Ha! Not hate at all - disappointment. I've owned many "Lexi" over the years - LS's, IS's, ES's, RX's and GX's. All were basically trouble free, a couple well into high miles. My GX had many issues, quite a few of which had no known resolution. I did not have the patience to wait months for...
So far so good - a little over 5000 miles in and amazingly not a single issue yet. To be fair, it's not an even comparison - the Defender is a top spec V8, but for what I need it's perfect. My off-road adventures would be minimal - just wanted something great in snow and such, and I prefer the...
Glad it worked out for you Dave. I ended up getting a similar deal in the trade for my Defender. While I didn't get $5k above sticker, I did get exactly what I paid for my GX in trade value, even with 1700 miles on the odometer. It speaks well to Lexus value preservation and demand.
While I...
Another option is to get it functional then trade it in yourself on something else. GX are getting fairly decent trade-in values - I got MSRP when I traded mine with 1700 miles on it.
Don't ever go to that tire shop again. You seem well within the GVWR for either vehicle. At worst a 0.5-1.0 psi tweak in tire pressure, though you should be adjusting tire pressure for real world load as well.
In any case, I have no idea why a shop would say that this is not compatible unless...
Well, it will have a ML sound system that works better, a transmission that works better, and an engine that is unlikely to fail. That's all forward progress!
The Defender is a LR, not an RR, and has had very good reliability, particularly since 2023. The DRL issue was resolved in 2024 with new components. The V8 motor is well proven over about 30 years in different variants. We're in the 7th model year of the new Defender also, and the kinks have...
I couldn't help but stop back and rub it in a bit (simply returning the favor) as the recalls and TSBs start stacking up on the GXes, and I'm 5000 miles in on the Defender with not a single issue. Hope y'all get them sorted out. That engine issue does not sound pleasant.