Considering 40 purchase in WA (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Dec 8, 2009
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Location
San Diego-North County
Hey guys, my father and I have been in the market for a 40 for awhile and we stumbled across this guy up in Aberdeen, WA via ebay.

Toyota : FJ Cruiser : eBay Motors (item 270571233575 end time May-05-10 17:20:38 PDT)

I have a few additional photos which I'll try to put up shortly, at work right now. I've talked to the seller, Ken, he isn't very computer savvy, hence the lacking ebay page. But he "seems" to be a knowledgable guy, definitely moreso than me in this department.

The plan is basically this, assuming I can deal him to my price, fly up to WA this weekend, somehow get to his place (working on that), and drive the 40 roughly 1200 miles back home to San Diego on his word and a prayer :doh:. Oh, and he's trying to throw in a trailer and a salvage fj40 for a little extra, which I would tow on the trip. Thoughts and some help for a fellow/future cruiserhead?

Thanks in advance for any help and thrashings I may receive.:p

Let me know if these photos don't work, I don't have a hosting site, so trying to link them from my email.
Photos:
https://mail.google.com/a/cougars.c...5f76da&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=0.1&zw
https://mail.google.com/a/cougars.c...5f76da&attid=0.2&disp=inline&realattid=0.2&zw
https://mail.google.com/a/cougars.c...5f76da&attid=0.3&disp=inline&realattid=0.3&zw
 
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No way I would drive an unknown 40 with a trailer hauling another 40 1200 miles let alone 2 miles! Just driving the 40....maybe after a serious "road-worthy" check over.
 
No way I would drive an unknown 40 with a trailer hauling another 40 1200 miles let alone 2 miles! Just driving the 40....maybe after a serious "road-worthy" check over.
I'd have to agree here. That's a long haul in an unfamiliar rig, add to that a trailer and it could be quite the adventure. maybe talk him into a very long test drive to really check it out and then...?
 
I drove up to Minneapolis from Chicago and back down with my new 40 in one day...took 6 hrs up, 8 hrs back down. I had about a 5 minute test drive before agreeing and handing over the cash...the ride home was horrible. Although I had never driven a truck before..and mine has SOA with 35" and some blown front shocks. (yikes) body roll was terrible. That was only 350 miles. 1200 miles is A LOT. I would never do 1200 miles in my rig even now that i'm comfortable with it.

There's gotta be something more local...

Just my .02
 
Yeah, I plan on a test drive when I get there, and if I'm uncomfortable with it, I'll have to figure something else out... That being said, flying all the way up to WA and coming back empty handed isn't exactly at the top of my list. I'm up for an adventure. Plus I'm sure there's plenty of cruiserheads along the way if I run into trouble:steer::doh:. Feel free to shoot holes through my plan/purchase. Keep the feedback comin!

-Drew
 
I drove up to Minneapolis from Chicago and back down with my new 40 in one day...took 6 hrs up, 8 hrs back down. I had about a 5 minute test drive before agreeing and handing over the cash...the ride home was horrible. Although I had never driven a truck before..and mine has SOA with 35" and some blown front shocks. (yikes) body roll was terrible. That was only 350 miles. 1200 miles is A LOT. I would never do 1200 miles in my rig even now that i'm comfortable with it.

There's gotta be something more local...

Just my .02

Well, I can't say that I'm particularly looking forward to it and it's not a done deal yet. The family is still discussing it. We've been waiting for something local to come around for a while and haven't really seen anything we've liked for the price.
 
Have it shipped, Fly up and look then get it on a truck. I would no way drive 1200 miles without some really great history. Heck that's a long drive with some high mountian passes in oregon and norcal to go over too.

Cruisers don't ride well over 60mph, At least none I've had or been in. I grew up in RSA where FJ40's are common and all have diesels but nobody is using them at 70mph to make long road trips, maybe 60mph but that is a long hard ride in an FJ
 
I've considered shipping it. That would most likely mean leaving behind the salvage vehicle for parts. Which I wouldn't lose a whole lot of sleep over really.
 
i will put my 2 cents,go down there,check it out, rent a u haul truck with a trailer and bring all the parts inside the truck box,still and adventure if you have all that $ but its more safe for you,the 40 and the other people
 
I've considered shipping it. That would most likely mean leaving behind the salvage vehicle for parts. Which I wouldn't lose a whole lot of sleep over really.

Kine, adventures are good.

Don't know if you would come back I-5 or 395. But if you come back 395, I live in Big Pine, Ca. & could be a contact if you have problems.

John
 
I wouldn't have a problem driving that rig back 1200 miles if I checked it out a bit first. It also depends on how straight the PO is being with you - your gut feeling. However, I wouldn't haul another 40 behind it. That is definitely asking for trouble.

There's all kinds of stories here on Mud about people flying out to buy a new rig and having a great adventure driving it home. Might as well give it a shot! And as was mentioned above, there are many of us living on the I-5 corridor that would give you hand if you needed it. I'm about 3 hours south of Aberdeen.

:cheers:
 
I love adventures just like the next person but not when you are setting yourself up for a bad time. I drove my 40 home around 80 miles and my brother towed my parts 40 on a trailer behind my Z71. I absolutely loved the drive home but I had all my tools and backup help just in case and that was only 80 miles. There is absolutely no way that I would attempt what you are planning with an unknown 40. Listen to the advice on this forum. 40's are well built but reliability comes with good PM and knowing your 40. They are very reliable once you have gone through them and replaced the worn out 30 year old parts. Ship it or tow it home on a trailer with trailer brakes. If you are looking to save money by driving it home, it may end up costing you alot more than you think it will. I hope that everything works out for you whatever you do.
 
What would the drive be like, down the I-5 that is. That's what would concern me most w/ the trailer. Mountains passes/twisties and the like.

Edit: Missed those last two posts. As the day has gone on and I've heard all the input, I'm definitely moving away from driving it down for all the reasons mentioned. I'll talk to the family about it tonight after work, 30 more minutes!, and see what they have to say. Thanks for all the input, you've all been a tremoundous help.
 
Even if you decide to drive it home towing another 40 behind it for anything but short distances is totally out of the question. My Z71 pulled my parts 40 home good but the trailer had electric brakes on it and my Z71 has very good four wheel disk brakes. 40's are not designed to tow anywhere near that amount of weight. A factory hitch would be severly overloaded from its rated towing capacity. I won't even talk about the drivetrain, springs, brakes and the physical /mental strain that it would cause you.
 
I live by I-5 east of Aberdeen and I have to say that every rig I've evr seen that lived in Aberdeen was a rust bucket because of the climate and proximity to the ocean. That goes for five year old rigs so a cruiser is X2. Check it out like you were giving it to your daughter. Then find a rig that lived east of the mountains.
 
I live by I-5 east of Aberdeen and I have to say that every rig I've evr seen that lived in Aberdeen was a rust bucket because of the climate and proximity to the ocean. That goes for five year old rigs so a cruiser is X2. Check it out like you were giving it to your daughter. Then find a rig that lived east of the mountains.

x2 on the aberdeen rust buckets, though this one may be different, plus there was some serious flooding around there a couple years back.
 
I'm always up for an adventure but this may be a nightmare. Not to mention I don't think it's quite that worth flying up to Washington. Keep looking be patient you will score if your patient.

Sorry didn't mean to rain on your parade, I just bate to see nice people be taken.
 

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