Deal or no deal? FZJ80 at Dealership

[tim.korn.99]

Hey guys, it's been a while since my last post here. I've still not put another motor in my 91 FJ80....


There, however, is a 1995 FZJ80 at the local dealership. It's got every option, including the factory lockers. Super clean, outside is perfect, inside is great, but the front two seats are a little faded. No biggie.

The price is $4999. That's what got my attention... So, I went and looked it over.

It's got 249,000 miles on it!

But, it started right up, idled very well, engine was near silent. A/C works GREAT, under side is really clean. Birfs were dry on the outside, and the tires are good.

I drove it around, and it drove really well. It has the later style transmission (with the power button) and it shifted really well. No smoke at startup, or when driving it.

Still, I was wondering why the price was so low. He said they have had it a while, since no bank will loan on a 95 with 249,000 miles. He also said it was as-is, with no warranty implied.

I started looking around under the hood, and popped open the radiator cap. Lots of oil in the coolant. That's why it's so cheap... Headgasket...

Also, I couldn't get the lockers to fully engage. The lights would just blink on and off (low range) even when moving it around.
I'm sure the actuator's were sticking, and they've probably never been used. It didn't look like the thing had ever been offroad.

So, what do you guys think?

They've been sitting on it for a couple of months. I could probably get them down to $4000 for it. The salesman is going to talk to them and see if they will take care of the labor on the headgasket if I buy the parts (which seems reasonable)

Should I jump on it? Or let this one go?

-Tim

[dcFJ]

That's a tough call...if they take care of the labor with you buying the HG parts, I'd say go for it at $4k, nothing more though.

Sounds like in the end it would be an OK deal if they can help you on the labor. I'm sure it's also been sitting a while because of gas prices, and people not willing to fork out money as easily these days.

[Lka1988]

If the dealership does the HG work, then I would jump on it. 100%.

There's a later FZJ80 (95/96) here for sale locally. I stopped by to look at it, and this is what I found:
Damage multiplier, rusty side-steps (and I mean RUSTY), seats were torn, half the trim was broken/missing, oil leaks, P/S leak, and IIRC had 180,000 miles. No lockers.

Guess what the dealer wants for it?


















Go on, guess.












































$7000!!

[tim.korn.99]

Yeah, I'm hoping that they will call me back tomorrow and say that they will cover the labor.

As far as the lockers go, it's most likely the actuators sticking, right?

There wasn't anything on there that wasn't functioning properly. Oil pressure was really good too.

I told the salesman, that the headgasket being bad was the deal breaker for me. He didn't argue with that. I definitely knew more about that truck than any of the salesmen there. He had no idea what the lockers were... But, he also didn't try to pressure me at all, which was nice.

If they do go ahead and cover the labor, is there anything else I should have them do at the same time? Would that be a good time to take care of the PHH?

-Tim

[Lka1988]

Originally Posted by tim.korn.99

As far as the lockers go, it's most likely the actuators sticking, right?

More likely than not. But since the thing has near 250,000 miles, and the locker, as you say, have never been engaged, I'd think they will need some SERIOUS exercising to work right.

That salesman sounds like less of a douche than the others, that's for sure. Good sign.

Keep us updated.

[MLX450]

"If they do go ahead and cover the labor, is there anything else I should have them do at the same time? Would that be a good time to take care of the PHH?"

OH NO! hehehehe we all get into this delema...

Valve clearance/adjustment (shims, ect.)
PHH
All heater hoses on the firewall
Fuel filter
Clean TB
Injector cleaning
new radiator hoses
belts

Im sure others will chime in.......

[Romer]

If its priced real low you can then have the engine redone, not just the headgasket, but if you bore it out you will gain some power and then have a great engine that would last another 300K miles. He will charge, $2K for the headgasket and to mill the head and redo the valves. If he doesn't do the head then you have a half assed job. Offer him $3500 after pointing out the oil, but first get an estimate on a rebore and head gasket job. If your mechaincal and do a lot of the work your self, you will save a tone.

Just an option.

The lockers probably haven't been used and will likely engage if you keep working it.

Where are you located, if your close to Colorado, you could hire Robbie like 24hoursin Nevada did, but he probably wont be available until August.

[nodaksn3]

Obviously, they want it off the lot. Offer them $3000 for it, after pointing out the issues. Theyll probably take it at this point, then do the HG and PHH yourself. PHH is easy (I'm told) with the head off. HG is a slight pain (again I'm told, had the stealership do mine in Sioux Falls), but not impossible of you have some skills. Don't know about boring, etc., but Ken has a good idea too. My '95 has close to 200,000 and runs perfectly, no oil use, etc. I'd expect that one will easily make 350,000 if taken care of. Save money to pay for gas futures. Ned

[tim.korn.99]

You're right, I think i'm going to lowball them and see what they say. I think that I have the upper hand in this situation. That's the oldest vehicle on their lot, and by far has the most miles. It's also the only one that's been red tagged. The salesman said, yesterday, that the next place for this vehicle was the auction.

I think I will offer them $3000 and tell them I'll take care of the repairs. I can replace the head gasket at home.

Do you think it is ok to drive it back to my house in that condition? It doesn't smoke at all, and seems to run perfect (plenty of power and strong oil pressure). I live about 20 miles away.

Thanks for all of the advice!

-Tim

[dcFJ]

That sounds like a good plan. I'm sure 20 miles is going to be fine if it seems to run fine. I'd go for it at $3k and doing the HG and other repairs yourself.

[89s rule]

If you have the skills, that doesnt sound too bad. Remember its usually better to spend more up front.

The only reason I went to an 80 was b/c the prices have dropped sooo much. B/f I bought mine I was talkign with guys who had lifted, locked, bumpered, etc etc truck for $4K w/ mileage int he mid-low 200's.

[tim.korn.99]

Well, the salesman called me back. He said the man in charge wasn't wanting to do any work to it. He said that's why it is marked down so cheap. That seems a little shady since I asked about that yesterday (before I found out it had oil in the coolant). I guess they would've sold it to me without saying anything about the gasket then...

Anyway, I told him I'd give $3000 for it. He said he'd let them know, then let me know if they'll take it.

That was at lunch time today, and I still haven't heard anything from him. I guess they don't want to take $3k for it.

I seriously doubt that thing sells while sitting on their lot. Especially since most of the people that are in the market for a $4999 vehicle don't exactly have that much cash just laying around.

He said yesterday, that the next place for it would be a wholesale auction. How much do you guys think it would fetch there?


-Tim

[Fly Rod]

Originally Posted by tim.korn.99

He said yesterday, that the next place for it would be a wholesale auction. How much do you guys think it would fetch there?


-Tim

It is anybody's guess what a wholesale auction would bring. If they know about the HG then maybe $1,500 - $2,000 tops. If a couple uneducated buyers bid maybe $3,000 - $3,500? If the buyers know about the HG then a parts/wrecking yard would be the likely buyer.

[IdahoDoug]

A 14mpg 14 year old SUV with a quarter million miles on it will go through the auction at 1200 bucks. If the dealership (what kind, btw?) knew about it when they took it in trade, they're into it for maybe 700. If they didn't know about it they may be into it for $2000. If people at the auction know about the blown HG it will go through the auction at $500.

They'll call you back at 3k unless this is a used car dealer in which case they may do about anything.

DougM

[tim.korn.99]

I forgot to mention, this is at a very large Toyota Dealership. This is by far, the oldest vehicle on their lot, and it has the most miles. I don't see them keeping it too much longer. It's already sat for well over a month.

I'm hoping they will call me back tomorrow about it.

Tonight, I found a super clean '97 LX450 with Lockers at a small used car lot, but it has $9,999 on the windshield. They were closed, but I plan on calling about it tomorrow. It didn't say the mileage on the window, and it was too dark to read the dash. But I could barely make out the diff lock switch.


-Tim

[Lka1988]

Originally Posted by tim.korn.99

Tonight, I found a super clean '97 LX450 with Lockers at a small used car lot, but it has $9,999 on the windshield. They were closed, but I plan on calling about it tomorrow. It didn't say the mileage on the window, and it was too dark to read the dash. But I could barely make out the diff lock switch.

I carry a flashlight in my truck for this reason

[Ting]

250K is too much for me, but that's just me. Good luck? Where are you located?

[tim.korn.99]

UPDATE:

Salesman just called me back. He stated that the vehicle went to the service department, where they did indeed, find out that the headgasket was bad. (duh...)

He said he was just calling to let me know that it will be going to a wholesale auction.

I told him that my offer still stood if they want to sell it. Guess we'll see.

I kinda got the feeling that they were calling to kind of "test me" to see if I would give in and pay the asking price. Who knows, they may be getting ready to load it on a semi and send it away. Oh well, I'm sure they won't get more than my offer if it goes to an auction.

I did call and get info on the LX450. It's in great shape, and has ~120,000 miles on it. They also said that they would take $8500 for it.

I think I will head down there one day this week for a test drive.

Hopefully something will work out for me.

-Tim