Purchase Advice... (1 Viewer)

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Joined
May 31, 2005
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3
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Location
Chandler, AZ
We're considering selling our '99 K1500, GMC, 94k and replacing it with a '94 Land Cruiser. Any thoughts/opinions on the LC vs. the Sub?

The 'Cruiser has 173k miles, loaded options, owners are good friends who bought it new and have had everything Toyota recommends done as far as service goes, virtually all service at the dealer. Never had any major issues with it, just regular maintenance stuff and normal wear&tear. They will sell to me for roughly Trade-in value ($6000), so seems like a good bargain.

Reasons for getting rid of Sub are mainly due to large size. It's primarily my wifes vehicle, I only drive on weekends. We have a 4-yr old and one more on the way in January, so don't really need the huge amount of room (which was one of original reasons for purchasing). I know the 'Cruiser won't be any better on fuel around town, and only slightly so on the highway.

My primary concern with te LC would be mileage, especially on the tranny.

Thanks for your opinions...
 
No worries on the tranny....it is the same one used overseas in buses/tractors...it isn't going anywhere.

Have they had the front axle serviced? Including inner oil seals? Hang out here and read and search..then make your decision.

Personally I am glad I ditched my chebby for my LC.
 
Thanks, will continue to look into it further.

It is leather, has front/rear lockers, new front brakes, new hoses, 5k miles on Michelin LTX M/S tires. All maintenance has been done at the dealer, pretty much by the book, whatever was recommended. They have all the service records, so I will begin going through them to see what has been done when.

Thanks
 
Bought my '97 new in '97. Clock now shows 190,000 plus miles. Have had to do little repairs. New AC compressor at about 98,000 mi. Just recently changed the EGR valve/modulator. Couple of tune-ups. Some moderate off-roading (wife's truck) and lots of highway miles to and from Canada. Mileage is actually higher as I have been running 35's on it since about 50K miles. Gas mileage will not be any better than your Suburban. (Had 2, both with 350's). Add a safari roof rack and loose another 1-2 MPG.
You will notice a significant decrease in power. Especially if you had a 350 or bigger in the Sub.

Don't know what to tell you about the tranny. I have towed car trailers and boat trailers with mine. Just have been changing flluids/filters as per Toyota recommendations.

All-in-all, my '97 has been one of the best running/most durable vehicles I have owned.
$6000 sounds like a good price......

Jim
 
I can give you some help as I had an 1997 Tahoe and I have a 1994 full size Blazer.... What I can tell you is I have an FJ40 right now and I'm looking to purchase a LX450 (FZJ80) so I can tell you a little about how I'd compare them...

What I would say is this, the Suburban you have is going to keep going down in value, the cruiser won't. So selling it now is a smart idea. The Suburban isn't made nearly as well, I was always dealing with something on mine, I HATED THAT THING!

I'm bias here but I would take an FZJ80 with 200,000 over a Suburban with 100,000 anyday. You know quick and clear the Cruiser is a much better built SUV, even in 1975 that was clear!

GOOD LUCK!
 
2nd row room is cramped compared to the burb. Fit and finish will be better. Power will be less, but you won't miss it unless you're towing. You will enjoy replacing the fuel pump in the cruiser compared with the burb, since you don't have to drop the tank, and they rarely go bad. Mileage will be similar. If you value air bags, the cruiser doesn't have them.

IMO buying a cruiser for a commuter rig is a waste of its abilities and your money . . . but it's your money. You probably won't regret it.
 
sonoranfun said:
I can give you some help as I had an 1997 Tahoe and I have a 1994 full size Blazer.... What I can tell you is I have an FJ40 right now and I'm looking to purchase a LX450 (FZJ80) so I can tell you a little about how I'd compare them...

What I would say is this, the Suburban you have is going to keep going down in value, the cruiser won't. So selling it now is a smart idea. The Suburban isn't made nearly as well, I was always dealing with something on mine, I HATED THAT THING!

I'm bias here but I would take an FZJ80 with 200,000 over a Suburban with 100,000 anyday. You know quick and clear the Cruiser is a much better built SUV, even in 1975 that was clear!

GOOD LUCK!


Like the marine told Bill when he said he got two razorback hogs for Hillary and Chelsea, "good trade!"
 
You will enjoy replacing the fuel pump in the cruiser compared with the burb, since you don't have to drop the tank, and they rarely go bad.

So are you saying I should put the angle grinder down? I've done two of them on Suburbans/Tahoes/Blazers and all took less then 30 minutes... Cutting holes is FUN!!!!!
 
I wondered how many people cut holes in the body to replace a chevy fuel pump. I can't figure out why GM doesn't make it easier.
 
ajohnson said:
All maintenance has been done at the dealer, pretty much by the book, whatever was recommended. They have all the service records, so I will begin going through them to see what has been done when.
Thanks

Catch is that the book probably does not include a complete and proper axle service. I see "dealer serviced" vehicles all the time and also people in you position buying vehicles that are supposed to be 100% since they were dealer serviced. No guarantees. Better than no service, but do not put to much value on it.

It is not that the dealers are slacking, they just consider birfields, fix when fail items and not maintenance items. Keeps 99% of the customers happy since they do not have to do a $1k axle service every 60k miles.

We all know the people on the boards are different. Not warning you away from this, but be aware that you migth have to do some "better than dealer" maitenance.
 
Thanks Christo, I'll be sure to look into maintenance on the axles. My SOP when I purchase a used vehicle is to change out fluids in axles, tranny, engine, etc. I do know the the PO has been running synthetic motor oil for quite awhile now, though not for the entire life of the vehicle.

I will be towing a pop-up tent trailer on occasion, but obviously it isn't a major amount of weight.
 
I wondered how many people cut holes in the body to replace a chevy fuel pump. I can't figure out why GM doesn't make it easier.

When I tell people I did this they think I'm nuts! I'm like okay, drop your tank and give me a call in 8 hours! I could do a fuel pump now in 25 minutes on the trail in my Blazer. It's a GM and I think they coined the term "I'll take an oil change and a fuel pump"....


No point in not cutting a hole if you plan to have it more then 15K as you'll be doing another one soon.

I hate liking Chevy! :eek:
 
OK, I borrowed my friend LC for a day, runs a drives great. I'm taking it to a trusted tranny shop tomorrow for a pre-purchase inspection.

It has had a lot of work done to it over 174k miles, lots of brakes, speed sensors, regular tranny and diff service and whatever else was called for by Toyota. It's been running M1 synth since ~100k miles. I couldn't see anywhere that the birfields had been serviced or replaced, but I didn't hear any noises either. Anyway in particular for me to check them?

I'm thinking I'm going to go for it, after doing lots of reading and searching here, $6000 for a '94, loaded with every factory option (leather, F/R lockers, sunroof, power seats, towing, etc) seems like it's a pretty good deal. We'll see how the tranny inspection goes, and then I need to sell my '99 K1500 Suburban.
 
Let me know if you decide not to purchase this cruiser... I am looking for one myself in the Phoenix area and would love to come across a similar deal!

Mike
 
Had the pre-purchase tranny inspection this mornign, passed with flying colors. O-ring needs replaced on the transfer case and the front-diff needs fresh fluid. Birfs were in good shape with no scoring or wear visible, just some grease caked on the outside that needs cleaned up. The only place they saw any leaks was on the transfer case, and that's just the o-ring. On the road test, they said everything shifts very smoothly, converter unlocks properly, the techs comment was 'drives like a dream'.

So, looks like I will be joining the LC club. Need to sell the Suburban first, so will take a couple of weeks.
 
They actually pulled the birfields during an inspection? Wow. I suspect they were talking about the ends of the axle housing, not the birfields.
 
ajohnson said:
snip

So, looks like I will be joining the LC club. Need to sell the Suburban first, so will take a couple of weeks.


Yea, right, advertise the rig here, tell us all how great a deal it is, and then wait for a couple of weeks to get it...!

BWAHAHAHA! :D


Don't be surprised if you see a number of strangers "cruising" your neighborhood in the next few days... :D
 
haha, good one. ;)

I deal in cash for vehicles, don't buy any on loan or credit. That, plus the fact that this one is being purchased from a good friend who hasn't found a replacement yet is giving me lots of time to have it checked out thoroughly and time to sell my current rig. It's a nice luxury one doesn't often have, so I'll take advantage of it...
 

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