Story:
When I was 11 years old, we moved to Southeast Asia. I spent a bit of time in Cambodia, and somehow I was just as fascinated by regular everyday traffic as I was by the history and culture around me. For the record, I was a history nerd with almost zero knowledge or interest in vehicles. Most people got around by motorbike (which, it turns out, could fit 6 people). If you were rich enough to buy a car, you were probably going to get a 90s US-market Camry (which fits 10). But if you were really flexing, you'd buy a Lexus SUV with massive LEXUS decals on both sides. Those were basically the two options, because most of the roads were terrible, and roadside gasoline options were sketchy - you'd pay an elementary schooler to top you up with whatever substance was in his oil drum under a tree. I left the country knowing that I wanted to feel like a Cambodian baller one day.
A few years later, I stumbled across
the Reddit post where someone realized their 2013 Land Cruiser had previously belonged to a Nigerian warlord. I was hooked - if a car was good enough for Cambodian cronies and Nigerian warlords, it was good enough for me. A few months later, I stumbled across a red LHD LJ78 Prado on the way to work; I had never seen anything like it, and damn, did it look good. If I ever needed to buy a car, it was going to be a Land Cruiser.
Two years ago, that need arose. I had accepted an internship in California, and since I hadn't seen much of the country, I figured I might as well drive there and back from Massachusetts, so it was time to go shopping. At the time, I was still a college student without consistent income, so I was limited to the bottom of the range - early GX470s or LX470s. I ended up settling on the following priorities, in this order:
- Good mechanical condition and new-ish timing belt/water pump; I had never worked on a car before and needed something that would make it roughly 10k miles without any major repairs
- Completely rust-free undercarriage and lifetime Southern ownership; I certainly wasn’t going to buy anything near me in MA
- Clean and mostly functional interior without a factory nav unit; I didn’t want to put seat covers on, deal with a broken or complicated sound system
- Clean exterior without major damage or excessively peeling clear-coat
- Complete maintenance history; why not?
After a bit of searching and a few lost leads, I found one that met the first 4 criteria here on MUD: a white 1999 LX 470 with around 280k miles, stock AHC, a newly redone interior, new-ish timing belt/water pump, and registration in Texas since new. There were a few yellow flags - total mileage was unknown since the instrument cluster was replaced, the PPI revealed that the steering rack was leaking and a front CV boot was torn (it also cost $100 instead of $150?), and, unknown to me at the time, it was registered to the seller’s business. Nevertheless, I bit the bullet, flew to Houston, bought the LX, and drove roughly 2000 miles back home.
A few uneventful months later, it was time to make the trek out West. For reasons that might be quite obvious, I took the I-80 route via Chicago, Wyoming, Salt Lake City (!), and then Vegas, making it to the Bay with a day to spare.
I had a blast exploring NorCal for the next 2.5 months, but soon enough my time was up. My sister and best friend flew out, and together with a roommate bringing his own car back, we headed East. Another night in Vegas and $40 in combined gambling profit later, we drove North to visit Zion, then South to camp in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and then North again to Monument Valley, probably my favorite 24 hours of the entire summer.
After Santa Fe, Big Bend, and New Orleans, we were three days and 1500 miles away from school. What could go wrong?
I can’t pinpoint the specific incident, but on the way to Nashville, the front of the vehicle started wobbling quite heavily. Took it to the mechanic next to the motel, apparently both front control arms were gone, and I was misfiring on cylinder #7. Friend, sister, and roommate left, and I spent the next four days alone, stressed and bored out of my mind in a Best Western Inn on the outskirts of Franklin, TN.
I’ll end the story here, but in the year since, I’ve driven a further 10k miles, ventured off-road on a few Central VA trails. The LX is in much better shape, and I’m starting to do some quick fix/install jobs myself. Can’t wait to see where we’re at next year!
