craigslist 1996 80 Locked 154,000 miles - $4,200 - Houston

Location

United States

96 Toyota Landcruiser 4x4

So I see this ad within 30 minutes of posting. Seems a great price if for real, but the apartments in background set off my first red flag. What the hell, I call.

Seller: Hello (Hispanic women, broken English, but not too bad)
ME: Hi, you're selling your Land Cruiser?
Seller: Yes.
ME: How long have you owned it?
Seller: About four years.
ME: It has a temporary license plate and doesn't appear to have registration sticker. Why is that?
Seller: [Unintelligible response]
ME: But you have title?
Seller: Yes. Clean. Do you want to come see it?
ME: Sure, text me the address. +more talk about general part of town, etc. Good bye.

Seller text: 9800 Club Creek Drive 77036. Let me know when you are close.

I depart on the 10 minute trip, wishing I knew a friend available to join me and that I had a handgun with CCP. Get there and its a large empty church parking lot completely surrounded by neglected apartments like the CL ad. But I passed a Sears a minute before with lots of public activity outside, so I head back there before texting her.

ME: let's meet at the Sears Auto Center
Seller: we have to meet at the place
ME: it's a 1/2 mile from you on 59 feeder.
Seller: we must meet here, sorry.

I wait 5 minutes while asking the Sears rep for a price to change the Hundy's oil. "$50", "Thanks" I reply, but in my head to myself... F-that, good thing I've done it myself for 15 years... I jump back in the Hundy and head back to church. Surprisingly, the black 80 exists. It's real and clearly moves under own power. Next to it is a large Hispanic woman flanked on each side by two larger, taller men.

She texts again. "Cuymz am showing it"
ME: I'll pass. Good luck. (kept on driving)

Anyway, bit of fun for an hour this afternoon. I'm still game to see it and even burn the $4200 if it's legit. Any H-town MUD members with CCL want to try with me on your flank? And what are those BLUE hubs?

 

[cbmontgo]

Run.

 

[travistheone]

dont be a pussy

 

[travistheone]

that truck looks sweet- can't you open carry without a permit there? or bring an amigo without agun.

 

[loganbrew]

Yeah, I pussed out. I don't own hand guns; just several shotguns from when I was a kid growing up in rural Texas country. My bud around the corner has a hand gun collection and yes he schooled me back in January when it became legal that no license is required for OC. We do a Sunday morning bike ride each week, so I'll talk him into it tomorrow. His garage holds a Ford GT, GT-R, Caddy CTS-V and all orig '69 Impala, plus a couple R1's and a Ducati, so I didn't feel right interrupting his Saturday with "Hey I found $4200 'Cruiser we gotta see"

Seriously though, there's a lot of bad $hit that goes down in SW Houston (around it's whole beltway in fact) and it's a mistake to think the odds don't apply to you. If it had been a bunch of rednecks I wouldn't have worried a bit.

 

[travistheone]

Seriously though, there's a lot of bad $hit that goes down in SW Houston (around it's whole beltway in fact) and it's a mistake to think the odds don't apply to you. If it had been a bunch of rednecks I wouldn't have worried a bit.

I hear you. I am in Baltimore- so nothing new here.

 

[girupb]

It ain't worth dying for.

 

[fireLC]

Hey man, trying to get into the LC game; I've been looking all over Houston and Texas and just haven't found the right one yet. I am always down to help someone go check out a vehicle, and might need the same back up! ha.

 

[fireLC]

I am actually currently working on selling my 95 Ford Bronco in order to put the money towards an 80 or a 100 series

 

[fireLC]

That does look nice, but my guess is that it is either stolen or was bought at an auction as a "flood vehicle" and just fixed up a little

 

[bugsnbikes]

I went and checked it out- turns out her one brother and cousin work at the local Toyota and are Both master mechanics.......and had recently swapped in a jdm 1hdt- (not in pics) 4.88s......and had a new 3" lift and Slee armor in boxes that they threw into the deal !!!

needless to say i brought cash and did the deal right there and while we were doing up the paperwork the woman had whipped out some killer flan and we joked and her brother rolled a nice fatty while the cousin finished off the 4x4Labs rear bumper install !!!!


Apparently the 87km 1hdt and gears and armor came in on a crashed vehicle into their dealership and they scored it for free. axles were toasted but they pulled the gears and lockers and swapped em in when they did the 1hdt.

So $4k - bitchin flan and a fatty

 

[travistheone]

I went and checked it out- turns out her one brother and cousin work at the local Toyota and are Both master mechanics.......and had recently swapped in a jdm 1hdt- (not in pics) 4.88s......and had a new 3" lift and Slee armor in boxes that they threw into the deal !!!

needless to say i brought cash and did the deal right there and while we were doing up the paperwork the woman had whipped out some killer flan and we joked and her brother rolled a nice fatty while the cousin finished off the 4x4Labs rear bumper install !!!!


Apparently the 87km 1hdt and gears and armor came in on a crashed vehicle into their dealership and they scored it for free. axles were toasted but they pulled the gears and lockers and swapped em in when they did the 1hdt.

So $4k - bitchin flan and a fatty

if that is true- i hate you

 

[cbmontgo]

I went and checked it out- turns out her one brother and cousin work at the local Toyota and are Both master mechanics.......and had recently swapped in a jdm 1hdt- (not in pics) 4.88s......and had a new 3" lift and Slee armor in boxes that they threw into the deal !!!

needless to say i brought cash and did the deal right there and while we were doing up the paperwork the woman had whipped out some killer flan and we joked and her brother rolled a nice fatty while the cousin finished off the 4x4Labs rear bumper install !!!!


Apparently the 87km 1hdt and gears and armor came in on a crashed vehicle into their dealership and they scored it for free. axles were toasted but they pulled the gears and lockers and swapped em in when they did the 1hdt.

So $4k - bitchin flan and a fatty

Ha....riiiiiiiiiiight

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

I hear you. I am in Bawlmer- so nothing new here.

That's better

 

[Lostchele]

I also check out the truck on Saturday. I backed out because the title hasn't transfers on to her name yet she had a it for a year. And the engine looked rebuilt. Don't know by backing of if it was the right thing. The vehicle is still available.

 

[p0opstlnksal0t]

I almost looked at it saturday. It was in an extremely shady/ghetto neighborhood so my wife and I passed. I didnt have much faith with the spray painted blue hubs and the area didnt lend itself to an atmosphere of people that maintain their vehicles properly.

 

[p0opstlnksal0t]

oh you guys cannot OC a handgun without a license, thats only long guns.

 

[p0opstlnksal0t]

its back up for sale lol

1999 Toyota Landcrusier

 

[cruisertom]

Had a very similar experience in Chicago. I agreed to make the 2 hour trip, rented a car etc. Drive to the address in the hood on Don't open your door ave. and it is a restaurant no FJ80. Call the guy and he shows up a few minutes later. Truck is beautiful guy is friendly english is his second language. Start asking questions and piecing info together. He has the title but it is at Western Union, follow me. Um.... WTH? Ok. Get there and the title is not in his name, every question about paperwork is a phone call to someone speaking spanish. The girl behind the counter seemed to be in on it as well. Said they can't send me any paper work because I have an out of state address. But he did offer to put his address in and mail me the title when it gets to his house. WHAT?(That sounds like a good idea) I ask if I can get a bill of sale or any type of paperwork, he suddenly does not understand what I am talking about. I reply with "you want me to give you a pile of money, no proof of purchase and drive away in a car with no plates, registration or bill of sale?" He looked me straight in the eye and said yes. I told him I can't do that. Ended up wasting an entire day and rental car expense.
Looking back at it now there were several warning signs all along the way, from the first phone call to the last straw of me giving someone cash to basically steal someone elses car. If you get a bad feeling there is a reason why, all the cars I have purchased from private owners I have had a good feeling about and it turned out good. Even if there is a minor repair that was unexpected if you deal with honest people it is still tolerable.
Trust your gut and save yourself some time, if it feels bad on the phone it probably is. I learned my lesson almost the hard way.

 

[pdm66]

Folks... there are no dummies on this board. Buying a car should be a straight forward process. Paperwork should be available and if not, a logical traceable provable reason should be..