I’ve got a unicorn 100 series Land Cruiser right now. It’s a 2000 but only has 144k miles on it. Been garaged stored it’s whole life, exterior is black, and we’ve done regular maintenance. It was previously owned (we bought it seven years ago) by an airline mechanic who was OCD about vehicle maintenance. It’s not without it‘s flaws however. Squeaky door trims, door lock motors that won’t work in the heat, a major clunk in the front end when hitting a bump, and now an idler pulley that is starting to chirp.
Anyway, it’s mostly a been used as the primary vehicle for my teenager and is designated as the “kid’s vehicle”. I have a 2008 LX570, wife has a 2008 Sequoia, we love them both so we’re covered in the SUV department. Our family is large, so we’ve got a lot of kids that will be driving and using it over the next few years. Sadly, it almost never gets used for off-roading. It’s only been off road once in the past five years. It’s simply a people and stuff mover right now.
So here’s the deal: despite it’s low miles, I’m mulling over what repairs will be coming my way soon (see the list above) and the overall cost of ownership is fairly high (tires, brakes and fuel are expensive). We do much of the maintenance work ourselves, but I’m getting busy enough that I don’t want to spend hours working on it either.
Really the question then: is it worth putting time and money into a machine that is now 21 years old?
Additionally, the local market for Land Cruisers is hot hot hot and I may be able to sell it for 5k ABOVE what I bought it for seven years ago in the current climate.
You may be asking, “what would you get instead?”. Don’t laugh, but I’m leaning toward’s a 2010 (or so) Sienna mini van. Keeps the kids humble and my driving teenagers often are hauling friends, siblings and lots of musical instruments, bikes, etc. It’d be super cheap to operate compared to the LC. More modern airbags and other safety concerns factor in as well.
Financially, it totally makes sense, but…the Land Cruiser is awesome.
So, what would you do?
Anyway, it’s mostly a been used as the primary vehicle for my teenager and is designated as the “kid’s vehicle”. I have a 2008 LX570, wife has a 2008 Sequoia, we love them both so we’re covered in the SUV department. Our family is large, so we’ve got a lot of kids that will be driving and using it over the next few years. Sadly, it almost never gets used for off-roading. It’s only been off road once in the past five years. It’s simply a people and stuff mover right now.
So here’s the deal: despite it’s low miles, I’m mulling over what repairs will be coming my way soon (see the list above) and the overall cost of ownership is fairly high (tires, brakes and fuel are expensive). We do much of the maintenance work ourselves, but I’m getting busy enough that I don’t want to spend hours working on it either.
Really the question then: is it worth putting time and money into a machine that is now 21 years old?
Additionally, the local market for Land Cruisers is hot hot hot and I may be able to sell it for 5k ABOVE what I bought it for seven years ago in the current climate.
You may be asking, “what would you get instead?”. Don’t laugh, but I’m leaning toward’s a 2010 (or so) Sienna mini van. Keeps the kids humble and my driving teenagers often are hauling friends, siblings and lots of musical instruments, bikes, etc. It’d be super cheap to operate compared to the LC. More modern airbags and other safety concerns factor in as well.
Financially, it totally makes sense, but…the Land Cruiser is awesome.
So, what would you do?
