'97 450 Craiglist purchase?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Catfish

Catfish

Joined
Aug 28, 2010
Threads
24
Messages
157
Location
Huntsville, Alabama
Found this 97 450 on craigslist. Anyone ever seen this vehicle or know any of its history? The current owner says he bought it out of VA. What do you think of the 9k asking price? If too much, what's reasonable??

1997 Lexus LX450 / (Toyota Land Cruiser)
 
That seems like a reasonable price to me. Its OBO so you could come down a bit but it is probably pretty close to what it will go for. Depends on the actual maintenance. Yeah he might of had it serviced at a dealership but was that just once and a long time ago or is he meticulous about it as that always costs a fortune.

Biggest downside I see is the rust. Looks like it spent quite a bit of time up there driving in the winter/salt roads. This would be the biggest downfall and negotiating tool. I'd also like to know what the two rust bubbles are on each side of the rig near the rear. Strange that they are in the exact same spot. But for a rig that was wheeled and the smashed in rocker it looks to be in good shape.
 
Last edited:
Good catch on the bubbles.. I'll ask about it
 
That is a lot of rust and will make many of your future additions a REAL PITA...but if you can deal with it and you can get a substantial discount (which you should because rust is no joke) than fix the problem yourself and go on.
 
Master Key(s)

BTW, trying to get a look @ it this week. I asked about the master key and he said he had the master and a "copy" made. however, he said the copied master sets off the alarm. Any ideas whats up with that? Any concerns?
 
Jason, that's not rust.... unless the spare is rusty too... that's southern red mud/clay....
I see very little but superficial rust. The gas tank always has some sort of coating that will never come clean once dipped into red mud clay. Everything should come clean after some purplepower degreasing and pressure washing.
Sadly. this may be worth the 9 his is asking... that low of miles and a PHH done... obviously been taken care of by the right folks...

I wouldn't pay more than 6, but that's me. Someone else may pay the asking...
 
This things been wheeled... the passenger rear control arm is bent... Are you sure it's never had sliders?
I think I even see the scratch markings on the lower control arm... but it's definitely bent... the later 80's had TINY lower control arms.
 
Land Speeder said:
Jason, that's not rust.... unless the spare is rusty too... that's southern red mud/clay....
I see very little but superficial rust. The gas tank always has some sort of coating that will never come clean once dipped into red mud clay. Everything should come clean after some purplepower degreasing and pressure washing.
Sadly. this may be worth the 9 his is asking... that low of miles and a PHH done... obviously been taken care of by the right folks...

I wouldn't pay more than 6, but that's me. Someone else may pay the asking...
Click to expand...

I learn something new every day. Remind me to stay away from the red clay. I'm not exactly anal retentive but that would get to me.
 
Yeah... the mud down here needs to be sprayed while still wet... don't let it dry... it hardens to a layer... virtually impossible once it's baked onto the exhuast...
Also: some 80's came with an undercoating, and this stuff holds mud and is IMPOSSIBLE to clean... unless you remove it...
Here is my old rig that had that crappy coating:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/326396-crayon-like-substance-underneath-wagon.html

NO ONE ever showed me a pic of thier truck with the smae undercoating BTW, but none the less the red clay would only come off if i pressure washed the coating off...
 
The above is the right price for one... especially for us critical mud members...
 
Yep that is a good deal. We paid 6 for ours and it had 200K. Luckly was in pretty darn good shape and just had some EGR issues, leaking PS pump, zero brake pads left and the center diff switch in the T-case needed replaced. But all of that only took me a weekend and was around 200 bucks. So if that helps you any with another comparisson. I think if it is nice as he states it might be closer to a 7K rig.
 
yeah I would like to have a truck like this. I've been impressed with the 80's that have been on some of the trails with. I know this is a different truck but bascilly the same thing.
 
Elbert, it's the same. only cladding, badging and a few interior creature comforts make it different. (like a 6disc in dash, subwoofer in the center console and a factory phone)
 
Those rust bubbles are actually screw holes where his light guards are drilled into the body... silly light guards.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom