You mean like those sheared off knuckle studs you just discovered milliseconds before augering yourself into the ditch? Or those broken rear lug bolts that waived hello as the rear wheel rolls past you on the freeway? #80life
What it Cost to Own an 80 Series: 11 months and 20,000 Miles In
- Thread starter benjrblant
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I thought the two types were “those who have guns and those who don’t.”
It's really those who think there are two types of people in this word, and those that don't.
Not exactly. Both of those events are set up by improper reassembly after performing maintenance.
even as i buy old 70s era 40s - I always recall the sage advice: for best reliability - buy the newest Landcruiser you can afford and factor in additinal $ for upkeep.
Fact of the matter is that any modern landcruiser thats 15-20years newer has 15-20years of advantage in electronic failure. while we spend all the p.m. time replacing "wear" items....for the most part those are mechanical ones. no one in their right mind -no matter how ocd has gone thru a top to bottom refresh of every electrical wire/ground/sensor etc......and all it takes is one wire near an injector- or sensor to have enough conduction degradation over 30years of life to send an engine into limp/5cyl or no start etc. and as cdan says- evwn if u were ocd enuff to go thru stuff...theres always a chance a ground wasnt fully tightened and pops loose or some other oddity.
for as bulletproof as our Landcruisers are- for ultimate reliability- the newest you can afford will win out over 20years older on average no matter how practically ocd you are with wear items.
Furthermore: Theres Benos discontinued oem parts list as food for thought...and we start having to patch harnesses because oem replacements are NLA added to the mix of the slippery slope of maintaining things to oem standards,
Fact of the matter is that any modern landcruiser thats 15-20years newer has 15-20years of advantage in electronic failure. while we spend all the p.m. time replacing "wear" items....for the most part those are mechanical ones. no one in their right mind -no matter how ocd has gone thru a top to bottom refresh of every electrical wire/ground/sensor etc......and all it takes is one wire near an injector- or sensor to have enough conduction degradation over 30years of life to send an engine into limp/5cyl or no start etc. and as cdan says- evwn if u were ocd enuff to go thru stuff...theres always a chance a ground wasnt fully tightened and pops loose or some other oddity.
for as bulletproof as our Landcruisers are- for ultimate reliability- the newest you can afford will win out over 20years older on average no matter how practically ocd you are with wear items.
Furthermore: Theres Benos discontinued oem parts list as food for thought...and we start having to patch harnesses because oem replacements are NLA added to the mix of the slippery slope of maintaining things to oem standards,
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I realize that cost of ownership is something that one needs to consider, but I also find that it can severely affect the level of enjoyment one has with a vehicle in a negative way. Anytime I spend money to purchase parts for a repair or modification, my wife will make some comment about how we're "always" spending money on it and that we should have a new car so there wasn't all the repair costs.
I express my "support" of her idea and we start looking at new vehicles. Not just any new vehicle, like an econo-box, but one that has a reasonable chance of doing what we do in the 80. That's a pretty short list of vehicles. When we look at purchase price, monthly payments to finance, insurance on the new vehicle and then compare it to the cost of ownership of the 80 (purchase price, mods, repairs, fuel etc) we still come out with a far less expensive vehicle with the 80. And the reality is that none of the new vehicles would be as capable and get us to the places the 80 can unless some extensive mods are made which adds additional cost that wasn't part of the original cost comparison. You pay for a vehicle one way or another. Either more up front cost and a monthly payment for a new car, or lower upfront cost, no monthly payment but potential for more frequent maintenance on an older Car.
I sincerely appreciate my wife's practical approach and she often keeps me in check. But that same practical side can't argue with the numbers when I break down the cost of ownership. Besides, 80s are just cool and they're bada** on the trail.
So, I try to not get distracted by the cost of repairs, mods etc and instead think of the experiences and memories we've had by having the 80. I can't put a price on those especially since my entire family is usually part of making those memories.
I express my "support" of her idea and we start looking at new vehicles. Not just any new vehicle, like an econo-box, but one that has a reasonable chance of doing what we do in the 80. That's a pretty short list of vehicles. When we look at purchase price, monthly payments to finance, insurance on the new vehicle and then compare it to the cost of ownership of the 80 (purchase price, mods, repairs, fuel etc) we still come out with a far less expensive vehicle with the 80. And the reality is that none of the new vehicles would be as capable and get us to the places the 80 can unless some extensive mods are made which adds additional cost that wasn't part of the original cost comparison. You pay for a vehicle one way or another. Either more up front cost and a monthly payment for a new car, or lower upfront cost, no monthly payment but potential for more frequent maintenance on an older Car.
I sincerely appreciate my wife's practical approach and she often keeps me in check. But that same practical side can't argue with the numbers when I break down the cost of ownership. Besides, 80s are just cool and they're bada** on the trail.
So, I try to not get distracted by the cost of repairs, mods etc and instead think of the experiences and memories we've had by having the 80. I can't put a price on those especially since my entire family is usually part of making those memories.
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My wife used to complain about my 80 addiction on a regular basis.
I bought her one and the problem went away.
I bought her one and the problem went away.
Great idea! I bought our first one for my wife.My wife used to complain about my 80 addiction on a regular basis.
I bought her one and the problem went away.
It also helps that she thoroughly enjoys the trips and camping that we do, so it's fortunately not a hard sell to have her backing on maintaining the truck.
Great idea! I bought our first one for my wife.
Sarah took over my ARB fridge (that she was against me getting at first because "ice chests work just fine") and I had to scrounge a used Edgestar. The Edgestar was wigging out on me at Cruise Moab last week and she said "you need to get rid of that and get yourself a new ARB".......
This is why Mud exists IMO.
None of us knew of a PHH or heater valve, let alone the late 1FZ HG, yadda yadda - prior to here.
I popped my HG at a relatively early ~130K but that incident made me aware of treating my 80 like a bulldozer - they never complain right to the minute of major failure if you’re not looking at all the right spots.
A trained owner can keep costs relatively low, a new owner of a mystery 80 can only learn the hard way, or control costs based on prior 80 ownership.
Having had 3 late 1FZ’s, my 2 that I bought / sold in-between used minimal parts & were flawless runners, one even having ~350K when I let it go.
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To me it’s all about knowledge to push cash at the critical / wear parts, and keep a reserve for “damn, didn’t catch that”.
And a extremely comprehensive look-over from bow to transom upon pre-buy or initial purchase.
Bringing a seasoned 80 guy to any prospective 80 purchase is worth whatever in beer & pizza/burgers you buy on the backside, no matter if you bought it or not. If you didn’t, you sidestepped a moneypit.
On jumper cables alone.Yeah, I think I have you beat on cost of ownership
Once you are done with monthly car payments in all forms its much easier to keep the significant other happy with maintenance expenses as they come up. Often times minor modifications can be included in the "maintenance" budget if creative accounting and rationale is used.
I never skip the opportunity to bring up how much was saved by me doing the work myself. These roughly estimated numbers are always at least $1,000, no matter the scope of work - well maybe oil changes are an exception but I still "charge" $250 for those in estimated costs.
I never skip the opportunity to bring up how much was saved by me doing the work myself. These roughly estimated numbers are always at least $1,000, no matter the scope of work - well maybe oil changes are an exception but I still "charge" $250 for those in estimated costs.
So you are saying we need bigger hammers. Got it.
Someone should (@RAGINGMATT) come up with a comprehensive kit that includes all of the proper wiring fittings for an 80 and a couple of spools of probable wires. As of today, it sounds like most of that stuff is available but if someone has already done the leg work to figure out part numbers, they should share it or link the discussion here as a way to cross reference. I would pay top coin for such a thing and even just for the fittings alone. Wires are wires...
This guy knows how to husband appropriately.
What you described can also be carried over to bidding on jobs that the government is paying for. It's all in the pitch.
I bought my 80 with over 200k and none of the required to make it to 200k repairs were done. I guess I just got lucky...
Working on my rig was therapeutic and became my hobby. The 80 has never been a daily driver, so maybe that’s why working on it and bringing it back to great mechanical condition didn’t worry me. I just worked on it whenever I wanted to and knocked off the things I felt needed to be addressed so I could drive anywhere without concern. My job being what it is allows me to work mostly from home I can wrench on my truck during the day as long as I can answer my phone and be prepared to rolll out the door within an hour if work calls.
Working on my rig was therapeutic and became my hobby. The 80 has never been a daily driver, so maybe that’s why working on it and bringing it back to great mechanical condition didn’t worry me. I just worked on it whenever I wanted to and knocked off the things I felt needed to be addressed so I could drive anywhere without concern. My job being what it is allows me to work mostly from home I can wrench on my truck during the day as long as I can answer my phone and be prepared to rolll out the door within an hour if work calls.
Is there like a special job store I should shop at that allows that type of "work"?
I think it's important to remember that when you buy a car (any car really) that what you put in is what you get out. Cars are like women; they respond to love, attention and care. And just like women; taking the time, energy and money to do it right are resources that are well spent. AND!!! if you've been married for what amounts to "200,000 miles" then you know that more care and attention needs to be paid to some things and not so much to some others; but it all still needs your attention.
Keeping track of the dollars and cents on the essentials and the options is nice, but those expenses keeping you from having to walk the Trans America Trail instead of driving it are something you can't put a price on.
And spending the money or doing the work will never add up for someone who leases the new car every 2 years or who thinks of their car as something they pull into the mechanics bay and say "call me when it's done."
I spend the money and do the work yourself when you can; because I'm here for a good time, not a long time.
Keeping track of the dollars and cents on the essentials and the options is nice, but those expenses keeping you from having to walk the Trans America Trail instead of driving it are something you can't put a price on.
And spending the money or doing the work will never add up for someone who leases the new car every 2 years or who thinks of their car as something they pull into the mechanics bay and say "call me when it's done."
I spend the money and do the work yourself when you can; because I'm here for a good time, not a long time.
I don't know anything about women beyond the fact that I like them but I can care for an 80. What does that say for me?
