Is This High-Mileage Cruiser Worth the Gamble or Should I Keep Shopping?

So I've read through plenty of threads on what to look for in a high mileage 100 series in order to not get in over my head, but as I've been shopping it seems the general inventory and prices for these are all over the place, and I'm trying to figure out if the deal I've got worked out is solid, or if I should back out and keep looking. Maybe sitting at home today has me all in my head and I'm overthinking things.. but some fresh perspective is always good. My gut says I'm getting a good deal, but I'm kind of in uncharted waters.

I'm on a 10-11k budget right now. I found a 298k mile 1999 cruiser out of state that I'm able to get for 8k. Owner is a younger guy who is not an enthusiast, but has taken good care of the truck and has been super helpful and responsive, sending me tons of pictures and videos. The pros are that it has a solid service history, the truck looks great inside and out, the body is all there, the seats have been reupholstered, door switches have been replaced, all the windows work, there are no leaks/weird noises, and it's rust-free. The cons are the high mileage, and lack of a few things I'd have hoped to see in the maintenance history by now such as the water pump, brake master, wheel bearings, ball joints, steering rack, etc. Although maybe that's just unrealistic standards on my end. Here's the carfax. Otherwise, here's the schedule of recent bigger maintenance items.

Within 100k miles:
Battery replaced
Crankshaft position sensor replaced
Spark plugs replaced
Fuel filter replaced
Fuel pump replaced
Rear shocks replaced

Within 50k miles
Radiator replaced
Brake calipers cleaned/serviced
Brake rotors + calipers replaced
Timing belt replaced
Valve cover gasket replaced
Wheel bearing seal replaced

Within 25k miles
Rear diff serviced
Timing belt replaced (?)

I guess what I'm really trying to figure out is; would it be better to buy this cruiser or shop around for one that's more expensive with less miles and have a little bit less to spend on repairs, or just look for something else entirely with my budget? I have basic skills when it comes to working on things, and am excited to get my hands dirty, but my ability to do that will be limited as I'll have to work on it in the street here in Brooklyn, so I'm limited in the size and scope of certain projects. I'd really like to have this truck for 5-10 years.

I know this isn't the most unique question, but any perspective would be useful and could help inform future buyers.

 

[BullElk]

I look a good bit and only get ridiculous good deals. However, initially, It doesn’t sound like a bad deal to me if all is as accurately as you say. Mileage is not an issue, again, if all else is as you say. I’ve bought more than one with 300+ miles with great luck.
Personally, being a ‘99 without ATRAC vs. everything else newer having ATRAC, is a negative to me. 2000-2002 could be had for basically same price. I’ve had a ‘99 and liked it but like the ATRAC better.

Just on the surface reading your information, I would say it sounds like a decent to good deal and could easily last you a long while without much cost involved….. unless your brake booster timing belt belt components exploded unpredictably. I’ve never had that happen but some have.

Just my $.02 and a little change back.

 

[winestonecowboy]

I look a good bit and only get ridiculous good deals. However, initially, It doesn’t sound like a bad deal to me if all is as accurately as you say. Mileage is not an issue, again, if all else is as you say. I’ve bought more than one with 300+ miles with great luck.
Personally, being a ‘99 without ATRAC vs. everything else newer having ATRAC, is a negative to me. 2000-2002 could be had for basically same price. I’ve had a ‘99 and liked it but like the ATRAC better.

Just on the surface reading your information, I would say it sounds like a decent to good deal and could easily last you a long while without much cost involved….. unless your brake booster timing belt belt components exploded unpredictably. I’ve never had that happen but some have.

Just my $.02 and a little change back.

Sure. I hear what you're saying about ATRAC - I was wanting an 80 for a while, but decided for a few different reasons that a 100 was the right choice for me, so ATRAC was never much of a factor in the first place. I'm happy with the rear locker. That being said I've been looking for any 100 that I could find, regardless of year. This one just happened to win out; I'd be happy with either tbh. I've also been driving a 3rd gen 4runner without ATRAC for years, so I'm used to not having it.

 

[winestonecowboy]

Also something else to note; in my month of rotting my brain shopping for a medium to higher mileage 100, I can count on one hand the ones I've seen that have verifiably had a brake booster already replaced.

 

[OwnerCS]

We all take a chance when buying anything this old. I guess it was over a year ago that I bought an 02 one with 315,000 miles. My first was a 99 model with approximately 212,000 miles. The 02 model had been routinely serviced (every 7,000 miles) at the dealer with a carfax to show it. The 02 model needs upper and lower ball joints and tie rod ends because the boots are split from age. It has always driven straight without uneven pulling or play. The 99 model's tie rods, ball joints, and rack were shot. I had to herd it down the road. There was a lot of play in the steering system. Without removing the valve covers on both just removing the oil fill cap showed some amount of sludge on the lower miles 99 model. The fill neck on higher mileage the 02 model was clean.
I think it all comes down to the care that a vehicle received during the past 20 years.

One good thing that happened was I bought the 99 model at a low enough price that I could install a front Eaton eLocker and upgrade from a 2 to 4 pinion diff without blowing the budget. I've driven both in challenging off-road situations and now plan to upgrade the front diff to the eLocker. I do like ATRAC on the 02 model and was thoroughly impressed with it until I came upon an off-camber situation incline situation that required me to be winched up the incline. In that one off-camber case, ATRAC could not react fast enough to maintain traction.

If this an a 99 LC with a rear locker, then my point is largely moot as my 99 was an LX. Since you don't have a garage to use for a semi major repair, I would be careful about buying a 100 that will need a lot of downtime for repairs like steering rack and ball joints that come along at 200k miles.

 

[Sanney22]

if its rust free and running good grab it

 

[ThreeBigWheels]

From the exhausting amount of research I did recently trying to jump into the Land Cruiser platform I had found that the prices can vary wildly, especially by region but ~$8-10k appears to be the general cost for entry for a decent example. I had a similar budget to you with some cash for maintenance to spare and found what I thought was a great deal on a 2007 LC with 259k miles here in NC, listed for $14k, tentatively offered $10k after speaking with the owner. Drove 3+ hours to get it and was a bit disappointed because the owner overstated paint/undercarriage condition and didn't have any service record past his ownership. However based on some recent-ish history of large maintenance like steering rack, cats, alternator, newer Michelin tires etc, I negotiated to $9.2k and happily took it. I quickly realized that the previous owner likely only replaced things that were broken/failed and did not perform preventative maintenance and the truck has spent many days on my lift and cost me an additional $3k+ in parts alone (and still climbing) to get back to a baseline.

I say all that to say that preventative maintenance seems to be very important on this platform and if that truck you are looking at has a good history of preventative maintenance and some big ticket items then you probably are looking at a decent buy for $8k, but don't be naive to think that you won't spend some hours underneath it replacing many of the 20+ year old parts and possibly max out your $10-11k budget after all. I am fortunate enough to have garage and scissor lift, if I was doing this on the street in Brooklyn I think I would tap out. I do kind of wish I had taken more time to look for a better sorted example and not been so blinded by a "cheap" late model with the VVTI motor; however I will say that coming from mostly German cars, even in my truck's state of disrepair, I find it a true joy to drive and do not regret getting into this platform.

 

[sterling]

I see timing belt was done $$$$...so that's good.
But why at last 50k and 25k?
Rust free adds points, being where you're located.

Imop the 100 series platform seems to be the best cruiser for the $ in this market.
I'm with @ThreeBigWheels on the platform, when I drive mine with 312k on the clock it feels so nice and refined for a cruiser.
Haven't driven a 200 though.

Good luck