Wanted Want to buy - can't find! For sale by owner shows lots of flippers! (1 Viewer)

Year

2001

Vehicle Model

1. 100 Series

Location

United States

Mileage

12345

Color

rgb(205, 201, 201)

Does anyone know how I can find an LC/LX that's not someone's flip?

Sorry, this is just a bit of a rant and may not be very popular, but since I have been looking for one of these (over a year now - nationwide!) pretty much all I find are people who are "flipping" these things. I know there are probably a number of people on Mud who flip rigs but if someone has been active on Mud for years and has a good reputation that doesn't bother me.

What bothers me is that at any given time I will see a number of these going for $20,000+ for a rig with 150k+ miles, multiple owners, etc. To be honest, many of them seem to be good rigs and would likely serve me well. But the person flipping this Cruiser and asking $20,000 for it didn't but it for $20,000. More likely $14,000 - $15,000. So where did they buy it? It's just getting frustrating when that's all I see. And I am not going to pay someone top dollar who probably low-balled a desperate seller, spent a few hours detailing it and bought a car-fax. They know nothing about how the car was maintained other than saying it was "dealer serviced". I want to buy from an actual owner who has driven it and can tell me what was done (and that I can verify).

Maybe I am underestimating what goes into a flip, but if I were going do this I am putting as little into it as possible to maximize profit potential. Like if it needs a timing belt I am going to do JUST the belt and water pump. I am not going to do anything else because I do not care about the long-term reliability of the vehicle.

The advertisements are all the same too. "This is your chance to own the legendary Land Cruiser. V8 can go to 500,000 miles! Built like a tank! Best off-road vehicle ever! Blah blah blah!" If you are looking at a Land Cruiser you know what you are looking for. Also they are super vague about ownership. They will say things like "1-owner California Cruiser!" But they never say THEY are the owner.

Whenever I ask them more specific questions they either get defensive or just ignore me. If they respond it's just something like "That's the market. People pay top-dollar for these rigs." But they didn't.

The thing that bothers me the most though is that these guys all show up as "For Sale by Owner" yet I don't consider this to be the case. I know you can sell a certain number of cars without a dealer license, but you are a reseller. NOT a private owner.

Rant over!

 

[GTS550]

I'm with you 100%. I've experienced the same with the 100-Series in multiple markets and it's exasperating to see the lengths to which flippers/curbstoners go to conceal their tracks. The first LX470 I ever looked at was listed by a longtime owner for like $4,500. I showed up as second in line to see it. The first interested buyer feigned complete ignorance about the LX, from the timing belt service internal to operation of the AHC. He must've gotten a whiff of my interest, so he bought it before I could. Just a few weeks later it was back for sale online with a car wash/detail and a 200%+ price hike.

I think the problem stems from the disparity between online valuation tools (e.g., KBB) and the true market value for these vehicles. Innocent longtime owner (who, let's face it, is more likely to be in a financial position to not sweat a few G's here or there) looks up the value on KBB, lists the vehicle for sale accordingly, and it's snapped up in no time by the flipper, who not only gets in front of an intentional owner-buyer but also puts in minimal effort to flip for easy $$$$.

I don't know what to tell you except that you're not alone. Update those Craigslist and CarGurus search alerts and act quick if you see a rig that interests you. Hopefully the right one will come along.

 

[shtbrwn86]

I'm with you 100%. I've experienced the same with the 100-Series in multiple markets and it's exasperating to see the lengths to which flippers/curbstoners go to conceal their tracks. The first LX470 I ever looked at was listed by a longtime owner for like $4,500. I showed up as second in line to see it. The first interested buyer feigned complete ignorance about the LX, from the timing belt service internal to operation of the AHC. He must've gotten a whiff of my interest, so he bought it before I could. Just a few weeks later it was back for sale online with a car wash/detail and a 200%+ price hike.

I think the problem stems from the disparity between online valuation tools (e.g., KBB) and the true market value for these vehicles. Innocent longtime owner (who, let's face it, is more likely to be in a financial position to not sweat a few G's here or there) looks up the value on KBB, lists the vehicle for sale accordingly, and it's snapped up in no time by the flipper, who not only gets in front of an intentional owner-buyer but also puts in minimal effort to flip for easy $$$$.

I don't know what to tell you except that you're not alone. Update those Craigslist and CarGurus search alerts and act quick if you see a rig that interests you. Hopefully the right one will come along.

Good tip with the Craigslist alerts. I didn't know it did that actually. I was using their RSS feed but it wasn't super quick. For the record I flag every single one I see that's a flipper. Doesn't do any good but makes me feel the slightest bit better.

I'm to the point where I am going to start leaving notes on people's windshields asking them to contact me if they are at all thinking of selling.
To be clear, I am not trying to rip someone off. I know what these vehicles are worth and I would pay for it if it was the original owner and he/she had all the documentation and was fully dealer-serviced etc... I just am not interested in paying a premium to someone who is trying to flip for a quick profit. And I think what these vehicles are "worth" is not the same as what the flippers are trying to sell them for. The reason they are asking such a high price is because they buy all the decent ones and list for high prices. This creates the illusion of limited supply and high demand. It's like the hand sanitizer and face masks. They don't cost that much, but people buy them all up and try to sell them for more because there is no supply.

 

[Jeppers]

I have 2 lx’s and a cruiser and am about to thin the heard to add a 200. If you are interested shoot me a pm. Ran into the same problem you are having with the 200’s I have been looking at.

 

[Gassiper]

My 2000 LX with 122k miles and quite a few super nice additions isn’t a flip! Had it for about 2 1/2 years and it’s just time to get back to 2 cars instead of 3.

 

[liftinghvy]

I too have encountered this. And I'm not a cheapskate. I'm about principle. I'm not going to give someone $20k cash knowing they purchased for $9-12k weeks prior. I daily drive a G, but looking to purchase a 100. Not specifically picky on year. Mostly concerned with bill of health and upkeep history. I'm in Texas and Florida. They're fairly priced here, but I notice the price for them spike 60+ percent on the west coast and PNW. Steer clear of boutique dealerships as I've found them in Denver as well as parts of Florida to source them from up north. They'll simply coat the rust and make up a story.

 

[dmac95]

I too have encountered this. And I'm not a cheapskate. I'm about principle. I'm not going to give someone $20k cash knowing they purchased for $9-12k weeks prior. I daily drive a G, but looking to purchase a 100. Not specifically picky on year. Mostly concerned with bill of health and upkeep history. I'm in Texas and Florida. They're fairly priced here, but I notice the price for them spike 60+ percent on the west coast and PNW. Steer clear of boutique dealerships as I've found them in Denver as well as parts of Florida to source them from up north. They'll simply coat the rust and make up a story.

Can you show sample pictures of a LC100 with painted/coated over rust? I too found shady deals that I backed out of.

 

[dmac95]

My 2000 LX with 122k miles and quite a few super nice additions isn’t a flip! Had it for about 2 1/2 years and it’s just time to get back to 2 cars instead of 3.

Remember one thing, in general, by modifying something from stock you are thereby reducing the audience of buyers, but instead of going down on price - you went up - hence by laws of probability you aren't going to find many buyers for that package. One option is to put the truck back to stock and sell your after market parts on craigslist - who knows.

 

[Gassiper]

Remember one thing, in general, by modifying something from stock you are thereby reducing the audience of buyers, but instead of going down on price - you went up - hence by laws of probability you aren't going to find many buyers for that package. One option is to put the truck back to stock and sell your after market parts on craigslist - who knows.

I hear ya. The reason I went up though was the addition of new tires and DT headers. Not sure it would have made any sense for me to add about $2,000 in parts and $1,500 in labor and not raise my price a little? I’m always open to offers though!

 

[dmac95]

I hear ya. The reason I went up though was the addition of new tires and DT headers. Not sure it would have made any sense for me to add about $2,000 in parts and $1,500 in labor and not raise my price a little? I’m always open to offers though!

Of course to you its worth more - but to the average joe, depending on what is modified - they probably would rather purchase a stock truck/boat/anything over a modded one unless they are actively looking for all-in-one deals - in which case they most likely are looking to find a good deal for them.

that's just my thought process on how this would work.

 

[TXMeatball]

The average joe would be appalled at the prices of our 15 year old SUVs and then buy a tahoe.

 

[aggiepaintrain]

anyone with a nice 06-07 LC or LX with zero rust under 120k hit me up
prefer stock LX will take a mod LC

 

[dmac95]

The average joe would be appalled at the prices of our 15 year old SUVs and then buy a tahoe.

Regardless of what you buy or sell - there is a market for it. It may be that landcruisers end up being like landrovers - where they see a high volume of interest at a low supply. If supply meets demand then you cant really dictate price too much.

For example, if I had a cruiser - I wouldnt sell it, but if I wanted to sell it - I would only sell it to the highest bidder. So now - who is the highest bidder? Is it an enthusiast or a well informed person trying to get a reliable truck? Because if you sell to enthusiasts - they likely will pay more but the well informed person will just wait for the enthusiasts to limit our their garage space and then they will buy.

If this is the case - then the price of cruisers will follow how many enthusiasts there are as the number of well informed people trying to be cars has not changed at all - actually this number has declined. So the only reasonable assumption is that enthusiasts or wanna be enthusiasts are scooping up cruisers - and that will happen until enthusiasts stop. I dont understand the mind of an enthusiast as I prefer to make deals rather than follow the herd like a hyna.

The herd momentum is deadly - as it was in the 2009 housing crash. Years before it you had bunch of "i will buy it any cost" and then went the financial system. Not saying this is the same, but the mentality is similar where the fun of the public is ruined by the idiots bidding up prices for no reason other than human stupidity.