Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Let's see a photo from underneath of the rear springs and shocks. If you decide to keep this one, I would NOT be buying new springs unless the current ones are broken or headed in that direction due to excessive rust.
215k. So high miles, but seems not especially high miles for what it is...I grew up in the Rust Belt and every vehicle I had back then was full of rust holes, didn't bother me because some rust holes and "rust bubbles" were considered normal. I was young(er) and as long as it got me to work, school, or the party, and the girls didn't mind riding in it, it was good enough for me. Rust didn't matter that much also because most of the heaps I owned died a quick death (blown engines, dead transmissions, sliding on ice off the road into a ditch, hitting telephone polls that jumped out in front of me, ----).
So yeah, if you don't have much into it and you can keep it running, why not.
How many miles on the vehicle?
You make some good points, but I'm not sure I agree that they're not reliable. I think the ones that need constant upkeep are usually ones that've been sitting for a while, perhaps due to gas prices or people being afraid to daily drive an older vehicle. If you use it consistently and let it get up to temp, it should be as reliable as anything. The transmissions don't just randomly fail like domestic trucks, and electronics are ultra-reliable for the most part. The inline six is silky smooth and strong. Leaks happen with age, but top it off and keep trucking.This is from someone who has owned Toyotas for 30+ years, and I have owned a LX450 for the last 24 years.
I personally wouldn't buy an 80 series as a primary vehicle. Youtube might say they are reliable, but they are not, at least by modern standards. Was it reliable compared to its peers for the time? Sure, but they aren't even close to the reliability of a modern vehicle from any manufacturer.
These are 30 year old vehicles that need constant maintenance and care. Prepare to wrench, or prepare to pay someone to wrench.
I personally love to wrench, so I don't mind working on my LX450. But, I also have a commuter car (Ford Focus @ 205K miles) that I rarely ever work on, other than brakes, and oil. We had a Ford Fusion AWD 3.0 V6 go to 350K miles before we traded it in. We changed the serpentine belt once (150K miles), Spark plugs (every 100K miles), regular oil and air filter changes. That was it. No rust. No major mechanical issues. No reliability issues.
BTW, start soaking that undercarriage/frame in a rust preventative like Fluid Film.
It’s a FORD thing?!You make some good points, but I'm not sure I agree that they're not reliable. I think the ones that need constant upkeep are usually ones that've been sitting for a while, perhaps due to gas prices or people being afraid to daily drive an older vehicle. If you use it consistently and let it get up to temp, it should be as reliable as anything. The transmissions don't just randomly fail like domestic trucks, and electronics are ultra-reliable for the most part. The inline six is silky smooth and strong. Leaks happen with age, but top it off and keep trucking.
OP, don't get carried away with preventative maintenance or fixing every little noise and light on the dash. Just drive it. My 96 Tacoma gets driven almost every day and starts every time. The only issues are self-inflicted really. Meanwhile, there's brand new powertrains failing nowadays left and right:
View attachment 3534004
I need to move up the timeline of flushing my power steering, but is there something I'm missing?
Are there part numbers for all those “parts”? 👁👁You make some good points, but I'm not sure I agree that they're not reliable. I think the ones that need constant upkeep are usually ones that've been sitting for a while, perhaps due to gas prices or people being afraid to daily drive an older vehicle. If you use it consistently and let it get up to temp, it should be as reliable as anything. The transmissions don't just randomly fail like domestic trucks, and electronics are ultra-reliable for the most part. The inline six is silky smooth and strong. Leaks happen with age, but top it off and keep trucking.
OP, don't get carried away with preventative maintenance or fixing every little noise and light on the dash. Just drive it. My 96 Tacoma gets driven almost every day and starts every time. The only issues are self-inflicted really. Meanwhile, there's brand new powertrains failing nowadays left and right:
View attachment 3534004
Almost resting on the bump stops all 4 corners... rusty spring perch L rear
View attachment 3538907
View attachment 3538908
View attachment 3538909
View attachment 3538910
View attachment 3538911