91 FJ80 - what is a good deal?

[zenit]

I am a first time 4x4 truck buyer, and looking to get a land cruiser or 4runner for general fun use. What is generally a good price range for these things? I am in CA so I have an opportunity to get a rust free specimen. Checked out one today - 1991 in decent shape with 160k miles. Owner is asking $3k. He did mention that engine did overheat once and destroyed MAF (not sure if related to overheat). When I looked it it, it appeared that it was leaking oil a bit from valve gasket cover, but ran fine otherwise.

What are some things to look out for in these trucks? Anything else to check for when buying them? Do they come with manual transmissions and if not, are the automatics generally reliable?

Appreciate any feedback on these topics!

 

[Rifleman]

To answer your question about price, a good price is what your comfortable paying. The 80 series trucks delivered to the US market only came with automatic transmissions. The automatic transmissions used in these trucks is very reliable. Just remember the purchase price you pay, is just the buy in, after that comes maintenance on these trucks, and to be honest with you factory Toyota parts are not cheap. Since he did say he overheated this truck, i would want the cooling system pressure tested before you buy it.

 

[gdtrfb]

you can't pay too much for a good one or too little for a bad one, I traded a 99 Dodge diesel 4x4 for a 97 FZJ 80 with bout 175K miles truck had a market value of around $3000., best deal I ever made, cruiser now has 273K miles and keeps on trucking, (example of a good deal) I bought a 94 FZJ80 for $600.00 a few months ago, paid to have the front axle rebuilt, picked it up from the shop, filled it with fuel, drove up the canyon, bottom fell out of the radiator, lost all the coolant, blew the head gasket, after I sold it for $400, I had a net loss of $1200. or so I had the truck on the road less than 48 hours (example of a bad deal) so.... good luck

 

[cruiserhound]

I bought a rust free CA rig that was shipped to my home-state of Maine. I paid A LOT, a good part of that cost was shipping related. I'm still a little concerned about what I paid and the fact that it needs some attention mechanically. I hoped I would spend that money on a vehicle that was ready to be modified instead I am spending money and time on baselining and systematically getting her back to being a respectably running rig. I don't have a ton of money and can only perform the basic mechanics so I hope it's all tune-up related and I don't run into any complex issues. I don't know if the PO mis-characterized, didn't know or was just trying to get as much money as possible. But overall I feel good about my purchase. She's a completely rust free specimen and you just can't buy vehicles like these in Maine. I paid a premium but I have a great base to start with I had just hoped I'd be spending money on buying mods rather than getting her up to speed. My '91 has 244,000 miles and I paid $9500.

 

[stock]

3k seems okay. Have the radiator pressure tested and check compression to see about the oil leak. From there you have to figure you are going to spend about 1k to 2k on misc. crap that needs doing over the next year. After that you are usually good to go.

Then you start spending money on stuff you don't really NEED, but want

 

[jonheld]

How long is a piece of string?
$12 is a good deal.