Is This A Good Deal? 1994 LC, 114k

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M

MattK

Joined
Mar 9, 2017
Threads
5
Messages
18
Location
Fishers Island
Hi,

I'm on a search to buy my first LC.

I've been looking at early 2000s 100-series for the most part, but this recently showed up on ebay:

1994 Toyota Land Cruiser Base Sport Utility 4-Door | eBay

I ran the Carfax and it was in a "moderate" accident early in it's life and spent it's whole life in Nebraska.

The seller says there are no rust issues.

I'm not nearby to look at the car in person.

Any reason I should steer clear?

Thanks!

Matt
 
Looks super clean however for $13k I'd pick one up that had lockers and was already built up a bit. The oil pressure at idle may or may not be an issue but worth looking into.

The full time 4wd logo on the back isn't in the normal place. Wonder if the accident was in the rear.
 
That's all the money. Especially without lockers and pre-facelift. These trucks require a lot of care and feeding, both in general and due to their age. Parts can be expensive and some parts can be hard to find. This is where service history comes in. What's been done and when it was done. On the surface this looks like a clean low mileage truck but what does it need, is it really rust free, was the accident repaired properly. You can easily spend thousands just addressing deferred maintenance. Depends what you want and what your budget is. If you don't want airbags and don't need lockers and just want a low miles truck and don't mind spending another 2-3k and you like the colors on that truck, maybe it's worth it, maybe. If you're more concerned about mechanical condition, buy something from the forums here that someone has already gone through or scour craigslist for a cheap one and spend the difference on maintenance \ repairs to get it into tip-top shape.

I just bought a $10k Locked FZJ that looked clean at first blush, by the end of next week, I will have spent another $5k on parts and labor to bring it up to snuff.
 
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I'd request some closeups of the paint. Looks to me like the entire vehicle could have been resprayed. The driver's side looks a bit "dull", but it might just be the photos... The "Full Time 4WD" badge in the wrong place makes me also think the truck, or at least a majority of it, was resprayed. That's not a deal breaker, you'd just want to make sure you could do a very thorough inspection of everything top to bottom, inside and out, before spending $13k (which seems to be top dollar) for a basic/stock '94. Generally, though, it looks pretty nice... But again, he's asking top dollar.
 
It looks pretty clean but it's definitely been given the OK dealer detail. Notice the super shiny radiator. The oil pressure gauge does the same thing on most of the 80s I've seen unless you run a much thicker oil. Worth looking at. It really does come down to what it needs. Have a pre purchase inspection done, a shop that knows cruisers would be best. For my money, I'd look for a 95-97.
 
Thanks for all the advice here. As a someone new to LCs I would have never noticed a lot of these things. I'd be buying blind so I'm going to have to pass this up.

I'll update with what I eventually find.
 
It also appears to have an alarm in it (blue LED on left hand dash). As someone who did not catch this when I recently bought my 93 I would suggest looking at the wiring under the dash. Mine was a mess to say the least.

As for the oil pressure at idle, maybe the sender is dead?
 
FYI & IMO: when shopping if you don't have documented HG replacement on a 1FZ-FE, plan on factoring that in whether you do it yourself or pay someone else to do it. If you see anything about "new radiator" I'd bet on it.
 
ahh the HG hysteria....lol

But to the point here I would be concerned about rust. The engine bay was not steamed or cleaned and it shows some rust. I would want to see under the truck in detail. And another thing I am not an expert in is the smog crap on a 1FZ? I dont recall seeing the air filter recirc or the pump where the SC goes on these engines? I need educating on that. Clean truck at the interweb distance. I think the price is too high by 20%....
 
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MattK said:
Thanks for all the advice here. As a someone new to LCs I would have never noticed a lot of these things. I'd be buying blind so I'm going to have to pass this up.

I'll update with what I eventually find.
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What are you looking to do with the cruiser eventually? Over lander, family hauler? The head gasket hysteria in indeed in full swing on the forum, it is something to be vigilant about but not as common as some make it out to be. As for the oil pressure gauge, it probably would be the sender which is usually an easy fix.
 
LouisianaRubicon said:
What are you looking to do with the cruiser eventually? Over lander, family hauler? The head gasket hysteria in indeed in full swing on the forum, it is something to be vigilant about but not as common as some make it out to be. As for the oil pressure gauge, it probably would be the sender which is usually an easy fix.
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My wife just got a job on a rugged island in the NorthEast. It will be used as a daily driver on the island. The roads aren't great and she'll rarely get over 40 mph. She'll also occasionally be using the LC to commute to NYC (a 140 mile commute on I95). So it'll be a multi-use vehicle.

I appreciate all the advice guys.
 
I've had my truck for a year so factor in my less-than-experienced answer. So far they seem pretty reliable. Even when something is "wrong" it's generally not fatal and you can limp along for a bit. I ripped my air intake throttle body hose and some duck tape is working fine with the $100 oem part on order. My axle seal failed in the fall but I kept the fluid and grease filled up every week or two and it got me through until I can do the repair job now.

I mentioned it before, and let's say you bought it for $10K and put another $15K into it over a few years. You'd be out $25K but go out and try to buy a capable and reliable 4wd truck for $25K. Nothing new for sure, so you're back to used, and back to the crap-shoot of used vehicles.

I bought mine for $3K. Dealer down at the border who had no idea what he was doing.
 
I know this isn't the right forum for this exactly but I came across what looks like a good deal for a 2006 near me. I plan on going to check this out tomorrow:

Used Toyota Land Cruiser For Sale - CarGurus

Any advice? Should I insist on taking it to a third party for an inspection?

The Carfax checks out. The seller said it has been maintained exclusively at Toyota dealerships but he hasn't replaced the timing belt yet...
 
Go to 100 section and read the FAQ, 06 is not the most ideal 100 but nothing is perfect in real world.
 
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