Did some searching on the 93 LC and found this review....long, but interesting reading..took out some parts that were in regards to specs
Toyota Landcruiser: 8 Year Review of Cost, Safety & Handling
Aug 31 '00 (Updated Apr 01 '01)
Pros
Comfortable, safe, reliable, holds 8 people, 4WD, towing capability
Cons
Gas mileage, some issues with faulty indicators
The Bottom Line
Safety first when choosing an SUV, and Toyota Landcruiser adds comfort and styling with reliability as well. Ours is still going strong and holding it's resale value!
have had my Toyota Landcruiser for almost eight years now. I honestly didn’t realize it had been that long until the extended warranty ran out. Being the anal-retentive couple that we are, we have meticulous notes about the costs and maintenance that we have incurred during this time. I love my Landcruiser, and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one; however, there are some facts I would like to have known ahead of time about it. I’d like to share our experience – both the ups and downs – on this car so that you can make an informed decision as to whether this is the right vehicle for you. I’ll cover our history with this car, the specs, pricing and warranty coverage, maintenance, performance and safety.
A Little History
The Toyota Landcruiser was first introduced in 1951, when it gained visibility by being the first vehicle to ever reach the 6th station of Mt. Fuji. It was sold as a custom order vehicle, primarily for forestry and police departments for off-road work. In 1953 it debuted internationally, and was used extensively to carry troops in Australia (in fact, it became the top selling All Terrain Vehicle in Australia in 1997!). It wasn’t introduced to the US until 1957, It has undergone numerous redesigns and engine upgrades since then, and the Americanized version is a sleek and comfort-oriented version of those rough and tumble Cruisers down under!
bought my 1993 Landcruiser almost 8 years ago, when the “new” models came out. Back in 1992-1993, Landcruisers were an extremely limited commodity. According to the fine folks at the dealership where we bought this (and this was actually confirmed by another separate dealer) Toyota at that point was restricted to importation of 6,000 Landcruisers a year and unable to advertise this car to avoid certain tariffs. This meant that these cars were in high demand, and often selling at or above sticker price (amazing but true). This remained in effect until 1998 when Toyota began marketing an upscale version of the Landcruiser through their luxury arm, Lexus, and began advertising both the Lexus and Toyota Landcruisers.
Price & Warranty
The going price on this was (when I purchased it) $40,435.000 including California Emissions and all options (excluding the running boards). In addition, the dealer mark-up on this was $5,000, and the window sticker on my car was $45,435. We bought this, however, through Costco’s car buying group, which had a pre-set pricing plan. Our fixed price (which included a pre-set “advertising” allotment) was $38,500 -- much to the disappointment of the dealer, who had another couple extend a full-price offer on this car while we were in doing the paperwork. Cest la vie.
The original warranty on the car was for 36 months/36,000 miles (comprehensive coverage), 5 years/60,000 mile power train coverage, plus 5-year body panel corrosion warranty. The extended warranty, which we did purchase, added another four years onto the vehicle warranty. Our cost was $1,005 for the extended warranty, giving us 7 years or 100,000 miles of coverage. This included a loaner car, dislocation benefit, and towing, and roadside assistance (jumpstarts, lockouts, flats, etc.)
I also looked up the Kelly Blue Book current value on my car. After 8 years and 90,000 miles, the current value is estimated at $22,390. Since I plan to drive this for another 10 years, I’m pretty impressed by that. Although if my husband (who is rapidly approaching forty, and not thrilled about it) gets to crisis point, we can always sell the Landcruiser and buy him a fairly cute little sports car. Sure, I’d miss my car… but I’d miss my husband more. Sometimes you just have to indulge their whims....
Performance and Handling
Overall the performance of our Landcruiser has been fabulous. We’ve had some very minor maintenance issues that I will cover below, including details on the costs to repair them and normal maintenance costs as well. Other specifics on the car’s performance include:
• Handling/Drive: I have driven other large SUV’s, and some much smaller car-like SUV’s, and the Landcruiser is somewhere in the middle of the road. It drives fairly smoothly, although you definitely “feel” the road. I drove my friend’s Jeep Grand Cherokee for several days and it handled far more smoothly and “car-like” than my Landcruiser; now I understand why she complained about driving my “truck” when she had to drive it. The shocks are good but this is a heavy car and you will feel some bounce when you drive – not tremendous, and it’s not what I would call “rough” but if you want total insulation from the road you may be unhappy with the Landcruiser.
The car has a wide turn radius, and you have to plan to turn ahead of time. It does corner nicely and I’m not concerned about rolling; however, if you go too fast on a turn it will lean (like any SUV) and since I lost a sister in an SUV accident I am incredibly cautious about taking turns too quickly. (Feel free to check out my review on the Nissan Pathfinder at http://research.epinions.com/auto-review-27E-BAC3722-38A33847-bd1).
Wear & Tear: After almost 8 years I am incredibly impressed with how well my car has held up, physically. The leather is in great shape, except on the driver’s seat near the window where the sun hits it there is some minor sun damage. Otherwise the leather, carpet and vinyl are all in great shape. The exterior has held up extremely well also, with no major discoloration or even sun damage. Since this is a fairly dark car, and we live in Southern California, this is a true credit to Toyota’s durability. My husband’s car (a black Explorer) has significant oxidation on the hood and roof; mine has none that I can see.
• Appearance: This is just a nice looking car. When this bodystyle originally came out, the colors were not as attractive. I think the first one I saw was a friend’s; it was her husband’s car and was solid white. She had dubbed it the marshmallow – and to be honest, that description fit the big round SUV. The dark green was a fabulous addition to the Landcruiser color line, and with the grey interior this is just a sharp looking car. After almost 8 years my car still looks “almost” new, and I cannot tell you how many times people think that this car is less than 2 years old.
Maintenance
In the past 7-3/4 years I have had only three “breakdowns” with this car, and far less “minor annoyances” than I have had with other vehicles. Maintenance is fairly expensive, though, so you might want to weigh that into your decision. Here are the specifics on our history with this vehicle:
• Breakdowns: Less than one year after we got the car, the battery went dead. Of course this happened on a fairly remote road (we were wine tasting, I think) but fortunately we were near a phone booth. I had AAA come jump our battery (although my extended warranty also would have covered this) and we were on our way. Since it was under a year, the battery was replaced for free (and without complaint, I might add) and lasted another 6 years. I also had two flat tires. One was at a friend’s house, and my husband was quick to demonstrate his manliness by crawling under the car (where the spare is) and changing it. Since it’s a full sized spare, this is more of a bear than it might sound like …. But he accomplished it with only a short delay in plans and a few minor grease stains on his dress clothes. (sigh) The second time was near a restaurant, and I called AAA who was out and had it changed in less than 15 minutes total. The tires are large, and fairly expensive – I just replaced all of them and they were $494 for 4 Michelin X Radial Plus (at Costco).
• Service History: If I have one complaint about this car, it would be in the Toyota Service Department and their ability (inability?) to fix my car, under warranty. I haven’t had any major problems, mind you, just minor things (the cruise control went out, the lockout on the very rear seat failed, an indicator light activating unnecessarily) but it took several tries for the service department to fix these (they never did find the short that causes the indicator light to flash on, and since each trip in costs me about $800 I’m not giving them another chance!). Here is, specifically, what I’ve spent in the past 8 years:
° 8/99 15,000 mile intermediate service = $1,916.62 (including brake pad replacement)
° 11/97 30,000 mile service = $ 815.94 (including brake pad replacement)
° 3/96 15,000 mile intermediate service = $808.29 (including brake pad service)
° 10/94 30,000 mile service = $ 792.73 (including brake pad service)
° 9/93 15,000 mile service = $154.90
In almost every service checkup, as well as three other service checks that were not included with standard service, I had to my car checked to find the cause of faulty indicator lights . Not only were these never repaired correctly (my brake light, oil light and check engine light still come on sporadically, even after almost eight years of having these checked at every single tune-up) but these repairs have continuously been attributed to wiring problems (which are, coincidentally, not covered by the extended warranty I purchased!) In addition, I have had two major repairs that were not covered, despite the fact that they should have been covered under the warranty. The first was a headlight failure, which the service reps said was a hazardous condition, and considered a highly unusual problem) and the second a front axle repair (BIRFIELDS) (clearly covered in the extended warranty) that Toyota would not pay for. The total out of my pocket on these two repairs (not even considering all of the ineffective, but highly compensated efforts to fix the “wiring” shorts in my indicators) was $1,125.33.
Including these costs, my average cost per year (not including flat tire repairs or normal oil changes) has been $815.94 per year. Since I have another 30,000-mile checkup due (my first major service since the end of my warranty) I am dreading the bill – and the number of “wiring problems” that Toyota will stick me with.
As a point of reference, when we were first considering this car I interviewed everyone I knew who had one. Two owners had driven theirs for over ten years (including my next-door-neighbor at the time) without any problems. Both were 100% sold on Toyota quality and the reliability of the Landcruiser. While I wanted to make up my own mind, these additional data points were of great assistance to me as well!
Some other resources, if you are interested in researching the Landcruiser further, are:
http://www1.toyota.com/landcruiser/ (Toyota Webpage)
http://www.tlca.org/ (Toyota Landcruiser Association)
http://www.cruizers.com/ (All Landcruiser Sales & Info)
http://www.suv.com/toyota/landcruisers/ (SUV Online’s links to Landcruiser Parts & Other Information)
Toyota Landcruiser: 8 Year Review of Cost, Safety & Handling
Aug 31 '00 (Updated Apr 01 '01)
Pros
Comfortable, safe, reliable, holds 8 people, 4WD, towing capability
Cons
Gas mileage, some issues with faulty indicators
The Bottom Line
Safety first when choosing an SUV, and Toyota Landcruiser adds comfort and styling with reliability as well. Ours is still going strong and holding it's resale value!
have had my Toyota Landcruiser for almost eight years now. I honestly didn’t realize it had been that long until the extended warranty ran out. Being the anal-retentive couple that we are, we have meticulous notes about the costs and maintenance that we have incurred during this time. I love my Landcruiser, and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another one; however, there are some facts I would like to have known ahead of time about it. I’d like to share our experience – both the ups and downs – on this car so that you can make an informed decision as to whether this is the right vehicle for you. I’ll cover our history with this car, the specs, pricing and warranty coverage, maintenance, performance and safety.
A Little History
The Toyota Landcruiser was first introduced in 1951, when it gained visibility by being the first vehicle to ever reach the 6th station of Mt. Fuji. It was sold as a custom order vehicle, primarily for forestry and police departments for off-road work. In 1953 it debuted internationally, and was used extensively to carry troops in Australia (in fact, it became the top selling All Terrain Vehicle in Australia in 1997!). It wasn’t introduced to the US until 1957, It has undergone numerous redesigns and engine upgrades since then, and the Americanized version is a sleek and comfort-oriented version of those rough and tumble Cruisers down under!
bought my 1993 Landcruiser almost 8 years ago, when the “new” models came out. Back in 1992-1993, Landcruisers were an extremely limited commodity. According to the fine folks at the dealership where we bought this (and this was actually confirmed by another separate dealer) Toyota at that point was restricted to importation of 6,000 Landcruisers a year and unable to advertise this car to avoid certain tariffs. This meant that these cars were in high demand, and often selling at or above sticker price (amazing but true). This remained in effect until 1998 when Toyota began marketing an upscale version of the Landcruiser through their luxury arm, Lexus, and began advertising both the Lexus and Toyota Landcruisers.
Price & Warranty
The going price on this was (when I purchased it) $40,435.000 including California Emissions and all options (excluding the running boards). In addition, the dealer mark-up on this was $5,000, and the window sticker on my car was $45,435. We bought this, however, through Costco’s car buying group, which had a pre-set pricing plan. Our fixed price (which included a pre-set “advertising” allotment) was $38,500 -- much to the disappointment of the dealer, who had another couple extend a full-price offer on this car while we were in doing the paperwork. Cest la vie.
The original warranty on the car was for 36 months/36,000 miles (comprehensive coverage), 5 years/60,000 mile power train coverage, plus 5-year body panel corrosion warranty. The extended warranty, which we did purchase, added another four years onto the vehicle warranty. Our cost was $1,005 for the extended warranty, giving us 7 years or 100,000 miles of coverage. This included a loaner car, dislocation benefit, and towing, and roadside assistance (jumpstarts, lockouts, flats, etc.)
I also looked up the Kelly Blue Book current value on my car. After 8 years and 90,000 miles, the current value is estimated at $22,390. Since I plan to drive this for another 10 years, I’m pretty impressed by that. Although if my husband (who is rapidly approaching forty, and not thrilled about it) gets to crisis point, we can always sell the Landcruiser and buy him a fairly cute little sports car. Sure, I’d miss my car… but I’d miss my husband more. Sometimes you just have to indulge their whims....
Performance and Handling
Overall the performance of our Landcruiser has been fabulous. We’ve had some very minor maintenance issues that I will cover below, including details on the costs to repair them and normal maintenance costs as well. Other specifics on the car’s performance include:
• Handling/Drive: I have driven other large SUV’s, and some much smaller car-like SUV’s, and the Landcruiser is somewhere in the middle of the road. It drives fairly smoothly, although you definitely “feel” the road. I drove my friend’s Jeep Grand Cherokee for several days and it handled far more smoothly and “car-like” than my Landcruiser; now I understand why she complained about driving my “truck” when she had to drive it. The shocks are good but this is a heavy car and you will feel some bounce when you drive – not tremendous, and it’s not what I would call “rough” but if you want total insulation from the road you may be unhappy with the Landcruiser.
The car has a wide turn radius, and you have to plan to turn ahead of time. It does corner nicely and I’m not concerned about rolling; however, if you go too fast on a turn it will lean (like any SUV) and since I lost a sister in an SUV accident I am incredibly cautious about taking turns too quickly. (Feel free to check out my review on the Nissan Pathfinder at http://research.epinions.com/auto-review-27E-BAC3722-38A33847-bd1).
Wear & Tear: After almost 8 years I am incredibly impressed with how well my car has held up, physically. The leather is in great shape, except on the driver’s seat near the window where the sun hits it there is some minor sun damage. Otherwise the leather, carpet and vinyl are all in great shape. The exterior has held up extremely well also, with no major discoloration or even sun damage. Since this is a fairly dark car, and we live in Southern California, this is a true credit to Toyota’s durability. My husband’s car (a black Explorer) has significant oxidation on the hood and roof; mine has none that I can see.
• Appearance: This is just a nice looking car. When this bodystyle originally came out, the colors were not as attractive. I think the first one I saw was a friend’s; it was her husband’s car and was solid white. She had dubbed it the marshmallow – and to be honest, that description fit the big round SUV. The dark green was a fabulous addition to the Landcruiser color line, and with the grey interior this is just a sharp looking car. After almost 8 years my car still looks “almost” new, and I cannot tell you how many times people think that this car is less than 2 years old.
Maintenance
In the past 7-3/4 years I have had only three “breakdowns” with this car, and far less “minor annoyances” than I have had with other vehicles. Maintenance is fairly expensive, though, so you might want to weigh that into your decision. Here are the specifics on our history with this vehicle:
• Breakdowns: Less than one year after we got the car, the battery went dead. Of course this happened on a fairly remote road (we were wine tasting, I think) but fortunately we were near a phone booth. I had AAA come jump our battery (although my extended warranty also would have covered this) and we were on our way. Since it was under a year, the battery was replaced for free (and without complaint, I might add) and lasted another 6 years. I also had two flat tires. One was at a friend’s house, and my husband was quick to demonstrate his manliness by crawling under the car (where the spare is) and changing it. Since it’s a full sized spare, this is more of a bear than it might sound like …. But he accomplished it with only a short delay in plans and a few minor grease stains on his dress clothes. (sigh) The second time was near a restaurant, and I called AAA who was out and had it changed in less than 15 minutes total. The tires are large, and fairly expensive – I just replaced all of them and they were $494 for 4 Michelin X Radial Plus (at Costco).
• Service History: If I have one complaint about this car, it would be in the Toyota Service Department and their ability (inability?) to fix my car, under warranty. I haven’t had any major problems, mind you, just minor things (the cruise control went out, the lockout on the very rear seat failed, an indicator light activating unnecessarily) but it took several tries for the service department to fix these (they never did find the short that causes the indicator light to flash on, and since each trip in costs me about $800 I’m not giving them another chance!). Here is, specifically, what I’ve spent in the past 8 years:
° 8/99 15,000 mile intermediate service = $1,916.62 (including brake pad replacement)
° 11/97 30,000 mile service = $ 815.94 (including brake pad replacement)
° 3/96 15,000 mile intermediate service = $808.29 (including brake pad service)
° 10/94 30,000 mile service = $ 792.73 (including brake pad service)
° 9/93 15,000 mile service = $154.90
In almost every service checkup, as well as three other service checks that were not included with standard service, I had to my car checked to find the cause of faulty indicator lights . Not only were these never repaired correctly (my brake light, oil light and check engine light still come on sporadically, even after almost eight years of having these checked at every single tune-up) but these repairs have continuously been attributed to wiring problems (which are, coincidentally, not covered by the extended warranty I purchased!) In addition, I have had two major repairs that were not covered, despite the fact that they should have been covered under the warranty. The first was a headlight failure, which the service reps said was a hazardous condition, and considered a highly unusual problem) and the second a front axle repair (BIRFIELDS) (clearly covered in the extended warranty) that Toyota would not pay for. The total out of my pocket on these two repairs (not even considering all of the ineffective, but highly compensated efforts to fix the “wiring” shorts in my indicators) was $1,125.33.
Including these costs, my average cost per year (not including flat tire repairs or normal oil changes) has been $815.94 per year. Since I have another 30,000-mile checkup due (my first major service since the end of my warranty) I am dreading the bill – and the number of “wiring problems” that Toyota will stick me with.
As a point of reference, when we were first considering this car I interviewed everyone I knew who had one. Two owners had driven theirs for over ten years (including my next-door-neighbor at the time) without any problems. Both were 100% sold on Toyota quality and the reliability of the Landcruiser. While I wanted to make up my own mind, these additional data points were of great assistance to me as well!
Some other resources, if you are interested in researching the Landcruiser further, are:
http://www1.toyota.com/landcruiser/ (Toyota Webpage)
http://www.tlca.org/ (Toyota Landcruiser Association)
http://www.cruizers.com/ (All Landcruiser Sales & Info)
http://www.suv.com/toyota/landcruisers/ (SUV Online’s links to Landcruiser Parts & Other Information)
