Is this goodbye?

[MDarius]

See? I knew someone would be bitter that I didn't take better care of it.

You're right that I'm not in a good place to fix it. No garage plus snow plus no time makes it rough. BUT I still think it's the perfect vehicle. It hurts that you would suggest an F-150.

$4 a gallon is where the price was when we bought the Honda. We're at $1.95 today.

IF I can't fix it enough to drive I'll rescue it. My hope is to fix the steering/front end, put on an ARB, leave the body damage and make it the franken-cruiser. Perfect for my teenage son still. But, if I don't do that there's a guy here locally with a Land Cruiser farm that will get it back on the road or at least make good use of the parts. We've already talked. He's got a 96 in better condition with similar miles. The price difference would be similar to what it might cost me to fix Ed. From a cruiser perspective it would be a 1:1+ swap for me. On the other hand, there are a couple nice cruiser's on the market right now with under 150,000 miles.

I know my care is blasphemous, and you don't want to see a good Cruiser get wasted again by one so careless, but the fact that Ed was mechanically excellent in spite of me is a true testament to how great these trucks really are!

Now I just hope my confessions aren't enough to get me run out of town.

 

[LS1FJ40]

I went back and read your posts completely. I responded too quickly. s***can the thing and get another cleaner one if you want. Sounds like you are not in a good position to work on it and do PM. Get a Ford 4dr F150 and live free from the hassle of an 80 series Landcruiser, or any other model Landcruiser for that matter. For what you need it will be fine as a replacement and you will actually get 18 mpg on the hwy and do the crazy stuff you like.

Where are you living that you are paying $4 a gallon for fuel. I'm paying $1.50.

Clearly this is sarcasm. Nobody in their right mind would recommend a F-150 to someone that has owned and abused an 80.

 

[LS1FJ40]

See? I knew someone would be bitter that I didn't take better care of it.

You're right that I'm not in a good place to fix it. No garage plus snow plus no time makes it rough. BUT I still think it's the perfect vehicle. It hurts that you would suggest an F-150.

$4 a gallon is where the price was when we bought the Honda. We're at $1.95 today.

IF I can't fix it enough to drive I'll rescue it. My hope is to fix the steering/front end, put on an ARB, leave the body damage and make it the franken-cruiser. Perfect for my teenage son still. But, if I don't do that there's a guy here locally with a Land Cruiser farm that will get it back on the road or at least make good use of the parts. We've already talked. He's got a 96 in better condition with similar miles. The price difference would be similar to what it might cost me to fix Ed. From a cruiser perspective it would be a 1:1+ swap for me. On the other hand, there are a couple nice cruiser's on the market right now with under 150,000 miles.

I know my care is blasphemous, and you don't want to see a good Cruiser get wasted again by one so careless, but the fact that Ed was mechanically excellent in spite of me is a true testament to how great these trucks really are!

Now I just hope my confessions aren't enough to get me run out of town.

You won't get run out of town. That's what's great about 80s. They are built for underserved markets where they get abused way worse than you have done yet keep on ticking.

Get another and abuse the s*** out of it! Enjoy it! They weren't meant to sit in the garage!

 

[82much]

Wait a minute! Buy it back from the insurance company? Why would you buy it back when you own the vehicle? Unless there is a lien on the cruiser the insurance company has no hand in the ownership.
They may total it, and they need to pay you the value. But the vehicle is YOURS! You keep it. If you want to put it back on the road you will need to pay the fees, thats it. The insurance company has no legal right to take your vehicle unless you agree to it.

 

[spartan]

Hey - I drive a Ford Excursion heavily modified and it works for me. Plus it's made for big people - I'm 6'4" 240#. Been that way since I was 25 years old. It will go most places that a routine off-road adventure will take me and run off and leave any 80 in the dust. Blown V10 with 4.30 gears. F-150's are a staple vehicle of the American public. They are reliable, safe and solid - no sarcasm intended. My daughter drives one and I don't have to continuously rebuild axles, change antennae motors, O2 sensors, blah, blah, blah. 80's are over designed cluster f's that can be built to be great off road and on. No slam. They are just way over-designed. I still have one. Had three at one time. Got tired of working on them all the time.

See FAQ on costs and energy required to keep an 80 up and going. Great truck. Pain in the ass.

 

[MDarius]

Spartan, I feel you. F series pickups are some of the best on the road and off. If I were to list all the "requirements" my family has for a vehicle and rate the pros and cons, the pros would way more heavily on the Cruiser than the Ford. We're a tall lanky bunch, which was a primary driver towards something other an LC. My 13 year-old daughter is 6 feet tall. My wife however really doesn't want to drive anything bigger. So, we compromise on leg room.

The passion on the forum requires me to slam on anything Ford, Land Rover, Jeep, etc. Don't take it personally. In reality, the Fords are good trucks. Just not the right rig for the family due to size and maneuverability. We rented an Excursion for a road trip a couple years ago and I loved it, the kids liked the space, my wife hated it. Too big. I'd drive one gladly. For some of the trails we have here, the narrower and shorter LC wins again. Maneuverability wins over the V-10.

 

[LS1FJ40]

Wait a minute! Buy it back from the insurance company? Why would you buy it back when you own the vehicle? Unless there is a lien on the cruiser the insurance company has no hand in the ownership.
They may total it, and they need to pay you the value. But the vehicle is YOURS! You keep it. If you want to put it back on the road you will need to pay the fees, thats it. The insurance company has no legal right to take your vehicle unless you agree to it.

Their legal right is that they total the vehicle and compensate you for it. It then becomes theirs to do with as they please. You can buy it back from them at that point.

 

[spartan]

Too bad you didn't get to rent a set up X. 50 mph on an on ramp no problem. You however, are right on every item except room. I have to move my seat forward in my X to reach the pedals. Seats 8 with room for luggage and roof rack space - real roof rack space including a full size 315 75 R16 to spare.

Landcruisers are awesome vehicles. I've been places others can only dream about in my 40's, 60's and 80's. They are just not suitable for the average consumer who doesn't have the tools, time or space to maintain them. Also - 80's are great on the highway. Previous models s**k.

My first personal 4WD was a '75 green 40 that I drove to h'l and back. It remained our main hunting vehicle in the family until '85 when I quit killing animals and rode a BFV to h'l and back. Now that's a truck sort of. I'd take a LC 80 over a Humvee any day. But give me a 20mm gun and if I can't crawl over it, I'll blast it to pieces with with APHE rounds. Unfortunately I don't get to do that anymore.

Everyone have a great day and be thankful to have it. It ain't like that everywhere you know.

 

[MDarius]

Good news! The adjuster gave me nearly $7,100 for it! After my high deductible that gives me some $$ to play with on fixing or replacing. With that much residual I might just do both. He hasn't given me a salvage estimate yet. Should hear back tomorrow. I'm not out of the game!

That value is incredible for a 20 year-old vehicle with over 220,000 miles. Wow.

 

[cruiserdan]

More than I would have expected. That eases the pain.

Did you have a stated value policy or just good old comp and collision?

 

[MDarius]

Just comp and collision. Carrier is Geico.

 

[canman]

We're a tall lanky bunch, which was a primary driver towards something other an LC. My 13 year-old daughter is 6 feet tall. My wife however really doesn't want to drive anything bigger. So, we compromise on leg room.

Haha. We're in the same situation. 6'-5" with two daughters who are already 5'-9". I sit in the front with my knees against the dash. Good luck, you'll find something!

 

[82much]

Their legal right is that they total the vehicle and compensate you for it. It then becomes theirs to do with as they please. You can buy it back from them at that point.

that is simply not true. the insurance company does not own the vehicle. The only instance that they can legally do that is if you have a loan/lien on the vehicle. If you have the pink slip...ITS YOURS. I know this first hand. If your house gets damaged, flooded, etc..do you sign over the house to the insurance company?? and then buy it back??

Anyways..this is a subject for a different thread.

 

[MDarius]

That may be true, but there is a salvage value. If you take their buyout option they are calculating the value to include what the salvage yard will offer. This is the "buy back" value. It's simply a reduction in the payout. You're right. I could go to the tow yard right now and pick it up, but I also wouldn't get any money for it. It's all part of the negotiation.

 

[LS1FJ40]

that is simply not true. the insurance company does not own the vehicle. The only instance that they can legally do that is if you have a loan/lien on the vehicle. If you have the pink slip...ITS YOURS. I know this first hand. If your house gets damaged, flooded, etc..do you sign over the house to the insurance company?? and then buy it back??

Anyways..this is a subject for a different thread.

Well, I just picked up my daughter's 2007 Camry Hybrid today that was "totaled". I took the payout then bought back the salvage vehicle and had it repaired. You DO NOT get to keep the vehicle after they total it out and compensate you for it. This is a fact. Not debatable. Yes I owned the vehicle free and clear. No lien.

 

[82much]

Yes....a PAYOUT is when the insurance company buys your vehicle.
When your car is totalled, the insurance pays you the value of the vehicle. If they want the vehicle they offer you more money that inculdes the PAYOUT price.

Why would you sign over a vehicle that is yours???
If you want to sign over YOUR property, and then buy it back, go right ahead.

If this is the case and you wanted to get ride of your vehicle for what ever reason then why not crash your car and have the insurance give you a buy out????
Is this Insurance fraud??
Technically it would be the same thing.

 

[4G63 POWER]

That sucks, looks like the shell was pretty decent. How bald were the tires? tsk, tsk.

 

[MDarius]

That sucks, looks like the shell was pretty decent. How bald were the tires? tsk, tsk.

Tires are only a year old. It was a teen driver reacting to slush. BUT, It rained at night then snowed, creating a layer of ice under the snow. My picture was taken an hour or more after the incident happened and it was turning to slush pretty fast. I've lost the back end on that onramp before in my daughters 4runner. So, it could have been worse than I'm giving him credit for.

 

[MDarius]

Haha. We're in the same situation. 6'-5" with two daughters who are already 5'-9". I sit in the front with my knees against the dash. Good luck, you'll find something!

I have 4 kids, 6'3" and growing, and 2 at 6'0" and growing. My 4th doesn't count. She's a short freak at 5'10" and in college. But yeah, at about 5'9" they start complaining about the 3rd row. Why not earlier? We threatened that if they ever complained about it we'd buy a minivan. We've decided that 6'3" boy doesn't count since he'll be headed out of the house by the end of the year. And he's the one that wrecked it.

I've been trying to introduce my wife to tall person friendly vehicle alternatives to the 80 for a couple years now, more so this week. It's not that I don't love the 80, it's just that physics still apply and legs have to go somewhere besides my back. Last night she had a nightmare that I was trying to introduce her to "other men" and she didn't like it. I pointed out the connection to the LC as I laughed out of control. She's ridiculous. So, we'll get another LC and make the kids deal with it. I wouldn't want to make her cheat on Ed. With just 2 to worry about now it won't be a problem. The others will have to eat it. Suck it up buttercup!

 

[toyotaspeed90]

Hey - I drive a Ford Excursion heavily modified and it works for me. Plus it's made for big people - I'm 6'4" 240#. Been that way since I was 25 years old. It will go most places that a routine off-road adventure will take me and run off and leave any 80 in the dust. Blown V10 with 4.30 gears. F-150's are a staple vehicle of the American public. They are reliable, safe and solid - no sarcasm intended. My daughter drives one and I don't have to continuously rebuild axles, change antennae motors, O2 sensors, blah, blah, blah. 80's are over designed cluster f's that can be built to be great off road and on. No slam. They are just way over-designed. I still have one. Had three at one time. Got tired of working on them all the time.

See FAQ on costs and energy required to keep an 80 up and going. Great truck. Pain in the ass.

For Christmas my uncle was trying to move their camper to flatter ground to accommodate additional people.... wet ground caused it to slip off kilter to a weird angle. Rear wheels on his excursion just spun... went to lock in 4wd and it wouldn't. Couldn't get it to budge (and it has newer AT tires). This was in his front yard, 15 ft from aphalt.

Next day I pulled it out barely touching the throttle in L.... didn't even consider locking the axles.

Given the fact that ford had to replace the new fuel filter because of a leak on those 'interesting' connections.... then the failed 4WD.... he was thinking 'Land Cruiser'.