100 Series are Expensive - Discuss!

[Rifleman]

My advice to anyone wanting to "build" a vehicle.... buy a nice one that's already built and save thousands.

This is VERY sage advice , if you want a built truck do it the smart way, buy one that someone else has sunk all his money into. In the end you could very easily end up being thousands of dollars ahead. The sad fact is, you never, ever, get your money back out of anything you build, no matter how nice it turns out.

 

[MongooseGA]

This is VERY sage advice , if you want a built truck do it the smart way, buy one that someone else has sunk all his money into. In the end you could very easily end up being thousands of dollars ahead. The sad fact is, you never, ever, get your money back out of anything you build, no matter how nice it turns out.

This is really the best advice from a financial stand point. I worked in the antique/muscle car collector world for a while. Restoring a car for profit is fool's gold. You'd spend a year restoring to make $30K, but I'd buy the car from you and resell immediately for $10K more in a week, and do it 4x/month. Doing it for fun, by all means I won't begrudge you. Doing it for profit... there are more efficient ways.

To play devil's advocate, here's what I feel about buying a built truck (because a 'built' vehicle is different than a 'restored' one): While shopping for another 100 this year, I had a budget to either buy a built truck or build one myself. What I kept running in to were beautifully built trucks for sale, with nothing that I'd have done during the build had I chosen the upgrades. What I mean by this is that there's a trade off. You either spend the money to build one yourself, the way you want it, or spend a little less and get one built for the tastes of the last guy. There's also the question of quality of work and quality of parts used.

I bought a stock truck and have used exactly the parts I wanted to build it the way I required. I might have paid more (I didn't, but I'm an outlier) but at least I'm not making concessions "Oh yeah, the PO added that, I wanna change it to this..."

 

[kcobourn]

Economics drive costs and for US owners that have pluses and minuses. For a quality example an owner can easily sell their LC and do alright. Try selling a Range Rover (or a GM) of comparable condition.

IMO cost is too subjective to be anything more than opinion...ask a millionaire and they’ll tell you these things are CHEAP. A college student says the opposite.

Frankly if I’m worried about expenses then I know I’m in the wrong place... whether it’s a car / house / vacation, etc.

Considering my prior tuning in the world of Audi the LC platform is comparative for mods yet very cheap for repairs.

I think repairs are cheap even when my baselines on both 2006 LCs have exceeeded $6,000 ... no mods. One had 150,000 and the other 72,000.

Enjoy it and remember it is just money people!

 

[BullElk]

I think repairs are cheap even when my baselines on both 2006 LCs have exceeeded $6,000 ... no mods.

What on earth did you do for $6000? And what was absolute imperative to do out of the $6000 ?

LC/LXs are ONLY expensive if you’re OCD.

 

[kcobourn]

Agree that these are cheap to run once you address any PM gaps.

My current baseline... I had a dealer do much of the maintenance work since I didn’t have time and wanted the records reflecting it for resale.

Ceramic tint / 5 x K02s + road force balance / $1200 detail (remove pinstripe & flares, wet sand, glass coat) / dealer 90k service / dealer front & rear brakes / dealer front bearing repack / re-clamp CVs / alternator / idler pulley / K&N filter / all new fluids on drivetrain, tranny, steering

For me all was important... hence opinions driving perception.

I also am lucky enough to be able to technically afford this no compromise attitude when getting a new to me 14 year old truck up to my standard.

My 2011 S4 was insanely more expensive ... I sold it once the warranty ran out because for ME that was expensive to repair. The CPO paid out $15k+ after only 50,000 miles

 

[BullElk]

I see. Your personality and financial capabilities were the driving forces behind what you did for those costs. And that’s awesome you can do that. But it does skew the much lower cost of what Cruiser ownership can literally be like.

And like anything else, its all in the buy. The original purchase price is huge.

 

[kcobourn]

Agree with you. My point of posting this is to backup the idea that truck is still very economical. DIY would move my baseline down significantly ... either way this is a 1x every 5-6 year type of maintenance!

It's all about how you buy it! I will recover most of my baseline costs if I choose to sell ... another reason why I don't mind going all out ... you can't get away with that in a Range Rover (unless you don't mind throwing money away).

 

[y5359]

The worst is when you buy a LX470 from a forum member and he said everything is very good to excellent condition and only thing that does not work is the sunroof. Here is my list of needed repairs so far. My upgrade budget is going to be shot after I address all the repairs I didn't think were needed. Member has not responded since I let him know of all the issues with the car.

Passenger headlight and fog light don't work
passenger blinker does not work
Heater does not work
no timing belt sticker even though seller said it had been done and there was one still may have to do this repair
Loud sequel when you turn the car on (needs new serpentine belt, s belt idler, tensioner and idler pulley)
Valve cover gasket leaking (seller assured me car had no leaks
All wiper blades shot
License plate trim piece only being held on with 2 clips and rest of clips are broken rattles bad
Passenger window switch doesn't work
emergency break doesn't work
tires are cupped bad and need to be replaced even though seller said they should have 20k miles left
all tpms don't work
Water leaks on the passenger side and the rear hatch
Front passenger window switch does not work
Driver door lock does not work with keyless
Leather on steering wheel is badly worn
and the big one that I have no clue how much its going to cost to fix their is a coolant leak, leak stop was added to the radiator and it has clogged the heater core and the mechanic I use doesn't even want to touch this repair could need new head gasket

 

[97 AZ LC]

The worst is when you buy a LX470 from a forum member and he said everything is very good to excellent condition and only thing that does not work is the sunroof. Here is my list of needed repairs so far. My upgrade budget is going to be shot after I address all the repairs I didn't think were needed. Member has not responded since I let him know of all the issues with the car.

Passenger headlight and fog light don't work
passenger blinker does not work
Heater does not work
no timing belt sticker even though seller said it had been done and there was one still may have to do this repair
Loud sequel when you turn the car on (needs new serpentine belt, s belt idler, tensioner and idler pulley)
Valve cover gasket leaking (seller assured me car had no leaks
All wiper blades shot
License plate trim piece only being held on with 2 clips and rest of clips are broken rattles bad
Passenger window switch doesn't work
emergency break doesn't work
tires are cupped bad and need to be replaced even though seller said they should have 20k miles left
all tpms don't work
Water leaks on the passenger side and the rear hatch
Front passenger window switch does not work
Driver door lock does not work with keyless
Leather on steering wheel is badly worn
and the big one that I have no clue how much its going to cost to fix their is a coolant leak, leak stop was added to the radiator and it has clogged the heater core and the mechanic I use doesn't even want to touch this repair could need new head gasket

As he said in Animal House "you f***ed up, you trusted us". You're buying a used car - shouldn't trust someone just because they're on a car forum. Maybe he actually said "the only thing that does NEED work is the sunroof" and you misunderstood.

 

[brauski]

I feel your pain bro. In a similar situation myself. ‍

The worst is when you buy a LX470 from a forum member and he said everything is very good to excellent condition and only thing that does not work is the sunroof. Here is my list of needed repairs so far. My upgrade budget is going to be shot after I address all the repairs I didn't think were needed. Member has not responded since I let him know of all the issues with the car.

Passenger headlight and fog light don't work
passenger blinker does not work
Heater does not work
no timing belt sticker even though seller said it had been done and there was one still may have to do this repair
Loud sequel when you turn the car on (needs new serpentine belt, s belt idler, tensioner and idler pulley)
Valve cover gasket leaking (seller assured me car had no leaks
All wiper blades shot
License plate trim piece only being held on with 2 clips and rest of clips are broken rattles bad
Passenger window switch doesn't work
emergency break doesn't work
tires are cupped bad and need to be replaced even though seller said they should have 20k miles left
all tpms don't work
Water leaks on the passenger side and the rear hatch
Front passenger window switch does not work
Driver door lock does not work with keyless
Leather on steering wheel is badly worn
and the big one that I have no clue how much its going to cost to fix their is a coolant leak, leak stop was added to the radiator and it has clogged the heater core and the mechanic I use doesn't even want to touch this repair could need new head gasket

 

[kcobourn]

Unfortunate truth of how many people treat stuff.

I always leave my stuff in better condition than how it was found.

If only all owners did this ...

 

[aging fleet]

The worst is when you buy a LX470 from a forum member and he said everything is very good to excellent condition and only thing that does not work is the sunroof. Here is my list of needed repairs so far......

Ouch, good luck getting all that sorted out.

 

[Wesley Crusher]

In my short ownership experience, I do not find the 100 to be an expensive truck to maintain.

You have to keep in mind that these were 80k trucks brand new and also top of the line in terms of features. Of course they will require more upkeep than something like a Civic and and regular upkeep will be more expensive. If you don’t realize that going in, that’s your bad. Where these trucks seem to really shine compared to the competition is reliability. How many Range Rovers do you see on the road with 300k miles? Spoiler alert, none. LOL!

Truthfully, I also find regular maintenance to be pretty affordable, but I’m also coming from a BMW M5 so it’s all relative.

 

[YOTALUVER]

I'm a blue collar guy from Detroit, some of you sound very privileged. Roll up your sleeves, buy a metric tool set, and stop crying. Even if the quality parts that go on these beast are expensive - working on a Toyota is WAY easier than anything else on this level. Work on a German or British SUV and these tears would be understandable. We all know you can't have it all, but it sure feels that way behind the wheel of a hundy - which for me makes these issues minute.

 

[BullElk]

I am very privileged. Myself, my wife....and now my kids....haven't driven anything other than LC/LXs in last 22 years. And I still think they are crazy cheap to buy and own.

 

[vilasman]

I am 26 or 27k into a 2002. I've had it 7 or 8 years.... got it with 105k on it I'm around 230k now. If you are the type that has to have the latest gadgets or a new ride every few years then a old cruiser probably isn't for you. If you don't like idea of the note on a new cruiser... cruisers probably aren't for you. I'm probably going to take a nap and then drive through the fields of grandpa's farm collecting firewood and visiting the spots that I often walked to as a kid. And at some point I'm going to hop in it and drive 5 hours back to the big city.
I'm not the least bit concerned about the truck putting me down in the field or on the interstate. If your a like minded individual, neither land Rover nor jeep, chevy,ford or dodge, not BMW ,mercedes, audi, nor rolls, neither, new used,or rebuilt, will do what I want done as fearlessly as cruiser will... even if you just got it from a soccer mom, that just drove it to the mall.
You buy a cruiser cause you got places you want to. Now matter what. Period. Yeah it cost... it cost to be boss.

 

[DanInDenver]

^this
Let’s call this chit chat dead.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

The intent of this thread was to highlight that there is a cost associated with baselining these trucks. And the parts prices vary from inexpensive ($40 a corner for a shock) to moderately expensive ($350 for one lower control arm!) to down right madness ($3000 for brake booster assembly)

This is just to share that as enjoyable and generally reliable and very capable these trucks are, they can be surprisingly expensive for the uninitiated like myself. I work on my own cars and I have owned German and European cars so my observations are in comparison to the parts prices on those cars and ignores the labor costs (I work for free for myself!)

And finally, this is not a complain, I love my truck and despite what I have spent on it, am still planning to upgrade it and am not afraid to use it for what its meant for.

 

[SHIfTHEAD]

35K miles over 3 years, 243K today on the truck. Alternator, timing belt job (did it 20K ahead of schedule since I didn't want to trust the PO that it was done when they said it was done), center muffler got a hole so I swapped it with a Thrush Hush myself. So ~$650 in maintenance items over 3 years. I'm good with that.

 

[dr335i]

A different beast altogether but a 20 year old BMW e38 can be refurbished without spending in 5 digits and that would just be amazing. Perhaps once I finish spending my money on my LX I will get an e38 to spend money on.
I may be sick ...

Please do not buy an e38 7 Series. You're out of your mind if you think you can refurbish it without spending 5 digits. First of all, a v8 BMW is going to leak oil out of every seal in that thing. It doesn't matter if it's five years old, or fifty years old. Second of all, M62's are notorious for timing chain guide failure. It WILL happen. So if you buy an e38, right off the bat, be prepared to spend about $3,000 on timing chain guides. It's a 30+ hour job requiring a bunch of special tools. And the parts alone are getting close to $1,000. While you have the engine apart you may as well reseal the VANOS gears, thats only a few hundred dollars but good luck finding someone skilled enough to retime your engine after you put them back on. Ask me how I know.

If you're stripping the engine down that far and spending that much money you may as well spend a little bit more and give it a good baseline. Replace all the leaky seals. That'll be ~500+ in parts and probably another $1,000 in labor. Being an old V8 BMW I bet it'll have a lifter tick to it on a cold start. Might as well replace those. You pull out the lifters to find that half of them are completley worn out and need replacing. They're hydraulic. $40 a piece. Theres 32 of them. By now you're getting close to 7-8k but you think you finally have the engine right. Your suspension needs replacing though. Such a heavy car that most likely was driven hard for a good part of its life (it's the ultimate driving machine, right?). New struts and springs alone are about $1,000 in parts. Want to replace all the bushings in the front and rear that are 98% toast? That'll be $1,500 in parts. None of those bushings are serviceable just replace everything. Labor is god knows how much. You don't even care at this point just make it right. But after all this you finally have it right. Now you can find the Sport seats, an m5 Steering wheel, M-Pars, and all the other extremely hard to find goodies that you want. Don't even think about trying to upgrade the sound system. Trust me on that. And being an old BMW I promise you you'll still spend a good amount of money on it keeping it right. Notice I didn't mention anything about the transmission. Lets just pray that keeps working well.

Meanwhile, on my LX470 all I've really had to do on it was replace a condenser and bleed the AHC system. Probably $250 in parts and a few hours of my time. Don't get me wrong, It gets extremely expensive when I start thinking about all the stuff I want to do to it. New globes, Projectors, Roof Rack, Drawers, KO2's. But none of that is really necessary. This has been the absolute cheapest out of warranty vehicle I've ever maintained.