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As an LX200GPS 10" owner, my two bobs' worth:
1. If you are more into imaging that naked eye observing, the 10" is as much as you would ever need. If you are more into naked eye observing, Houghy's 12" definitely gives better detail than my 10", and you might want to go to the 12".
2. I am an average Joe, and when I have the tripod legs extended, a bit of a heave-ho (especially in the cold) is needed to get the OTA up on the tripod. If you had a bad back, or were of senior years, I think you would be crazy to get a 12" if you were going to regularly transport it.
3. The price differential between a 10" and a 12" is about $2,200. With that, some serious EP purchasing can be done. With either the 10 or 12, a 31mm Nagler would be purrrrrfect. Then again, you did say you were expecting $40K...
4. Regarding some other comments above about the RCX400, from what I have read, it is definitely worth the extra money if you are into imaging, but for visual stuff, not much perceptible difference to the LX200.
Get some of the members in QLD to let you have a play with their scopes to see what you can handle. Also - get a sense of size - because it needs to be able to fit in the car!
Good luck!
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