Buying another 100 series BUT which one

[LandCruzrNY]

I'm considering the purchase of a 100 series cruiser and I've got it narrowed down to a few.

2005 with 220K miles, no rust, 1.5" lift, white (my preference), timing belt done twice $14,500 but I think I could offer 13K and buy it.

2003 with 180K miles, surface scale from the looks of it, no lift, gold'ish, needs timing belt done, for $12K and buyer won't budge.

2006 cruiser with 240K miles, no rust, no lift, looks like it has an oil leak, dirty, timing belt done once, red but $15K.

I'm leaning towards the 05. I lose a bit on the HP from the 06, but it looks much better, inside pictures look better and the price is decent. The owner of the 06 is firm at 15K and acknowledged the leak and said it's just a simple valve cover leak. I wish people didn't say "oh, it's a simple fix" but they didn't fix it. The 03 is older, I like the owner, but it's an 03.

Interested in others thoughts.

 

[suprarx7nut]

06 with vvti gets my vote. Mine had an oil leak that was simply just the valve cover. Seriously. Agreed it's annoying when a seller says that, but sometimes it's true.

 

[Kabanstva]

06 with vvti gets my vote. Mine had an oil leak that was simply just the valve cover. Seriously. Agreed it's annoying when a seller says that, but sometimes it's true.

+1. Even worse where they're selling a car that needs alot of "quick and simple" fixes yet they neglected those problems for years and won't even sell the car at a lower price because of the problems.

 

[MJK]

Whichever one is in the best condition gets my vote, followed closely by your impression of the owner.

 

[LandCruzrNY]

It will either be the 05 or 06 I think. So at least I'm down to 2 now. I've done maintenance on my existing 100 that I'm giving to my brother but I've not done a valve cover on one. I guess I need to look into what is involved in doing that and weigh that time/money accordingly. I am hoping to test drive both on Sunday / Monday.

 

[flintknapper]

05 for my money. Good luck, let us know if you purchase any of them. And as always....we need pics.

 

[kwon-offroad]

Why is the 06 owner selling it? A slow leak, or any repair cost, ‘can wait’ if it isn’t major for some unfortunate folks. It’s not killing the engine if filled. Your impression is important; he knows someone will buy that reason for $15k all day long.

 

[nukegoat]

Are these lexuses? Do they have night view?

 

[LandCruzrNY]

They are all land cruisers, trying to stay with true LC. Spoke with the 06 owner again this morning. He said it leaks about a quart of oil every 500 miles which seems pretty excessive. My 80 didn't leak that much! I'd benefit from the additional HP but after reading about the valve cover, etc. that could be wrong, I am leaning towards the 05 more now. Here is the 05 that I'm looking strong at now.

Autotrader - page unavailable

 

[LandCruzrNY]

05 for my money. Good luck, let us know if you purchase any of them. And as always....we need pics.

Just got off the phone with the seller, I'll be headed down on Tuesday to take a look. The excitement is growing.

 

[flintknapper]

Just got off the phone with the seller, I'll be headed down on Tuesday to take a look. The excitement is growing.

Be sure to look at the undercarriage. Don't buy rust.

 

[97 AZ LC]

Just got off the phone with the seller, I'll be headed down on Tuesday to take a look. The excitement is growing.

You're in NY and you're going down to FL to look at a used LC? Pretty risky plan - if it's still available on Tuesday it's probably a piece of crap.

 

[LandCruzrNY]

Be sure to look at the undercarriage. Don't buy rust.

Excellent advice. The seller has sent me a LOT of pictures of undercarriage, engine bay, tailgate, etc. and there is no rust anywhere. It's been garaged and belonged to the guys wife. He even sent me pictures of receipts for a detailing service that comes to the house and details it every 2 weeks. Must be nice. My cruiser gets no such loving. He's going to pick me up at the airport and I'm going to take my time inspecting it. He is bringing it to Toyota today or Monday for a buyers inspection. They will at least give me a decent idea of how things look. My only concern is the black piece on the tailgate. He said he cut it out and used it to replace the torn up carpet, makes sense I guess. Not sure what else I should ask before heading down, or what else I should do prior to arriving.

 

[LandCruzrNY]

You're in NY and you're going down to FL to look at a used LC? Pretty risky plan - if it's still available on Tuesday it's probably a piece of crap.

LOL, I sure don't want to buy one from NY, PA, NJ. They are all rusted out. I've looked at a bunch with "minimal rust" that had holes in the frame and every nut/bolt was just a piece of rust with a shape to it. You can't buy a used cruiser in the northeast, just not possible. I've been looking in NC, SC, GA, and FL to find one. It's worth it.

 

[97 AZ LC]

LOL, I sure don't want to buy one from NY, PA, NJ. They are all rusted out. I've looked at a bunch with "minimal rust" that had holes in the frame and every nut/bolt was just a piece of rust with a shape to it. You can't buy a used cruiser in the northeast, just not possible. I've been looking in NC, SC, GA, and FL to find one. It's worth it.

I get that. It's just that most 100s aren't as nice as the ad sounds, and if they are they sell very quickly. It sounds like you've done some homework. Good luck.

 

[Bisho]

I’m guessing you’ve already done this, but a FaceTime walk around is worth the time. He can give a live tour, you can ask to see things that stick out, you can hear it run. A good way to spend 15-30 minutes Before it heads in for a prebuy.

 

[nukegoat]

They are all land cruisers, trying to stay with true LC. Spoke with the 06 owner again this morning. He said it leaks about a quart of oil every 500 miles which seems pretty excessive. My 80 didn't leak that much! I'd benefit from the additional HP but after reading about the valve cover, etc. that could be wrong, I am leaning towards the 05 more now. Here is the 05 that I'm looking strong at now.

Autotrader - page unavailable

'true lc'

No night view

Wat

 

[LandCruzrNY]

I’m guessing you’ve already done this, but a FaceTime walk around is worth the time. He can give a live tour, you can ask to see things that stick out, you can hear it run. A good way to spend 15-30 minutes Before it heads in for a prebuy.

Excellent suggestion! I'll see if we can do that today. Thanks for the great idea.

 

[LandCruzrNY]

I just had face-time vehicle inspection done and things went well. We used 4 Low, listened to engine, went for a long ride, used all the seats, windows, etc. My plan is to head down on Tuesday.

 

[LandCruzrNY]

I love the 05 it's perfect, but the 06 owner just messaged me and he said if he paid to have the valve cover gasket done at Toyota would I pay the asking price. So, I'm headed to Georgia to look at the 06 instead! Crazy! He said he would bring it to Toyota on Monday get the gasket done, and I'm paying him for an inspection at Toyota.