Having a hard time justifying the cost.... (2 Viewers)

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First: It's absolutely a godawful time to buy a car of ANY kind, the market is just idiotic overall right now. Some of what you're seeing really is bubble pricing. LCs were having a moment before COVID anyway, and you combine increasing scarcity of good examples (so low supply), high demand, positively ASININE prices on new-car versions of the same rig (a late-model 200 is an $85k car or more) and general market insanity... That all drives prices through the roof. Will they come down again? Nobody knows. I've been waiting on older 911s (not even "classics" just "not new") to quit being stupidly priced for a while, and that hasn't got me far.

Re: LC's specifically, and the value for $$$: I've had my LX for just over a year. Highest mile car I've ever bought. I didn't spend anything close to what it would cost to buy today, which feels good, but it doesn't matter because I'm not planning on selling- possibly ever. BUT- what does it really need, at 235k miles?
  • CV axles, those will be $800-1000 in parts if I buy Toyota units. The originals lasted 235k miles, so... probably. I might try to cheaply regrease and reclamp, but they probably just need replacement.
  • Tie rod ends, inner and outer need replacing both sides- tire shop let me know that the other day when I went in for a rotate and balance. So another $200ish.
  • The AHC needs new globes and a fluid flush/ torsion bar adjustment because while it technically works, the ride is pretty hard right now ($600-800).
Altogether maybe $2000 in parts cost and a couple weekends in the garage, then an alignment. Is that a lot? On a relatively cheap vehicle, sure it is- BUT all the rest of the core stuff is in great shape. Engine runs great. Timing belt was verified done by previous owner. Transmission shifts great. All the fluids are pretty clean and there's nothing surprising or alarming sounding/looking underneath. I just dropped a new alternator in it and fixed the power steering leak that filled up the old one with goo and killed it. The stuff it needs now isn't hurting anything major, but needs attention soon. And honestly once that's done, I wouldn't (knock wood) expect much else to need to be addressed for a while- maybe a new radiator at some point. There could always be a surprise, but this is just deferred maintenance stuff that once addressed... yeah, it'll be another 150k+ miles before I need to touch it again. We hope.

Bottom line- they're great trucks, but ALL of them are getting old, and ALL old cars take work. The late 90s were a golden age in terms of whether the Japanese makers overengineered the crap out of their cars, and so a lot of them are holding up just fabulously, but all mechanical things age, and eventually break down. Even so- the newest 100s are 15yrs old. That can be a lot of years on a car.

Good luck in your search.
 
I would not count on any market price corrections on Hundys. Demand will always outpace supply unless some other factor could have a huge influence, like gas going to European or similar prices, or the government applying forcing functions ad nausea to get folks in electric vehicles etc.
 
I'm beginning to sound cultish but once you drive a hundy, it's hard to find something else that'll give you the same driving experience/satisfaction. It's the right vehicle for me, so comfortable and spacious and not too big. Only negative thing to say about it it, gas guzzler and the parts are so expensive. I sold mine recently but i'm looking to get back into one. Would be my 5th one.
 




I just cannot see paying that much money for a vehicle with 200k miles on it that will need continuous injections of cash

I don't get this statement at all
 
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Sorry about that last post, my quotes are screwed up. Is there a way to delete a post?
 
What I wanted to say is I don't understand the statement that a 100 series will need continuous injections of cash?? I am an original owner of a 100 w/ 300,000 miles and right now I maybe spend $1,000 on repairs each year, maybe... That is including years w/ a timing belt service in calculation of the average. Brakes are an easy DYI, so cheap as just parts. I pay to have the front hubs done and the random issue that pops up every 5 years or so. Otherwise these are pretty bullet proof.
 
The 100 and 200 series have been and will be the only V8 Land Cruisers ever available in the US. We won't get the 300 series LC version here, and the LX version will probably be a turbo V6 also. So the price of V8 LCs will not likely come down o_O

Sequoia and Tundra are cheaply made compared to LCs.
 
Yeah you should have bought before Covid. Just like I wouldn't recommend most people buy a house right now in most markets, I wouldn't recommend buying a LC or similar right now. You'd be over paying by quite a lot. Let the camping/overlanding craze pass and you'll get one for half that or less.

Do you think Land Cruiser prices (100 series) are going to dip that much in the future?
 
Do you think Land Cruiser prices (100 series) are going to dip that much in the future?
I wouldn't count on it much- people are REALLY hesitant to adjust their asking price down on vehicles once the market has demonstrated a willingness to support a certain price. Cars are pretty personal for a lot of folks and so logic and reason kinda go out the window. That's where you get all the "no lowballers, I know what I got" talk. It's been this way forever. There'll be boomers out there looking to get $50k (or more) for their rustbucket old Challenger/ Camaro/ Mustang until they die. Those cars will wind up in estate auction and the real value will get determined, but until then, because Mecum/ Barrett/ whatever all exist, everyone thinks their junk is worth a premium.

$18-20k for a well kept truck with plenty of life left in it, where the new version is $90k... yeah. That's not a bad roll of the dice. $20k is a lot of money for a 15-20yo used car, yes, but this isn't a Kia. It's just not gonna be $8k unless you get a screaming deal somewhere/ find someone who doesn't know or care about current market pricing/ etc.

Or you can buy a cheaper one you KNOW has stuff it needs and work on it. They're pretty straightforward overall.
 
Land Cruisers will always be on Bring a Trailer and the site will become more popular. More and more land cruises will sell through the site and begin to create the market. The price is what the market determines and can’t really be justified. You have some millionaires and billionaires buying 100 million dollar houses in Miami and if they check out bring a trailer and want to pay 5000 extra for a Japanese made 4x4 then it will happen. Not many Land Cruisers left out there in US. Some shipped overseas, some totaled, some rusted out etc. There will always be market of nerds who want a more “simple” well built go anywhere truck. Lots more Lexus LX available and less demand so might want to look there if wanting to justify the price. Cheers.
 
Not many Land Cruisers left out there in US. Some shipped overseas, some totaled, some rusted out etc.
That's true. A few years ago I was selling my high mileage LS430 on Craigslist for an asking price higher than KBB dealer price because I was in no hurry. Some company bought it from me without any inspection or haggling. They told me they export cars esp. reliable luxury ones and V8 powerful ones to Asia and Europe (I guess mainly Russia). LC is in very high demand worldwide. I'd imagine there are more companies like that one nowadays.
 
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As I have said and will say again..... a low mileage LC/LX is way overrated and overpriced. Same if not more issues for 3-4x the purchase price. Fact.
@b00001 ^ precisely why I posed my question.
low mileage looks cool but if you find a higher mileage unit and purchase it with the understand of what serviceable wear items are at that mileage and the costs associated with them you can still save a good amount of money compared to buying a low mileage unit.

Now if money is no object then I suppose it’s all moot anyways.
 
You have options.

You could find a rust free rig that has no carpet stains, perfect door panels, no dents/scrapes/scuffs with a good maintenance history and pay a premium, even with 200k miles.

OR

You could find an essentially rust free rig that has 20 years of use showing on it, but mechanically is in great shape due to the diligence of the current owner and spend maybe 50-70% of the above example with the same ~200k miles. For example, see my sig. These may be in the $10k range, roughly, give or take.
 
There is a lot to be said about "mileage doesn't matter".
My 2002 LX470 just turned 58K miles, while my sons 2004 LC is over 225K miles.
In some ways his LC rides better than my LX.
My LX feels tighter, his LC feels looser but not in a negative way.
Seems to me that this shows the build quality of these vehicles.
Oh well. Both have been well cared for vehicles.
I wouldn't be concerned about purchasing a well maintained 200K+ LC or LX.
 
There is a lot to be said about "mileage doesn't matter".
I know this has been said many times but…. I’m in my wife’s “04 LX with 334k mikes and it is just ridiculous how well it drives and rides and interior is mint.
 
I know this has been said many times but…. I’m in my wife’s “04 LX with 334k mikes and it is just ridiculous how well it drives and rides and interior is mint.
I'm sick to death of your bragging.

(Translation: I'm super jealous)

💯 :cool: :steer: :beer: 👍
 
I know this has been said many times but…. I’m in my wife’s “04 LX with 334k mikes and it is just ridiculous how well it drives and rides and interior is mint.
I would buy them if I could find them at the prices you paid. People around here sell high mileage LC/LX with a premium too.
 
I've done a lot of purchasing and selling of various vehicles and I am scared of really low mileage ones. They come out to be super expensive with all the cracked seals, gaskets, oxydated fluids and contact surfaces of all kinds. Just beware. And it will get you like a time bomb - after an initial euphoria period. JFYI...

Not selling mine, those are lifetime vehicles. My most expensive part purchase to this day: all four brake calipers, all OEM. Once every 15 years. Even the globes came out cheaper...
 

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