Good bye E70, Hello Lexus GX460
 

I've had the E70 for 4 years. I pulled out the stack of service orders for electrical problems, water problems, noise problems, etc and it was over an inch high.

The E70 was like my first wife, good looking but high maintenance and unreliable. It was hard to believe that I had to plug a high $60K truck into a charger each week.

I bought a Lexus GX460 this weekend. Silent, powerful V8. According to owners I met in the service area bullet-proof reliability. Water temp meter! Oil dipstick! Full size spare! You can change the battery without programming! The manual even has a do it yourself maintenance section! The Lexus dealer waiting area puts the BMW dealer's area to shame.

I do miss the comfort seats (incomparable) and good looks of the E70. The Lexus has a great rear end, but the front is truck-like.

Good luck to everyone on the forum. I enjoyed all the tips, experiences, and general banter.

As the old song goes... And another one bites the dust! The Lexus will be everything you've mentioned and more. They truly are great cars... But its a luxury suv v. A luxury SAV driving experience, throw the Lexus into a turn and see what happens... It will feel like you're driving a school bus, or one of those pickups you see with the pallets stacked too high in the back... Handle they don't, reliability they do. I'll sacrifice driving a sometime temperamental German rocket for driving my Serta down the road any day... Good luck and enjoy you're new truck.

Congratulations, GX is not the greatest looking truck but I'm sure you can't go wrong with Japan built Toyota reliability. Well as long as it was built before the quake which if you have it now would have to have been. I hope that thing doesn't tip over on you. Looks pretty tall and soft.

Congrats. We used to have an old Lexus and although it wasn't bulletproof reliability, it was definitely less finicky than most. There's lot to like about Lexus including their service dept.

Congrats on the marshmallow grandpa mobile!

You will want a bmw after three years. It will creek, the interior and exterior will get old fast. But it will always stay running!

If he's a BMW guy at all, it won't even be three years... He already doesn't like the front of his new truck. And, I repeat, wait until he's out for a spirited drive on a weekend... The proof is in the drive.

ewww lexus. that is all.


lol

Yes, well, Lexus is certainly a better car for older people. Cushier, less connection to the driving experience.

Enjoy.

;)

PS Lexus has a nicer waiting area?? That's a purchase criteria? Really?

Congrats! I've had a 2006 and a 2007 Lexus SUV. Hands down, the ONLY cars I have ever owned that were 100% problem free. Flawless. But, also the 2 most BORING cars I have ever owned.

I understand though, when my 2007 E70 was bought back by BMW after months of endless problems, I was so fed up, beaten down and tired..that I went back to Lexus. Kept it about 9 months, and then went back to BMW! I deal with European cars and their issues, because the driving pleasure is so rewarding. But, I totally understand not wanting to deal with issues & just have a car that works easily. There are pros and cons to every car maker! I personally think Lexus makes amazing cars. They are just too vanilla for me.

Enjoy your new car, drive it in good health!

:iagree: How much time do you plan on being in that waiting area... :rofl:

i never did like toyota. the GX460 looks like hell in my opinion....

gl Toyota to stop selling Lexus GX 460 SUV - Business - Autos - msnbc.com

fuel pump :dunno: rolling over and dying :bustingup

Congrats on the GX! It was on my short list after my LX was bought back under the lemon law here in NJ. I really like the interior on the GX and the ride is silky smooth, but the rear door was the deal breaker for me.

Enjoy in good health!

Who's got the looks here?
 

YOU DECIDE :nanana:

http://www.toyotarecall.org/wp-conte...GX-460-SUV.jpg

http://www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicle...rt_package.jpg

Sorry to hear that - my GX470 was the worst least reliable SUV I every owned, bought it brand new, nothing but issues, reduced power issues that occurred weekly, issues with the drive shaft, issues with the auto leveling suspension etc etc. Least enjoyable boring car to drive I have ever owned. Navigation system was terrible - it was simple, a 2 year old could work it, but that didn't make it any good and the 3rd row seats and side opening rear door were engineered by morons! The only redeeming factor that car could of had would have been to be reliable, at least if it was a reliable appliance I could have lived with the dullness. Only way not to take a bath on it was to get another Lexus - did an 09 RX350, power rear door failed, transmission had odd lurching issues, fit and finish was less than on par for a Lexus (it was one of the ones made in Canada) and the transfer case started leaking by 9k (common problem).

Bought a 2011 X5 last year (have an 08 E93) and both cars have been much more reliable than the 2 Lexus vehicles I have owned, the X5 has yet to have a single issues in 8k and I love driving the X5 so much more - I will never own another Lexus in my life.

Hopefully you have a much better experience than I did - I do have to admit that the dealership was great, always got a new Lexus to drive (BMW is 50/50 new BMW or old Chevy), free food, always treated great when I had an issue. ClubLexus is the new forum for you, it was a great place for info like here - best of luck!

LOL LOL :iagree: :thumbup: :D

Congrats!! The Lexus is a great SUV. Reliable and comfortable basically sums up Lexus. And yes, I have never seen a customer waiting area as nice as the ones at a Lexus dealership!! The one that I was at had a movie theater, a breakfast area with a cook to bring you food and big comfy chairs.

That's just tragic.

No kiddin! What they expect you to be there for a whole day?

My BMW dealer has a lounge overlooking the shop with complimentary food, screening room, business centre with wi-fi, the M-Cafe with espresso and panini sandwiches.....Doesn't yours?

My wife has had 4 RX's and each one of them was rock-solid...And I would have been bored in a week driving any of em.

But hey, everyone has their own personal criteria for vehicle needs. If yours matches-up well with what Lexus does (and does not) deliver, you'll be a happy camper.

GL and drive it in good health as my dad would say! :thumbup:

yes because they fail :rofl:

In most markets outside the US, the Lexus GX460 is sold as a Toyota LandCruiser 150 Series, or Toyota Prado. How Toyota/Lexus can still put a solid, truck axle at the back of these things and still lie straight in bed at night is beyond me. Compared to the dynamics/handling/steering of an E70, the GX460/LandCruiser 150 is back in the horse and cart days.

Maybe they're watching the Ford Mustang, and waiting for Ford to go first.

That's one ugly looking SUV :(

I'm not sure what your saying. A solid axle is a superior set up compared to independent. Well each has it's pros, but for your typical hill Billy that is hitt'en the trail to drink beer and poach deer out of season, a solid axle can support more weight and has better ocolation carictoristics.

So a solid axle is more "truck-ish".

^and yes I'm well aware that my spelling sux.

Superior off-road, yes, but not anywhere else. And, how many GX460s will be hitting the trails do you think?

:confused: Were all those people just hanging out there watching movies in the theater or were their broken cars being fixed?

Oh, oh, oh. I miss understood what you were saying. Yes I agree 100%. They are pushing the luxury image, but have a chevy pick up rear end in it. That handles like one too. (probably because it's cheap) and I think less then 1/10 of 1% will ever venture off a stone driveway.

Lexus is very soft and comfty, kinda like driving on a cloud, which means greater chance of falling asleep.. haha Jk. I was looking at the older GL's, which looks much nicer. But the only thing was the stupid rear hatch. I don't understand why they need to make it open like a door. I live in NYC and people park behind you, bumper to bumper, and it makes it impossible to open if it's a SUV whose behind you.

Well, if I didn't bore everyone the first time..

So I had a 2006 GX470. Nice car, comfortable. Boring, yes - I wrecked it several times (all cosmetic), mostly from falling asleep. No, not a joke. I fell asleep one time and it got to be real good friends with a guardrail. Not cheap to fix that thing, BTW.

You have read all the things already, of course. Dull. For old people, etc. Lights up like a christmas tree in the dark, which at first is really quite cool and then you realize it's not really so great for driving.

Someone put it well - a two-year old can use the NAV, yes. It works great, but it's as boring as the rest of the car.

I had a few problems with the suspension (grinding noise) but it never, ever broke - at least not that I remember. It is VERY TRUE that the Lexus dealer is WAY WAY nicer than any BMW dealership I ever saw. Service is good, except they decided to use a wet, dirty rag for my "complimentary car wash" every time.

Oh, and while I don't think you'll ever own a more RELIABLE car.. Do you still have to take it in every 5K miles? And pay $120 for an oil change? And what was my 30K service - $700 or something? 60K service was double that, I think. Takes premium gas, gets terrible gas mileage. Not worse than most vehicles in its class, mind you, but not great.

I waited and waited for what became the GX460. There were a few things I could never get over in the GX470 and the 460 did not improve on them. The first thing was the damn tailgate. Swings out to the wrong side. Yes, I finally figured out WHY, but still. It has split glass now which probably helps, but.. Why is the deck raised incredibly high, to the point of removing something like 20 cubic feet of storage space?

Third row in that vehicle is slightly more practical, but not comfortable. (It looks absolutely useless in the X5, I will say)

It has some nice options (tech stuff) to it, but I have to say.. It's a mild improvement over the 470, it goes backwards in some areas (ergonomics got worse, I noticed), it has A LOT of plastic in it now, and oh yeah.. It costs $10K more than it used to. It does have more features to it now, and it *IS* cheaper than a similarly equipped X5. But it is not nearly the same.

I did not even bother to test drive the GX460 to see how fantastic it was that they added a sixth gear.

Oh and hey - summer is coming up! Just think of how quickly it will turn your hands (and half the rest of you) blue from frostbite no matter what you set the temperature to! Or how the dash lights drown out the road at night!

Oh, and be REAL careful when taking a turn, or you'll flip that b(*#ch right over! Or feel like you're going to, anyway. It does off-road rather well.. Too bad it still feels a bit like that on the highway. It does not transmit the sensation of every bump straight to my fat a$$ like the X5 does, TRUE, but the X5 doesn't make me seasick driving to work, either.

I tried to sleep in it's "spacious" second row once - I prefer a coach seat crammed between two irritable British women on a 15.5 hour flight, thanks. Even the dogs didn't like it.

It did develop a very annoying rattle I never could find. And little pieces of things would come off, which I always thought was rather weird.

So far, I don't miss it. Maybe I'm lucky, though - nothing wrong with the X5 yet.

Oh.. The Mark Levinson sound system in the GX WAS better, though. It almost made up for having to feed it CDs to keep myself entertained.

The E70 is the most Unreliable X5, BMW has made to date. Look for the MotorTrend Article, X5 is the new Range Rover in terms of problems. Range Rover is above Lexus this year. Good choice.

A friend of mine was rear ended while driving his Porsche on the freeway. The Porsche was totaled and he ended up buying a Toyota. What he said about his new Toyota was "it has no soul".

Chuck

Hahaha. Two good jokes in there. Motortrend and Range Rover. Nuff said.

No eye-f**king from the ladies though? So why buy a Lexus correct? Might as well go with a bulletproof Range Rover, they are as reliable as lassie in a barn fire. :rofl:

OP- GL with the new truck, hope it serves you well.

Just cut to the chase and call them 'soggy'.

So someone went from a Porsche to a Toyota...... Hmmmmm........ Did he lose his job or something?

The big mouth, buck tooth, and those eyes....... Makes it look real "special". :bustingup

It was an old Porsche.

Chuck

And so I was just trying to be "tactful" and sugar coat the Lexus... Man, you guys don't mess around, huh? Does anybody know Rufus? Maybe he'll really appreciate the Serta-like, milk truck ride of the Toyota truck, who knows. And I actually did believe they were at least fairly reliable... But not after reading some of these posts. But at least if it's not, they have a nice waiting room and a movie theatre.

It is really nice. :)

Good cookies too. And a soda machine. I was usually a sugared-up, caffeinated wreck by the time I went to leave my dirty-dishrag-washed car.

It's funny how I don't miss it.. Especially when I think about how my BMW only has to go in once a year, and the GX had to go in every three months. So I could pay to turn that annoying amber "SERVICE" light off.

I never understand these sort of posts because I've not experienced any issues with my X5. Nvr owned a Lexus, but I doubt I'd go "downhill" to a Lexus from a BMW anytime soon. Lot of them on the streets though, so they must be a good vehicle ... although boring to look at after all these years.

I really don't see one as going "downhill" over the other. Nor do I understand the general Lexus bashing in this thread :dunno:

It's all about the product delivering the brand promise to a core, target consumer. Marketing 101.

Lexus does what their target wants them to deliver and does it very well; Reliable, comfortable to drive & luxurious :D

Depends on how you define "luxurious". One of my key luxuries is having something that handles properly. It's not just the cupholder count. Didn't the GX460 have a recall in the US for instability issues?

And I would argue neither you (nor me - see my previous vehicles!) are their core consumer....But overall, we'd probably agree that they build a vehicle that is luxurious by most standards and more reliable than not..:cool:

I still wouldn't bundled the Lexus GX460 (or the GX470, if that's what the previous model was called over there) with the various RX Lexus models. The former is based on a separate-chassis platform with a truck axle at the back while the latter are fully independently suspended monocoques.

Try going into the Viper Alley forum and tell them you traded a Viper for a Corvette.

Both good cars, but one is just a little more hard core than the other with no electronic nannies. The other has PLENTY of trunk space....

Sometimes bashing is necessary.

I like this guy!

All about perception I guess. To me, it's going DOWNHILL from a RR droptop to a base Bentley. It's going DOWNHILL from that Bentley to an Aston Martin. It's going DOWNHILL from an AM to a Jaguar ... to a Lexus ... to a Honda ... to a Kia ... to a peddle bike.

Again, all about perception.

I would'nt go DOWNHILL from a Bimmer to a Lex. Maybe "sideways" to an Audi though. :-)

That's more diagonal to the back than just sideways...:D

there's only one respectable Lexus...



what a sound!

Funny you mention the LF-A. Hell of a car that is.

People that see the commercial all say: "Ooooooh.. I want that one!"
"Yes of course you do."
"No seriously. That's my next car." (this was an RX owner)
...
"How much is it?"
"Like $350,000."
"No it isn't.. How could a Lexus cost that!? It couldn't be.."

So yeah, it's a hell of a car. :)

He's going to get very jelous when he sees an X5 overtaking :-)
No denying Lexus is trouble free though.

Yeah... while riding in the hot non-air conditioned filthy cab of a flatbed with my Z4 on the back, going 100 miles to the nearest BMW dealer in 90 degree plus weather last Summer in Wisconsin, on a Friday Afternoon, hoping to get there before they closed, my "never broke down" Ford Focus with 72K on it was actually looking pretty good to me, compared to BMW.

My 2010 X5d has been back to the dealer once for its first yearly service.

My wife's 2010 RX450h has been back twice for its service and twice more for exhaust sensor and electric issues that were promptly fixed.

Lexus is not what it used to be from my perspective. Family and friends' Lexi have issues as much as anyone over the past few years. Toyota got fat and greedy I expect.

That's my take on it too. A victim of its own success.

I owned a GX-470 and couldn't wait to get rid of it. Actually, I owned two of them. The first one they took back due to the amount of issues it had. The 2nd one wasn't much better, however compared to the first one it wasn't in the shop as much. I trade the GX for a new X5 back in 2007 and couldn't be happier. The GX is nothing more than a 4-Runner with a nice interior - PERIOD!

Rufusdedog,

Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with your E70. I haven't had any problems with my 07. I think you live in the same area as I do. Did you have problems with the dealer since they changed ownership? Mine is almost out of warranty but I think I'll keep it since it's been so reliable and we really love driving it. Wish I could've swapped seats with you before you got rid of it. I'd rather have the comfort seats than the sport seats.

Having just made that move (to a Q7); I have to tell you it is only very slightly behind on driving experience, but WAY ahead on build quality. Had the Q7 for a month now, and it is so much quieter, rides smoother, the electronics are Soooooo much better thought out. And it is cheaper!

As for the driving experience, yes it isn't quite so sharp as the X5, but on my favourite section of twisties it is only one or two seconds a mile slower.

My opinion...The q7 is a dog to drive compared to the x5.

This is a funny thread. I have 2 friends with these marshmallows. When I got my X5, they both tried to dump them. They ride like an oil tanker.

Yes, they have the handling integrity of a garbage bag full of chopped livers.

Reliable as hell, expensive as hell once out of warranty, and boring as hell. Nice car though and the decision is yours.

I made the same mistake with a S500 after my M5. I still regret it.

Nothing is worse then my wife's Kia serento. That handels like a cement mixer, with a front flat. It's that bad!

Glad to hear you like it. The new ones are pretty good looking, but a little bloated as well. I like Audi, but the problem is that they are only about 8/10's of a BMW, imo.

In the past I have had 2 vehicles in my driveway that were examples of the BEST and WORST handling sport utes ever made. The X6 and the Izuzu Trooper (1993 model).
The most dangerous thing anyone could do was to take the X6 for a brisk drive, then jump into the Trooper. You think you can take that first curve at similar speeds.

As I get older, sometimes I think I might enjoy the 'oil tanker' ride and handling...then I drive the Trooper to remind myself, I don't!

Actually Rufusdedog, I am sad to see you gone, its been good seeing your comments over the last 4 years or so, good luck with the Lexus GX40, l have owned many a Toyota 4 wheel drive, 80 series, 100 series, then moved to the X5's E53 & 3 different E70's.

Yes the first E70's had a few problems, l know for a fact but the second & third gen came good.

One thing though, if you hang onto your Toyota long enough like I did and do a rebuild every now & then you could end up with one of these like I have after 40 years if you are able t keep it that long?

I never thought of it that way, but.. Yes.

I really did like it, and for a vehicle that size it handled quite well, acceleration was good, etc. It should not go unsaid that my first wreck in that car was being bored to sleep and running it into and across the guardrail. (not a joke - major cosmetic damage but nothing else, $4K to fix)

Now all my friends say: "Your driving has gone to hell lately."
Me: "How so?"
Friends: "You drive like a complete $#&*! You never drove like this in your Lexus."
Me: "That's because I COULDN'T!"

:)

I think the new one is a good progression of the old, actually.
HATE what they did with the cargo area, but eh..
Oh and the fact that it's $10K pricier than it was.

I tried the Q7 but man.. I just couldn't get into that.
It's a great road car, but the rest of it didn't really make me want to buy it.
Dealer said "Well, I hope you've found your next car!"
(he knew virtually nothing of his product)
Me: "Wow! I really hate it!"
Dealer: "Maybe drive the Q5?"

I am not going to dis Audi, it just isn't my style. And it seems more style than substance.

Someone at work has a new S5. Says it corners like a drunken opera singer. It is a good-looking car, but he says he can't wait to get rid of it.

Now the R8, on the other hand..

Cust Care
 

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I can see both sides myself. I had a terrible 2007 X5 4.8. It was in the shop for months in total over the first 2 years. When this car dies with battery failures it is a pain as nothing works except the alarm for the last hour of life. You feel beaten when time after time they can not fix the issue and then will not offer any help. Yes it is a real problem but it is your problem. That is what really gets you down. I ended up having an attorney write a letter to NJ and I wrote an email to a VP in Munich who had an English name so I knew he could read it. Then boy did things happen. It is a shame you have to go that far for a car in this price range that really you could not count on starting.

We love the 2010 35D and it is 100% problem free. However we talked and would never have two BMWs at the same time. The lasting taste of poor customer service is really the bigger issue than the car troubles which were major.

I would never get a Lexus SUV just because they are boring. The cars are boring but the corporate customer service I imagine is much better. Our dealer was good but they care only as much as BMW wants them to care.

I've had all of them. Love my new 4.8i.