Why are there so many FJ40's still for sale? (25 Viewers)

[sogncab]

Economy sucks.

A matter of perspective.
My economy is ripping.

 

[numby]

I realize that many here are making a living off of the increased value of these old vehicles. I don't want to see their livelihoods affected but...

I "think" I'll be really happy when nobody wants them and I can stop worrying about where I park mine. With my luck that'll happen right as I need an operation in Switzerland or serious bail money.

 

[White Stripe]

Cant imagine whats causing this down turn in the economy/ high cost of living?

Ya its been bad for years. Prices have been all over the place for quite a while. Personally though in the last several years I think 40 prices have been steady. 80 series prices are creeping up slowly I think.

 

[ikarus]

Thoughts on this one? Started out at $25K last year and just keeps getting cheaper and cheaper.. it's almost cheap enough that I might grab it just because it would be a fun summer vehicle, though not the ideal 40 that I would save up for. But it would be fun in the mean time.

Toyota Land Cruiser | 12000 | Draper, UT | KSL Cars - https://cars.ksl.com/listing/9962687

 

[cruisermatt]

Thoughts on this one? Started out at $25K last year and just keeps getting cheaper and cheaper.. it's almost cheap enough that I might grab it just because it would be a fun summer vehicle, though not the ideal 40 that I would save up for. But it would be fun in the mean time.

Toyota Land Cruiser | 12000 | Draper, UT | KSL Cars - https://cars.ksl.com/listing/9962687

You have a lot of leverage for negotiation with how poorly that SOA is done. On the flip side, it would be pretty easy to put that one back to SUA. The rest of the truck doesn't look too bad, actually pretty unmolested looking for a 71. I'd say $5-6k would be ok. It would be a $10k truck (maybe) if the steering/suspension were sorted

 

[pb4ugo]

I agree. It appears he spent a lot of time and money to get it to handle. I bet none of those efforts made it any better. SOA requires more than replacing parts. That roll bar is scary looking.

 

[sogafarm]

Yeah I’ve been noticing the massive price drops on 40’s too. Watching Mecum auction in Indy this weekend and prices are surprisingly weak on most all makes. Nobody has anything extra to spend on an extra vehicle these days. My auto insurance went up from $1600 to $2300 for the year for no reason. No tickets or claims and iv been with the same company for 27 years. Property tax evaluations have tripled in my county also in one year. Everything is way over priced except Landcruisers these days.

 

[knuckle47]

@sogafarm glad you pointed this out since everything I have said to everyone I know seems to have fallen on deaf ears. I ask them if their income has risen proportionately in this time frame…”.uh, not really”. Then wake the f%$@ up. I am as passionate these days about this as I was 50 years ago with smoking and recycling.

Ok. I’m finished

 

[Chilkoot]

The other factor in this for people trying to do most of the work themselves are the cost of parts and materials. I just spent $25 for two small rubber OEM gaskets between shipping and parts. Probably going to myself when I have to buy paint.

 

[steffan]

Yeah I’ve been noticing the massive price drops on 40’s too. Watching Mecum auction in Indy this weekend and prices are surprisingly weak on most all makes. Nobody has anything extra to spend on an extra vehicle these days. My auto insurance went up from $1600 to $2300 for the year for no reason. No tickets or claims and iv been with the same company for 27 years. Property tax evaluations have tripled in my county also in one year. Everything is way over priced except Landcruisers these days.

That being said, there is still a market for high end builds. I think maybe the market has become more savvy about the quality of the builds - Just watching the sales on BAT one sold for $80k so there are still people out there willing to spend the money. Made me feel a little better knowing how much it cost to do my build

 

[Jdc1]

The other factor in this for people trying to do most of the work themselves are the cost of parts and materials. I just spend $25 for two small rubber OEM gaskets between shipping and parts. Probably going to myself when I have to buy paint.

Paint is insane -

That being said, there is still a market for high end builds. I think maybe the market has become more savvy about the quality of the builds - Just watching the sales on BAT one sold for $80k so there are still people out there willing to spend the money. Made me feel a little better knowing how much it cost to do my build

That was our build, market is definitely soft, it didn’t make the reserve that BaT wanted to place on it. Parts and materials were pretty close to that price if anyone was wondering what it takes to do it, that’s with my wholesale discount(no shipping) and before a lot of this stuff started to dry up.

 

[CruiserTrash]

@sogafarm glad you pointed this out since everything I have said to everyone I know seems to have fallen on deaf ears. I ask them if their income has risen proportionately in this time frame…”.uh, not really”. Then wake the f%$@ up. I am as passionate these days about this as I was 50 years ago with smoking and recycling.

Ok. I’m finished

Same here - I'm not making any more money but costs have risen dramatically. Gee whiz, I wonder where all the money is going.

 

[numby]

That was our build, market is definitely soft, it didn’t make the reserve that BaT wanted to place on it. Parts and materials were pretty close to that price if anyone was wondering what it takes to do it, that’s with my wholesale discount(no shipping) and before a lot of this stuff started to dry up.

I stayed fer away from you build thread while you were in the process of selling because I have a very different opinion. I'm going to get burned alive here but...

Your final auction bid was dead on.

I'm not criticizing anything you did or questioning the amount of work you put in. I know what it takes to rebuild a 40 from the ground up. I did it (mostly) without any support from the internet as it just wasn't there in the 1990s. In the end I built the same thing you did - an enthusiast's rig. Let me explain.

To me there are three basic kinds of builds. First is the "restomod" with LS or arcane diesel motors and Lear jet sun visors, etc. I lump dedicated rock crawlers into this category despite the lack of cosmetics. Basically a heavily customised vehicle. You didn't build that. Second is the period correct, matching number restoration where everything is as it was when the vehicle rolled off the showroom floor. You didn't build that. Then there's the third kind - the "Enthusiast's Rig" where you spend hours, days, even weeks agonizing over every aspect of the vehicle and educating yourself to every nuanced improvement Toyota made over the years after which you make a subjective decision as to how to proceed. This is what I built. New OEM 79 knuckles on a 78 axle housing, 75 carb for the big jets, early (pre-DUI) HEI distributor, etc. From the outside my 40 looks stock. But it ain't.

And this is what your build is in my book. Is it great? Absof*ckinglutely! Would I drive it? Again, abso-blah-blah-lutely. But it's (just my opinion here) a 40 for a Mud-educated enthusiast who want's the best functioning, long-term daily driver he can get today. But it's not either of the other two options which is where the money is.

I figured you'd get $70K maybe $75 if you were lucky. Basically the cost of parts and bupkis for all the sweat. That you got $80 was somewhat surprising. I'd have taken it and run. Flame on!

 

[Jdc1]

I stayed fer away from you build thread while you were in the process of selling because I have a very different opinion. I'm going to get burned alive here but...

Your final auction bid was dead on.

I'm not criticizing anything you did or questioning the amount of work you put in. I know what it takes to rebuild a 40 from the ground up. I did it (mostly) without any support from the internet as it just wasn't there in the 1990s. In the end I built the same thing you did - an enthusiast's rig. Let me explain.

To me there are three basic kinds of builds. First is the "restomod" with LS or arcane diesel motors and Lear jet sun visors, etc. I lump dedicated rock crawlers into this category despite the lack of cosmetics. Basically a heavily customised vehicle. You didn't build that. Second is the period correct, matching number restoration where everything is as it was when the vehicle rolled off the showroom floor. You didn't build that. Then there's the third kind - the "Enthusiast's Rig" where you spend hours, days, even weeks agonizing over every aspect of the vehicle and educating yourself to every nuanced improvement Toyota made over the years after which you make a subjective decision as to how to proceed. This is what I built. New OEM 79 knuckles on a 78 axle housing, 75 carb for the big jets, early (pre-DUI) HEI distributor, etc. From the outside my 40 looks stock. But it ain't.

And this is what your build is in my book. Is it great? Absof*ckinglutely! Would I drive it? Again, abso-blah-blah-lutely. But it's (just my opinion here) a 40 for a Mud-educated enthusiast who want's the best functioning, long-term daily driver he can get today. But it's not either of the other two option which is where the money is.

I figured you'd get $70K maybe $75 if you were lucky. Basically the cost of parts and bupkis for all the sweat. That you got $80 was somewhat surprising. I'd have taken it and run. Flame on!

Valid points- however, was never built to sell. But now that it’s done, would like to let someone else enjoy. Hoping to prove you wrong on a future sale. As always i’ll post the nitty gritty details when it does.

It would take a few weeks and very few parts to return this one to a stock configuration, It’s almost both a resto and a restomod/enthusiast build.

 

[Jdc1]

I stayed fer away from you build thread while you were in the process of selling because I have a very different opinion. I'm going to get burned alive here but...

Your final auction bid was dead on.

I'm not criticizing anything you did or questioning the amount of work you put in. I know what it takes to rebuild a 40 from the ground up. I did it (mostly) without any support from the internet as it just wasn't there in the 1990s. In the end I built the same thing you did - an enthusiast's rig. Let me explain.

To me there are three basic kinds of builds. First is the "restomod" with LS or arcane diesel motors and Lear jet sun visors, etc. I lump dedicated rock crawlers into this category despite the lack of cosmetics. Basically a heavily customised vehicle. You didn't build that. Second is the period correct, matching number restoration where everything is as it was when the vehicle rolled off the showroom floor. You didn't build that. Then there's the third kind - the "Enthusiast's Rig" where you spend hours, days, even weeks agonizing over every aspect of the vehicle and educating yourself to every nuanced improvement Toyota made over the years after which you make a subjective decision as to how to proceed. This is what I built. New OEM 79 knuckles on a 78 axle housing, 75 carb for the big jets, early (pre-DUI) HEI distributor, etc. From the outside my 40 looks stock. But it ain't.

And this is what your build is in my book. Is it great? Absof*ckinglutely! Would I drive it? Again, abso-blah-blah-lutely. But it's (just my opinion here) a 40 for a Mud-educated enthusiast who want's the best functioning, long-term daily driver he can get today. But it's not either of the other two option which is where the money is.

I figured you'd get $70K maybe $75 if you were lucky. Basically the cost of parts and bupkis for all the sweat. That you got $80 was somewhat surprising. I'd have taken it and run. Flame on!

Also challenge you to get a $75k truck in front of McKeel Hagerty and have him comment that he’s never seen anyone take a Toyota to this level. It’s not for everyone but to the right buyer they’ll appreciate all the nuances that it has and pay a lot higher than $80k.

 

[sogncab]

Then there's the third kind - the "Enthusiast's Rig"

I like this terminology. I feel it fits mine well

 

[jmdaniel]

My auto insurance went up from $1600 to $2300 for the year for no reason. No tickets or claims and iv been with the same company for 27 years.

I hope you have shopped that insurance multiple times in those 27 years. And by multiple, I mean 13 or 14 times. Insurance companies love people that don't force them to be competitive.

 

[onemanarmy]

@sogafarm glad you pointed this out since everything I have said to everyone I know seems to have fallen on deaf ears. I ask them if their income has risen proportionately in this time frame…”.uh, not really”. Then wake the f%$@ up. I am as passionate these days about this as I was 50 years ago with smoking and recycling.

Ok. I’m finished

there is 1 simple, black and white, transparent, easy to understand reason why incomes haven't risen, but its never addressed properly.

watching 40 prices!!!!

 

[jmdaniel]

Just watching the sales on BAT one sold for $80k so there are still people out there willing to spend the money. Made me feel a little better knowing how much it cost to do my build

It didn't sell for $80K, that was simply the last bid. And the seller stated that that not only didn't hit his reserve, but also didn't hit the reserve BAT suggested.

Holy Moly!

 

[pb4ugo]

Same here - I'm not making any more money but costs have risen dramatically. Gee whiz, I wonder where all the money is going.

Have you seen the price of gold and the Stock Market. A lot of wealthy investors will park money into their car collections. I would think many investors are reluctant to pull money and invest in their collections now. I believe most all values are down right now regardless of make and model. I see it in other markets too, not just in collectable vehicles.