Buying advice on a '93 Land Cruiser $4500 (1 Viewer)

[sirus]

It has just shy of 218,000 miles on it and some slight damage on the front passenger side quarter panel. It looks like rust and may need to be replaced. It appears to be in good shape cosmetically other than that. I'm planning on driving 2 hours to look at it this weekend. It has the front and rear locking differentials and third row seating. It also has the 4.5L engine. I'm wondering if the asking price is good or if I should try negotiating to below $4000. What are some things I should look out for? Any advice or opinions are welcome. Thanks.

 

[4gundrill]

Where are you located? That will play a role in determining price. I am new to the 80 myself but the rules I used when looking were, 1) under 200k, 2) lockers, 3) no wrecks, 4) no rust. It took me a while but I was able to find a rig that matched these requirements for around 3500$. I may have been able to find one for less but I was comfortable with it and the seller and that is worth a lot to me as well.

 

[sirus]

Looks like we have the same list. This is the first I've considered over 200k. Which was only because of the lockers. Seems hard to find around me. The same for anything less than 7k+ in price and that's without lockers. I'm in NW Arkansas. Fayetteville is the closets Craigslist to me.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

I live in Denver CO and I just picked up a seemingly never wrecked, triple locked '93 with 3-rows of cloth interior, 216k miles and good paint for $4,500. In my area that's a steal to the tune of about $2k-$3k below average market value as compared to other listings at the same time as my purchase and about for the preceding 9 months. Yeah, I was scouring craigslist religiously!

I Jumped on this opportunity as fast as I could!

Note: at this price there is PM work to be done

 

[sirus]

Backwoods Rambler: It sounds like we found the same deal. Would you say it is worth the cost? I figure it will need some elbow grease, but that's all apart of the experience, right?

 

[sirus]

It may be the tag under my name or me being tired, but what does PM stand for?

 

[mlv289]

PM = preventative maintenance! aka doing all the stuff that has been neglected for the past 10 years

 

[sirus]

Thanks. I knew I was missing a brain wave on that one.

 

[DSRTRDR]

why not post up in the Clubhouse forums closest to you ? - there's a tab at the very top of this page: click it and find the "local" clubhouses

 

[sirus]

Thanks for the idea Dsrtrdr. I give it a shot. I just figured anyone could tell me if that was a decent deal or not. Cheapest in the area and probably the only one with the factory lockers.

 

[Hornd]

Seems decent.
Plan on an extra $500-1000 ffor Birf rebuild, tune up and front window rubbers.
Tires alone cost about $1200

 

[sirus]

The history is clean on it too.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

If it passes your visual inspection based on the Slee checklist (link to you on Exedition Portal) and/or you're otherwise comfortable with the apparent condition of the vehicle, I would say go for it.

 

[sirus]

Thanks Hornd. The info I've found on the birf was invaluable.

Backwoods rambler: I'll definitely have to commit it to memory. Thanks for your input.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

Here's what I got for $4,500. Not the best pics, but it's all I have at the moment.

Definitely more rust underneath than I'd like to deal with, but nothing I can't handle.

 

[sirus]

Here are some pictures of the only discernable damage I can find from the pictures provided. The picture of the third row seating were provided because I'm not sure what to look for regarding them. Although, they will most likely be removed anyway.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

I saw that one when I was searching for mine and seriously considered flying out to see it because it appeared to be a good deal, even with the fender/front end damage.

Do I spy tail gate damage, too?

What's up with the steering column damage though?

 

[LittleRock80]

What is the story on the cracked steering column? Was it stolen at some point?

It looks like a decent rig from the pictures. Cloth seats are a definite BONUS.

Good luck!

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

Was it stolen at some point?

Good luck!

My thoughts exactly! On both counts

 

[sirus]

I didn't notice the gate until looking at it this time and I think I forgot about the column damage. The vehicle history shows a clean bill of health. No reports of being stolen.