Anyone regret buying their high mileage LC or LX? (1 Viewer)

[h777]

This is for those of you that bought a high mileage LC or LX. Lets say anything around 100k mileage or over. Anyone regret buying a high mileage vehicle?

Even if the high mileage vehicle checks out and has good service records and no rust, there is that worry about water pump, radiator, and starter needing to be replaced in the near future. Would it not better to just spend that money now and buy a lower mileage vehicle? Even if it means going from 100k to 60k mileage. I am just looking for feedback on how everyone decided.

It seems from reading all these threads that when you hit 100k mileage, got to start thinking about replacing above items as preventative maintenance.

However, for those of you lucky to have above items replaced before buying your high mileage vehicle, then you are set.

 

[99toylc]

I bought mine with 139K and all of the items mentioned have been replaced preventatively prior to me buying it, except the radiator - not a big deal.
I guess it all depends on how good the deal is or how much you like the truck... in my expirience between 100 series platform and 200 series 30-60k miles make no difference in longevity of the vehicle, but one can score a nice one with higher mileage (my LX was $24.5K)

Another question that can help you answer the first one is: Are you mechanically inclined and do you like tinkering and do you have room to work on it? - that would be 3 questions...
If you answered yes then none of the replacement items mentioned should scare you... just my .02 c

Currently 147K and no REGERTS

 

[grinchy]

209k. No regrets 18k miles later.

 

[Reckless]

No regrets here, 250k miles now. 100k when I bought it. I did do radiator at 225k for $450. My only regret was not buying a 200 sooner. Even spending $1k in repairs over 100k miles is not bad in my book. I had factored in that Id buy an aftermarket coil over suspension $3k when I bought my 200. I was set on arb but went with icons. Blisteins are cheaper option.

 

[Ratchey]

I bought mine (2009) with 83K and had to replace most of those things immediately (except for the starter, still waiting for that) Water pump was leaking, radiator was cracked (not leaking yet) and had to do the valley plate reseal as well.
So don't think you are completely escaping all of that by buying a slightly lower mileage vehicle.

 

[kcjaz]

I bought mine at 48k and am now at 152k and am replacing the items you mentioned now. Not because they have failed but as a preemptive maintenance strategy.

I haven’t looked at vehicle prices lately because it makes no difference to me. I’m not buying or selling. A new rad, water pump and starter will cost you about $800 if you do the work your self. An alternator is $300. I would guess there is more cost difference in getting a 60k 200 vs a 100k 200 than $800 or $1100.

as far as doing the work yourself goes , the 200 is not the easiest vehicle to work on and takes either some mechanical wrenching experience or time and patience to learn. If you are pulling an alternator on Sunday afternoon, don’t think you are driving to work Monday morning unless you have some skills and have done it before, on a 200.

 

[Travis 76]

Bought my 94 FZJ80 at about 192,000 miles.
Now have just over 307,000
Only wish I had replaced the radiator much sooner than I had

 

[Undefined]

I bought my 100 series with 111k on it... it now has 223k. In that time I've had to do the following

1. Timing belt and water pump
2. ABS brake booster / master cylinder
3. Complete AHC system delete (because you get to a point when Lexus techs and ih8mud members have run out of ideas). Replaced it with Ironman Foam Cell Pro and 2.5 inch lift (and diff drop, and new UCAs, and a bunch of other little stuff)

Between baselining it when I got it, and all of the above work, I've spent around $9k in work on the vehicle. I've also invested in some upgrades (such as Dobinson drawer system) to suit my needs and wants.

No regrets at all. In fact, at this point I could likely recover more than 90% of my purchase price and the cost of repairs / upgrades if I sold it. You can't say that about most vehicles.

Instead of selling it, I'm keeping it and buying a 2015 LX570 for my wife. I am going with a lower (<60k) mileage one for this purchase, but that has as much to do with finding one locally as it does with any perceived benefit of lower miles.

The difference between a Land Cruiser (or LX) and most other vehicles is that Toyota builds these to have a 25 year service life in conditions far worse than most of us will ever put them through. It's more like buying a plane than it is like buying a car.

 

[Dayhiker]

Bought my 2011 with 97k miles from Carmax about 2 years ago. Currently have about 133k miles on it. Had my brother who has his own shop verify when I bought it that there were no water pump leaks or other obvious issues. I got to work with things like AHC fluid change, all diff/transfer case fluids, grease points, transmission fluid, etc....I'm still on the original radiator and keep a keen eye on it but there is no tell tale crack at this point.

Next up on the preventative maintenance is going to be the water pump, idler pulley and assortment of things that go with that at some point. I suspect new accumulator globes and dampers will be needed as well and I waffle on my long term plans sometimes with it. Overall, the higher mileage made no difference as I would have done all these things if it had half the mileage just so I know it was done correctly.

 

[CharlieS]

This is for those of you that bought a high mileage LC or LX. Lets say anything around 100k mileage or over. Anyone regret buying a high mileage vehicle?

Even if the high mileage vehicle checks out and has good service records and no rust, there is that worry about water pump, radiator, and starter needing to be replaced in the near future. Would it not better to just spend that money now and buy a lower mileage vehicle? Even if it means going from 100k to 60k mileage. I am just looking for feedback on how everyone decided.

It seems from reading all these threads that when you hit 100k mileage, got to start thinking about replacing above items as preventative maintenance.

However, for those of you lucky to have above items replaced before buying your high mileage vehicle, then you are set.

I don't think people generally consider 100k high mileage on a land cruiser.

They don't start falling apart like some vehicles when they hit that kind of mileage.

Sure, there is some minor maintenance or preventative maintenance, but that is just wear and tear. The "known issues" aren't particularly costly to address, so I don't see how that creates a barrier to entry. Especially if you can do your own service work.

For me, the decision to buy a lower mileage used vehicle the last couple of times was related to how long I hoped the vehicle would last. This last time, I wanted a new one, but it didn't work out, so I bought the best used one that I could find in the price range of the next best alternative. There were some specific features that had me leaning toward a particular generation.

I'm confident that if well maintained, most land cruisers will gladly go a few hundred thousand miles and beyond. Regrettably, that doesn't necessarily line up with the habits of mainstream US new car buyers where people want the latest and greatest, new tech or new styling and are happy to change them out after a few years or miles.

If you are looking to buy, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used one with some mileage on it. All things being equal when comparing vehicles (service history, accident history, etc).

 

[mcgaskins]

Maintenance is key. I've owned a 200 that was 2 years old with ~40k on it and a 200 that was over 10 years old with 190k on it, and they both drove and felt pretty much the same - because they were both very well maintained. The person I bought my 13 (with 99k on it) from had just taken it for service and wanted to put on the OEM strut spacers. The KDSS valves were rusted, and the dealership sold him on: new KDSS pump, new lower control arms, radiator, brakes front/rear, and a couple of other things that totaled over $5k. Looking back at the service history, I saw it also had the water pump and everything else done as required, so I was very happy. While Cruisers are reliable, they are not cheap to fix, so ensuring the right services have been done is far more important than a specific number on the odometer.

 

[tabraha]

I've only bought 1 LC that DIDN'T already have 100k on the clock LOL, that was our '16 new that now has 85k on it. 2of my 100's are over 300k now.

 

[Zjohnsonua]

^^ this. 100k miles isn't high mileage. All machines require repair. LCs generally require less, even when moderately maintained. I wouldn't hesitate to pick up a 300k mi cruiser (if the wouldn't lose her mind over another truck turning up).

 

[Reckless]

To me the expensive part is the suspension as those need to be replaced. I recommend coil overs over traditional springs as it gives the car a brand new car feel when driving (regular springs sag over time). Finding the right suspension for particular driving styles is also a pain.

 

[04UZJ100]

To me the expensive part is the suspension as those need to be replaced. I recommend coil overs over traditional springs as it gives the car a brand new car feel when driving (regular springs sag over time). Finding the right suspension for particular driving styles is also a pain.

OEM is generally cheap on both the Lx and Cruiser. Suspensions get expensive when going aftermarket and when things start seizing (LCA eccentrics).

 

[Reckless]

The LC oem shocks were awful imo but maybe mine were shot when I took them out. My current understanding on LX is it needs suspension replaced every 100k miles or so and is slightly expensive. If I had LX id be running 35s summer and 34s winter.

 

[TomEf]

My biggest gripe with buying a 200 (LX) with about 115k on it is the center diff lock. Even with a fluid change, the actuator is sticky. I need to exercise it more regularly than I have been, but since it spent most of its life a pavement pounder in AZ it never got much use.

Small gripe is Lexus can't seem to make leather that doesn't start cracking after 10 years.

 

[TimCFJ40]

No regrets buying a high mileage cruiser. My first one was a 2000 200 series that I bought with 312k miles, and sold a year later with 328k miles. No issues at all, I just sold it and my Tacoma I also had at the time to buy our 2008 200 series because I liked the 100 series so much. Our 2008 200 was purchased with 203k miles, and now it has 236k miles. It has had two issues, the first was a battery (going to go in any car after 5 years or so) and the second was a no-start condition caused by a fuse issue. Replaced fuse, and no issues for the last year. I will say that while high mileage cruisers are very reliable, the higher the mileage the more you need to pay attention to them. I wouldn't recommend someone with absolutely no mechanical aptitude or knowledge to buy a cruiser with really high mileage (200k+) but that's just my opinion. These rigs will keep going forever if you pay attention to them and address small issues before they become big issues. 100k miles on a cruiser should work for anyone if it's been even remotely taken care of.

 

[scottm]

I regret having to sell my high-mileage 80, and will soon regret having to sell my high-mileage 100. I've bought almost all my vehicles with over 100k: Subarus, Audis, VWs, Fords, BMW, and Toyotas. Carefully selected well-built vehicles, and drove them to high mileage or totalled them. An old LC can be killed by poor maintenance, that is the only thing I would reject an old LC purchase for.

 

[DenverLX]

I have had high mileage 80’s and 100’s, and while I have no regrets on those I did have to do a lot of maintenance and standard expected repairs that did take time and cost money. I debated for a while on my 200 and ended up spending a hell of a lot more and getting a 16’ with 30k. I actually now think I regret buying such an expensive new one