Buying a 1995 Australian Land Cruiser - What do you think of the Pre-purchase inspection? (1 Viewer)

[AlPostal]

Hello interwebz,

I have been on the market for an 80 series for a while. I found this 1995 Australian right-hand drive LC with approximately 110,000 Kms that seems to fit the bill. Cloth seats, base, mostly clean-looking.

I had a pre-purchase inspection performed, and here are the negative remarks (most importantly, oil leak - photos attached):

1. Windshield wiper fluid does not spray. Motor makes sound but no fluid is pushed.
2. Brake fluid is black.
3. Power windows very slow.
4. DRIVER SIDE REAR AXLE BEGINNING TO LEAK.
5. POWER STEERING FLUID LEAK APPARENT (return hose).
6. EVIDENCE OF ENGINE OIL LEAKING UNDER VEHICLE.

What do you think? I am obviously not very savvy as far as mechanic work goes. Willing to have these things looked at if they don't seem troublesome.

Asking price is $15,900

 

[OffRoadScott]

Does the 15.9 cover shipping to the States or is it Stateside already? The brake fluid is an easy fix, just get yourself a power bleeder that fills fluid into the master as you bleed the brakes. You might have to bleed them several times to get all the fluid out.

The power steering is a known issue. The house could be very brittle due to the heat in the engine compartment. @NLXTACY sells replacement hoses and they work great.

Doing the axle seals is not that bad either. If you have going to do the rears might as well do the front knuckles at the same time.

The picture of the oil leak looks to be a rear main but it is hard to tell. The 80 are known to have leaks at the pump up front too, so try having the inspector tracing the leak.

 

[AlPostal]

They basically just saw the fluid there and reported it as such unfortunately. They already returned the truck to the seller.

 

[bhsdriller]

I can't comment on price but that's all common stuff that usually needs to be done to these.
Like he said the axle seal isn't that bad. I'd probably just check the oil level and leave it for now

 

[300blk]

6. EVIDENCE OF ENGINE OIL LEAKING UNDER VEHICLE.

This isn't really an "inspection" if they didn't even bother to find the source.

 

[OffRoadScott]

They basically just saw the fluid there and reported it as such unfortunately. They already returned the truck to the seller.

If you are not afraid of a little work then get it. I know the draw to the Australian spec LC (in love with the new 79 Series) but if you can find an 80 stateside for the same price and in the same condition I would stay local.

 

[AlPostal]

If you are not afraid of a little work then get it. I know the draw to the Australian spec LC (in love with the new 79 Series) but if you can find an 80 stateside for the same price and in the same condition I would stay local.

Indeed - I haven’t found local ones in a condition even close to this one for the price (barring these newly-identified mechanical issues).

Plus, there’s some cool appeal to me from the right-hand-drive part. I wish it were a manual.

 

[OffRoadScott]

Like I said earlier I love the 79 series and they are only available in Australia as well.

If the LC isn't going to be a daily driver take your time and do the repairs yourself with the help of youtube or the wealth of knowledge on here. We are all here to help.

 

[AlPostal]

Well. It looks like I’m going to pull the trigger.

Goal is to eventually get a 2008 Venezuelan Autana.

 

[AlPostal]

Does the 15.9 cover shipping to the States or is it Stateside already? The brake fluid is an easy fix, just get yourself a power bleeder that fills fluid into the master as you bleed the brakes. You might have to bleed them several times to get all the fluid out.

The power steering is a known issue. The house could be very brittle due to the heat in the engine compartment. @NLXTACY sells replacement hoses and they work great.

Doing the axle seals is not that bad either. If you have going to do the rears might as well do the front knuckles at the same time.

The picture of the oil leak looks to be a rear main but it is hard to tell. The 80 are known to have leaks at the pump up front too, so try having the inspector tracing the leak.

And it is already in the States but far from me. Just need to pay for US shipping

 

[ajax1]

Why get 1fzfe when you could get the 1hdht?

 

[crx7]

There are a lot of downsides to driving a RHD vehicle in the states. IMHO, this would only be worth it as a 1HD-T.

 

[AlPostal]

The available 1HD-Ts were significantly more expensive.

 

[AussieHJCruza]

You should be able to get a decent manual Aussie FZJ80 for less than 15k.

 

[mudgudgeon]

The low km rings an alarm bell to me.

If that was genuine mileage, and clean, I think it would pull similar dollars in Australia.

Can't see it being purchased in Aus, and shipped and through customs etc and turning a profit at those dollars.

Break it down
15k sale price -
2-3k in shipping (or more if in a container)
Customs??
Seller's profit 20%??

Brings purchase price in Aus down to 8-9k USD or about 12k AUD.

I honestly think a clean '95 with 110k km (70k miles) on it would pull more than that locally. They just don't exist, not at that price point.

Hard to tell how clean the rig is from a handful of pics
If you're OK with the price, it might be a good purchase still, but go into it eye's wide open.

I bought my 93 cruiser with 220k km (considered fairly low mileage) for 5k AUD, but it was in fair condition, not "clean", and needing some maintenance, clutch, deep clean etc

 

[AlPostal]

The low km rings an alarm bell to me.

If that was genuine mileage, and clean, I think it would pull similar dollars in Australia.

Can't see it being purchased in Aus, and shipped and through customs etc and turning a profit at those dollars.

Break it down
15k sale price -
2-3k in shipping (or more if in a container)
Customs??
Seller's profit 20%??

Brings purchase price in Aus down to 8-9k USD or about 12k AUD.

I honestly think a clean '95 with 110k km (70k miles) on it would pull more than that locally. They just don't exist, not at that price point.

Hard to tell how clean the rig is from a handful of pics
If you're OK with the price, it might be a good purchase still, but go into it eye's wide open.

I bought my 93 cruiser with 220k km (considered fairly low mileage) for 5k AUD, but it was in fair condition, not "clean", and needing some maintenance, clutch, deep clean etc

Very fair points. I am indeed expecting to find something additional wrong. The quality of the inspection was Ok but not great. Not much was mentioned about cosmetics / paint.

I also assume odometers are inaccurate on imports unless there’s some sort of proof to the contrary.

 

[VacMan]

I'm genuinely curious why you'd pull the trigger on this one versus buying a US version. Is it just the novelty of RHD? $16k is quite a lot to pay for that rig. A quick search of CL and OfferUp yields a lot of very nice examples at that price point here in SoCal that are rust free and (in theory) no worse mechanically that this import. Or spend a bit more and a get a real creampuff, or Diesel.

 

[Heckraiser]

I see no problem with the leaks. Land Cruisers leak. That's why they need maintenance. Engine oil leak looks like probably rear main seal or upper oil pan seal. Both are a PITA, but not out of the ordinary.

I do think it's more than a little ridiculous to go through the trouble of importing a FZJ80 without the opportunity to see it in person and verify it's condition when they are widely available here in the states. You think RHD is cool, many others do not. There is a good portion of the US buying public that would not consider any RHD vehicle, and an even larger portion that would not consider buying an RHD that is not at least a diesel or 5-speed.

Bad investment, unnecessary risk, dumb. Just my two cents !

 

[AlPostal]

I see no problem with the leaks. Land Cruisers leak. That's why they need maintenance. Engine oil leak looks like probably rear main seal or upper oil pan seal. Both are a PITA, but not out of the ordinary.

I do think it's more than a little ridiculous to go through the trouble of importing a FZJ80 without the opportunity to see it in person and verify it's condition when they are widely available here in the states. You think RHD is cool, many others do not. There is a good portion of the US buying public that would not consider any RHD vehicle, and an even larger portion that would not consider buying an RHD that is not at least a diesel or 5-speed.

Bad investment, unnecessary risk, dumb. Just my two cents !

You’re clearly jealous about my potential extremely cool RHD perfectly mint slightly leaky Land Cruiser

 

[mudgudgeon]

So, I did a quick search for landcruisers for sale in Australia with similar mileage, similar age

Carsales is the number one online platform for finding cars for sale in Australia.

Guess how many landcruisers in the search results?

That's right, 3 listed in the entire country with less than 150k km. 100k km landcruisers in Australia are like unicorn shït.


One is listed with 44k km, but ODO shows 366k km and has clearly got a lot of miles on it.

This one looks legit. It is diesel. So would see a 30-50% premium over a petrol version.

Last one is a diesel Ute, so completely different pricing.