From Dream to Disaster: My 100-Series Journey Cut Short

[Joe Fast]

Hello, fellow 100-series fans!
After 18 months with my Cruiser, my journey ended unexpectedly, even though I’d put less than 100 miles on it. I originally bought this LX470 as a project for my son, but when he changed his mind, it sat in storage for a year while I decided what to do. Eventually, I decided to make it my 50th birthday present, so I handed it over to a trusted mechanic in June to have the vehicle mechanically baselined.
I gave him a budget and no strict timeline—low pressure, just the way I like it. Over the past few months, he worked between other jobs and delivered fantastic results: new globes, bushings all around, CVs, hubs, a Tesla screen upgrade, new T’s, and a general tune-up. I checked in regularly and even took it for a few drives, and it felt incredible.
This weekend, while I was away, everything changed. I was set to pick it up tomorrow for its trip to the paint shop—just in time for my birthday, which is 10 days away. But then I got the dreaded call this morning: a hit-and-run driver hit the car while it was parked in front of the shop. The light body damage to the nose doesn’t tell the whole story—it was pushed back 50 feet, and the transmission was destroyed.
Thankfully, it was all caught on camera, and we have the driver’s plate number, but the damage likely means the car will be totaled. I’m now looking at being out upwards of $10K for a car I never truly enjoyed.
That’s my story, guys. It’s been a rollercoaster, and I’m still trying to process everything. I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving, and may your Cruiser journeys have smoother roads ahead!

 

[Live to Ski]

Hello, fellow 100-series fans!
After 18 months with my Cruiser, my journey ended unexpectedly, even though I’d put less than 100 miles on it. I originally bought this LX470 as a project for my son, but when he changed his mind, it sat in storage for a year while I decided what to do. Eventually, I decided to make it my 50th birthday present, so I handed it over to a trusted mechanic in June to have the vehicle mechanically baselined.
I gave him a budget and no strict timeline—low pressure, just the way I like it. Over the past few months, he worked between other jobs and delivered fantastic results: new globes, bushings all around, CVs, hubs, a Tesla screen upgrade, new T’s, and a general tune-up. I checked in regularly and even took it for a few drives, and it felt incredible.
This weekend, while I was away, everything changed. I was set to pick it up tomorrow for its trip to the paint shop—just in time for my birthday, which is 10 days away. But then I got the dreaded call this morning: a hit-and-run driver hit the car while it was parked in front of the shop. The light body damage to the nose doesn’t tell the whole story—it was pushed back 50 feet, and the transmission was destroyed.
Thankfully, it was all caught on camera, and we have the driver’s plate number, but the damage likely means the car will be totaled. I’m now looking at being out upwards of $10K for a car I never truly enjoyed.
That’s my story, guys. It’s been a rollercoaster, and I’m still trying to process everything. I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving, and may your Cruiser journeys have smoother roads ahead!

at least nobody, and your family, were not in it...just debris of life. another one has your name on it!

 

[FxFormat]

Sucks to hear, don’t the shop have insurance to reimburse you for it?

 

[squidmotion]

Unfortunately, insurance probably won’t give you what you have invested. This sucks, but similar has happened to me before as well. ‘Insurance’ feels like such a racket sometimes.

Are you thinking of re-investing in the platform?

 

[delz05]

Any pictures for us to look through and debate if it is worth saving?

 

[Joe Fast]

Sucks to hear, don’t the shop have insurance to reimburse you for it?

Sucks to hear, don’t the shop have insurance to reimburse you for it?

Unfortunately, the shop's insurance doesn’t cover it because the car was parked on a public street, not on their property. It’s a tricky situation, and since the shop owner is a friend, I don’t want to create unnecessary stress for him.

The police aren’t getting involved since there were no injuries reported, so I’ll have to go through my own insurance to handle the claim. Luckily, the incident was caught on camera, and I’m currently waiting to get the footage to identify the license plate number of the driver responsible.

 

[Joe Fast]

Any pictures for us to look through and debate if it is worth saving?

The body seems fine—there is just some minor damage to the bumper and grille, but nothing too crazy. The more significant issue is the transmission. I saw the footage, and the transmission parking brake snapped immediately on impact. Honestly, it looked like a manual left in neutral. When they tried to move it afterward, it barely limped back into place.

I’ve already sunk way too much money into this rig, and at this point, I’m just ready to cut my losses. I’m already into the LX for just under $15K; without counting the labor, I still owe the mechanic. My goal was to have it mechanically and cosmetically complete for around $21K, all set and done.

On a brighter note, I have a friend with a 2022 4Runner who’ll be returning on lease return next year. I’ve offered to take the buy-out option when he does and even throw him $500 for his troubles.

As it sits, the LX needs the new damage repaired, the clearcoat redone, and the front seat lowers replaced. Other than that, it’s a great California car—2001 with only 135K miles. It's such a shame.

For now, I’ll be driving my 2010 Prius a bit longer—carbon footprint and all. Honestly, I have a history of spending way too much on cars, and now that I’m 50, I’m looking to make some logical moves instead of emotional ones. It's time to start thinking a bit more practically.

 

[squidmotion]

“Honestly, I have a history of spending way too much on cars, and now that I’m 50, I’m looking to make some logical moves instead of emotional ones. It's time to start thinking a bit more practically.”

I have to disagree with you here. Thinking practically is over rated. hahahaha.

 

[rexington14]

Unfortunately, the shop's insurance doesn’t cover it because the car was parked on a public street, not on their property. It’s a tricky situation, and since the shop owner is a friend, I don’t want to create unnecessary stress for him.

The police aren’t getting involved since there were no injuries reported, so I’ll have to go through my own insurance to handle the claim. Luckily, the incident was caught on camera, and I’m currently waiting to get the footage to identify the license plate number of the driver responsible.

Garagekeeper's insurance carried by auto shops is precisely for these situations. Why was your vehicle left on a public street while under the shop's custody?

And, why would you take financial responsibility for their negligence? Friend or not is irrelevant - this is business.

 

[ninedude]

Hello, fellow 100-series fans!
After 18 months with my Cruiser, my journey ended unexpectedly, even though I’d put less than 100 miles on it. I originally bought this LX470 as a project for my son, but when he changed his mind, it sat in storage for a year while I decided what to do. Eventually, I decided to make it my 50th birthday present, so I handed it over to a trusted mechanic in June to have the vehicle mechanically baselined.
I gave him a budget and no strict timeline—low pressure, just the way I like it. Over the past few months, he worked between other jobs and delivered fantastic results: new globes, bushings all around, CVs, hubs, a Tesla screen upgrade, new T’s, and a general tune-up. I checked in regularly and even took it for a few drives, and it felt incredible.
This weekend, while I was away, everything changed. I was set to pick it up tomorrow for its trip to the paint shop—just in time for my birthday, which is 10 days away. But then I got the dreaded call this morning: a hit-and-run driver hit the car while it was parked in front of the shop. The light body damage to the nose doesn’t tell the whole story—it was pushed back 50 feet, and the transmission was destroyed.
Thankfully, it was all caught on camera, and we have the driver’s plate number, but the damage likely means the car will be totaled. I’m now looking at being out upwards of $10K for a car I never truly enjoyed.
That’s my story, guys. It’s been a rollercoaster, and I’m still trying to process everything. I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving, and may your Cruiser journeys have smoother roads ahead!

That's a tough one.
As I stare down the barrel of being in over my head on a very tired and sludge filled engine of unknown condition and a transmission with very dark fluid, it could be that I also join the 10,000 dollar non-enjoyed car experience! Last night as I was feeling particularly discouraged at this prospect, it brought me some solace to go back inside to my dogs and realize that ultimately, money usually always being tied up with experience, and as much as that prospect disheartens me, I'd rather be dealing with this than anything that is truly irreplaceable!
In this situation it's tough because there's no obvious lesson. If it were me, I would frame it as a journey in resiliency and gather myself and my finances over as much time as necessary, and jump right back in where I left off.
Ultimately, if and when you get there, it will all become part of the story and enjoyment. Maybe in time for your 51st! Heres to wishing you the motivation and resources!

 

[zgfiredude]

If you get receipts from your mechanic friend, I'd bet you can share them with your Insurance carrier and they should up their offer accordingly. I have done that in the past, and my carrier was happy to do that......good luck.

 

[DiegoCrzr]

Had something similar happen, cats were cut out when shop left it parked in front. The insurance companies sorted it amongst themselves, no relationship damaged. Good luck sir, I echo that there is another cruiser out there for you.

 

[HokieCruiser]

sorry to hear that, and I totally get the "practical" view on spending $$ on our vehicles...good luck!

 

[excessive]

sorry to hear. There's still plenty of 100's out there, if you look you'll find a good one

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Maybe your son who you bought it for can buy you one for your birthday?

 

[plainjanefjc]

I’d think for the cost of your deductible and the mechanics deductible you could get the transmission replaced.

 

[nissanh]

Well life happens. Glad you can get the footage of the other car. If your LC is a 2000, then getting the trans replaced or rebuilt is a great idea.. I had to do it to my 2000 as it granaded without any prior warning completely ruining my 7 hour trip. I am glad I got the trans rebuilt because the rebuilt trans showed me the power of a V8 engine, which I never experienced with the old transmission.

 

[LJE]

Here's another vote for replacing the transmission! These vehicles want to live.

I understand that it's a friend's shop, but you also entrusted it to him with a reasonable expectation that it would be safely stored.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Garagekeeper's insurance carried by auto shops is precisely for these situations. Why was your vehicle left on a public street while under the shop's custody?

And, why would you take financial responsibility for their negligence? Friend or not is irrelevant - this is business.

As a small (perhaps micro?) business owner I've heard of stories where significant insurance claims can be fatal to a small biz. Your carrier might pay out the claim, but they'll drop you and you won't be able to find another insurer willing to take on such a massive risk without a crippling premium. When you're so small that their actuaries say you should have one accident every 40 years and then you have one in 5 years or something like that, you can be deemed a risk waaaaay outside the bounds of "insurable". So I've heard from a few separate small shops - specifically for automotive stuff.

All to say this may be business, but a claim might actually kill the friend's business. Even if fault lies with the business owner friend, the car is just a car. Can't rebuild a business like you can a car.

 

[rexington14]

As a small (perhaps micro?) business owner I've heard of stories where significant insurance claims can be fatal to a small biz. Your carrier might pay out the claim, but they'll drop you and you won't be able to find another insurer willing to take on such a massive risk without a crippling premium. When you're so small that their actuaries say you should have one accident every 40 years and then you have one in 5 years or something like that, you can be deemed a risk waaaaay outside the bounds of "insurable". So I've heard from a few separate small shops - specifically for automotive stuff.

All to say this may be business, but a claim might actually kill the friend's business. Even if fault lies with the business owner friend, the car is just a car. Can't rebuild a business like you can a car.

I'm not surprised to hear that.

Still, it's not the OP's problem. Accidents happen, that's why we have insurance coverage. And they happen all the time between complete strangers, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc.

Before getting insurance involved at least try to work something out with the shop owner to get your loss covered as much as possible.

Because taking the entire hit to your personal finances ($10k?) while the shop owner still expects you to pay all of his labor costs, is nuts. But hey, It's your money.