject to the Toyota Tax, not the additional Land Cruiser tax 
Otherwise, the LX is almost exactly the same as a 100-series Land Cruiser. The only difference is a little body stuff. Hope you're ok with spending like $20k on a rig with ~200k miles on it.
I would get a 05-07 LC/LX. I have had 7 100 series, and those are the ones to get. Good luck. Come join us on Ih8mud. Been on there 21 years. Best LC forum on the planet.
Gx has a goofy rear barn door while the land cruiser / lx470 has a cool tailgate. Both need timing belts every 90k. 03 and up Land cruisers have a 5 speed transmission which is usually preferred and desirable. I tow with my Land cruiser and it does a great job for me. And miles - with just basic maintenance and some IH8mud forum advice (look up heater tees) they just run. Mine has 235k and I drive it anywhere and everywhere with no worries.
Thanks for the info. Not looking at Sequoias - this is a truck that both my wife and I need to be able to drive, so ideally if should not be bigger than a Land Rover, or at least not a lot bigger.
Thats why the GX appeals a lot, although I think I might be able to talk her into an LC/LX.
The 100 series is easy to drive. My wife finds it easy and even my mom, who hates big cars, drove it once and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to drive, see out of, etc.
I just can't understand the love for these things. They're reliable, great, but in EVERY other category they flounder. They ride/drive terribly being body-on-frame, tiny interiors given their exterior dimensions, and they're hugely expensive on the used market. I'll admit if I was looking at 4runners, these GXs are a no brainer, but LXs are so wildly expensive.
I used to have a 1st Gen Tundra, so when it came time to get a dad-mobile I looked at Toyota SUVs of similar era and was shocked at the price. Being a 'fix it yourselfer', I opted to get the nicer vehicle up front and try to do maintenance/repairs myself to make the cost palatable. 1st gen Sequioas are where it's at if you have to have a Toyota regading bang for the buck.
Granted I don't know how the gx470 drives, but my 2nd gen sequoia has a much smaller turning radius than our gx460. something to consider.
the 460 hasn't quite caught on in the over landing community yet. It's got the newer 4.6. V8 with timing chain, ventilated seats and is too much more expensive. Maybe something to consider. I know docewhyte has some issues with his but ours has been bulletproof from 85k-170k.
Well, I've done a thing:
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rjoR6wy7/2001-lexus-lx-470
Should have a few thousand miles left in it. I'm guessing the Toyota/Lexus marketing department might be starting to get nervous just about now, given my hard earned reputation for "hmm, we've never seen this go wrong".
BoxheadTim said:
Well, I've done a thing:
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rjoR6wy7/2001-lexus-lx-470
Should have a few thousand miles left in it. I'm guessing the Toyota/Lexus marketing department might be starting to get nervous just about now, given my hard earned reputation for "hmm, we've never seen this go wrong".
Congrats!
With T belt service done and the AHC replaced, this will go a long time. My sister still has one she bought new, with over 400K miles on it. Personally I prefer the tails of the 06/07, as it really makes it more modern, but that is just personal preference.
I would remove those silly tail light damage multipliers
Enjoy it in good health.
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rEjWD8gb/1998-toyota-land-cruiser?utm_source=listing_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=hero nothing with 300k miles
BoxheadTim said:
Well, I've done a thing:
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rjoR6wy7/2001-lexus-lx-470
Should have a few thousand miles left in it. I'm guessing the Toyota/Lexus marketing department might be starting to get nervous just about now, given my hard earned reputation for "hmm, we've never seen this go wrong".
Sweet man, looks like you got a good deal. The new rig looks spotless in the photos and the color combo is nice.
As an aside, "Mystic Sea Opal" is what I like to see in automotive paint names. Perfectly overwrought and tells a story. My old 4runner was "Imperial Jade Mica" (awesome). My current Xterra is "glacier white" (boring).
Looks like a great combination of condition/price/low mileage/neat colour!
I've only heard great things about these, aside from fuel mileage of course. Can't have it all I suppose, and I'll take the anvil reliability over an economical grenade.
Thanks!
An re the gas mileage - that's more or less what both my Diesel truck and the Range Rover are getting when they're actually working. Plus we don't generally drive that much anyway, so it's a minor concern.
They are great, I had a 100 series Land Cruiser (same thing) for almost 2 years and really liked it. Keep an ear open for manifold tics as that is a common issue as well. The tailgate is perfect to open up and chill out on like a truck tailgate.
We picked it up yesterday - overall it's in pretty good condition but it wouldn't be one of my vehicles if it didn't have minor flaws.
Turn signals needed a new fuse (no idea why it was removed, although I have a suspicion), the new-ish parts of the exhaust seem to have a deer whistle built in that I can play tunes on by playing with the gas pedal, the steering column goes up and down but doesn't seem to telescope and the electric antenna puts in a valiant effort to extend by three inches.
For a truck out of NYS, it's pretty clean though - there are a couple of minor spots that might need to be introduced to some rust converter and I have to do a more thorough inspection of the frame (which the selling dealer did undercoat, and it looks very clean rather than painted over bubbles).
Drives fine with a very comfortable ride and a bunch more grunt than our Range Rover, to that's all a plus.
If the windshield or sunroof ever leaked down into the fuse panel, lots of weird stuff can happen. Mine did that once and the horn started blowing and the fog lights stayed on. That was a not so fun one to clear up. May want to check for signs of moisture down there, maybe they pulled the fuse for the signals for a similar issue.
Well, I've clearly made this truck mine already, in fact the minute I picked it up...
Ignoring minor stuff like the turn signals not working when we picked the truck up because someone had removed the fuse for them, it's got more body rust than expected and visible in the photos. Guess I get to buy myself something like a CRX to practise my welding on first.
A few weeks into our ownership, it blew a hole into one of the downpipes past the cat. Fortunately the local shop could repair it, otherwise I'd be looking at new headers and cats.
Just took it to the shop again because the a/c had stopped working - one of the refrigerant lines had blown, thanks to rust. Also, the suspension was a little clonky since we got the truck, shop found that the rear shocks apparently had some attachment issues (the words "close to flapping in the breeze" may have been uttered), plus a bracket was missing and a sway bar bracket broken. Oh, and the telescoping part of the steering column that also never worked has been diagnosed as very likely being a bad motor.
All that in less than 2000 miles.
And here was me worrying that I may have lost my inverse Midas touch.
Oof man, that's a rough start to a new to you car like that.
Let's just say I'm not too unhappy that I didn't get rid of the SAAB yet.
In other news, a box of very expensive pipes should make its way to me in the next few days.
Wait till the AHC dies. More expense, more pipes.
I loved my 200 series LC. My 100 series - not so much.
Hope your experience is better than mine.
In reply to 93gsxturbo :
It's already been converted to regular Landcruiser suspension, which was one of the reasons I thought this had potential as a purchase.
We do like driving it when it works. But right now I'm not convinced that it's that much more reliable than the Range Rover it mainly replaced.
Two grand and about six weeks later, and the a/c is about as cold as your average politician's heart.
Next, figure out what drains the battery as my wife refuses to drive it until that issue is addressed, and fix the telescoping steering wheel.
