Still in Search of the Perfect 80 (1 Viewer)

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Replied with answer, but decided not family style enough - ask in chit chat or pm and I'll answer.

Sorry to those with kids. :flipoff2:
 
[quote author=Junk link=board=2;threadid=6507;start=msg53097#msg53097 date=1066699892]
Ah yes, always help the TBPD women I say. :D
[/quote]

I'm guessing something like a MILF - Sorry J if I'm wrong, but something tells me.... ::) ::) ::)

Cruiser Content : Uuuuhh....I paid too much for mine. Don't be like me. 17k was my price a year ago. :flipoff2:
 
Kyle-

If nothing happened on this deal then I would recommend looking at

http://www.e4runner.com/

They are in Addison (Dallas), TX not too far from Arkansas compared to Baltimore.

I have had a great experience buying a TLC from these guys, their website isn't fast enough to keep up with their inventory so I would call them and tell them what you are looking for. I bought mine less than 2 weeks ago and I'm very happy!!!
 
Great stuff! They have a good list of inventory. However, their prices seem to be a good deal above that of market. If you don't mind me asking, would you tell me what kind of cruiser you got fromthem, , how many miles, condition, and how much you gave?
 
I got a 97 FJ80 with 73000 miles. It is white with tan leather interior and wood grain trim inside, it also has the nine speakers option(I think that was an option), it does not have the factory alarm. It does have all the locking differentials. It is in superb condition in and out. I would say it's only aged about 3.5 years insetead of 7 years. The engine was so clean I would have cooked a steak on it if you dared me.

I paid $21,250, which is what it was going to sell for if i didn't buy it, this one is worth that much. There was a line of people to see this truck, I became first in line after I missed on the 96 FJ80 w/56000 he sold the week before. The market is different out here because we've got 5.2 million people rolling around Dallas and Fort Worth, but you can still find some amazing trucks because there are more of them around here to purchase. I also got a warranty for 3 years or another 45,000 miles, had to pay for that though.

Most importantly, the dealer is a really nice guy and a Mavericks fan. He knows how to give customer service. He didn't know me from Adam and he let me and my wife take and FJ80 home the night he met us so we could see what it was like, I already knew it was the best, but my wife didn't. The next day when my wife tried to return the truck, he sent her back home with an FJ100 so she could see the differences, it helped her realize the FJ80 is what we really wanted! When we had some confusion with the safety inspection sticker he agreed to let me take his credit card to pay for the inspection, this was due to my impatience to have the truck so I don't blame him for getting the wrong sticker. I'm really impressed with these guys, they are just around the corner from my office so it's been easy for me to go and see them and to ask for their advice about mechanics and such.

I know I might have found a cheaper truck if I searched harder, but I decided to let these guys do the looking for me. I also feel they probably found a better conditioned truck than I ever would have found if I had kept looking myself.

Oh yeah, you get a better APR when you buy from a dealer than if you buy it from a stranger so you might save money through the financing of the vehicle, unless you have that much cash sitting around.

I don't know what else to say. Please ask more questions.
 
Here's my delimma. My expected time of graduation from the University of Arkansas is next Summer. I have a good chunk (about 12K) to put down on a vehicle, the rest will be financed. I'd rather go with a 2 year note with payments not to exceed about 180 dollars a month. However, if I found a good enough vehicle, i'd be willing to expand that to a 3 year note, but would still want the payments to be no more than 180. Basically I'm looking for a cruiser in the 13-16K range, depending on mileage. I reasonably expect I can pick up a 96-97 with lockers with under 100K (85-95k miles) for around 15 - 15,5. This was the price range I was trying to stick to, and I wouldn't mind picking up one with a few more miles (110-120K) if I could drop the price down to the 13 -14K range. Financing isn't really much of a problem, I could either go through family for financing, or through a bank. The only incentive I have for going through a bank is to gain some credit.

I just want to ask you another question. You said the dealer had your wife drive a 100 series, as though the 80's drive better? I would think after driving a 100 series, it would make someone want to buy the 100 over the 80. I've driven a 100 series on a trip, and it was the best driving SUV i've ever driven (Including suburbans, escalades, etc.) but I've never driven an 80, only ridden in one.
 
Kyle-

>I just want to ask you another question. You said the dealer had your wife >drive a 100 series, as though the 80's drive better? I would think after driving a >100 series, it would make someone want to buy the 100 over the 80. I've >driven a 100 series on a trip, and it was the best driving SUV i've ever driven
>Including suburbans, escalades, etc.) but I've never driven an 80, only ridden >in one.

First, I hate trucks, I hate the body roll that I feel when I drive them. I hate cars too, prefer 2 wheels. That being said my mother leased a 96 FJ80 a few years ago and it was the only truck that I ever actually liked. She later bought a 98 FJ100 and I hated it. I think the 100 has too much body roll. The 80 has very little that I notice. When I realized I had to get a truck, no way around it, I had only one option. It was nice to get to drive both from the dealer as it confirmed my distaste for the FJ100. The FJ80 corners like a car and the FJ100 drives like a truck in my opinion. The ride quality, i.e. the ability to not feel bumps in the road, does seem marginally better on the FJ100, but that wasn't enough of a difference to sway my opinion of which truck I think is better. Neither Toyota was anywhere near the ride quality of my 77 Cadillac, so I accept all trucks have diminished ride quality in comparison.

From my research, it seemed like most people think the FJ100 is not as sturdy a vehicle as the FJ80, that the FJ100 is built with luxury as it's top priority. Some people think the truck was ruined when they put in a smoother transmission for the 95 model year.

Try to drive both of them and go do some u-turns somewhere so you may see what I mean.
 
BTW we have a huge Arkansas alumni club here in Dallas. They watch all the sporting events together at the sports bar I like to hang out in around the corner from my office. I'm a Kentucky alumni and our club meets at the same sport's bar, it gets ugly when we play each other.
 
BTW we have a huge Arkansas alumni club here in Dallas. They watch all the sporting events together at the sports bar I like to hang out in around the corner from my office. I'm a Kentucky alumni and our club meets at the same sport's bar, it gets ugly when we play each other

I'm not sure what's up with the Hogs these days. Seems like playing at home is tougher than the away games. I think nut-butter (houston nutt) needs an offensive coordinator and I've been saying it for years, this year is no different.

Kentuck-Arkansas basketball games USED to be the best. The past 5 or 6 years Arkansas hasn't had a competitive basketball team. It's a shame, because I'm more a basketball fan than football.
 
Hippy (hfpieratt), most of the dealers in the metroplex let you take them home for the night or the weekend. I know cause I lived there and bought a truck there.

Dude, if you paid $21k, you got hosed big time. You probably could have bought that truck for at least 6k less somewhere else, paid about $800 or less to ship it there and spent the rest in singles at The Lodge. :flipoff2:
 
Junk-

I Disagree. But 'F' it, unless this one turns out to be a lemon, I know I got a good deal. Maybe we'll meet sometime in person and we can argue about it then.

See Ya!
 
Ok. This "price someone should pay" thing is beginning to bug me. One of the worst things a person can do when buying a vehicle is ask the board if the price is right. I think the board is good for info on what to look for, pitfalls to avoid etc. If a vehicle is in good condition, has the right options, and well maintained, the price a buyer should pay is what he/she feels comfortable with. I feel some are missing out on their 80 because they feel peer pressured into passing up the cherry because of fear of paying too much. Who says too much? It is YOUR decision. Cherry vehicles command a much higher price than an average example. Less miles and better condition mean fewer future problems. So to those who are looking for their 80, do not listen too much to others about price, buy the one that feels right for you. A couple of grand should not keep you from getting the right vehicle. I used to buy used vehicles for a Mazda dealer in a previous life. Paying up for the right one is always money well spent.
Sean
 
I must agree with Sean !!!

You have to pay more for less miles. I paid a good fortune for my 97 with 48KMiles but when you look under the rig you think it came just now out of the factory.

You are buying your dream and nobody should give you an advice what is the right price or not. It is your pocket and your dream. Go for it !!

Mike
 
One of the worst things a person can do when buying a vehicle is ask the board if the price is right.

I guess we can agree to disagree here. Who am I suppose to ask if the price is right? Edmunds? KBB? Bah, the people who know what price is right is the people who have one (IE, have already paid a price) and can compare their current vehicles to ones that are asked about by noobs such as myself. If I paid 5G's more today for the same vehicle (all things being equal) that you did a year ago, then this would be a "bad deal," and I think it's good to have a board such as this to give the ignorant some advice.

Junk... gotten anything out of that neighborhood soccer mom yet?! :p
 
>> One of the worst things a person can do when buying a vehicle is ask the board if the price is right. <<

Agreed!

In fact, I agree even more with Sean's whole paragraph.

People will still ask and some of us will still try to give an opinion if pressed, but selecting your new Cruiser is a lot like picking out a wife.

Would you ask Junk his opinion? Somehow, I doubt it. (No offence Junk.) :D

-B-
 
I see no foul in establishing a "range". That being said, it is impossible to get any kind of "hard" number on a used vehicle. Certain examples will be found at both extremes. EG a gillion mile 97 with a salvage title vs a 94 with 16,000 genuine miles on it. I sure as heck wouldn't part with mine for three times what an average 93 sells for today. In fact, I'm seriously thinking about looking into "stated value" insurance so I wouldn't loose my arse if something happened to it. :'(
 

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