A few weeks back my fiancee got fed up with my pining over a Land Cruiser and demanded that I find one for us to buy to use as an adventure vehicle. So I spent the subsequent week scouring FB marketplace. I had initially focused on LX 470s because they are supposedly cheaper and easier to find. This turned out to be less true than I thought...I think that the market has more or less corrected and the prices are almost the same, with a modest premium for the LC 100. More importantly, although there are more LX's on the market (especially in later years), a lot of them were in surprisingly terrible condition, especially from underneath. My fiancee cajoled me into looking specifically for the LC after a few days of exclusively finding NE rust buckets and I'm glad she did.
Almost a week to the day after I started my search, I found my 2004 LC for sale in PA by its second owner. It had 262k miles with an inch-thick folder of service records from the original owner, who had it for 16 years in GA. It had one accident back in '09 listed on autocheck as major damage, but it turned out to just be a sideswipe that was repaired well. The interior was in near perfect condition - none of the leather is even cracked. Second owner did timing belt and water pump at around 260k. After test driving and getting a PPI at a dealer, I walked away with the keys after paying $13,900.
Overall I think I got a decent deal. The PPI wasn't completely clean but I still get a stupid smile on my face every time I drive it. Here's what's wrong with it:
Almost a week to the day after I started my search, I found my 2004 LC for sale in PA by its second owner. It had 262k miles with an inch-thick folder of service records from the original owner, who had it for 16 years in GA. It had one accident back in '09 listed on autocheck as major damage, but it turned out to just be a sideswipe that was repaired well. The interior was in near perfect condition - none of the leather is even cracked. Second owner did timing belt and water pump at around 260k. After test driving and getting a PPI at a dealer, I walked away with the keys after paying $13,900.
Overall I think I got a decent deal. The PPI wasn't completely clean but I still get a stupid smile on my face every time I drive it. Here's what's wrong with it:
- VSC TRAC and VSC OFF lights stay on after unlocking the center diff - throws code c1340. I took it to the dealer for diagnostics after coming home and they recommended I replace all 3 diff lock switches. Thankfully they said the diff locks just fine. Searched the forum and this more or less seems to be the recommendation on here.
- Steering rack is leaking. My mechanic said it's not urgent and I can just top up fluid but I think I'll replace it with an OEM rack anyway since I plan on off roading. Does this sound reasonable or am I being a baby?
- CV joints are both leaking but no symptoms as of yet. I have had bad experiences with rebooting axles and I honestly don't think it's worth saving a few hundred bucks but I'm curious what you guys think. I can't work on it myself since I don't have the space. Hopefully the axles aren't frozen in... Should I drive with the axles until they're toast? Again, I'm wary of doing this because I'll be taking it off road although I don't plan on doing anything super technical.
