Looking for help in Hawaii

[iam326]

Hey everyone, I am looking at a HZJ80 GX in Hawaii and before I thump down some cash I want to see if this truck is worth it. Is there someone in the Hawaii Kai area that could do me a solid and put eyes on this truck for me. I would be willing to give you some cash for your time. LMK

 

[OGBeno]

@Aloha Jen might know of someone who might be able to assist.

 

[cmjtaco]

I’m actually off to Honolulu for a work trip soon. If you don’t have any help by 16 Aug I can assist

 

[iam326]

I’m actually off to Honolulu for a work trip soon. If you don’t have any help by 16 Aug I can assist

That would be awesome

 

[mudgudgeon]

Try posting here

HI- Hawaiian Island Land Cruisers

forum.ih8mud.com

No idea how active this section is

 

[Aloha Jen]

Hey everyone, I am looking at a HZJ80 GX in Hawaii and before I thump down some cash I want to see if this truck is worth it. Is there someone in the Hawaii Kai area that could do me a solid and put eyes on this truck for me. I would be willing to give you some cash for your time. LMK

I’m in Haleiwa on the other side of the island from Hawaii Kai, occasionally we get over to that side of the island. I’m not familiar with that 80 for sale, is it listed somewhere you saw? Are you moving out here or are you shipping to mainland? All those things are important considerations.

 

[iam326]

I’m in Haleiwa on the other side of the island from Hawaii Kai, occasionally we get over to that side of the island. I’m not familiar with that 80 for sale, is it listed somewhere you saw? Are you moving out here or are you shipping to mainland? All those things are important considerations.

Its listed a few places. I want to ship it to the mainland. I can PM you the link to the google photo album if you want.

 

[Aloha Jen]

Its listed a few places. I want to ship it to the mainland. I can PM you the link to the google photo album if you want.

Is it the 1997 RHD Gold one?

 

[iam326]

Is it the 1997 RHD Gold one?

yup

 

[Aloha Jen]

yup

Here is a few things to consider. Unless you fly out here and drive the 80 and do a thorough inspection yourself, you will never really know what you are getting. There are no shops/mechanics out here that specialize in Land Cruisers, if they claim they do, they are not being honest. And, if you get recommended to a good mechanic that knows Toyotas, I guarantee they haven’t seen or have any knowledge of the 1HD engine. So an inspection would be a bit of a gamble.

This LC ad says it recently arrived from Japan. I don’t know the seller, so can’t confirm if he is one of the many people that have recently been importing JDM Land Cruisers into Hawaii and trying to flip them. It’s been a fairly recent thing (the last 4 years) that some guys have been importing these JDM LC’s then tacking on $15-20k mark ups. Trying to sell to people that do not know what they are looking at. Most of these sit in Craig’s List or FB marketplace in that $35-50k price range for a year (or more) or sit on used car lots for years and are still posted now. Most are not selling for those prices here, so maybe they end up sending to the mainland.

Not trying to make a judgement on asking prices, as people pay whatever they feel something is worth, but those prices in those ranges are outrageous to me IMO. Especially when I am aware of how much people are roughly paying for these in Japan and how much it costs to ship to Hawaii from Japan. Let’s just say that people are making huge profits on whoever they are selling to at those prices. So if you are already aware of this, you just need to feel comfortable with that kind of selling price.

One additional thing to consider is that it is also about $2k to ship a vehicle to the mainland from Hawáii. Not sure where you are at on the mainland, but there is some variation in that price if the LC needs to be transferred to other states from its port of entry.
Other than all that, the photos make it look like a pretty clean cruiser on the surface. So if you have the money and it’s your dream forever Land Cruiser, then the price and shipping logistics shouldn’t be an issue for you.

 

[iam326]

Here is a few things to consider. Unless you fly out here and drive the 80 and do a thorough inspection yourself, you will never really know what you are getting. There are no shops/mechanics out here that specialize in Land Cruisers, if they claim they do, they are not being honest. And, if you get recommended to a good mechanic that knows Toyotas, I guarantee they haven’t seen or have any knowledge of the 1HD engine. So an inspection would be a bit of a gamble.

This LC ad says it recently arrived from Japan. I don’t know the seller, so can’t confirm if he is one of the many people that have recently been importing JDM Land Cruisers into Hawaii and trying to flip them. It’s been a fairly recent thing (the last 4 years) that some guys have been importing these JDM LC’s then tacking on $15-20k mark ups. Trying to sell to people that do not know what they are looking at. Most of these sit in Craig’s List or FB marketplace in that $35-50k price range for a year (or more) or sit on used car lots for years and are still posted now. Most are not selling for those prices here, so maybe they end up sending to the mainland.

Not trying to make a judgement on asking prices, as people pay whatever they feel something is worth, but those prices in those ranges are outrageous to me IMO. Especially when I am aware of how much people are roughly paying for these in Japan and how much it costs to ship to Hawaii from Japan. Let’s just say that people are making huge profits on whoever they are selling to at those prices. So if you are already aware of this, you just need to feel comfortable with that kind of selling price.

One additional thing to consider is that it is also about $2k to ship a vehicle to the mainland from Hawáii. Not sure where you are at on the mainland, but there is some variation in that price if the LC needs to be transferred to other states from its port of entry.
Other than all that, the photos make it look like a pretty clean cruiser on the surface. So if you have the money and it’s your dream forever Land Cruiser, then the price and shipping logistics shouldn’t be an issue for you.

Yeah, I wish I could duplicate myself and hop on a plane. Unfortunately, thats the problem with mechanics. Thanks for the info!