Should I buy an 80, costs of ownership?

[Comet]

I feel like this question could be a whole new topic.

Even with the current prices, I make a whole lot more money now than I did when I first got into the 80, so a $15k+ cruiser now would probably feel about the same as the $5k I spent on my 80 7 years ago.

My 80 hardly gets used because it causes respiratory distress to my wife who has a really F'ed up immune system. Mold in the carpet, something in the HVAC, who knows. I'm going through it trying to figure it out. But 90% of the cars that pre-date cabin air filters give her the same reaction. That's why I bought the minivan (200 series), just to have something my wife can get in and go without causing us both to have a bad time. Also way better tow vehicle than the 80, though the 80 definitely can get the job done. I'd buy another 80, sure, but I'd feel like we'd have to sit in and "breath test" a dozen of them before we found one that didn't cause her trouble. I would also consider going back to the 60/62 platform, even though the prices for those are even more bonkers. FJ60 is my spirit animal.

Get a cheap ozone generator, run it for a day in the cabin (shut up tight), and see what happens. I had zero issues with my interior, then I bought a complete set of cloth seats (manual adjustment) for all three rows and now I can’t breathe in the darn thing. Got a buddy with an ozone machine, that’s my short term attempt. I haven’t found the time yet either.

 

[foeix]

Required reading

 

[OGBeno]

Another bump for the newbies.

This should be a FAQ thread. @Romer

 

[Romer]

Another bump for the newbies.

This should be a FAQ thread. @Romer

It has been for 15+ years

 

[OGBeno]

Go back to rocketry, Ken. Sorry to bother you.

 

[TheRealDeal124]

In 2006 I was in 6th grade and had no idea what a Land Cruiser was.

 

[Tapage]

It has been for 15+ years
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the good old days .. and me buying my second 80 ..

 

[jaymar]

It has been for 15+ years
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Prices may need some adjusting…

 

[SaturnAscends]

So when I owned my 80 series I felt like I could never truly afford to get it to the point I wanted mechanically and cosmetically. For one thing, to do the upper pan arch and valve stem seals would have been cost-prohibitive at a mechanic and well beyond my modest capabilities.

I hope this question isn't untoward, but I find myself wondering what kind of financial resources are needed to own one of these in the present day. Can someone on the average US salary afford to own one of these anymore?

 

[Comet]

@Ozark Bushwalker

If you use the tool roll the truck came with and buy oem parts for the critical systems then I believe the 80 makes a perfect daily driver as long as you have an older camry waiting in the wings while you wait for the parts to ship.

 

[FloridaCruiser22]

So when I owned my 80 series I felt like I could never truly afford to get it to the point I wanted mechanically and cosmetically. For one thing, to do the upper pan arch and valve stem seals would have been cost-prohibitive at a mechanic and well beyond my modest capabilities.

I hope this question isn't untoward, but I find myself wondering what kind of financial resources are needed to own one of these in the present day. Can someone on the average US salary afford to own one of these anymore?

Yes

Source: Me

 

[mudgudgeon]

So when I owned my 80 series I felt like I could never truly afford to get it to the point I wanted mechanically and cosmetically. For one thing, to do the upper pan arch and valve stem seals would have been cost-prohibitive at a mechanic and well beyond my modest capabilities.

I hope this question isn't untoward, but I find myself wondering what kind of financial resources are needed to own one of these in the present day. Can someone on the average US salary afford to own one of these anymore?

That's a how long is a piece of string question.

What's your intended use?
How far do your modest mechanical capabilities extended?
How inclined are you too so work yourself? Vs pay for work to be done?
How deep does the Mud OCD run? Are you the 'everything needs to be minty fresh OEM', or 'functionality is important, looks are not' kind of guy?

For me, I paid $5k AUD for diamond in the rough that I knew needed a new clutch, and a lot of deferred PM, and a deep clean.
I expected to spend about $5k AUD over the next couple of years in PM/Baselining. All work by me.

Then, allow $1k/year for the unexpected failure.
Starter motor, alternator, air con compressor, radiator, brake booster/master cylinder, head gasket etc etc
I've copped almost all these and more. You might get lucky and go years without needing any of these

And then, there's upgrades/ mods.
Tires, suspension lift, bar work, electrical accessories, seat upgrade, winch etc etc i
It's easy to throw another grand or more at each of these mods

 

[SaturnAscends]

That's a how long is a piece of string question.

What's your intended use?
How far do your modest mechanical capabilities extended?
How inclined are you too so work yourself? Vs pay for work to be done?
How deep does the Mud OCD run? Are you the 'everything needs to be minty fresh OEM', or 'functionality is important, looks are not' kind of guy?

For me, I paid $5k AUD for diamond in the rough that I knew needed a new clutch, and a lot of deferred PM, and a deep clean.
I expected to spend about $5k AUD over the next couple of years in PM/Baselining. All work by me.

Then, allow $1k/year for the unexpected failure.
Starter motor, alternator, air con compressor, radiator, brake booster/master cylinder, head gasket etc etc
I've copped almost all these and more. You might get lucky and go years without needing any of these

And then, there's upgrades/ mods.
Tires, suspension lift, bar work, electrical accessories, seat upgrade, winch etc etc i
It's easy to throw another grand or more at each of these mods

Intended use would be mostly daily driving with occasional mild off-roading/camping and even more occasional tougher tracks.

I can do basic stuff like thermostats, fluid changes, starters, etc., but more complex jobs like top end rebuilds, engine resealing, and jobs requiring specialized tools etc., I figure I'd be better off paying someone who actually knows what they're doing. After all, seeing others scrap their truck when a DIY head gasket job goes awry makes $3500 at a Cruiser specialist seem like a bargain. I'm aware that kind of thinking can turn into a moneypit, but at least then the work gets done. That being said, even the parts costs for gasket and bushings made me blush more than a few times.

I have a high sh!tbox tolerance, but even I started to tire of the constant sulfury smell emanating from somewhere in the oily morass of the engine block and undercarriage. Even the prospect of merely cleaning all the accumulated gunk off those surfaces proved to be daunting, let alone a resealing of the characteristically leaky 25-year old 1FZ.

FWIW, my current 5VZ uses almost no oil between changes, and the block is almost clean enough to eat off. I'm not sure if this is a foible of the big straight six or my truck was just neglected in this regard.

I'd balk at extensive mods; after all, the Toyota engineers did a pretty good job in the first place. 33s and a suspension refresh would be more than sufficient for me. There's just something about those rugged good looks and that legendary coil-spring solid axle set up.

 

[SpenserAK]

R

 

[SpenserAK]

Love "high sh*tbox tolerance." Needs to be made into wearables/stickables.

 

[OGBeno]

Caveat: this thread was started in 2006. Some of the respondents in this thread were in middle school.

2023 80 series trucks are radically different than the vehicles we were discussing/driving in 2006. The newest FZJ80 was only 9 years old.

They will only continue to cost more as they get older.

Pay to play. All day.

 

[sunrk]

I can't quantify what I've spent on my 80. 12 yrs ago I bought it for just over $5k but I would have spent $10 to $20 k on it just in parts and, and I look after it as much as I can myself so I save a lot of money on 'shop time'. I try to use genuine parts as much as possible but that's getting harder now.

One Australian website I looked at says that the TCOA (Total Cost of Ownership) for a landcruiser in Australia is in the range of $300 to $400 a week back about 10 yrs ago, so make that 1.5 to 2.0 that for 2022.

So lets say $500 a week TCOA is close to mid-range and for a year you get A$26k per year to own a landcruiser of any current generation that you can buy new or used today. I'm sure for most people they spend nowhere near that, so $15k to $20k annual TCOA is probably more accurate on average.

Got to include *everything* and that is much more than registration + taxes, 3rd party insurance, full comp insurance, and fuel. There's wear/tear/tyres/services/maintenance and all of that is ongoing.

Rego + taxes + 3rd party + full comp is about $2k straight up. I don't really keep track of fuel I buy and use, but average fills are around 100L at a time and fuel price for diesel is well over $2 a litre. Fill up on average fortnightly, so 26 x 100 x $2.30 a litre = almost $6000 just for fuel and that's for mainly driving to/from work only (60 km round trip). So there's $8000 of annual cost already with no inclusion of wear/tear/tyres/service/maintenance/cleaning/etc.

 

[Dirt Ferguson]

Not to mention, consider your alternatives in this same genre…..dismal.

 

[SpenserAK]

Weekly? I very much understand that I am not a costly user, but even that considered, what are people spending $500 weekly on? Not including fuel

 

[SaturnAscends]

I can't quantify what I've spent on my 80. 12 yrs ago I bought it for just over $5k but I would have spent $10 to $20 k on it just in parts and, and I look after it as much as I can myself so I save a lot of money on 'shop time'. I try to use genuine parts as much as possible but that's getting harder now.

One Australian website I looked at says that the TCOA (Total Cost of Ownership) for a landcruiser in Australia is in the range of $300 to $400 a week back about 10 yrs ago, so make that 1.5 to 2.0 that for 2022.

So lets say $500 a week TCOA is close to mid-range and for a year you get A$26k per year to own a landcruiser of any current generation that you can buy new or used today. I'm sure for most people they spend nowhere near that, so $15k to $20k annual TCOA is probably more accurate on average.

Got to include *everything* and that is much more than registration + taxes, 3rd party insurance, full comp insurance, and fuel. There's wear/tear/tyres/services/maintenance and all of that is ongoing.

Rego + taxes + 3rd party + full comp is about $2k straight up. I don't really keep track of fuel I buy and use, but average fills are around 100L at a time and fuel price for diesel is well over $2 a litre. Fill up on average fortnightly, so 26 x 100 x $2.30 a litre = almost $6000 just for fuel and that's for mainly driving to/from work only (60 km round trip). So there's $8000 of annual cost already with no inclusion of wear/tear/tyres/service/maintenance/cleaning/etc.

That seems astronomically high to me honestly, but then I gather owning 4x4s in Australia is a lot more expensive. I could barely afford an old camry when I was over there. Yet so many people seem to have them.

Not to mention, consider your alternatives in this same genre…..dismal.

I mean the 120 series is a solid alternative but some might say it's not quite the same with the IFS and more complex systems. Most people probably wouldn't notice the absence of the solid axle off-road though I'd wager. My Tacoma is a good truck with lower parts costs, but it's also a much lighter-duty 4x4 than a LC.

Caveat: this thread was started in 2006. Some of the respondents in this thread were in middle school.

2023 80 series trucks are radically different than the vehicles we were discussing/driving in 2006. The newest FZJ80 was only 9 years old.

They will only continue to cost more as they get older.

Pay to play. All day.

Yes, to your point I was wondering if they are starting to be out of the reach of the average person. Back in 2006-2015 they were tremendous value and could be had for a song, but now one must pay collector prices on top of a costly baseline.