New purchase question - how many miles is “too many”? (1 Viewer)

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

Joined
Aug 23, 2022
Threads
2
Messages
23
Location
Texas
First off, I am new to the forums but have already found them SUPER helpful so I thank the community for that. What brought me here is I am currently in the market for an LX 470. This isn’t my first used car buying experience but it will be my first 100 series. I have done a lot of research on what to look for with these vehicles but there is something I keep hanging on… pending some maintenance stuff (no rust, timing belt, axles, cv joints, radiator, regular maintenance etc.) is there a ballpark mileage that is viewed upon as ”too many” or should be considered a red flag?

My purchase budget is around $10,000 give or take with the idea that I will be spending money to upgrade the vehicle and solve any mechanical issues I need to. For instance, I found one within budget that is pretty well taken care of but has 270k miles. Is there somewhere I should draw the line on miles even if most other items check out?

Thank you for any advice you are willing to give. I look forward to my eventual purchase and time spent here.
 
A well maintained Toyota will go a million miles. Will it do it just adding gas, oil and tires, no way.

Other things wear out, seats, switches. It's far better than most cars, it's not a perpetual motion machine.

I'd say any car with over 150K miles is going to have some issues. Even a Toyota with perfect maintenance records.

To say a car with 270K will not give you major problems is just not true. Engines and transmissions are very expensive.

Take a look at some of the baseline threads and see what they spend and repair. What I might do is PM some of the people who post and see what they spent. It will most probably be a labor of love, and shock you how much was spent.

You pay for a car with payments or maintenance . Nobody rides for free.
 
As long as you don't have a serious engine or transmission problem miles matter most when it comes time to sell. No matter how many times you tell people that miles don't matter most people think that miles do matter. It's a fairly limited number of people that buy really high miles vehicles.
 
maintenance and parts are expensive, dont use NAPA and autozone parts, use Toyota. Drive it for a year or 2 to figure out what needs to be fixed and replaced, then modify. Nothing is cheap for land cruisers. I spent almost $200 on a rearview mirror fix, when most cars would have been about $20. With a 10k purchasing price id keep at least 7K in a side fund for any parts, labor and fixes that may arise within the first year of owning.

They are fantastic vehicles, just expensive at the pump and in the shop when things eventually do need replacing.
 
You can also read plenty of threads here where low mileage LC/LXs have as many or more issues than the higher mileage copies. In addition, the owners paid a very high up front cost for “low mileage”.

These machines are not designed and assembled to sit around not rolling miles.

They don’t age, they marinate.
 
A cruiser isn't this holy grail of vehicles that never ages. Yes you should be concerned about mileage and be even more concerned with age / rust / wear of parts. Inspect it like you would any other vehicle and make a decision. Rubber wears out, metal starts to rust, fluid gets old. If it wasn't properly kept up with it may be a money pit.

The bigger question is what do you hope to do? Are you going to cruise around town always within reach of a tow truck ? Or are you trying to go a few days into the woods with noone around to help out if something breaks down?


I'm sure if I dumped as much attention and maintenance into my Honda civic it would also go a million miles. The difference is the cruiser is worth maintaining as it allows me to go places ( and get back home ) no other vehicle will take me. If you could find something well maintained with high mileage in your 10k price range then it's worth it. If it's a s*** box then it's not worth it. I'm around 220k miles but I have a bible stack worth of parts that have been replaced. None of them ever broke FYI, just keeping ahead of things so when I get to 300k she'll still be good to go.
 
Thank you for all of the responses so far. I am not naive in what I am looking at, as said this will not be my first used vehicle purchase by a long margin and I am not under the guise of this vehicle being some silver bullet to end all high mileage dependability gas mileage arguments. From what I have heard so far, what I believed and expected sounds about right. It all comes down to the individual vehicle (like all of them pretty much) and the owners expectations.

I am looking to use it as my daily driver / family vehicle / and a couple times a year 4x4 rig for camping and excursions. I have a family of 5, and though my wife drives a Ford Expedition Max, I would like to think with the proper racks etc. we would be able to use this rig for deeper backcountry and camping trips. I would love to see something around $10,000 but that’s not set and I could expand my budget it needed. I have time on my side in my search so for the time being I’ll just continue to pay my truck payment until the right vehicle comes along.

I am lucky enough that in a few months I’ll have access to a full on private auto barn with a lift. I feel like I am fairly mechanically inclined and can figure out a ton of stuff with the aid of the internet! My plan is to be able to do a TON of the repairs/maintenance and modifications myself.
 
A cruiser isn't this holy grail of vehicles that never ages. Yes you should be concerned about mileage and be even more concerned with age / rust / wear of parts. Inspect it like you would any other vehicle and make a decision. Rubber wears out, metal starts to rust, fluid gets old. If it wasn't properly kept up with it may be a money pit.

The bigger question is what do you hope to do? Are you going to cruise around town always within reach of a tow truck ? Or are you trying to go a few days into the woods with noone around to help out if something breaks down?


I'm sure if I dumped as much attention and maintenance into my Honda civic it would also go a million miles. The difference is the cruiser is worth maintaining as it allows me to go places ( and get back home ) no other vehicle will take me. If you could find something well maintained with high mileage in your 10k price range then it's worth it. If it's a s*** box then it's not worth it. I'm around 220k miles but I have a bible stack worth of parts that have been replaced. None of them ever broke FYI, just keeping ahead of things so when I get to 300k she'll still be good to go.
im at 220k right now, id like to take a peak at that bible stack worth of parts replaced and compare it with mine lol
 
1661384691529.png
 
im at 220k right now, id like to take a peak at that bible stack worth of parts replaced and compare it with mine lol
Suppose it's more like a magazine , and even less in digital form.

Mostly fluid changes , dialing timing belt within 50k because Toyota changed just the belt and not the pulleys ( which squealed after the tbekt change) That led to just replacing all the parts that spin and squeak off the engine . Radiator leaked a little bit a while back ...hmm what else, the little weight on my muffler broke recently....nothing has ever broke and left me stranded . Other than that , bumpers , tires , shocks , the fun stuff.

Screenshot_20220824-180712_Sheets.jpg


Screenshot_20220824-180717_Sheets.jpg


Screenshot_20220824-180727_Sheets.jpg


Screenshot_20220824-180733_Sheets.jpg
 
Just one man's opinion but 10k allows entry into a 100 series these days... it doesn't get you the ability to steal something for 30-40% less than it probably should have gone for and brag about it on mud. Those days went bye-bye with Covid.

That's not to say you can't be picky and find the right vehicle for you, but a 10k 100 series is going to have a to-do list and have high miles. Sounds like you are ready for that - this post isn't to talk you out of anything - but rather to level set the discussion (again, in one man's opinion).

You'll be deciding between vehicles with different things to tackle once you buy it. Miles would be pretty low on my list.
 
Just one man's opinion but 10k allows entry into a 100 series these days... it doesn't get you the ability to steal something for 30-40% less than it probably should have gone for and brag about it on mud. Those days went bye-bye with Covid.

That's not to say you can't be picky and find the right vehicle for you, but a 10k 100 series is going to have a to-do list and have high miles. Sounds like you are ready for that - this post isn't to talk you out of anything - but rather to level set the discussion (again, in one man's opinion).

You'll be deciding between vehicles with different things to tackle once you buy it. Miles would be pretty low on my list.
Agreed, though the used market seems to be dipping a little lately across most makes.

Thank you for that detailed spreadsheet Mike!
 
Agreed, though the used market seems to be dipping a little lately across most makes.

Thank you for that detailed spreadsheet Mike!
Agreed, and although the mania subsided and those trucks that were selling for top dollar and shouldn't have been aren't anymore, I personally haven't seen a big dip in the 80 or 100 series markets, which I follow.
 
Agreed, and although the mania subsided and those trucks that were selling for top dollar and shouldn't have been aren't anymore, I personally haven't seen a big dip in the 80 or 100 series markets, which I follow.
I wish everyone could get real and just sell there 20+ year old trucks for a modest price to help the next generation enjoy it. These aren't gold bricks, just some ol trucks that slug down fuel as they rust away.

If the market wasn't so absurd I'd sell mine for cheap and just go pick something else up, have fun for a bit, sell it, repeat ..

Saw an old 200 series at my local Toyota. Had 150k on it and they wanted $45k dollars . Was rusty as s*** underneath but don't worry the salesman seriously said don't worry it'll "buff out "
 
If the market wasn't so absurd I'd sell mine for cheap and just go pick something else up, have fun for a bit, sell it, repeat ..
Regardless of what the market is and even though you have put an absurd amount of personal preference OCD money in yours, you can still sell it cheap if you want. Nothing is keeping you from gifting it to the next generation.
 
I wish everyone could get real and just sell there 20+ year old trucks for a modest price to help the next generation enjoy it. These aren't gold bricks, just some ol trucks that slug down fuel as they rust away.

If the market wasn't so absurd I'd sell mine for cheap and just go pick something else up, have fun for a bit, sell it, repeat ..

Saw an old 200 series at my local Toyota. Had 150k on it and they wanted $45k dollars . Was rusty as s*** underneath but don't worry the salesman seriously said don't worry it'll "buff out "

Regardless of what the market is and even though you have put an absurd amount of personal preference OCD money in yours, you can still sell it cheap if you want. Nothing is keeping you from gifting it to the next generation.

Not sure I qualify as the next generation but I’m willing to entertain the idea. 😉

We live in an odd world right now. Everything is absurd!
 
Regardless of what the market is and even though you have put an absurd amount of personal preference OCD money in yours, you can still sell it cheap if you want. Nothing is keeping you from gifting it to the next generation.
Haha well said. @Mike NXP you can start driving down the market... One vehicle at a time.

Again, just my opinion, but I think 100 series were underpriced for a while there. The market I see now seems much more fair.
 
My opinion has always been that owning my car is a labour of love, and it's not about the money... which is convenient since I seem to hand over $1500 every time I take it to the mechanic. But there is an element of truth to that as there are plenty of cheaper soulless cars you can buy... like a Jeep.

But if my end game is to own it for the next 20 yrs, then I have to be prepared to pay with money, and/or pay with time. I work in an industry where I get to see high end packaging equiment in different factories all the time, and you can have two different companies, with exactly the same machine, about the same age, packing the same product. One will run like a bucket of tits, and the other will hum along, and the difference inevitably one company respects the machine and does all of the routine preventative maintenance, and the other company will run the machine until it breaks and then fix the broken thing until the next thing breaks. I see Cruisers are no different. If I respect it and look after it properly, then it comes down to preventing rust in the chassis for as long as possible. Everything else is repairable or replaceable.

So I say the answer is YES, with a maybe...
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom