Last Friday I took the day off to travel up North and meet my wife for a NYE party. She had gone up the night prior with our daughter, which left me and the doggo with idle hands and no supervision.
I took the opportunity to jingle the chain of nearly everyone selling a 60 or 80 series or some desirable parts. anywhere between my house and my destination. I really wanted to get in touch with a guy selling a silver 60 about half way between my home and destination, but as luck would have it, its gone from market place and nowhere to be found. Probably a blessing in disguise since I didn't have $7,000 and he probably wouldn't take what I was willing to offer.
I had previously been working my foot in the door with a couple of 80 series being sold locally and privately, literally less than a mile from each other. I spoke to both sellers and one was asking nearly $9,000 but knew it was too much and still hoping to get more than I was willing to pay for his rusty green 1996. The second seller was listing the burgundy? 1996 FZJ80 for $5,000 and was also negotiable. I set a time with the gentleman to come by at 10am the next morning, Friday 12/29. I went to the bank and took out what I was willing to spend on the truck if it turned out to be worth buying.
I showed up to inspect the 80 and the owners were super nice. The true owner was the gentleman's wife. They bought it in 1999 as second owners for $28,000. Everyone in the family drove it, it went to Allegheny College, in PA for four years and all over the east coast. The family truly loved this 80 but it has fallen on sad times. More recently it was put to yard and dump use. Still being used, but neglected between times. They had put nearly $3k in work in over the last 3 years. New exhaust, plugs, wires and misc maintenance until their long time mechanic failed it at inspection for tires and brakes. I started by making some connections with the people since I'm local and also have a kid. I got the people comfortable with me and my landcruiser knowledge, then went in for the negotiation. I started pretty low at $1,200 but didnt want to insult them. They countered and we ultimately settled at a price not much higher than my offer. I was happy.
Theres a good bit of rust underneath and the rockers have seen better days. A little section of the frame looks a little soft but maybe not rotted through. The brakes are super soft, the check engine light is one, the ABS light is on, its sluggish in acceleration on the highway(more than normal), it needs tires, the inside is filthy, the seats are beyond torn, it needs new seat gears, the mirrors shake, the steering wheel is the disgusting and peeling, the hood has big rust holes from the bug deflector, the bumper is orange, the rear hatch is hideous, the wipers are trashed, the antenna is missing, the rear bumper is rusted and damaged, the tailgate handle is missing, there's dents and tree sap all over the body, the rear sliding windows dont latch shut and the tracks are all swollen, the louvres leak, the knuckles are dry and need repacking, axles and everything underneath is surface rusted which means every fastener and clip is frozen in place, so good luck replacing all the bushing and stuff. The suspension functions but needs help, one rear spring isolators is just flopping around between the coils.
Good news is, that is starts, runs and stops. All the lights work, the heat works, there's really nothing missing except the third row seats. I
So naturally , I'm shopping for used tires and wheels, then I'll see if I can correct the brakes, toss on my dealer plate and run the piss out of it this winter.
In the Spring I'll decide if it needs to be parted out or sold as a whole.
I took the opportunity to jingle the chain of nearly everyone selling a 60 or 80 series or some desirable parts. anywhere between my house and my destination. I really wanted to get in touch with a guy selling a silver 60 about half way between my home and destination, but as luck would have it, its gone from market place and nowhere to be found. Probably a blessing in disguise since I didn't have $7,000 and he probably wouldn't take what I was willing to offer.
I had previously been working my foot in the door with a couple of 80 series being sold locally and privately, literally less than a mile from each other. I spoke to both sellers and one was asking nearly $9,000 but knew it was too much and still hoping to get more than I was willing to pay for his rusty green 1996. The second seller was listing the burgundy? 1996 FZJ80 for $5,000 and was also negotiable. I set a time with the gentleman to come by at 10am the next morning, Friday 12/29. I went to the bank and took out what I was willing to spend on the truck if it turned out to be worth buying.
I showed up to inspect the 80 and the owners were super nice. The true owner was the gentleman's wife. They bought it in 1999 as second owners for $28,000. Everyone in the family drove it, it went to Allegheny College, in PA for four years and all over the east coast. The family truly loved this 80 but it has fallen on sad times. More recently it was put to yard and dump use. Still being used, but neglected between times. They had put nearly $3k in work in over the last 3 years. New exhaust, plugs, wires and misc maintenance until their long time mechanic failed it at inspection for tires and brakes. I started by making some connections with the people since I'm local and also have a kid. I got the people comfortable with me and my landcruiser knowledge, then went in for the negotiation. I started pretty low at $1,200 but didnt want to insult them. They countered and we ultimately settled at a price not much higher than my offer. I was happy.
Theres a good bit of rust underneath and the rockers have seen better days. A little section of the frame looks a little soft but maybe not rotted through. The brakes are super soft, the check engine light is one, the ABS light is on, its sluggish in acceleration on the highway(more than normal), it needs tires, the inside is filthy, the seats are beyond torn, it needs new seat gears, the mirrors shake, the steering wheel is the disgusting and peeling, the hood has big rust holes from the bug deflector, the bumper is orange, the rear hatch is hideous, the wipers are trashed, the antenna is missing, the rear bumper is rusted and damaged, the tailgate handle is missing, there's dents and tree sap all over the body, the rear sliding windows dont latch shut and the tracks are all swollen, the louvres leak, the knuckles are dry and need repacking, axles and everything underneath is surface rusted which means every fastener and clip is frozen in place, so good luck replacing all the bushing and stuff. The suspension functions but needs help, one rear spring isolators is just flopping around between the coils.
Good news is, that is starts, runs and stops. All the lights work, the heat works, there's really nothing missing except the third row seats. I
So naturally , I'm shopping for used tires and wheels, then I'll see if I can correct the brakes, toss on my dealer plate and run the piss out of it this winter.
In the Spring I'll decide if it needs to be parted out or sold as a whole.
Yer killin' me.
