Wrecked LC, which direction to go

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R

RkDubs

Joined
Jan 25, 2022
Threads
10
Messages
46
Location
CT
Our holiday didn’t exactly start as planned driving to back to CT to visit family for the holidays. We were hit and spun by a speeding driver on the highway sending us off the road where we flipped end over end landing in the woods. We were lucky to walk away with relatively minor injuries.

The question now is what to do. My wife definitely wants another cruiser but I’m up in the air going with another 100 series vs a 200 series. I like the simplicity of the 100, but would like the added towing capacity of the 5.7. Any reason to not consider a 200? I’m currently researching what’s available out there and common issues. I have a month or two to figure out so any opinions are appreciated!
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Wowza! Glad everyone was OK. Hope you get a good deal from insurance. Shows how well built LCs are.

200s are great, but get just as bad fuel economy, but the 6, or 8, depending on year, helps counteract that. At this point, early model (08-11) are really cheap, but will also need some maintenance at 15+ years old.

Watch for
- rust (obviously)
- Valley plate Leake
- recirculculater door
- make SURE ALL buttons work, these can get really expensive, like the defrost button that's 15k to replace with oem parts. Ask me how I know
- I'm missing some things, this was off the top of my head

I like the simplicity and torque of the 100. The 200 has power, but seems like it needs to get to higher rpm to find that power. But, man the 200 is comfy, silent, and stable.
 
Cruiserlab said:
Wowza! Glad everyone was OK. Hope you get a good deal from insurance. Shows how well built LCs are.

200s are great, but get just as bad fuel economy, but the 6, or 8, depending on year, helps counteract that. At this point, early model (08-11) are really cheap, but will also need some maintenance at 15+ years old.

Watch for
- rust (obviously)
- Valley plate Leake
- recirculculater door
- make SURE ALL buttons work, these can get really expensive, like the defrost button that's 15k to replace with oem parts. Ask me how I know
- I'm missing some things, this was off the top of my head

I like the simplicity and torque of the 100. The 200 has power, but seems like it needs to get to higher rpm to find that power. But, man the 200 is comfy, silent, and stable.
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Much appreciated, this is the type of info I’m looking for. $15k to replace buttons makes my head vibrate🤯
 
Make sure to miss a couple weeks of work after a wreck like that. The liable insurance company will need something to calculate your settlement from and 2 or 3 times wages for missed work is common for an accident of that magnitude. Then of course med bills for cts and mris of your neck and shoulders and the pt that follows. Insurance will still win but listen to what im tellin ya.
 
Yikes, I was not expecting to see that much damage when I clicked on this thread. Glad everyone is ok.

I was not aware of the costly repairs on the 200 series head unit/defroster. It might help me continue addressing the various issues that pop up from time to time on my 100 series instead of periodically dreaming about the possibility of getting a 200 in the future.
 
First off scary accident and thankful everyone walked away! I’m with the 100 camp. My neighbor got the 200 but appears my 02 aging better, I like the 100 road feel although the 200 more numb steering but cruise at higher speeds 80+. I have a narrow driveway seems like the 200 is slightly wider. The 200 is modern yet the 100 is classic. You can work on the 100 more easily than the 200 as more electronic. I often complain on the high maintenance cost to baseline on my 100 and the 200 would be even higher. Recent car care nut video had a head gasket issue on a 200, but it’s the beginning of many that he’s finding as the 5.7 is aging. It seems clear that the 5.7 is not as robust as the 4.7. Somewhere in the middle may be a 06 or 07 with an extra speed and more power VVTi better mileage but also more complex cam system. Take care!
 
Aracobuilt said:
Yikes, I was not expecting to see that much damage when I clicked on this thread. Glad everyone is ok.
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Roof strength in a rollover in the 100 series is concerning especially compared to modern vehicles built to much higher standards. Fortunately, it looks like the rear / cargo compartment took the worst of it.
 
Don't be too scared of the headunit/buttons issue, just something to be aware of. I wouldn't make that a deciding point for 100 vs 200. I wish I had known about the broken switch when we got our 200, but it probably wouldn't have made any difference on our decision.

Another thing to look for is transfer case and CDL shifter/actuators. The 200 uses an electronic shifter for the t case and it can wear out/become dirty. IIRC, it's not too expensive, but is a hassle.
 
rexington14 said:
Roof strength in a rollover in the 100 series is concerning especially compared to modern vehicles built to much higher standards. Fortunately, it looks like the rear / cargo compartment took the worst of it.
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Yeah that was where we landed rolling over. We went passenger rear to driver front 2x
 
DuckLN said:
Make sure to miss a couple weeks of work after a wreck like that. The liable insurance company will need something to calculate your settlement from and 2 or 3 times wages for missed work is common for an accident of that magnitude. Then of course med bills for cts and mris of your neck and shoulders and the pt that follows. Insurance will still win but listen to what im tellin ya.
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Second this. Stay home from work to recuperate, DEFINITELY see a doctor if you haven't already, see a physical therapist/chiropractor if you need to. I was in a bad accident (no where near this bad) and ended up in physical therapy and chiropractic for the better part of a year. There is no way you went through that and dont have physical injuries. I didnt feel too bad several days after the accident but had neck issues in the weeks following and still do to this day despite receiving treatment. That was 5 years ago now. We ended up having to get a personal injury lawyer and ended up with a settlement almost 2 years later. What a nightmare.


Wiiiiiith that said if my 100 got totaled I would be going after a 200 Series. I love my 100 but the 200 just feels that much more refined/modern for daily duty. Our 100 was a compromise between me wanting an 80 Series and my wife wanting a 200 Series. The 100 isnt as good as an 80 off road and isnt as refined as a 200 on road. The 100 is kind of a compromise between the two imo
 
Goodness. What did you hit, a fkn Decepticon?

Joking of course. I’m glad everyone is okay.
 
Kofoed said:
If the car will be a pavement princess, light dirt, 200 series. Otherwise I would go with a 100 series, 2004+ for the 5sp trans
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I’m leaning either a 2004+ or 200. I did off-road this one a fair amount so it would likely see some trails, but probably nothing like the last.
ScotyDosentKnow said:
Second this. Stay home from work to recuperate, DEFINITELY see a doctor if you haven't already, see a physical therapist/chiropractor if you need to. I was in a bad accident (no where near this bad) and ended up in physical therapy and chiropractic for the better part of a year. There is no way you went through that and dont have physical injuries. I didnt feel too bad several days after the accident but had neck issues in the weeks following and still do to this day despite receiving treatment. That was 5 years ago now. We ended up having to get a personal injury lawyer and ended up with a settlement almost 2 years later. What a nightmare.


Wiiiiiith that said if my 100 got totaled I would be going after a 200 Series. I love my 100 but the 200 just feels that much more refined/modern for daily duty. Our 100 was a compromise between me wanting an 80 Series and my wife wanting a 200 Series. The 100 isnt as good as an 80 off road and isnt as refined as a 200 on road. The 100 is kind of a compromise between the two imo
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Oh yeah, we walked away, but not unscathed. We’re both out of work for at least two weeks. I have a bilateral broken nose that is going to need surgery, glass in my lung, and a shoulder injury, not broken. My wife wound up with some internal bruising and two bulging discs in her back. We’ve already got follow ups with our primary Dr and I need to get my face fixed. Then we’ll go from there. That’s why I say, we’re banged up, but we walked away. Could have been so much worse. I can only imagine if we were in one of our wranglers.
 
RkDubs said:
I’m leaning either a 2004+ or 200. I did off-road this one a fair amount so it would likely see some trails, but probably nothing like the last.

Oh yeah, we walked away, but not unscathed. We’re both out of work for at least two weeks. I have a bilateral broken nose that is going to need surgery, glass in my lung, and a shoulder injury, not broken. My wife wound up with some internal bruising and two bulging discs in her back. We’ve already got follow ups with our primary Dr and I need to get my face fixed. Then we’ll go from there. That’s why I say, we’re banged up, but we walked away. Could have been so much worse. I can only imagine if we were in one of our wranglers.
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Glad to hear you guys are relatively okay, you were lucky that you were in the Cruiser. May not be here if you were in a Civic or something with all of that damage.

We were in a 2013 Jetta Sportswagen and went to make a left on a back country road into my brothers driveway. Signaled and started to make my left turn into his driveway and got T boned by a Ram 2500 who was going the same direction as me and tried to pass in the oncoming lane. He was doing about 70mph and hit my drivers door. Said when he crested the hill coming up on me just thought I was going slow and tried to pass. Nice guy, should have been paying attention though lol
 
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