Need help deciding on purchase of 02 land cruiser

[tonytickle]

Location

United States

I wouldn’t consider myself a car guy but I’ve always wanted a Land Cruiser. My intention is to buy it as a daily driver.
I found one about to go to auction from a local dealership that got it in as a trade.
It’s an 02 Land Cruiser. 139,000 miles. Runs very well from my limited knowledge. The only problem is the dealer is selling me as is and won’t even let me bring in a third party to inspect.
Timing belt was changed 3 years and 6,000 miles ago. No crazy damage interior or exterior except for a poorly sanded fender. Carfax was clean and serviced and maintenanced seemed like overkill.
1. Knowing I can’t get it Pre inspected before purchase, what would be a fair price? I’m pretty risk adverse so that scares me.
2. I contacted the mechanic that was on carfax reports for the past decade. He knew the car and said it was running very well except the fuel pump seemed to be getting louder but never failed in 3 years it’s been making some noise. He also mentioned an electric leak that was draining the battery every week so the owner put a remote battery on/off when he wasn’t drive because he didn’t want to go down the diagnostic route.

Always wanted one but not sure if it’s worth the risk. What’s a fair price?

 

[vipergrhd]

Life is a risk everyday, you will never know until you do it. worse case resell it, if the price is something you are comfortable then go for it. Just Do it!

 

[frawstme]

As someone who works at a car dealership, it's sus that they won't let you bring it to another mechanic to inspect it. If they're about to bring it to auction, then it's an old age unit. Dealers lose money on old age units that go to auction. They have nothing to risk letting you inspect the car unless there's something wrong with it that they think will slip past the auction inspection.

Even then I don't understand why they wouldn't let you bring it to a mechanic unless you've given strong enough buying signals that they think you'll buy it regardless, because there's no way that they're asking less money for it right now than they would get for it by sending it to auction.

 

[ulfr]

This is just my personal experience of the J100.

This particular copy, from the pictures, looks good. And given you don't live in a rust belt I'd assume the undercarriage is fine. My uncle has had a J100 for over 15 years, and it's mostly been trouble free apart from minor service things like brakes and some bushings and some stuff that hits us in the rust belt that Iceland is. (Like replacing the whole rear axle and most of the accumulators of the hydraulic suspension). Very nice to drive, not too bad on fuel economy and super comfortable to drive despite all these years.
However, these cruisers have probable one of the most complicated electrical system you can find in any of the series, save maybe the 200 and the 300, since I can't comment on those. And when things start to fail in that regard, oh boy you're in for a ride. With that said, they are fairly easy to work on given you have a proper manual to go by, and if you're not into working on your own vehicles, then maybe either start doing so or expect some maintenance bills to line up if the car hasn't been properly maintained. This is after all, an old car. Rubber only lasts so long, bearings need replacing, brakes wear out, body mount rubber rots etc.

Land cruisers can be very reliable when maintained correctly, and imho, refusing a third party inspection is a bit of a red flag if you're not comfortable lying on the ground poking things and understanding common failure points etc...

 

[76lcmike]

go over the frame, i've had 2 100s. rust. not surface rust, perforation. drivetrain is bullet proof. make sure it has been maintained. then baseline it.

 

[frawstme]

I was going to do some research using my dealer tools but I dont even see that vehicle on their website..

 

[77pantera]

As someone else with dealership experience, if they are sending it to auction, they are already hoping to just off it, no idea why they wouldn't let you bring in a 3rd party.

Being in Texas I'm sure it's mint underneath, but take a look regardless.

If you don't do your own wrenching, just be aware that these 25+ year old Land Cruiser's aren't cheap to maintain.

 

[tonytickle]

Thank you all for your input. I really appreciate it.
The auction play is frustrating. Why go that route when you have a wanting buyer who has bought vehicles from you before?

That said, what would even be a remotely fair price as is, non modified. Seemingly running. Very well. Not posting price here so I don’t get biased answers.