Dealer UNICORN ALERT - ‘08 Amazon Green (tan interior), No Nav

Not my rig and no affiliation.

This just popped up on AutoTrader. This dealer sells a lot of 200s and appears reputable. I ran the VIN in Toyota Owners and the three entries are all in Spanish - from Mexico, not sure? But an Amazon/Tan with no nav is definitely a VERY rare beast! I’m curious of the vehicle’s history and the dealer’s acquisition. Good luck,

Link: Used 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser 4WD for Sale in Kirkland WA 98034 Eastlake Auto Brokers

Photos for posterity:

 

[yonah]

Screenshots from the ToyotaOwners app:

 

[yonah]

 

[grampswrx]

This is probably a Puerto Rico car if I had to guess.

 

[G-Cat]

I like it

 

[bozncsurf]

It is a Rare Bird indeed.

I don’t speak a word of Spanish but it looks like the air conditioner is not cold, there is a problem with the blue tooth, the fog lights aren’t working and they can’t get their cigarette lit.

 

[wanta1VD]

Yeah I don't think the VX trim was ever offered here. Cool find.

 

[Bisonthecruiser]

That's a trip. If Puerto Rico, I'm wondering if it had some hurricane action....especially given bozncsurf's notes. The VX looks to below any model offered in the US in terms of options. Globally, the Sahara model is the top of the line from what I understand. Cool car, but it likely brings more questions in ownership than a US model. Off the top of my head, you're not going to get that stereo fixed here.....

 

[G-Cat]

Here is what they texted when I asked for undercarriage pictures.

 

[petwhookie]

Called in.. No service records. Carfax is "clean" but with no maintenance items on file. The Carfax also doesnt show anything about the issues listed above.

 

[marshcat]

View attachment 2019232View attachment 2019233Here is what they texted when I asked for undercarriage pictures.

Hard to tell but that sure looks like rust. Salty island air can be rough on cars.

 

[G-Cat]

Yeah...I can’t tell. He called and left a VM and said there isn’t one spec of rust...that it is a very clean and very nice truck.

 

[Captndcoke]

@yonah you still in hunt for 200? It's

 

[yonah]

Hard to tell but that sure looks like rust. Salty island air can be rough on cars.

It appears to be road grime and looks fairly clean, to be honest. Those photos are shoddy though. I always get more skeptical of dealers when they take these grainy, poorly focused photos.

This would definitely be candidate for a thorough pre purchase inspection.

@yonah you still in hunt for 200? It's

Still in the market, but I’m not searching as aggressively right now. Work has been so busy (a great thing) that I haven’t been able to devote the time.

 

[ace10]

Just to emphasize what's been mentioned...

If this car came out of the Carribbean, prospective shoppers need to be very, VERY concerned about (a) rust, and it wouldn't be isolated to chassis, as would be the case with exposure to road salt. Salty air and beach sand is, IMO, the very worst exposure for vehicles, (2) water damage, as these islands face tropical storms each and every year and (iii) lack of maintenance.

And further on the point of rust potential... the concern is on any bare metal. Door dings, minor dents, untreated hardware, etc. If you look at cars which have spent significant time near the ocean, you can see rust deep in the door jambs and other random locations.

Personally, I wouldn't touch a car from that region with a ten foot pole.

 

[mcgaskins]

Regardless of rust, a life in the Caribbean means non existent roads in a lot of areas with incredibly harsh conditions. The 200 is built for it, but why buy an example that's likely been beat up for years as opposed to one that's been sitting in a garage for it's whole life already in the US with no weird issues? I have put 11 miles on my truck in 2 months, and it's been garaged 100% of the time. That's the kinda thing you want to look for not something that's beat up with dubious history and service records in Spanish only!

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Regardless of rust, a life in the Caribbean means non existent roads in a lot of areas with incredibly harsh conditions.

Really? I wasn't aware of that. In any case, 170K+ miles in 10 years or so is one helluva lot of miles from my perspective, especially for a huge SUV, and I can't imagine anyone racking up that kind of mileage on an island.

Beautiful color!

 

[mcgaskins]

Really? I wasn't aware of that. In any case, 170K+ miles in 10 years or so is one helluva lot of miles from my perspective and I can't imagine anyone racking up that kind of mileage on an island.

We don't where it's been for certain, but it's far more than likely it's lived outside the US whether that's PR, Mexico, etc. Would you rather have a truck from Scottsdale with perfect paved roads or a third world country with spotty service and owner history? As cool as these non-nav trucks are, almost all have not lived the kind of lives we're used to when buying US trucks. I had a Hawaii spec 100 once that was actually full of weird quirks like not having heated seats or a rear heater, and that one didn't even show up in the Toyota service database even though it came with actual service records. I imagine that would be even weirder with a non mainland US truck like this one.

 

[dubyahard]

I looked at this truck in person and had it inspected at Toyota of Kirkland. Unfortunately, I was unable to drive it when I was there as they were in the middle of detailing it. However, that made viewing the interior and underside easy.
My initial impressions:
Paint looks good - no obvious damage or dents/dings or repainted spots
Engine "looked" clean
Interior looked worn. A few stains on the carpet, worn spots on driver door handle, worn spot on driver window sill (where you'd rest your arm with window down), worn steering wheel and emblem on horn cover, worn center console, marks on the back of the second row where it looks like PO had been hauling stuff, scuffs on the rim of the tailgate where it looked as though something had been resting there and scratch a little paint off
No rust that I could visibly see

Toyota of Kirkland impression: (relayed to me by service manager from the master tech that did inspection)
Good truck overall and one that they would accept on a trade-in and sell themselves if it were not for the mileage. They tend to stick to less than 120k if they are going to sell themselves.
KDSS valve has surface rust but is functional - I asked specifically about this and asked to have a tech that is qualified to replace one to be the one who checked this part.
Drove fine with no issues noted
Oil, trans, diff, and brake fluid all looked reasonably new
Brakes looked very new though pads are not OEM
Three issues were discovered:
1. Looks as though it ran over something and there is some damage underneath the vehicle in the area of the e-brake cable. Cable was tested and worked fine.
2. Slow weep from rear of valve cover gasket - on a scale of 0-10 (0 = no leak, 10 = won't hold any fluid) he said a 3.
3. Leaking hoses that go from radiator to firewall. Not sure what he called them but said if he were owner, he'd fix them before any long trip.

That said, I am still considering this vehicle. I was looking for a low $20s LC or LX and this color does it for me. Now, I am waiting for me 100 to sell. Check it here if you are interested:

2007 Toyota Land Cruiser

The time has come. I have decided to part with my 100-series Toyota Land Cruiser. I have owned this one for a little over a year after buying it from the original owner. I'm driving a lot more now...

portland.craigslist.org

 

[Devils Paw 80]

We don't where it's been for certain, but it's far more than likely it's lived outside the US whether that's PR, Mexico, etc. Would you rather have a truck from Scottsdale with perfect paved roads or a third world country with spotty service and owner history? As cool as these non-nav trucks are, almost all have not lived the kind of lives we're used to when buying US trucks. I had a Hawaii spec 100 once that was actually full of weird quirks like not having heated seats or a rear heater, and that one didn't even show up in the Toyota service database even though it came with actual service records. I imagine that would be even weirder with a non mainland US truck like this one.

Right. I may want a real low mileage rig with a more worn suspension than the high mile rig. Lots of variables to consider, for sure.

Hawaii gets a lot of 2WD Toyotas for some reason. I've noticed there are many 2WD 3rd generation 4Runners over there, and also 2WD FJ Cruisers.