Will the 80 be a classic?

[ExpoGeorgia]

Where do you all see the future value of the 80 series heading? Will they become as collectable as say the FJ40 or Defender?

As many of you notice, our vehicles (whether high or low mile rigs with service history) retain their value very well. How many mid 90's SUV's are on the market for $5-7k with over 200k miles and have similar build quality and reliability that you know of.. not many! Just want some input from you guys to see what you think

 

[Qball]

It's already a classic. I can careless about the value going up because that would jack up my cost if I had to replace something. I'm keeping it for a long time so no need for resale value.

 

[swamp-thing]

yes. a classic all the way. no question about it. ( stock up on all your hard to find parts now! )

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I'm calling classic. Go to any Land Cruiser event, and what's the most prevalent Cruiser there? It's an 80. They work so well, that's it's what to have. The 80 is the new 40. Like 40s they are being modded into every sort of thing-Diesel, Crawler, Desert truck, hunter, you name it. It doesn't hurt that the average 80 costs $5000 these days.

Hopefully something will come along that's better, but so far, it's still on the horizon.

 

[zona]

Classic, mostly because you don't see people fawning over older Land Rovers from 1993-1997. Those were poop. Values for low mileage, rust free, modded are going up as we speak--just went up another dollar.

Zona

 

[Major Nelson]

yes. a classic all the way. no question about it. ( stock up on all your hard to find parts now! )

I doubt the classic/collectable rating will never reach that of the 40's. They'll end up more in line with the 60's....the 40's are just more unique in their design. As far as usefulness I know that my 60 is far more practical than my 40....I also realize that my 40's value will most likely keep going up much faster than my 60. Doesn't matter to me as I'm keeping both of them until I die.

I personally love the look of the 80's with the stock sliding rear windows plus the thought of having springs vs leafs makes me a little weak in the knees. Another point is that there were a lot more of the 80's made and sold in the U.S....couple that with supply/demand there just won't ever be the same scarcity of 80's vs the 40's.

40's are just a different breed...no electronics to worry about, simple, utilitarian, distinct styling....they're just a different level of cool. The 80's were the tipping point for comfort and utilitarian....for some they went too much towards comfort vs utilitarian.

Definitely take Swamp-things warning though...and that of a 40 & 60 owner. Stock up on parts NOW. The 60 parts are drying up even faster than the 40 parts. I'm glad I replaced all my signals and weather stripping on my 60 a year ago...many of the parts have gone the way of the dodo already. The 80's will probably go even faster.....Toyota (like all manufacturers) don't make their $ off of OEM parts...they make them off of selling new cars. I'm sure they'd be happy to see my 60 and your 80's die and have us by some new Toyota. (yeah, I threw up a little with that one too).

 

[richardlillard1]

Classic, mostly because you don't see people fawning over older Land Rovers from 1993-1997. Those were poop. Values for low mileage, rust free, modded are going up as we speak--just went up another dollar.

Zona

Eloquent as always, Zona.

When are we going wheeling again? Ran Payette this weekend, but not sure if you would have enjoyed it?

I'll get your video up soon.

 

[super40]

5 years ago fj40s were cheap. now a p.o.s is 8g+. 80 series are much more useable/ multipurpose than a 40. also decently comfortable for the wife and kids to go in for trip to grandma's house, camping, beach etc. i say the value of a clean well maintained 80 series will go up significantly in the next 5 years.

 

[Gabriel 71]

I think the 70 series will be more of a classic than the 80. hey dont get me wrong i love my 80 this is my second 1 in 3 yrs but with the relaunch of the 70 in Japan for 1yrs production (i think) will make the original ones more desirable.And the 80's in America were dressed in grocery getter
form and not a lot of second or third owners even knew the were a capable wheeler unless you already knew. The p.o. of both my rigs didn't know what the switch that says diff lock even did. Classic maybe not yet but some day yeah i think it will be .

 

[LOOKman]

Indeed - classic, but what kind of answer did you expect from this crowd. We are all slightly biased on the subject.
But the reason I think they will be a classic or sought after is measured by the attention it gets. When I pass other 80's, 8 times out of 10 I get a wave. When I stop to get gas (often) I'll have someone ask me about it, offer to buy it, or tell me a story about when they had one. More times than not, they regret selling...
But like QBall said, mine is not for sale so no reason consider future values.

 

[aae42]

Indeed - classic, but what kind of answer did you expect from this crowd. We are all slightly biased on the subject.
But the reason I think they will be a classic or sought after is measured by the attention it gets. When I pass other 80's, 8 times out of 10 I get a wave. When I stop to get gas (often) I'll have someone ask me about it, offer to but it, or tell me a story about when they had one. More times than not, they regret selling...
But like QBall said, mine is not for sale so no reason consider future values.

i can agree with pretty much everything that's said here... regarding a bit of bias...

but the future value does help a little bit to consider, with regards to dealing with the CFO

 

[LCyal8r]

To me they still look better than most modern SUVs. The ultimate arbiter is the cost. And they are still kind of pricey given the mileage and age of these vehicles.

 

[NCFJ]

To me they still look better than most modern SUVs. The ultimate arbiter is the cost. And they are still kind of pricey given the mileage and age of these vehicles.

I agree that the 80 is a good looking SUV and stands out among all the new stuff that just seems to get more generic every year. There is a big divide between the asking prices we all see on CL etc to what they actually sell for. I can generally pick up a Land Cruiser for 50-70% of asking price.

What are you going to get that runs well and is somewhat dependable for under say $3,500.00 CRAP is what you'll get. You are it's last owner. So a LC with 230K on it for $6K in good condition is not such a bad deal.

Will it be a classic? Time will tell. The 40 is iconic to a far broader segment of society and I believe the 60 is as well to a far lessor degree. I think the 80 is the beginning of the general public's view of the land cruiser as just another big luxury SUV. As often stated, people that bought them new and drove them for many years never even knew what that little round dial was for...... We make the 80 a classic among ourselves. I think that it being the last of the solid axle Land Cruisers sold in this country (USA) will draw a little more into the fold. I think the bigger difference is that where 40s and 60s are more often than not a second vehicle, 80s are more used in a daily driver role.

 

[ranma21]

80 is becoming a classic as time pass. It is such a unique vehicle with front solid axle combined with toughness and comfort. Ohh lets not forget its character!

 

[Douglas S]

Classic, mostly because you don't see people fawning over older Land Rovers from 1993-1997. Those were poop. Values for low mileage, rust free, modded are going up as we speak--just went up another dollar.

Zona

You must not be familiar with Defender prices.

 

[fj40toycruiser]

dont get me wrong, i love my 80 and all its practicality. i bought mine so i wouldn't have to drive a mini van. i will say coming from the 40 world a stock unmolested 97 ce edition sittin on 265's( which is what i started with) is one heck of an ugly looking rig. as i modify it, its startin to look better but i got a long way to go. take the same stock 40 and now you talking. Classic.....? definitely but so is a fiat!

 

[ranma21]

You must not be familiar with Defender prices.

Ohh yea, Defender is different than the regular LR for sure. It will be even more sought after as this is the last year production in UK.

 

[AlaskanWheeler]

The 40th version with diff locks will be worth the most, IMO.

 

[Howard705]

Not like a 40. Maybe a stock '79 mini truck...

 

[eman375]

Almost any older, clean Toyota is a desirable vehicle. I don't know if that would categorize it as a classic. But being a Toyota junkie, that's where I put my vehicle dollars!