Modifications that may lower the value of an 80 series. (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

I don't see the rear frame bob as a problem. It's not un-doable if somebody wanted to go back to stock in 40 years. To someone that works with metal all day re-attaching the rear frame section to as factory condition wouldn't be difficult. Thing is though, the bumper corners are plastic. Nobody makes them anymore. Plastic doesn't last forever. It doesn't last very long at all in the grand scheme of things. Therefore a pro quality rear bumper replacement makes the most sense to me.
 
Are we talking about actually decreasing the total price or just decreasing total return. Almost no mod will get you a dollar for dollar increase in truck total cost. If you have a stock 80 it will sell for x dollars. If you add in an lift and tires its is not going to bring x dollars plus the full price of the lift and tires.
 
I think with any vehicle, it depends on what you do and how it limits the market of buyers. Ex: Engine swap. Even Diesel. Some people will be very interested - but not nearly as many as a nearly unmolested OE truck. Personally, I think this comes into the fears of not knowing if everything was done right, what issues may be hiding, finding parts, etc.

Anything that makes it look like it's been wheeled hard, even if it hasn't. Big lifts and tires give off this impression even if they haven't been.

Super high miles. Sure, they may be just fine but spending big $ on a 300k+ mile rig isn't what most people want to do.

"Engine just rebuilt & thousands in recent receipts." Scares the crap out of me personally.

There's a market for almost everything. It's the supply/demand in that market that will dictate the price. If you're worried about the $ in the future and want to turn it into something that you want to enjoy now, sell it and buy something you're less concerned about the future value of. Or garage it and use it for groceries once a month.

Just my 0.02 from having lost tens of thousands on many vehicles over my lifetime.
 
The more you mod, the more you reduce or narrow the scope of your buying audience. People want to know what they're getting into to make them feel they got a fair deal (people know Toyota). Mods run counter to this notion because you're already starting at a buying audience deficit, but in some situations can be better than returned to parity by the seller (ih8ers know Delta Vehicle Systems). You essentially want to reduce the variables or risk that the buyer perceives that he/she will take on as a result of all the fettling (i.e. documentation, receipts, enthusiast TLC).

With that said, while a rising tide may raise all boats, a short cutted out NAPA special 80 will remain a bottom feeder because it's the creampuff's rise to the top where nostalgia money gets transacted.
 
Last edited:
I have a '97 (non Anniversary model...if it IS the anniversary model, the previous owner from a little more than six years ago pulled them) and I've thought about this too...but I don't plan on reselling it at all.

I'm in the beginning stages of baselining her as the previous owners did some super janky things like using the wrong sized belts and hoses, adding a janky, half working amp under the seat and getting the sunroof stuck...nothing too major but super grumble worthy. The seats weren't / aren't the best and I am considering swapping them out completely for manual seats from a Subaru Outback or an early 90's Accord or Prelude...maybe seats from a Disco2 even. I'm planning on adding the updated, but low profile, front / back bumper BUT, adding a swingout for the tire as well. 2" lift will also get done at some point.

I don't plan on selling her at all, so I'm not too worried about it. My brother has an Anniversary model '97 and has a 2.5 OME lift, winch, swing out, etc with the green paint that is faded with the clear coat peeling...(He bought his in 2001 with under 100K miles on it and he now has 375k miles). He tells me that he's regularly offered $25-$30K in his area (Tahoe) but he declines every time.
 
I think with any vehicle, it depends on what you do and how it limits the market of buyers. Ex: Engine swap. Even Diesel. Some people will be very interested - but not nearly as many as a nearly unmolested OE truck. Personally, I think this comes into the fears of not knowing if everything was done right, what issues may be hiding, finding parts, etc.

Anything that makes it look like it's been wheeled hard, even if it hasn't. Big lifts and tires give off this impression even if they haven't been.

Super high miles. Sure, they may be just fine but spending big $ on a 300k+ mile rig isn't what most people want to do.

"Engine just rebuilt & thousands in recent receipts." Scares the crap out of me personally.

There's a market for almost everything. It's the supply/demand in that market that will dictate the price. If you're worried about the $ in the future and want to turn it into something that you want to enjoy now, sell it and buy something you're less concerned about the future value of. Or garage it and use it for groceries once a month.

Just my 0.02 from having lost tens of thousands on many vehicles over my lifetime.
""Engine just rebuilt & thousands in recent receipts." Scares the crap out of me personally."

Same. I mean, with some vehicles I can understand, but with a LC (or any toyota for that matter) if I see that the engine was rebuild less than 250K miles, it sends a red flag up for me...and it tells me that they rode that engine HARD or let it get way too hot, which tells me they don't perform general maintenance.
 
""Engine just rebuilt & thousands in recent receipts." Scares the crap out of me personally."

Same. I mean, with some vehicles I can understand, but with a LC (or any toyota for that matter) if I see that the engine was rebuild less than 250K miles, it sends a red flag up for me...and it tells me that they rode that engine HARD or let it get way too hot, which tells me they don't perform general maintenance.
My main concern with it is that if you just now spent all this money, why are you selling it? In most cases that I have seen the amount spent will be more than what the vehicle is worth if done professionally. So now I either worry about how it was done - home mechanic, etc or if something is still wrong with it that they can't figure out. A good friend of mine had an FJ62 that had bad "rebuilds" done twice. The exact story as above - they finally sold it for much less than what they were into it and it still had issues.
 
Something to consider. Maybe sell your 40th anniversary and get a cheaper 80 series that's not as 'special'?

My triple locked 80 series is a LX450 and cost me 8k. I'll modify it however I want in any way I want and drive it how I want, because it's just a 'Lexus' after all. Lol.
You and me both!
 
I would say anything that can't be undone. It has become obvious though that the uninitiated will pay more for for big tires and a lift than they would for maintenance. Some of the auctions on bat have become painful to watch because it's obvious that someone took an 80, dressed it up on the cheap, completely neglected any maintenance and say it's like brand new. When you try to ask about maintenance they get pissy and just have the comments removed.
 
Are we talking about actually decreasing the total price or just decreasing total return. Almost no mod will get you a dollar for dollar increase in truck total cost. If you have a stock 80 it will sell for x dollars. If you add in an lift and tires its is not going to bring x dollars plus the full price of the lift and tires.

I've been in the 4x4 game long enough to know that mods are not going to have any payback.

I really am asking where the line is for actually dropping resale value.

Loads of great responses so far.
 
The following are things I shy away from, or at least, give a good long look into:

Fuel bladders in doors; bed liner; frame mods; factory suspension mount locations being modified or removed; rust; newly rebuilt engine, tranny, t-case, etc with low miles after, extra wires under the hood- are they cleanly and semi-professional looking, or look like something a tweaker would do; fresh paint (chassis or body); engine cleanliness and parts (aftermarket vs. OEM), excessive sludge/greasy parts, or missing major parts (seats, doors, roof, etc).

The above is regardless of make/model. I expect a certain amount of shade tree mechanics in an older vehicle, however, I don't want someone else's gremlins. A rule of thumb I use is checking out the interior first, as, if it's trashed or mismatched, it likely translates to other laziness in regards to maintenance. That said, I bought my cruiser knowing it needed work, and it had several items on the above list. However, once i talked to the PO, I realized he was pretty good with mechanical, but not so much the cosmetic, but that was the extent of his modifications.
 
Never cut anything is a good place to start!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom