Advice/Opinion Welcome - 100 series purchase

Hello all, lurker for a little while and finally made an account. I wanted to ask for guidance on getting a 100 series I have my eye on. I believe from the user guide that links will eventually go through but have to be approved first, so hopefully this works.

Used 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser New OverLand Build !! for Sale in Raleigh NC 27603 AMG Auto Sales

AMG Auto Sales, Raleigh, NC, 919-779-3278

www.amgautosales.com

This is the specific one I am looking at. I was able to find their listing on BAT: Modified 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser UZJ100 - https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1999-toyota-land-cruiser-38/ and more recently - this month - on Cars&Bids: 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser - Locking Center and Rear Differentials, V8 Power, Off-Road Modifications - https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9lDRQbYZ/1999-toyota-land-cruiser. Both times the reserve was not met. In the comment section of the BAT auction, they posted underbody pictures pre coating and treatment. Certainly no west coast condition but I didn't think it was severe. I wanted to get the consensus on whether or not this is would be one to stay away from.

I am based in VA and they are in NC so it would be a fly down, drive it back situation which I've always wanted to do. That being said, I wouldn't even make the trip unless I could get the price down as close to 30 as possible. It's been my dream to get an LC and I just want to make sure I don't pursue this one if the red flags are too severe (not selling for a while, the pre treatment frame condition). I'd love to hear any input, advice, opinions offered. Thank you all.

 

[jsloden]

The price it got to on C&B is probably close to the actual value of it. Dealerships are now taking it upon themselves to do these customizations themselves because they know they can make a ton of money on the whole "overlanding" fad, and unsuspecting buyers are paying the money simply because they don't know how to do the mods themselves or don't really know how much the parts cost. I can assure you that they probably have no more than 25k in that truck. Do yourself a favor, find a nice, clean, unmodified truck for 10-15k. Then you can personalize to your needs. You'll be saving yourself a crap ton of money and you may even learn some things along the way. Not trying to be harsh here but when you get a dealership doing customizations to vehicles without really knowing what they're doing you run into a ton of issues. Look up kings chariot on here for a really interesting story. Not saying that this dealership is like this but when you have key words like "fresh build" or "stage 3 overlanding build" I literally shake my head.

 

[BDP22]

The price it got to on C&B is probably close to the actual value of it. Dealerships are now taking it upon themselves to do these customizations themselves because they know they can make a ton of money on the whole "overlanding" fad, and unsuspecting buyers are paying the money simply because they don't know how to do the mods themselves or don't really know how much the parts cost. I can assure you that they probably have no more than 25k in that truck. Do yourself a favor, find a nice, clean, unmodified truck for 10-15k. Then you can personalize to your needs. You'll be saving yourself a crap ton of money and you may even learn some things along the way. Not trying to be harsh here but when you get a dealership doing customizations to vehicles without really knowing what they're doing you run into a ton of issues. Look up kings chariot on here for a really interesting story. Not saying that this dealership is like this but when you have key words like "fresh build" or "stage 3 overlanding build" I literally shake my head.

I really appreciate the reply.

I actually did read some of the Kings Chariot stuff and that was one of the reasons I started to have some concern about this option. Previously had a 4Runner and did my own mods to it and was just looking for it to be done already on the LC. I think you're right though, best to find a cleaner example and tailor it to myself esp because of the markup and questionable reputation on these kinds of places. Thanks again.

 

[FMC80]

@jsloden nailed it

 

[Mdej3]

A $22-23k rig tops for me. I don’t like “overland” builds from dealerships or non used ones.
For that money, I would buy a clean example and build at my own taste; even if it takes longer.
Manny

 

[liftinghvy]

A $22-23k rig tops for me. I don’t like “overland” builds from dealerships or non used ones.
For that money, I would buy a clean example and build at my own taste; even if it takes longer.
Manny

Can't argue that logic one bit. That's how I ended up going stock 200 route back before the market boom in 2020. Saved me a lot of money and knowing it was done right put less of a cloud of my thought process.