Hello fellow... Land Cruisers? (What do you guys and gals call yourselves?) iH8Mudders?
I'm going to share a little background about myself. Feel free to skip to the bottom if you like, that's where my real question lies.
I would call myself a "4x4 Toyota enthusiast". I've owned 15 between the different 4Runners, Tacomas, and Tundras, one FJ, and one 60 series LC. Some new, some old. The 60 series actually turned me off of LCs in general, I know that is sacrilege around here, but it just wasn't a great vehicle for me at that time in my life. I had a long, windy state highway commute, and that is not a strong point for the 60 series.
I have very mixed feelings about new vehicles vs "beaters". I love the safety and lack of repairs needed for a new vehicle, but I honestly might have a stronger love for driving something that you don't really have to stress about if it gets a scratch or dent. I bounce back and forth a lot. Thankfully, Toyotas hold their value so well that I usually break even or even make a little money when selling them. I joke that "it's a savings account you can drive" when justifying whatever the next purchase is, although in reality it's just a very low cost of ownership compared to everything else.
I have a son who is 15, so he is getting ready to learn how to drive. My wife and I discussed it, and we started out looking at used Honda Fits and Scion hatchbacks for him to learn how to drive in. But since I'm so comfortable with shopping for used Toyota 4x4s, I found myself looking at those. It didn't take much to get the wife on board with a 4x4 Toyota. I really wanted to find a 3rd gen 4Runner, as that really has the small size but still a good build quality, and I know them well.
I had gotten frustrated with the options out there for 4Runners. There weren't many around that seemed well cared for. I've always wanted an 80 series LC, so I looked at one. I loved it, but it just needed so much work. The clear coat was gone, the windows and locks had issues, it had a rear main leak and some other mechanical issues. The price was a little high, all things considered.
There was a 100 for sale for the same price, so I looked at it, it didn't seem to need anything, so I made an offer, and next thing I knew, I was an owner of a 100. The LX470 I bought has 270k miles, but really good records that included a timing belt in the last 3 years, and a bunch of other stuff since. It's got hail damage, which is pretty much expected on any vehicle that has lived it's life outdoors along the front range of the Rocky Mountains. To me, it was kind of perfect, it's already pre-dented, so I don't know if my son could really make it much worse if anything cosmetic happened.
As a first car for my son, I realized that the 100 series was actually a fantastic choice. #1, we love 4-wheeling together, and it's hard to do better than a 100 for that. It's big and heavy (aka safer in an accident than a little hatchback, or even a 4Runner), but with great sightlines, loaded up with Toyota's best engineering (almost all of which is still working properly). As long as we don't do any damage to it, it will be worth at least what I paid for it when we go to sell it. If you are looking at something that is 20-25 years old, I challenge anyone to find something that has a better chance of being in good mechanical shape.
I've spent the last few weeks driving it as much as possible, so that I fully know what it needs now, or might need in the future. There is a slight clunk from the transmission when cruising in situations where you are barely on and off the throttle, so that might need some attention sooner or later. Other than that, everything seems to be in good working order, even the height control. A couple of lights are out on the dash. Really minor stuff.
The biggest problem is that there is a rusty spot on the passenger side, top of the windshield. It's bad enough that water is getting inside the vehicle and the headliner is getting wet in the corner. I would assume that we need to pull the windshield, cut/grind out the rust (which could be all around the windshield), and repaint the area. I'm conflicted, because it is a "beater", but then again, this thing could easily keep going for years if I fix this issue. I don't mind spending the money on it.
I have a body shop that I like, but they won't touch it. I kind of get it, they are as busy as they want to be, fixing mostly newer vehicles. They don't really deal with rust normally.
I'm a little temped to get Line-X applied around the windshield, but although it might solve the water issue for now, it is a commitment to doing the repair the wrong way. You could say that there is no going back, or even replacing the windshield in the future. Maybe that's okay though, this vehicle will never win any beauty contests. And my son could put it into a tree the first week of driving it, who knows. Maybe it's not worth putting the money into. I realize that I need to make that choice, but I'd like to hear what you folks would do.
If anyone knows a body shop in northern Colorado or Denver metro that would be up to the task, I'd love get a recommendation. And really anything from a solid, temporary fix to the full, proper repair is getting my consideration.
Thanks in advance for your input! I'm looking forward to getting to know the community.
I'm going to share a little background about myself. Feel free to skip to the bottom if you like, that's where my real question lies.
I would call myself a "4x4 Toyota enthusiast". I've owned 15 between the different 4Runners, Tacomas, and Tundras, one FJ, and one 60 series LC. Some new, some old. The 60 series actually turned me off of LCs in general, I know that is sacrilege around here, but it just wasn't a great vehicle for me at that time in my life. I had a long, windy state highway commute, and that is not a strong point for the 60 series.
I have very mixed feelings about new vehicles vs "beaters". I love the safety and lack of repairs needed for a new vehicle, but I honestly might have a stronger love for driving something that you don't really have to stress about if it gets a scratch or dent. I bounce back and forth a lot. Thankfully, Toyotas hold their value so well that I usually break even or even make a little money when selling them. I joke that "it's a savings account you can drive" when justifying whatever the next purchase is, although in reality it's just a very low cost of ownership compared to everything else.
I have a son who is 15, so he is getting ready to learn how to drive. My wife and I discussed it, and we started out looking at used Honda Fits and Scion hatchbacks for him to learn how to drive in. But since I'm so comfortable with shopping for used Toyota 4x4s, I found myself looking at those. It didn't take much to get the wife on board with a 4x4 Toyota. I really wanted to find a 3rd gen 4Runner, as that really has the small size but still a good build quality, and I know them well.
I had gotten frustrated with the options out there for 4Runners. There weren't many around that seemed well cared for. I've always wanted an 80 series LC, so I looked at one. I loved it, but it just needed so much work. The clear coat was gone, the windows and locks had issues, it had a rear main leak and some other mechanical issues. The price was a little high, all things considered.
There was a 100 for sale for the same price, so I looked at it, it didn't seem to need anything, so I made an offer, and next thing I knew, I was an owner of a 100. The LX470 I bought has 270k miles, but really good records that included a timing belt in the last 3 years, and a bunch of other stuff since. It's got hail damage, which is pretty much expected on any vehicle that has lived it's life outdoors along the front range of the Rocky Mountains. To me, it was kind of perfect, it's already pre-dented, so I don't know if my son could really make it much worse if anything cosmetic happened.
As a first car for my son, I realized that the 100 series was actually a fantastic choice. #1, we love 4-wheeling together, and it's hard to do better than a 100 for that. It's big and heavy (aka safer in an accident than a little hatchback, or even a 4Runner), but with great sightlines, loaded up with Toyota's best engineering (almost all of which is still working properly). As long as we don't do any damage to it, it will be worth at least what I paid for it when we go to sell it. If you are looking at something that is 20-25 years old, I challenge anyone to find something that has a better chance of being in good mechanical shape.
I've spent the last few weeks driving it as much as possible, so that I fully know what it needs now, or might need in the future. There is a slight clunk from the transmission when cruising in situations where you are barely on and off the throttle, so that might need some attention sooner or later. Other than that, everything seems to be in good working order, even the height control. A couple of lights are out on the dash. Really minor stuff.
The biggest problem is that there is a rusty spot on the passenger side, top of the windshield. It's bad enough that water is getting inside the vehicle and the headliner is getting wet in the corner. I would assume that we need to pull the windshield, cut/grind out the rust (which could be all around the windshield), and repaint the area. I'm conflicted, because it is a "beater", but then again, this thing could easily keep going for years if I fix this issue. I don't mind spending the money on it.
I have a body shop that I like, but they won't touch it. I kind of get it, they are as busy as they want to be, fixing mostly newer vehicles. They don't really deal with rust normally.
I'm a little temped to get Line-X applied around the windshield, but although it might solve the water issue for now, it is a commitment to doing the repair the wrong way. You could say that there is no going back, or even replacing the windshield in the future. Maybe that's okay though, this vehicle will never win any beauty contests. And my son could put it into a tree the first week of driving it, who knows. Maybe it's not worth putting the money into. I realize that I need to make that choice, but I'd like to hear what you folks would do.
If anyone knows a body shop in northern Colorado or Denver metro that would be up to the task, I'd love get a recommendation. And really anything from a solid, temporary fix to the full, proper repair is getting my consideration.
Thanks in advance for your input! I'm looking forward to getting to know the community.