Would you keep this LC?

[Tremek]

So - just bought a one-owner, clean Carfax 2001 Land Cruiser with 146k miles. One owner, lowish miles for the year, all good things, right? As we all know that doesn't tell the whole story though. Cosmetically there are a few things that give me pause that I found after bringing it home.

Before I bought it I could see the hood had been repainted (truck is black) but upon further inspection it's had paint elsewhere too. Inside, the carpet in the footwells is not the grey I have seen in other trucks but looks more of a charcoal color and I think has been replaced.

Beyond that it looks like it was just a mall crawler/baby hauler - one small ding in the left rear corner panel, some dumb old TV monitors in the visors, wood veneer is peeling, etc. With that said the seats are in good shape, there's no cracks in the dash, and the steering wheel is almost mint without any peeling leather. Could definitely use a good detailing inside and out.

Mechanically, too, it seems to do what it ought to - drove it 1000 miles without issue, I think (but have not yet confirmed) that it was maintained by Toyota dealerships, etc. Slightly spotty history but overall it's given me no reason to distrust it YET.

Complicating things, we're going to Hawaii for a week tomorrow so I get to stew on this the whole time. What say you, Mud?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

What was the reason given for the repaint?

 

[Tremek]

Reason given was scratches in the paint from parking lots. Whether that's true or not I can't say.

 

[re_guderian]

Depends.. my '04 was in a small accident. Hood and front fender replaced. No other ill affects. It happens. however there could obviously be more serious issues. Submerged would lead to other issues. Can you find VIN tags (matching) on all body panels? Signs of frame repair? Replaced carpet "could" indicate water intrusion. That, or lots and lots of blood...

 

[paflytyer]

I'm surprised that you'd buy the vehicle without giving it a full inspection. You had asked a lot of questions on here and on Rising Sun.

You mentioned all the other cars you currently own (some sound very nice and $$) Just curious why you wouldn't give the same attention to buying a 100?

Asking a forum of folks you don't know if you should keep a vehicle you just bought is kinda odd. What's the slightly spotty history? You could take it to Robbie (powederpig) on MUD and Rising Sun and have him give it a thorough once over, or even take it to Slee and have them do it. Has the 90k service been done?

Also, curious why you stated you drove it for 1000 miles with no issues and emphasized that it hasn't given you any problems YET. Were you expecting it to fall apart in the first 1000 miles? Maybe having Robbie or Slee baseline everything will give you some peace of mind.

 

[2001LC]

You should get rid of it. I'll help you out friend and haul it off for you at no charge.

Just make sure the title is sign and in the glove box, leave it at Arapahoe & Parker rd tomorrow with keys.

 

[mcgaskins]

Keep it and buy my Tundra steelies I've been holding for you Are you still interested? I keep getting PMs on those and the stock wheels.

 

[Tremek]

Depends.. my '04 was in a small accident. Hood and front fender replaced. No other ill affects. It happens. however there could obviously be more serious issues. Submerged would lead to other issues. Can you find VIN tags (matching) on all body panels? Signs of frame repair? Replaced carpet "could" indicate water intrusion. That, or lots and lots of blood...

Yeah, the carpet is the most concerning thing to me. I did check all the doors, two trunk gates, hood, and front fenders, and all the VIN stickers are there and they match. The glass is also etched all around the car with the (same) VIN. One thing caught my eye though as I'm not familiar enough with these trucks to know one way or the other - there's what looks like a piece of tape on the left side of all the stickers. Is that an anti-tamper measure or something?

I'm surprised that you'd buy the vehicle without giving it a full inspection. You had asked a lot of questions on here and on Rising Sun.

You mentioned all the other cars you currently own (some sound very nice and $$) Just curious why you wouldn't give the same attention to buying a 100?

Asking a forum of folks you don't know if you should keep a vehicle you just bought is kinda odd. What's the slightly spotty history? You could take it to Robbie (powederpig) on MUD and Rising Sun and have him give it a thorough once over, or even take it to Slee and have them do it. Has the 90k service been done?

Also, curious why you stated you drove it for 1000 miles with no issues and emphasized that it hasn't given you any problems YET. Were you expecting it to fall apart in the first 1000 miles? Maybe having Robbie or Slee baseline everything will give you some peace of mind.

re: asking MUD's opinion - if I'm going to get rid of it and look for a different truck, this is the time to do it.

I will probably have it inspected once I get back from Hawaii. Buying cars sight unseen works most of the time for me - I retrieved the Cayenne from Phoenix and the E55 from Vegas, and both turned out to be creampuffs. This truck was represented as needing nothing but at least visually seems to just need some TLC.

I mentioned no problems YET because while I was expecting the truck to be virtually flawless it's not quite that degree of clean. Mechanically no signs of drama, no confirmation on 90k although they claimed it was done, trying to track that down with the dealership it was ostensibly serviced at. 1000 miles in one burst is a lot of time for a truck to exhibit some ill behavior and that it didn't is encouraging.

You should get rid of it. I'll help you out friend and haul it off for you at no charge.

Just make sure the title is sign and in the glove box, leave it at Arapahoe & Parker rd tomorrow with keys.

Too funny, I grew up right behind Regis Jesuit High School there.

mcgaskins: As I'm out of state for the next week, if you get a buyer for those wheels/tires please do go ahead, but if you do still have them when I'm back I will buy them from you as the wheels on this thing right now are ridiculous.

 

[mcgaskins]

mcgaskins: As I'm out of state for the next week, if you get a buyer for those wheels/tires please do go ahead, but if you do still have them when I'm back I will buy them from you as the wheels on this thing right now are ridiculous.

Sounds like a plan!

 

[marshotel]

It happens.

mine has certainly been resprayed at some point in history; not unusual for a 10+ year old vehicle. it looks fine though;

certainly check all the stuff mentioned above, but at the end of the day, paint is paint, and if it looks okay and prevents rust then its fine.

 

[OregonLC]

Does it show a collision on carfax?

And yes the tape on the vin stickers is normal. Pull it off and you destroy the sticker.

 

[Tremek]

No collisions or anything untoward at all on the Carfax, thus one of the reasons (along with the sellers saying it needed nothing etc) that I bought it.

 

[SWUtah]

I keep hoping to find a deer in the road so I can get a new front bumper and hood. Previous owner did a lot of highway miles so I have road rash that I had to touch up so my beast looks like he has freckles

 

[jhanley]

@SWUtah My wife got frisky with a Honda a couple months ago - I got a fresh bumper, and hood repaint out of the deal

Lots of these have paintwork - sounds like yours runs fine, keep it. If you were buying a Ferrari 250 GTO, I'd say run.

 

[Junglejack]

Carfax is definitely something I put next to no stock in. Beyond making sure it does not look too grizzly for beating it on down the line in the future, too often I have seen schwaggy vehicles with clean Carfax's and often very straight vehicles that show as being wrecked.

As for the OP, I would simply take it to a quality body shop to ascertain both the damage done and the quality of the repair. I am beyond blessed that my older brother spent 13 years managing the body shop at the Mercedes Benz dealer where I grew up. Whereas I can rarely tell if a car has been hit (when properly repaired), he knows almost instantly.