Build It Or Buy It?

[krice118]

FWIW, I know someone who test drove that exact cruiser and said it felt like total crap and that the build was not well done. He did not recommend anyone buying that specific vehicle. Have you gone to see it in person yet?

I can tell by the looks of it it was probably built by some truck shop and overdone with bolt on mods and drives terrible.

 

[chasingpowder]

FWIW, I know someone who test drove that exact cruiser and said it felt like total crap and that the build was not well done. He did not recommend anyone buying that specific vehicle. Have you gone to see it in person yet?

I wanted to do some research and form a stronger opinion before going to see it because I'm impulsive and have little to no self control.

 

[chasingpowder]

I second the notion that the built rig looks overbuilt. I think a lot of people put a bunch of money into mods, which add weight and complexity, and often decrease reliability, only to regret it. That rig looks like just that - to my eye. I think over the last few years a bunch of people saw built rigs and thought, "I need a bumper, a swingout, a winch, and a snorkel!" and then after they did all that their rig became slow, tall and cumbersome. Personally, I don't want an aux tank or a rear swing out bumper. You could put a Trail Tailor hidden winch mount in your existing OEM front bumper, some 33's, a mild lift and sliders if you choose. Make sure all your maintenance is up to par, and hit the trails. That's what I would do. Just my two cents.

I'm liking the advice on keeping it simple and getting what's necessary. I also LOVE the way this thing drives currently, crazy how capable it is off-road yet how buttery smooth it is on the road.

 

[chasingpowder]

Is wheeling twice a year in Moab worth the hit you will take in drive-ability the rest of the year, especially if this is going to be your mountain commuter for skiing/boarding? I'd go with sliders, rear bumper and maybe a hidden winch at most on your current rig. You could still do a lot of Moab's trails and most of the mods on that '15 are more of a liability than anything. I would hate having a 7,000 lbs SUV in our canyons without AHC or KDSS.

Solid points. The Moab stuff has been pretty moderate anyway. If I got serious I'd like trailer something dedicated down there behind my current LC! Curious why you'd go rear bumper over front with integrated winch?

 

[chasingpowder]

I can tell by the looks of it it was probably built by some truck shop and overdone with bolt on mods and drives terrible.

There is a lot going on there for sure.

 

[Nothinghead]

Solid points. The Moab stuff has been pretty moderate anyway. If I got serious I'd like trailer something dedicated down there behind my current LC! Curious why you'd go rear bumper over front with integrated winch?

These drag butt pretty bad (22 degrees) and a higher clearance rear bumper would remedy some of that for Moab trails. It seems the front isn't as bad (32 degrees) but I have an LX so I'm dragging both front and rear. My preference is to try to keep things simple, OEM-ish looking with as little weight gain as possible.

The gnarliest trail I did in Moab was top of the world in a GX470 with just a bilstein lift, 33s and sliders. Sure, it took longer but I caught back up to all the jeeps that passed me once we were back at the trailhead. I aired up and started my drive home in luxury while they were still inspecting all of their broken sway bar and steering joints after loading on the trailer. My only complaint was swamp butt from the leather seat and a very minor scrape on the stock rear bumper. Many of the trails down there don't need nearly the amount of mods people are putting on. Just good spotting, proper tire pressure and a reliable rig will get you over anything up to 6/10.

 

[devilzdriver]

As an avid overlander and camper, if I'm being honest, that 2015 just looks like an overbuilt chunk that's too heavy, too inefficient, and will be less enjoyable than it looks. With so many aftermarket bits including electrical mods under the hood, it's often those pieces that create reliability and headaches on a trip.

Your current rig with just some key things will go very far. Moderate 33" tires, Bilstein lift, and portable air compressor will take you 95% of the places, and possibly further than that 2015. Looks like it has KDSS taken out. Probably high springs rates with less articulation and way more weight, things that don't necessarily help it perform better.

But this is a personal decision that doesn't have a right and wrong, so take my comments with a grain of salt.

^ this, also based on your use case the second one seems kinda overbuilt. I have 33's on my stock 200 series and its been pretty awesome for what we (family) would feel comfortable doing together. I mean TFL took basically just a lifted 200 series to moab ( I think fins and things?) and it did fine. I don't know what trails you're running but just a data point. I have an 80 for when I do stupid stuff or sketchy stuff.

The only mod's I really want for my 200 is Aux tank, winch (we solo a lot and im over come alongs), lift, beefier skidplates (dinged my stock a few times) and that's really all she wrote. I mean your current cruiser seems like it would be fine with some love.

Also total random data point, when I was shopping for 200's I flew out to see two "built" 200's thinking the same line as you. Both had something glaring wrong or when I crawled under it looked like some short cuts were taken. Then it made me question the rest of the vehicle. Pan to us checking out a one owner stock 2017 that was clearly a family car. It was so much better in every way. For the trips we have taken my "want list" are the only things I feel these need to be pretty awesome for 95% of us.

 

[devilzdriver]

I second the notion that the built rig looks overbuilt. I think a lot of people put a bunch of money into mods, which add weight and complexity, and often decrease reliability, only to regret it. That rig looks like just that - to my eye. I think over the last few years a bunch of people saw built rigs and thought, "I need a bumper, a swingout, a winch, and a snorkel!" and then after they did all that their rig became slow, tall and cumbersome. Personally, I don't want an aux tank or a rear swing out bumper. You could put a Trail Tailor hidden winch mount in your existing OEM front bumper, some 33's, a mild lift and sliders if you choose. Make sure all your maintenance is up to par, and hit the trails. That's what I would do. Just my two cents.

I have a swing out on my 80 and I thought it wouldn't be that bad.... well guess how many times i've lost a tire on the trail or messed up a tire so bad i needed to get to my spare? Exactly zero... and now its a PITA. My 200 is definitely getting an AUX, but that mini 12.5 just so I don't have to deal w/ swing outs. Also very good points over all. The build rigs look cool, but i'd rather have bare minimum weight vs all the extras, and its just more crap to go wrong or fail.

 

[Heritage 2020]

Buy it built.

Gently used mall crawlers and highway queens are available. 1-2 owner ideally, and built much of the way you’d like it. You can remove the stuff you don’t want and it costs you nothing other than time to remove and give away/sell the mod.

Biased as that is what I do/have done with every vehicle my family owns as mods are worth zero over bone stock.

The most important thing is meticulous maintenance records which a fair number of LC200 owners do—based on our forum.

The key is patience and money ready.

 

[TeCKis300]

I wanted to do some research and form a stronger opinion before going to see it because I'm impulsive and have little to no self control.

I think you should go see it and drive it, with the intention to only inform a future decision. You'll have a data point to compare how your own rig drives against a modified rig might drive. I think that'll do a lot to scratch your itch. And might be useful to guide how you might modify a future rig.

Or maybe you'll love it.

 

[chasingpowder]

These drag butt pretty bad (22 degrees) and a higher clearance rear bumper would remedy some of that for Moab trails. It seems the front isn't as bad (32 degrees) but I have an LX so I'm dragging both front and rear. My preference is to try to keep things simple, OEM-ish looking with as little weight gain as possible.

The gnarliest trail I did in Moab was top of the world in a GX470 with just a bilstein lift, 33s and sliders. Sure, it took longer but I caught back up to all the jeeps that passed me once we were back at the trailhead. I aired up and started my drive home in luxury while they were still inspecting all of their broken sway bar and steering joints after loading on the trailer. My only complaint was swamp butt from the leather seat and a very minor scrape on the stock rear bumper. Many of the trails down there don't need nearly the amount of mods people are putting on. Just good spotting, proper tire pressure and a reliable rig will get you over anything up to 6/10.

good to know on the approach and exit angles! The air conditioned seat is one of the main reasons I wanted a 2013-2015. I had a 97 Jeep Grand Cherokee where the seat HEATERS would come on intermittently in the summers.

 

[chasingpowder]

^ this, also based on your use case the second one seems kinda overbuilt. I have 33's on my stock 200 series and its been pretty awesome for what we (family) would feel comfortable doing together. I mean TFL took basically just a lifted 200 series to moab ( I think fins and things?) and it did fine. I don't know what trails you're running but just a data point. I have an 80 for when I do stupid stuff or sketchy stuff.

The only mod's I really want for my 200 is Aux tank, winch (we solo a lot and im over come alongs), lift, beefier skidplates (dinged my stock a few times) and that's really all she wrote. I mean your current cruiser seems like it would be fine with some love.

Also total random data point, when I was shopping for 200's I flew out to see two "built" 200's thinking the same line as you. Both had something glaring wrong or when I crawled under it looked like some short cuts were taken. Then it made me question the rest of the vehicle. Pan to us checking out a one owner stock 2017 that was clearly a family car. It was so much better in every way. For the trips we have taken my "want list" are the only things I feel these need to be pretty awesome for 95% of us.

I think you should go see it and drive it, with the intention to only inform a future decision. You'll have a data point to compare how your own rig drives against a modified rig might drive. I think that'll do a lot to scratch your itch. And might be useful to guide how you might modify a future rig.

Or maybe you'll love it.

This post inspired a phone call from my buddy who I sent the thread to. I'm buys today giving a Turkey a bath but We're going to look at it on Friday.

 

[Docwyte]

It's much cheaper to buy an already built rig. You just need to evaluate the build as far as what parts were used and was the install done properly. If you're happy with the parts used and how they were installed, buy it.

I've done a very mild build on mine, but there are very few trails in the Colorado area that it can't handle. A decent set of skid plates and sliders, along with a mild lift and reasonable sized tires go a long way. My 200 came with the snorkel already, I probably wouldn't have bothered. Although with the Rhino front bumper, having the snorkel definitely helps protect the motor from hydro locking in a water crossing now.

With what I've got on my rig now, I'm confident that it'll tackle anything that it'll fit on, it's not a rock crawler and never will be...

 

[grinchy]

Way more fun to build your own and make all the questionable decisions yourself.

Cheaper to buy the right build. Way more expensive to buy the wrong build. Less risk doing it yourself.

 

[Chrisek]

Similar position, while at Slee’s recently I was talking with them about the Lc200 vs lx600. They offered to sell their 2019 LC200 ARB show vehicle that was in their brochures and used for shows.

Climbed and drooled all over it. Absolutely not questioning build quality, but in the end it was just too much stuff for me. Currently a 30k+ mile/yr driver in my 100, not a mall crawler. But not going off road either. Cool? All day and would be fantastic to look at, but practical for my use? No. Much closer to stock and a big aux tank would fit me a lot better.
The point is as others have been saying: match your usage to your build. You’ll be much happier with it overall.

 

[TheComedian]

Buy ready-made or build it yourself....
I think it also depends a lot on what you want. If the finished vehicle has everything you want, why not?
But if you have the space, you enjoy working on the car and you really want to have what you want on the car on the spot, then do it yourself.

In addition, the quality of the mechanics and the installed parts on the other side of the pond ranges from absolutely poor to top. In other words, a lot of crap can be installed that simply doesn't belong to the vehicle.
In addition, since Toyota was on the US market with the large Land Cruiser up to the 300, there is less in the way of building it yourself and therefore a comparatively incredibly wide range of accessories is simply available.
I had to wait about half a year for my roof rack from ARB because here in Germany, for example, only ~50 200s drive and I will build Rockslider myself this winter because there is nothing in Europe (well I don't really want one but my girlfriend is only 5ft tall so steps are an advantage ).

Personally, I like to work on the car, so I would go for the unmodified 200

 

[chasingpowder]

Similar position, while at Slee’s recently I was talking with them about the Lc200 vs lx600. They offered to sell their 2019 LC200 ARB show vehicle that was in their brochures and used for shows.

View attachment 3489790
Climbed and drooled all over it. Absolutely not questioning build quality, but in the end it was just too much stuff for me. Currently a 30k+ mile/yr driver in my 100, not a mall crawler. But not going off road either. Cool? All day and would be fantastic to look at, but practical for my use? No. Much closer to stock and a big aux tank would fit me a lot better.
The point is as others have been saying: match your usage to your build. You’ll be much happier with it overall.

Oh man, that would be hard to pass on. I get it though, get what you need and the rest is just really expensive eye candy. For me the snorkel is a bit much.

 

[chasingpowder]

Buy ready-made or build it yourself....
I think it also depends a lot on what you want. If the finished vehicle has everything you want, why not?
But if you have the space, you enjoy working on the car and you really want to have what you want on the car on the spot, then do it yourself.

In addition, the quality of the mechanics and the installed parts on the other side of the pond ranges from absolutely poor to top. In other words, a lot of crap can be installed that simply doesn't belong to the vehicle.
In addition, since Toyota was on the US market with the large Land Cruiser up to the 300, there is less in the way of building it yourself and therefore a comparatively incredibly wide range of accessories is simply available.
I had to wait about half a year for my roof rack from ARB because here in Germany, for example, only ~50 200s drive and I will build Rockslider myself this winter because there is nothing in Europe (well I don't really want one but my girlfriend is only 5ft tall so steps are an advantage ).

Personally, I like to work on the car, so I would go for the unmodified 200

I'm trying to get to Germany (Erlangen) to see a customer maybe I could pack some sliders for you in my suit case.

 

[chasingpowder]

I really just want to keep things minimalistic and understated...

 

[devilzdriver]

I really just want to keep things minimalistic and understated...
View attachment 3492854

Just stop oil ain't protest ram?