Help wannabe owner with pricing on 1996 Landcruiser

[MarshallDillon]

Hi folks -
I've really enjoyed spending time on this forum and learning about various models. I'm hoping you can help with a cruiser I'm looking at in regards to pricing and whether it's one to buy. I also hope this is the appropriate place for this question. The cruiser is:
1996 without lockers, 278,000 mi and engine rebuilt at 273,000 ("short" rebuild?), newer exhaust, new brakes, newer tires (BFG KO2s), and only 3 owners. I looked it over using tips from this site and noticed some oil on front axle/stabilizer bars so there's a small leak somewhere. Hoses, belts look new. No rust underneath and no signs of a wreck or repainting.
Interior looks okay with tearing in the leather seats but overall not bad.
No rust except a spot under the rear hatch window and in the holes in roof where the stock roof rack was. Seller had removed the stock rack and discovered some rust there and hasn't fixed that yet.
Asking price is $10,000.
Any helpful comments are appreciated!
Thanks.

 

[davidp14]

Pics help. I'd ask for details about the "rebuild ". Still, to me 10k for an unlocked high mileage 80 seems high.
I'm on the other coast though and I think prices are quite a bit lower here so take that into consideration.

 

[shocktower]

Hi folks -
I've really enjoyed spending time on this forum and learning about various models. I'm hoping you can help with a cruiser I'm looking at in regards to pricing and whether it's one to buy. I also hope this is the appropriate place for this question. The cruiser is:
1996 without lockers, 278,000 mi and engine rebuilt at 273,000 ("short" rebuild?), newer exhaust, new brakes, newer tires (BFG KO2s), and only 3 owners. I looked it over using tips from this site and noticed some oil on front axle/stabilizer bars so there's a small leak somewhere. Hoses, belts look new. No rust underneath and no signs of a wreck or repainting.
Interior looks okay with tearing in the leather seats but overall not bad.
No rust except a spot under the rear hatch window and in the holes in roof where the stock roof rack was. Seller had removed the stock rack and discovered some rust there and hasn't fixed that yet.
Asking price is $10,000.
Any helpful comments are appreciated!
Thanks.

Where you located, I am not trying to snipe the cruiser, but if you are not that far away, I could probably go with you and look at it

 

[shocktower]

Hi folks -
I've really enjoyed spending time on this forum and learning about various models. I'm hoping you can help with a cruiser I'm looking at in regards to pricing and whether it's one to buy. I also hope this is the appropriate place for this question. The cruiser is:
1996 without lockers, 278,000 mi and engine rebuilt at 273,000 ("short" rebuild?), newer exhaust, new brakes, newer tires (BFG KO2s), and only 3 owners. I looked it over using tips from this site and noticed some oil on front axle/stabilizer bars so there's a small leak somewhere. Hoses, belts look new. No rust underneath and no signs of a wreck or repainting.
Interior looks okay with tearing in the leather seats but overall not bad.
No rust except a spot under the rear hatch window and in the holes in roof where the stock roof rack was. Seller had removed the stock rack and discovered some rust there and hasn't fixed that yet.
Asking price is $10,000.
Any helpful comments are appreciated!
Thanks.

10K no lockers he is about 5-6K to high

 

[BILT4ME]

10K no lockers he is about 5-6K to high

Especially with rust.

 

[MarshallDillon]

Thanks for all the input so far. I should have mentioned that the vehicle is stock except he removed the roof rack. Rebuild was done by a local Toyota (not LC specific) shop.
I live in Portland.
I really wanted lockers but only planning on camping/overlanding so maybe don't need them - but wouldn't mind more capability.
I thought it seemed priced kinda high as well.

 

[mankman]

Im no expert and I also spent a lot of time on here researching different models. I got this one owner 96 with 265k miles about a week ago. It is all original with no rebuild on the engine, crappy tires, and also has torn seats, one rust spot in drivers side rear quarter panel and some rust under the rear window. It need some work but starts right up and drives pretty good. I got it for $4000 Cash. Hope this helps..

 

[PDoyle]

Keep looking you will find one you like.

 

[MarshallDillon]

Wow $4,000 seems like a great deal - congrats! Sounds like this one is way off so I'll keep looking or he may decide to come down on price.
Do you guys think lockers are a big deal for my intended purpose and, how much do they add to the price?
Thanks again!

 

[PDoyle]

What is the deal with the dark colored one behind that one in the pic?

 

[jksinton]

FWIW: I paid about $10k for a single owner stock '97 with 141k miles and no triple lockers. It spent most of its life in central Texas.

 

[Tahyoter]

Wow $4,000 seems like a great deal - congrats! Sounds like this one is way off so I'll keep looking or he may decide to come down on price.
Do you guys think lockers are a big deal for my intended purpose and, how much do they add to the price?
Thanks again!

They probably add more to the price than they're worth IMO. Lunchboxes r cheep. I'd give higher preference to anything with zero rust!

 

[mankman]

What is the deal with the dark colored one behind that one in the pic?

Thats a 96 with about 175K miles and is actually the one I stopped to look at. It Came to NC from up north and has a lot of rust issues and the floorboards were soaking wet. He had it listed for 12K which is way too much. He had the white one out behind a barn not for sale but I think it was the better of the two even with the higher mileage. He also has an all original 1970 FJ40 totally un restored for $15k lol

 

[MarshallDillon]

Good info. Thanks and I'll keep looking (and reading this forum).

 

[flintknapper]

The 80 series prices have been climbing (at least in my market area) the last few years. I would want to know more about the engine 'rebuild' (what was involved and see a receipt) as that could certainly add value to it (if done properly).

The fact that it has a oil leak near the front doesn't sound as if the engine was out and rebuilt (to include all new seals). More likely...it was a head-gasket replacement....but who knows.

If you are truly interested...get the VIN and do some research on the vehicle. Going only from what you have told us $10K sounds a bit high.

 

[cruiserdan]

80 prices bottomed out about a year ago. They are on the way back up.

 

[EvanD]

For whatever it's worth (likely not much since it was in 2014) I paid 13.5 for a 97 LX (~250K) that was pretty well built/triple factory locked. ARB front/warn 8k winch, dual swingout rear bumper, 4inch lift, 35 inch MTRs (although I replaced them with ATRs), snorkel, 3 Jerry cans, aftermarket touchsceen sound system, hard-wired scan gauge, 12k in engine work over the previous two years, no rust, and prob a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting.

Still, I browse the classifieds, and with that I think you can do much better for 10k.

As for the lockers. I wheel mine pretty hard and the rear has helped me out enough times. I've almost never had to use the front aside from playing around with it. If you're just looking for overland/camping there is absolutely zero need, IMO.

 

[EvanD]

It also looks like your possible rig is at a used dealership? Screw that. Take your time, watch the forums, possibly be willing to fly and drive it back, and find a much better rig IMO.

I flew from PA to AZ to drive mine home. Sure, I spent about a grand in gas, but I got a rig that the PO's had cared for and built well. Not something a dealership was trying to move for inflated prices. I'm sure some honest used car dealerships exist but I've yet to come across one.

 

[mleichty]

There are lots of good ones with less miles for less money between Seattle and Eugene regularly. Watch craigslist and the ads here and even Facebook marketplace and you can easily do better. Saw one with lockers and I think around the same mileage just the other day listed for under $5k. It needed baselining, but if you watch for several months, you will find a good one.

As far as the lockers go, I wanted them too, but couldn’t justify the cost difference when I got mine, and still haven’t felt I needed them more than a couple times. For your purpose, I wouldn’t worry about it unless the price is great. You can always add them for probably less than the difference in many cases.

 

[Brc4ever]

You can always install aftermarket lockers, without too much difficulty. Mine’s locked, and I use them (profile pic had everything locked...w/o them, I would have either slid the body into rocks or dumped the truck down a cliff; it was a narrow steep trail), on a wider trail, I prob could have gotten by with rear only.

Lockers really really help when you can’t use momentum. For that same reason, they help reduce driveline and suspension abuse too...