help pricing 1996 TLC

[gracklemann]

I have a 96 TLC with 230k miles on it. I'm the second owner, and bought it a couple of years back with 220k miles on it. The first owner was retired and had houses in Maine and Texas, so he drove it back and forth a lot. Lots of highway miles, no heavy offroad use. I've just used it as a weekend vehicle and to tow a boat. When I bought it I had it checked out by an independent mechanic, and by a local shop that works exclusively on Toyotas. Both said beyond some routine maintenance it was in really good overall shape considering the mileage. Orig owner took really good care of it and kept meticulous maintenance records.

Anyway, Recently had it back in the shop for a brake job and I guess the age is starting to catch up to it. They found a few issues that need to be addressed. I'm not really interested in serious off-roading, so I'm leaning towards selling it rather than putting the money into fixing it up. But I want to try to figure out what I could expect to get for it as-is, so I have better idea to compare the cost of fixing it vs selling it and getting something else. Although I do like it quite a bit, seems like it might be worth more to someone that does want to fix up a cool offroad vehicle than it is to me.

Here are the details:
- 1996, 230k miles
- factory lockers
- in the last couple of years I've replaced all the brakes and the rear rotors, and flushed the transmission, diff, and cooling systems
- tires are decent
- overall in good shape inside and out, but it is a 12 year old vehicle with 230k miles

Here are the problems the mechanics found:
- needs new alternator and ac belts
- needs new spark plus, distributor and wires
- needs power steering flush
- rear main seal is leaking, needs to be replaced
- front crank seal leaking, needs to be replaced
- front diff is leaking - need to replace both front knuckles, reseal, and replace both side inner axle seals and service front diff.
- one rear shock is leaking, probably due for all new shocks
- replace front sway bar bushings

They estimate that all at $2550 for labor and $900 for parts, so about $3500.

So, how easy would this thing be to sell, and what do you suppose it's worth? Kelly Blue Book puts it at $6k in fair cond, $6800 in good cond. I'm under the impression that the factory lockers add some value to folks that are into these things though..

Another question, since you guys know these trucks inside and out, suppose I did go through and do all these repairs.. How reliable of a vehicle would I have at that point? Is this just the start of lots of problems given the age and mileage, or could I expect it to hold up for a good while longer? What other sorts of things would I expect to go wrong? Obviously I don't put a lot of miles on it, but I would want something I could trust to take on a camping trip 500 miles away.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Elijah]

$6800 - $3500 = $3300. Maybe you can start at asking for $5,000?

 

[46/71 Hybrid]

When are you looking to sell? I'm not far from Austin and I'll actually be passing through the area on Thursday and am in the market for a FJ80. Sorry to thread hi-jack but if you're serious about selling, I can have the funds as early as Thurs when I pass through.

 

[stocknlocked94]

I wouldnt necessarily call these problems. This all falls under the routine maint. categary and are things that must be done to keep your vehicle running at top performance. I think it would be worth it to fix up and keep. Resale values for heavy SUV's are at an all time low and I wouldnt expect to get too much out of it with the list of items that need attention. Plus if you need suspension work and sway bar bushings this is the perfect excuse to lift it up a little. Start by tackling the more seriuos issues first such as the knuckles, plugs and wires are a to job and could easily be completed on the weekend.

 

[spartan]

I second that. No decent 80 is worth selling for $5000.

The belts are nothing and 15 minutes of your time. Shocks are $60 each and take an hour to change. The rest of the stuff is no big deal unless all the fluids are dry.

The only big job is the front axle. Pay somebody to fix it or get a friend to help and DIY. It's worth the effort to know it's done right.

 

[mason]

I agree with most here. Resale on these is the lowest I've ever seen right now. Great time to pick one up, though. Keep it. Who knows, maybe a movie will come out soon with a great built up 80 and they'll be worth quite a bit!

 

[Ebag333]

Couple of things...

First off, lot of miles. That'll hurt.

Secondly, factory lockers only add to the value for folks who know what they are and will use them. Most people could care less.



On the work that needs to be done:

The leaking/weeping spots, I wouldn't bother replacing anything unless it's actually pouring out, IE: you have a puddle on your drive way after it sits overnight.

The front diff you can do yourself for ~$350-400 in parts. More if you need wheel bearings. Your cost estimate from your mechanic doesn't appear to include those. (That's a guess based on the price.)

I believe (and I could be wrong) 4 new OEM shocks are around $80. You might be able to find some decent used ones real cheap from someone who's doing a lift.



What can you get for it? Maybe $3k-4k. I paid $9k for my LX, but it had nearly half the miles yours does and was in darn near perfect condition--new tires, freshly PM'd, zero problems, according to my mechanic the cleanest vehicle he's seen in a long time. It was also the only locked 80/LX worth looking at within 6 hours of me.

 

[gracklemann]

Thanks for the responses guys.
The seals don't seem to be leaking that badly. If they were I'd be losing a lot of oil, correct? Are there any bad things that can happen there if they are not fixed besides just losing some oil?

The diff leak seems more serious. Mechanic indicated that it was leaking the diff oil right into my wheel bearings, or something along those lines.

Here are the price breakdowns from the mechanic:
- needs new alternator and ac belts: labor: 88 parts: 33
- needs new spark plus, distributor and wires: labor: 177 parts: 172
- needs power steering flush: labor: 88 parts: 38
- rear main seal is leaking, needs to be replaced: labor: 710 parts: 52
- front crank seal leaking, needs to be replaced: labor: 328 parts: 37
- front diff is leaking - need to replace both front knuckles, reseal, and replace both side inner axle seals and service front diff: labor: 710 parts: 278
- one rear shock is leaking, probably due for all new shocks: labor: 355 parts: 268
- replace front sway bar bushings: labor: 88 parts: 16

I'm not very experienced working on cars, but I'm not an idiot either, so the easy stuff I can tackle myself. Plus I have the factory repair manual..
The ignition and belts I should be able to handle. I've never changed shocks, those are pretty easy? Any special tools I would need?

What about the knuckles and axles seals and sway bar bushings? Is that something I could bumble my way through, or am I biting off a lot there?

What else should I look for while I'm in there looking around?

Thanks again for the help.

 

[aclos3]

There's a great write up about doing a front end service in the Maintenance/Repair section of the FAQ at the top of the 80's forum. It seems like something anyone with some mechanical experience can tackle, but it is a big job with many steps.

I just bought a 1997 LX450, no lockers with 160k miles for about $7000. It is in pretty good shape but does have a few minor cosmetic issues (standard 11 year old car type stuff). KBB places mine at about $9000 in "good" condition, and i'll probably end up spending about $1000 to baseline it and replace little things (idler pulley, belts, plugs, fix defroster, make a spare lowering kit, replace cracked front turn signal lens, etc.) I will do the front end rebuild and brake job myself to save about $1000 in labor.

Given that your vehicle has more miles, but does have lockers and mostly needs work that a basic driveway mechanic can accomplish, i'd say somewhere in the 4000-5000 range would be fair depending on your market. I think I am a fairly typical driveway mechanic in terms of skills and ambition and when I look at what your truck needs, I'd probably only take it in for the main seal work -- I bet there are many others that would look at that list and think the same thing.

-Andrew