Advice please... time to decide on my first FJ 62! (1 Viewer)

[Veniche]

So it's time to decide on a truck I've been considering buying for a week. The truck has done 208k miles. It has new shocks, tires, aircon transfer and majority of hoses look newish! I will confess I am a rookie at 80's LC's so just been reading up on MUD as much as I can.

The current owner bought this 1989 FJ62 in 2012 and paid $9.5k. She spent $4.4k on a paint job shortly after buying it. It's two tone and looks great. TBH I thought the paint was original and it was just in great condition. Now that I know the paint job is 6 years old I am more nervous about some of the rust spots. There are two spots, one on the door frame on the passenger side which looks pretty surface level and the other is on the external roof on the right hand side which probably needs to be fixed?

So my question is, how worried should I be about both? If the paint job covered up rust 6 years ago would it not have come through sooner or is this likely to be corrosion since that time (which is what she says it is)? How much to fix this type of thing (i know it will range by region so just looking ballpark). She is selling for $15,500 and won't go lower. I'm in the US for 2 more years before heading back to UK and won't be taking with me sadly so I just want something I can sell on for roughly what I paid as long as the wife doesn't crash it!

Thanks in advance to anyone who spares a second to help me out on this...

 

[Shes Mad]

That’s significant roof rust, not easy to repair. Those are holes. You will take a bath in two years selling it. You’re better off looking for a $7-10k cruiser if you plan on turning it into years. That, in my opinion is where that one should be priced anyway.

 

[3_puppies]

run away, find another one.

 

[vipergrhd]

All I can say is RRRUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNN !!
and don't look back or you will turn into a pillar of rust.

 

[Paul DiNapoli]

totally agree with everyone's post above... run. $15,500 for a truck with this kind of rust is total insanity. seller has not done her homework...asking top dollar for a truck that needs another 5K in rust repair.

$4500 on a paint job just a few years ago and it's already blowing up like that - then she either told the shop just do a quickie spray - or the shop she paid just robbed her. clearly it was not well prepped.

there's a lot of pretty decent 60's and 62's for around $10k

use this for comparison to see what $15,000 can get you
Land Cruiser FJ60 & FJ62



your handle says you're in Venice CA - this truck is close to you
1988 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ62

looks like far less rust - and $6000 less!

keep looking man.

 

[rrv333]

Run Forest, run!

 

[SteveH]

It's a shame that the roof top situation was not properly addressed, because fixing that properly now will require a total repaint of the roof and quarter panel, and the metal work will be substantial.

It could be a very good truck, but (as others noted), it'll take a big pile of cash to properly fix and treat the roof (so that it doesn't happen again). Roof rust like that is why it's critical to garage your truck (to prevent nightly condensation issues) and to keep an eye on rain gutter caulk/sealing. Once water soaks into the roof insulation, you can be sure to see a roof rust-out like that. See FJ55s, if you want an example of how much worse it can be.

$15K might work in Calif. with a rock solid body, but not in this case.

 

[Willard]

I agree with all
I bet if you took a magnet (not strong) and placed it on the rear quarters you will find it does not stick. 15K for that, it better have at least a rebuilt motor, perfect interior, and documentation to back it all up to even think about justifying that price for a vehicle with very visible rust.

 

[Veniche]

Thanks all for your advice on this. Good lessons learned for my next inspection and glad I posted this!

Thanks Paul D for the heads up on the FJ62, will take a look.

 

[ThaiCruiser]

Bought mine in similar condition (maybe less rusty) for $3,300. $15.5K is way too high.

 

[Beams37]

Rust looks normal-ish. However, the prices is ridiculous. Check the classifieds here. You will find a better cruiser for less money.

 

[NCFJ]

I'd walk away. The roof rust alone is enough to say no. The price is amusing at best.

 

[LCnAZ]

The rust is a deal buster for sure, but...you haven't revealed much about the rest of the vehicle such as the condition of the interior, how it drives, etc.. As for the price, Land Cruisers in really fine shape go for that price and considerably higher all the time. With all due respect, our Mud community is made up of folks who are reasonably handy and like to tinker at least, and often do much more. Often the perception of our community about the "value" of a vehicle is skewed a bit by our readiness to work on vehicles. We also assign value to that work that we see we will need to do on a vehicle. Hence, we look for a vehicle costing much less when we buy. There are people who are enamored with Land Cruisers, but not keen on working on them themselves (sweat equity). They want to find a vehicle ready in every way. Finding one of the age of these in that kind of condition is not easy. Found, they are not cheap.

I would agree that based on what we can see...which is very limited, this vehicle is not a good value for anybody. I think for $15K you can find a very good vehicle without the obvious headaches of this one. Look for a one owner in great shape.

 

[Gretsch]

$15,000? That girl is drunk. Not really adding anything new here. I would have a hard time turning over $6000 for that one. As others have said unless its had significant mechanical refurbishment, there is no way its worth that kind of scratch. Shes looking at the craigslist ads and pricing hers based on those prices. Confused. Maybe as part of your civic duty you can 'educate' her on what she actually has. Plenty of quality trucks here on MUD. Run from that one. Hurts to see trucks ruined like this.

 

[RodrigzCrzr]

Ok I have to chime in. Yes maybe she is asking a high price for it. But as any other cruiser out there they need work. And I haven’t seen anyone who has bought a cruiser on this site wether $3k to $18k rigs have not had their share of things to replace. Including myself.
I have read people’s post who come from a certain vehicle to this one and are still dumping money on these trucks. And after all the receipts are stacked and counted I am sure they have invested more if not close to what we have paid for the said cruiser. Yeah it may look clean inside and out. But mechanically where it counts the spending continues. Not to say the outside don’t count but what good a pretty truck that don’t run.
I agree with other post some guys say run from it. Because they have skill set and time to fix it. And I am sure it was a hard battle to fight and fix anything that’s rusty. The rust is relatively small considering others I have seen with body and frame damage that I see people driving around in.
So let’s be honest here yeah it is great to buy a low priced cruiser. But reality we are still going to ad the same amount or more of what one paid for it.
That’s just the nature of these trucks. But once they are based lined and running great. We drive them with a smile on our face.

 

[Paul DiNapoli]

Ok I have to chime in. Yes maybe she is asking a high price for it. But as any other cruiser out there they need work. And I haven’t seen anyone who has bought a cruiser on this site wether $3k to $18k rigs have not had their share of things to replace. Including myself.
I have read people’s post who come from a certain vehicle to this one and are still dumping money on these trucks. And after all the receipts are stacked and counted I am sure they have invested more if not close to what we have paid for the said cruiser. Yeah it may look clean inside and out. But mechanically where it counts the spending continues. Not to say the outside don’t count but what good a pretty truck that don’t run.
I agree with other post some guys say run from it. Because they have skill set and time to fix it. And I am sure it was a hard battle to fight and fix anything that’s rusty. The rust is relatively small considering others I have seen with body and frame damage that I see people driving around in.
So let’s be honest here yeah it is great to buy a low priced cruiser. But reality we are still going to ad the same amount or more of what one paid for it.
That’s just the nature of these trucks. But once they are based lined and running great. We drive them with a smile on our face.

totally agree.

i paid roughly $14k for a little old couple in lake oswego oregon (rich yuppie town). it was garaged and babied its whole life.
zero rust - impeccable condition.
tons of receipts for everything it ever needed.
front and rear brakes completely overhauled with oem parts prior to sale.

even as "perfect" as my truck is/was...this is the reality:


from may to august of last year - right after I bought it i still spent the following $$$$:


full fluid service $500.00 (front & rear diffs, t-case, auto tranny, engine oil)
new radiator: $800.00 (paid landcruiser NW to do this for me as i didnt have the time or space to do myself)
full tune up: $250.00 (plugs / wires / cap / rotor / timing, etc...)
tires: $800.00 (truck needed new rubber when i bought it - bfg a/t k02's)
used bumper from fellow mudder: $150.00


I just bought knuckle rebuild kit and will do the axles myself...even with this being my sweat equity the rebuild kit and fluids will be $300.00

other things my truck needs badly: leaf springs - rears are spent....so i need a full suspension refresh. might as well do tie rods and ball joints while i'm at it. call that another $2000.00


i think its reasonable to budget $1000 to $2000 for basic baselining whatever truck you end up buying...and another 2 to 4K on all the cool/fun stuff you want to add.

 

[Willard]

Lots of people on here will tell you that receipts are useless. I came from the Land Rover world where this is the number one question people ask.
I think it tells you a story of your ride. I have receipts dating back to 1996. Not the whole life but a good portion.
You find out a lot. I am glad mine came with what it did.

 

[RodrigzCrzr]

Lots of people on here will tell you that receipts are useless. I came from the Land Rover world where this is the number one question people ask.
I think it tells you a story of your ride. I have receipts dating back to 1996. Not the whole life but a good portion.
You find out a lot. I am glad mine came with what it did.

And I believe that also about having receipts. Unfortunately, this 60 I own now it didn’t have receipts it was just a cruiser sitting in the desert. But I still bought for $800. But I have and continue creating the receipts for this rig. Once I sell they will see what was spent. Point is no matter what I spent on buying the truck I know I have lots more in it. But I knew what I was getting myself into..

 

[RodrigzCrzr]

totally agree.

i paid roughly $14k for a little old couple in lake oswego oregon (rich yuppie town). it was garaged and babied its whole life.
zero rust - impeccable condition.
tons of receipts for everything it ever needed.
front and rear brakes completely overhauled with oem parts prior to sale.

even as "perfect" as my truck is/was...this is the reality:


from may to august of last year - right after I bought it i still spent the following $$$$:


full fluid service $500.00 (front & rear diffs, t-case, auto tranny, engine oil)
new radiator: $800.00 (paid landcruiser NW to do this for me as i didnt have the time or space to do myself)
full tune up: $250.00 (plugs / wires / cap / rotor / timing, etc...)
tires: $800.00 (truck needed new rubber when i bought it - bfg a/t k02's)
used bumper from fellow mudder: $150.00


I just bought knuckle rebuild kit and will do the axles myself...even with this being my sweat equity the rebuild kit and fluids will be $300.00

other things my truck needs badly: leaf springs - rears are spent....so i need a full suspension refresh. might as well do tie rods and ball joints while i'm at it. call that another $2000.00


i think its reasonable to budget $1000 to $2000 for basic baselining whatever truck you end up buying...and another 2 to 4K on all the cool/fun stuff you want to add.

See!
Perfect example. See if it’s not a mechanical issue it’s a body issue. Bottoms line we are going to drop money into them. Yes it’s cheaper to fix it yourself. But it’s still quite pricey with hard to find parts and parts....etc.
There are buyers out there that want it turn key. And they are going to pay a premium.
So it all comes down is what you are willing to pay. Regardless of what you pay you will still drop $$ into them.

 

[Gretsch]

Ok I have to chime in. Yes maybe she is asking a high price for it. But as any other cruiser out there they need work. And I haven’t seen anyone who has bought a cruiser on this site wether $3k to $18k rigs have not had their share of things to replace. Including myself.
I have read people’s post who come from a certain vehicle to this one and are still dumping money on these trucks. And after all the receipts are stacked and counted I am sure they have invested more if not close to what we have paid for the said cruiser. Yeah it may look clean inside and out. But mechanically where it counts the spending continues. Not to say the outside don’t count but what good a pretty truck that don’t run.
I agree with other post some guys say run from it. Because they have skill set and time to fix it. And I am sure it was a hard battle to fight and fix anything that’s rusty. The rust is relatively small considering others I have seen with body and frame damage that I see people driving around in.
So let’s be honest here yeah it is great to buy a low priced cruiser. But reality we are still going to ad the same amount or more of what one paid for it.
That’s just the nature of these trucks. But once they are based lined and running great. We drive them with a smile on our face.

Its a valid point here and without knowing more about the rest of the truck, maybe its premature to discount this deal outright. I have just seen too many examples of much better sorted trucks (as in no rust) for way less money to make this one an easy pass. The rust you can't see is most likely far worse than the rust you can. Just too many solid trucks out there to ever take that chance, especially at that pricing IMHO.

People treat them these days as if you will never find another one and set the price accordingly. "They are just so hard to find". "You'll never find one like this". Funny thing is I get alerts almost daily about another one for sale here on MUD, some rough, some well sorted. If you are doing it right, then the cost of buying one of these trucks, pales in comparison to the cost of owning one. As @89fjlandcruiser alluded to you'll spend plenty of cash owning one. No reason to get rooked from the start buying one.

Personally, if I were in the OP's shoes, I would be looking at a completely different vehicle if only going to have it for 2 years.