Good deal? (2 Viewers)

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These pictures are only showing you the cosmetics. You need to see the undercarriage and engine. It also looks like its not locked.

Then ask yourself what do you want to do to this LC? Leave it as is? Probable not, so that's more money. Also I don't think this is the most desired engine in the 92' of the 80 series.

At the end of the day, all that matters is if the purchase made you happy.
 
That’s not an $18,000 cruiser. At least it would‘t be here in Denver. Looks like a repaint on the fender flares. Lockers not an option til 93. Also a 3FE. Look for a cleaner 93+. Engine parts are more plentiful.
 
I disagree. I rather pay for a clean 91-92 than a beat up 93+ with a ticking time bomb of an engine. The interior is clean and if there is no rust, not a bad deal consider you would be spending that much on a overpriced 93 and then end up spending more for a engine replacement.
 
Go see the vehicle in person and look closely for rust/corrosion which is possible in Florida if the owner lives on/near the water.

Agree, $18k seems at least double what it might be worth for the model year. The seller likely doesn't know the differences between the model years and checked prices for the later years thinking his was the same.

It does look clean but you'll have to pop the hood to check the engine bay and also check the undercarriage. No full photos of the dash pad, expect cracks from Florida sun.
 
Say what you like, 1fz are going for $25-30K in today's market, and IMO, they are way overpriced too when you consider what you get for a 93+ in return for similar price range, you get a beat up rust bucket with interior looks like a rats nest. Ppl on MUD are always bias about these rigs, and best to do your own research and homework. The market price out there will always be king when there are only a fraction of us here. 91- 92 rigs are going for 20-30k on the west coast now. Are they overpriced? Absolutely. I got mine for $6k and i would never spend this much on one.
Good luck with your search.
 
Some of ya with the ability/willingness to hammer out transport logistics should keep an eye on cruisers out of AK. Same one (year and color) was recently for sale here for 7k, clean all around, and got laughed at for being a 92 with 200-some on the clock. Very few here “get” what a cruiser is - could lead to a gem, which is how I scored mine a couple years ago.

Meanwhile, they’ll fight to pay too much for a rusty 90s taco.
 
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@Marco Lau is an advocate for the 3FE but his judgement is clouded based on the bias he has for the engine as well as the biases others carry against the 3FE. His opinions are rooted in real world experience but they’re also clouded by emotions.

Objectively, the 3FE is not a bad engine, however that LC is probably not an $18k LC with or without the 3FE/1FZ. Like others mentioned, you have to go look at it.

The 91/92 models are not as desirable as the 93/94 models due to various differences, most notably the more powerful engine, locked diffs, disc brakes and others, and finally the 95-97 can be argued as more desirable for its many objective and subjective reasons.

So take emotion out of it, do some price comparison/analysis and go from there. Be wary of anyone else’s emotions and don’t make them your own.

I’d pass on that LC as it’s way too much money for what it is.
 
Too much, even being a low mileage cruiser it will still need a lot of work including a radiator. More and more parts are not available for the 80 series cruisers, especially the 91-92 fj80 models.

If you could get that rig for $7,000 ish it would be an awesome candidate for a v8 swap. But $18,000 is way to much.

I would sell my 97 with 145,000 miles on the odo for $18,000.00
 
Say what you like, 1fz are going for $25-30K in today's market, and IMO, they are way overpriced too when you consider what you get for a 93+ in return for similar price range, you get a beat up rust bucket with interior looks like a rats nest. Ppl on MUD are always bias about these rigs, and best to do your own research and homework. The market price out there will always be king when there are only a fraction of us here. 91- 92 rigs are going for 20-30k on the west coast now. Are they overpriced? Absolutely. I got mine for $6k and i would never spend this much on one.
Good luck with your search.


Where are you getting these numbers from, what 80 besides a crazy low mileage survivor or a built for the apocalypse one is getting 30k, you're really saying that's the norm? A 93+ is a beat up rust bucket in comparison to a 91-92? How does that even make sense, do the 91-92 have magical rust protection and every owner babied them or something?

Marco where are you coming up with this stuff brother? If anything I would argue the complete opposite, I don't even need to talk about the upgrades just the availablility and cost of parts for the 91-92 would scare me off. Ask anyone who has maintained an 80, it's death by a million cuts. A blown engine costs you less than misc NLA replacement parts over time.



I would hard pass on a 92 for 18k, miles aren't low enough to fetch that much of a premium.
 
Where are you getting these numbers from, what 80 besides a crazy low mileage survivor or a built for the apocalypse one is getting 30k, you're really saying that's the norm? A 93+ is a beat up rust bucket in comparison to a 91-92? How does that even make sense, do the 91-92 have magical rust protection and every owner babied them or something?

Marco where are you coming up with this stuff brother? If anything I would argue the complete opposite, I don't even need to talk about the upgrades just the availablility and cost of parts for the 91-92 would scare me off. Ask anyone who has maintained an 80, it's death by a million cuts. A blown engine costs you less than misc NLA replacement parts over time.



I would hard pass on a 92 for 18k, miles aren't low enough to fetch that much of a premium.
Do a CL search on the west coast, they are there.
I own a 91, and have no problem finding parts and i owned my rig for 6 yrs now. cheers
 
A blown engine costs you less than misc NLA replacement parts over time.

I would hard pass on a 92 for 18k, miles aren't low enough to fetch that much of a premium.

Sure brother. You 1fZ guys can't admit the fact that blown engines is a common theme on these, and think it is best thing since slice bread. I get it. Keep the value up since you own one. I would never get a 1fz just because of this...sure you can get your HGs replaced in your garage and sure it is no big deal, just like a regular PM...
I will take reliability over fear of a blown engine anyday. We aren't talking about a race car here...
I guess you won't understand what a clean non rust bucket rigs is like since you live in a rust bell.
Cheers, and carry on.
No I don't hate 1FZs, i just think some ppl on MUD just made things worst for the most part...
 
If I was going to spend $18k on a car it would not be on a 30 year fj80. All of then things that people like about 80 series didn’t come with the fj80 anyway. Why not get something newer? Or find a 4runner, Tacoma, gx470?
SAS vs IFS. The only reasons (at least for me) that separates 80s from any newer vehicles. including the ones you mentioned above is really the solid front axles. If you are just overlanding or mall crawl, I would have definitely gone with a newer Tacoma, or a 200 series. With that said, you really only have 2 options if you are into SAS, Jeeps or 80s or older yotas.
 
All of then things that people like about 80 series didn’t come with the fj80 anyway.
Exactly what things you are referring to? 1fz-fe? I really dont' care about have 30 more hp on the trail, both are slow anyways on 37s and i rather take the reliability and not have to worry about overheating and blown HGs cause that is a real thing. OEM lockers? ok that is cool and all, but there are tons of aftermarket options that is better, so not really an issue. Semi float and drum brakes? yes you can argue that a full float is better with disc, i have yet needing to upgrade my semi-float and i have been wheeling this thing fairly hard with no problems, and braking is not an issue even on 37s with heavy armor. Leather seats? not really a CON, i much prefer my cloth, New dash? I like my older style camry dash, but to each of its own. OBDII? Don't care, the more simple it is, the better IMO, so that is not really a CON. ABS? most ppl do ABS delete on newer rigs, so not a PRO. Auto seats? They break all the time, so my manual cloth seats are far superior unless you go aftermarket... Air bags? Ok, you an argue that is a PRO. Newer style roof liner? Not a concern. Newer style front grille? Most like the older style TOYOTA grille and want to retrofit...Transmission? A442F or A343F is not exactly an upgrade, the older style A440F full hydro is a beast and get the job done. So looks like all things ppl like are not exactly what ppl really want and most certainly not something i would like to have in my FJ80 as you can see.
 
I'm seeing 3F-E 80s on Craigslist here in Oregon, listed for $5 - $8k. They usually stay listed for a looooong time.

Here's a recently posted '92 that someone wants $17.5k for:


Meanwhile, here's a '97 for "only" $12.9k that's been up a week:


Here's a lifted '92 with a 1FZ-FE swap and 35's for $7.9k, up for nine days:


Unless it's a literal museum piece, > $10k for a 91/92 is ridiculous. Gas prices are through the roof, supply chain issues are going to be resolving over the next couple of years, and I have a hard time believing that 80 prices will stay so inflated. I don't care how many Facebook "overlanding" (car camping) groups flagellate one another over their triple locked money-mobiles.

Also, to add to an existing point, the 80 series was made in other markets up to 2006. That's why parts for the later rigs are still fairly easy to come by. Not to mention the 1FZ-FE is (AFAIK) still produced for industrial and marine applications. Even so, we're increasingly seeing parts going out of production.
 
I will take reliability over fear of a blown engine

The 3fe uses a 30 year old composite cam gear that has been known to fail catastrophically.

Or the radiator needs replacing and you have to spend a ton of money for something like a ron Davis radiator because you can't get an oem.

Or you find the thermostat housing is trashed when you finally get a replacement radiator and than you have to spend $350.00 on another slightly less trashed thermostat housing because they are NLA.


Doesn't sound very reliable to me......

I have owned both and the fzj80 definitely has more pep and it's a lot more pleasant to drive, especially in hill and mtn country.

I don't think it is fair to say that one is more reliable than the other. There are way to many variables to make that claim. And the head gasket thing is over rated. My buddy has 4 fzj's and he hasn't had to do a head gasket on any of them yet.
 
SAS vs IFS. The only reasons (at least for me) that separates 80s from any newer vehicles. including the ones you mentioned above is really the solid front axles. If you are just overlanding or mall crawl, I would have definitely gone with a newer Tacoma, or a 200 series. With that said, you really only have 2 options if you are into SAS, Jeeps or 80s or older yotas
Fj80s got a semi float rear, you’re kind of limited on tire size anyway. So you’re not doing any rock crawling anyway. So why not get something that gets better mileage, rides better, and is safer?

And everything you listed from the 1fz, a343, obdII, air bags, and full float rear are upgrades. There’s a very good reason why most people who wheel spend the extra money and get fzj80s. It’s an overall better package.
 

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