Advice Wanted: 91 Land Cruiser Purchase

[Trutta]

So to keep a long story short I have been looking for a DD that is reliable to get me from Point A to Point B when my truck (tacoma) is being worked on. Land Cruisers, 80 series specifically, have always made me drool.

I have a 91 Land Cruiser that is local-ish (45 minutes). I have the owner talked down to $1850.

Color: Red
Mileage: ~250,000 (doesn't give exact amount in ad)
Automatic
Body looks clean but pictures are deceiving
Comes with wilderness roof rack and arb front bumper

The model is unknown to me so I am not sure the details on what options it has. It has cloth seats with minimal tearing, the paint isn't the best but looks decent enough (typical clear coat on the hood issues). Everything looks to be fairly stock, maybe a small suspension lift.

Questions:

I want to sell the bumper and replace it with a factory bumper (I hate ARB's) and also sell the roof rack. Are these easy items to sell in the Land cruiser world? ~ How much could I get out of them?

At 250,000 miles (or possibly more) I am cautious of this purchase. What do I need to look for? Is it dumb to buy at this high of a mileage.

This price seems rather low from what I have seen, most are around 5k on craigslist in similar or worse condition. Is this a good price?

 

[ewillis]

Be sure you know the difference between a 3FE powered 80 and a 1FZ-FE. I, personally think a cheap(er) 3FE is a pretty nice bargain these days...paging @LS1FJ40

google search slee newbie guide

 

[LS1FJ40]

Ok. A lot of questions.

a) The bumper and roof rack can probably be sold. They won't have much value but will have some. Pics help.
b) 250k miles is not a big deal. The truck will require maintenance. If you are doing it yourself then it will cost you probably $1500 to get it taken care of. If you are paying someone $3-3500
c) The price is low because it is a 91-92 with a 3FE motor. Some people value the 93-97 more because of the "faster" "more horsepower" 1FZ-FE. I am not one of those people.
d) it is also lower priced because red is a horrible color

 

[LS1FJ40]

Be sure you know the difference between a 3FE powered 80 and a 1FZ-FE. I, personally think a cheap(er) 3FE is a pretty nice bargain these days...paging @LS1FJ40

google search slee newbie guide

I was already on it @ewillis!

I would snatch it up in a heartbeat if you can live with the red color. If you like the red, buy it.

When I say $1500 to get the maintenance up to snuff I'm being a bit of a doomsdayer. It won't all have to be done at once. And it is all fairly simple stuff to do. Even for a novice mechanic. The 3FE is incredibly easy to work on.

 

[tacosupreme]

It's worth looking at. Don't let the mileage scare you, these things run forever if you take care of them. Everyone poo poos the 3FE, but it will outrun any 22RE 4runner I've ever owned and is smoother to boot. They are the best winter rig you could ask for, far more sure footed than the tacoma. It will eat some fuel if you are doing 85 down the freeway, like 10mpg. Look at the front axle, if it's puking oil out near the knuckle it's time for a rebuild. Easy to do yourself if you're handy but can get expensive if the birfield joints are shot. Put it in low range and do some S turns, if you hear clicking it's time for new axles. Just some things to look for-

 

[Golgo13]

If the body is clean, that is half the battle. Make sure it runs and drives ok and confirm you're not buying something you would be afraid of as a DD.
If there is any rust or if wyoming is known for salting the roads heavily, get underneath and get a good look at the brake lines. They are attached to the inside of the driver side frame rails. I caution this point because i popped two of the metal lines that were rusted through shortly after buying my truck.
Another concern would be availability of engine parts if it needs anything.
As was pointed out $1850 is a fair price if the truck is in decent shape. Most of the things that can go wrong arent necessarily show stoppers and most can be fixed with basic tools. This site has a lot of information and helpful advice.

Also keep in mind that the 3f-e isn't a racing engine. Its a tractor motor. Its noisy and underpowered by today's standards, but it is reliable and will get you back from anywhere you take it.