Buying 1997 FJ80 3xlock What should i pay (1 Viewer)

[Jebac]

Hi im new to this forum. Opportunity cam up for me to buy a 1997 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER with 140,000 miles. One owner. 3xLock. Leather seat w/3rd row. Runs excellent. No suspension noise. No pulling or drifting. Dos need a good cleaning in the inside. Dos has some oil leaks (valve cover/ distributor o ring/ oil pump seal) from what i can see. NO rust on the body at all. Only clearcoat peeling on hood. Frame looks good has some surface rust. Dos have a new exhaust manifold. All original FJ80 NO after market parts. Any help will be appreciated thank you guys.

 

[-Spike-]

One MILLION dollars!

 

[mingles]

Pictures go a long way towards getting some real feedback. It sounds like a desirable truck, but it IS located in the rustbelt and you didn't mention any information on vehicle history (accidents, maintenance records, etc). If everything is clean and checks out, it sounds to me like an $8-10K truck. Some will say more, some will say less.

Just post the owners contact info and I'll go check it out for you...

 

[Jebac]

Pictures go a long way towards getting some real feedback. It sounds like a desirable truck, but it IS located in the rustbelt and you didn't mention any information on vehicle history (accidents, maintenance records, etc). If everything is clean and checks out, it sounds to me like an $8-10K truck. Some will say more, some will say less.

Just post the owners contact info and I'll go check it out for you...

Thank you . I will take you up on your offer.

 

[LC4LIFE]

The prop rod alone is worth something

In all seriousness, we need more pics to give good feedback. I do however, have a hard time believing "NO body rust" with what I am seeing in just the engine compartment. I'm seeing 154k on that odometer too.

 

[Jebac]

The prop rod alone is worth something

In all seriousness, we need more pics to give good feedback. I do however, have a hard time believing "NO body rust" with what I am seeing in just the engine compartment. I'm seeing 154k on that odometer too.

Haha I know it was cold that day. Kind of hard to check out the car in two minutes. Will definitely post more pictures tomorrow. Good eye on the mileage.

 

[Funner]

Good lord, it doesn’t look like that has had any maintenance done other than maybe tires, brake pads, and possibly a radiator hose in 23 years. Plan to spend $5k to make it a reliable vehicle you can count on, that does not include any mods you may want to add. It could be a great truck, but they always need a lot of refreshing when bought like the one you are looking at. Don’t be afraid, just make sure you know what you are getting into. The fact that it is still on the road should tell you how amazing these trucks can be.

 

[voorland80]

welcome
agree there's a rust thing goin' on there
maybe take that all-purpose hood prop and check out "surface rust" underneath
good stuff here

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[voorland80]

sowwy - wrong link

80-series FAQ for General Info, Modification and Repairs

The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the 80/LX450 series tech section continues to be a work in progress. The goal is to have links in the below to other threads and tech articles. By having these linked, instead of pasting the text, the threads will remain live. The live threads can...

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[voorland80]

Looks like I'm rusty myself

 

[slow95z]

Ah yes, the ole I'm gonna pay 10k because of lockers and low miles on a rusted out hunk of crap with no maintenance thread of the month. Was wondering when it would show up.

Check under it for rust, check to see if it actually has lockers, prepare to spend 5 to 10k getting it good to go OR... Find one in better shape. Lockers can be added, rust is cancer that is too much work to treat imo.

 

[Rifleman]

Good lord, it doesn’t look like that has had any maintenance done other than maybe tires, brake pads, and possibly a radiator hose in 23 years. Plan to spend $5k to make it a reliable vehicle you can count on,

Jebac, You need to pay close attention to the advice given above. About making sure you've set aside ENOUGH money (over and above the purchase price) to do all the required maintenance on this truck.

 

[Rwhat]

That is a fair amount of rust on the components under the hood. I would really look at the chassis carefully.

 

[KrOswalt]

If the hood dampeners are worn ($20 for some amazon cheapies), the inside is dirty, engine compartment is dirty and covered with fluids that should be inside the engine, and there’s heavy surface rust on some components (air filter box clamps, shock nuts, radiator nuts, just to name a few) than the chances are the axles need rebuilding at the least, the oil prob wasn’t changed enough, or it’s been sitting long enough that there’s some dry rot going on with some important hoses.
Best case, just assume it needs a complete baseline (fluids, hoses, axles seals/bearings, full brake job, and a handful of other small items) your pushing $2,500-$4,000 for quality parts that will last. I’d be cautious to pay more than $4,500-$5k if the lockers work and rust isn’t a major issue

 

[ppc]

Based on the discoloration of the top plastic tank of the radiator that should be one of the top things to replace along with the heater control valve and all the rubber hoses.

 

[Pippylongsausage]

As said above, it's worth your budget minus the $4-5k in baseline parts to turn it into a reliable truck. Pics of the undercarriage would be helpful. My 97 was a similar story but I practically stole it. It's still a money pit.

 

[BILT4ME]

When we're saying $4K-$5K in repairs, that's PARTS ONLY, and assuming YOU are doing the labor. If you are paying someone to do the work, triple that number.

I agree, there is a ton of maintenance required there. My truck was similar, but did not have the surface rust on it. I threw $6K in parts and tires at it to make it my DD.

The bonus is it MAY have lockers and "low mileage", but that means it has sat a lot. Read part of my sig line below, and you'll understand what I mean.

 

[Jebac]

When we're saying $4K-$5K in repairs, that's PARTS ONLY, and assuming YOU are doing the labor. If you are paying someone to do the work, triple that number.

I agree, there is a ton of maintenance required there. My truck was similar, but did not have the surface rust on it. I threw $6K in parts and tires at it to make it my DD.

The bonus is it MAY have lockers and "low mileage", but that means it has sat a lot. Read part of my sig line below, and you'll understand what I mean.

Can you give me a list of maintenance that needs to be done so I can ask and check before purchase.

 

[BILT4ME]

Can you give me a list of maintenance that needs to be done so I can ask and check before purchase.

Read away!

80-series FAQ for General Info, Modification and Repairs

The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the 80/LX450 series tech section continues to be a work in progress. The goal is to have links in the below to other threads and tech articles. By having these linked, instead of pasting the text, the threads will remain live. The live threads can...

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There is a Slee post that details what to look for when buying.

 

[cahill]

Just looking at the engine bay the radiator should probably be replaced along with the radiator hoses, probably heater valve adn water pump while you have it apart, valve cover gasket looks to be leaking, probably need to replace the pcv valve and hoses, distributor and spark plugs (spark plug seals since you will have the valve cover off to do the valve cover gasket) and spark plug wires......

That being said it would probably run without replacing those things but at some point they need to be replaced. The front axle and rear axle bearings and seals probably haven't been maintained either. The most important thing to me that has already been mentioned is rust. If the bolts in the engine bay are showing rust, I hate to think what the undercarriage and body look like. If you aren't looking to keep it forever as many on mud are and only want to run it for a few years than go for it knowing that you might have some things to fix during that time. If you want to keep it forever, make a calculated decision on how much cost you are willing to put into it to make it reliable and have the rust taken care of. I am sure it would be cheaper in the long run to buy a rust free vehicle but you live in Chicago it looks like and rust is going to happen .