Buying advice: Is this really a 1998 Land Cruiser?

[rollandburn]

Yea i did have my eye on a 2010 FJ Cruiser which has a horsepower bump from previous years... however it was in a coastal city quite far away which means salt exposure for the past 11 years. This one above spent it's life at 2000m above sea level... no salt up there. I hear you on the horsepower and weight though... i always thought if the old Tacoma was manual I'd could have wrung it's neck at my leisure, but the automatic just sucked. Only auto i've ever owned and i'm not doing that again. I suppose if I get a need for speed i can always go back home and pull the 600hp Turbo out of storage ?

ps. as i write this i think he just nudged down from $44k to $43k.... lol, so brutal the prices here. I think I will take it.... if i like it, when i get back to north america maybe i buy one again for 1/2 price. I don't imagine the 6 speed manual is rare enough in north america to warrant shipping it back. (i don't know actually, how rare are we talking?)

 

[DaveInDenver]

I don't imagine the 6 speed manual is rare enough in north america to warrant shipping it back. (i don't know actually, how rare are we talking?)

Relatively. Not necessarily unobtanium collector status yet but it took me a few months to find a decent stick shift Tacoma back in 2015 when I was shopping. People who get stick shift FJC and Tacoma usually intended to get a stick shift so they hang on to them and only sell when they're worn out.

Whether it's worth shipping back one. Well, if it was a really nice one and you get to know it inside and out over time, then maybe I'd think about. I dunno.

Now the FZJ73, yes, definitely. If it's truly a 1998 then it would just become legal (25+ years old in the U.S. at least) in 2023 to import, too. Even if you didn't keep it seems like you could very easily sell it.

 

[ripperj]

The only thing I can offer is related to the FJ- my buddy has one and the couple times I was in it, I felt like I was in a shoebox with the lid cracked open, peering thru the small gap, and I’m a small guy. The forward visibility was lacking in my opinion.


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[RND1]

$45K for an FJ Cruiser seems insane. Can't you find a mint 80 series diesel there for that money?

 

[rollandburn]

$45K for an FJ Cruiser seems insane. Can't you find a mint 80 series diesel there for that money?

It is insane. Welcome to Ecuador. The blue one at the top of the local used car site link below looks like the best of the bunch... however my guy checked it out and it actually has 300,000kms, so the dealer is scamming. And that's what... $35k? Yes insane.
https://ecuador.patiotuerca.com/usa..._autos_moderated=moderated&orderBy=price,DESC

I don't think there are mint 80 series anymore lol... not here anyway. From what I've understand about the 80 series, i'm not in love. Too big, old, underpowered.... and probably with 300k-400k kms or more... meh no thanks. If I'm going to buy something old and used I don't want a tank.

 

[Todd780]

$45K for an FJ Cruiser seems insane. Can't you find a mint 80 series diesel there for that money?

50K for one up here in Canada. Granted it only has 96K / 60k Miles.

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300,000 kms version seem to be around the 15 grand mark up here...

 

[rollandburn]

50K for one up here in Canada. Granted it only has 96K / 60k Miles.

Kijiji Canada

Find new, used and salvaged cars & trucks for sale locally in Calgary : Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Chrysler, Nissan and it is all about driving your dreams.

www.kijiji.ca

300,000 kms version seem to be around the 15 grand mark up here...

wow 95kms... that thing would sell for $70k USD here lol...

 

[Todd780]

wow 95kms... that thing would sell for $70k USD here lol...

Buy it, import it to Ecuador, drive it then sell it for a profit!

 

[rollandburn]

Buy it, import it to Ecuador, drive it then sell it for a profit!

impossible... can only import cars 3 years old or newer. I tried with my 2002 double cab tacoma... could have gotten $25k USD here but they're trying to protect their market and won't let older vehicles in... ended up selling it in Ontario for $8000. =[ This is why the cars are so expensive... people treat them as investments.

 

[Arktikos]

...I don't think there are mint 80 series anymore lol... not here anyway. From what I've understand about the 80 series, i'm not in love. Too big, old, underpowered.... and probably with 300k-400k kms or more... meh no thanks. If I'm going to buy something old and used I don't want a tank.

70 series is fairly tank like too. 80 series the pinnacle of LCs offered in N. America.
FJ Cruiser? Well, it's a Toyota 4x4 so hard to go wrong with one. I considered one for awhile, thought better of it. They're not quite the same as a LC.
I drove both a manual and automatic version. IMO, in this case automatic is actually more fun to drive. Besides, the manuals seem to have clutch problems.

 

[billiebob]

impossible... can only import cars 3 years old or newer. I tried with my 2002 double cab tacoma... could have gotten $25k USD here but they're trying to protect their market and won't let older vehicles in...

WOW, and here you have to wait 25 years lol. But given CAFE, EPA, new safety regulations..... blocking old cars makes more sense.

 

[hoser]

They still sell brand new FJC's in the UAE.
AED 150,000 = USD $41k

Pre-Owned Toyota FJ Cruiser SUV for Sale | Toyota UAE

Explore the rugged reliability of pre-owned Toyota FJ Cruiser. Built for tough terrain, it's your ideal off-road companion. Discover used FJ Cruisers at Toyota UAE!

www.toyota.ae

As for the LC73/74, they made it with the same body style until 2006. When looking at it or any vehicle down there, I'd bring along some way to measure paint thickness and the presence of body filler.

 

[rollandburn]

They still sell brand new FJC's in the UAE.
AED 150,000 = USD $41k

Pre-Owned Toyota FJ Cruiser SUV for Sale | Toyota UAE

Explore the rugged reliability of pre-owned Toyota FJ Cruiser. Built for tough terrain, it's your ideal off-road companion. Discover used FJ Cruisers at Toyota UAE!

www.toyota.ae

As for the LC73/74, they made it with the same body style until 2006. When looking at it or any vehicle down there, I'd bring along some way to measure paint thickness and the presence of body filler.

Cheers for feedback!
Interesting. I thought 2014 was the last year for the FJ Cruiser. Clicking through the buy now links show only part time 4x4 base model in one colour left in UAE..... still, hard to complain with 0kms on the odo for the same price.

Re: LC73/74.... I don't think it would be easy to find one here that old without a respray. A $500 squirt could net a few grand more off the lot and I wouldn't put it past any of these vendors to do just that. The odometer roll backs are almost certain... i wish i knew better how to tell. There are rarely service records and I don't believe their version of the DMV here keeps registration vs. mileage records like we do in north america. The odometers on the Land Cruisers of that era are analog are they? I wonder what would be the methods they'd use to roll back (ie. unscrew dash/dials... or perhaps physically rolling back the 1000th roller on the odo?).

 

[hoser]

I wouldn't be so concerned about the respray.... it's more about rust/body filler. The tool to measure body filler is the same tool as paint thickness. Yes, the odometer is analog and cable driven. I would disregard that number and look more closely at engine compression numbers, drivetrain slack, etc. There are little identifiers that can help judge mileage (granted it hasn't been replaced) like wear on the pedal, shift knob, steering wheel, door hinge play, etc.

I would ask for a picture of the data plate for valuable information like axles/gear ratio and country of manufacture. They produced the 70 series in Venezuela & Columbia (in addition to Japan) and they are significantly different. Most Venezuelan built cruisers were the SWB 70 series (Machito). I "think" they sold both versions of the 73/74 series down there but the Japanese manufactured one sold for a lot more and hence less common. Something to look into, I'm not 100% sure. A Dana rear axle would be one giveaway.

 

[rollandburn]

I wouldn't be so concerned about the respray.... it's more about rust/body filler. The tool to measure body filler is the same tool as paint thickness. Yes, the odometer is analog and cable driven. I would disregard that number and look more closely at engine compression numbers, drivetrain slack, etc. There are little identifiers that can help judge mileage (granted it hasn't been replaced) like wear on the pedal, shift knob, steering wheel, door hinge play, etc.

I would ask for a picture of the data plate for valuable information like axles/gear ratio and country of manufacture. They produced the 70 series in Venezuela (in addition to Japan) and they are significantly different. Most Venezuelan built cruisers were the SWB 70 series (Machito). I "think" they sold both versions of the 73/74 series down there but the Japanese manufactured one sold for a lot more and hence less common. Something to look into, I'm not 100% sure. A Dana rear axle would be one giveaway.

I think your advice is spot on.... i should assume direct data will give me the best indication of what's actually going on with that truck. The rust is basically a non-issue here... we are almost 10,000 feet up in the clouds. Damage on the other hand... they drive like loons here so it's possible. I think maybe the thing to do is like you say, confirm the compression numbers they say are at 140 on all cylinders. Take it for a drive and see what kind of drivetrain slack we're talking about. And good call on the dataplate/VIN checkup... that would certainly help nail down some of the particulars, I understand these 70 series have many flavours.

The country of manufacture on this one is Japan, that's what the dealer said. To be confirmed for sure.

What does a Dana rear axel look like compared to the alternative? Have a representative pic by chance? This blue LC is walking distance away from me and I was thinking of taking a peek.

I had flip flopped and was looking at an FJ Cruiser as you may have read, but the cost and getting access to that amount of money here was not going to be easy so I'm revisiting the older LC idea.

To muddy the waters more... I've just found a 1979 FJ40 on the same used car website for roughly $23k. Says it has 60k miles lol. Still... looking on bringatrailer.com it seems these go for a pretty penny. Might be worth taking that one back to north america when i eventually go. Would be mostly a nostalgia purchase though, i'm sure the practicality of a 45 year old 4x4 with a 100hp engine would wear thin very quick.

https://ecuador.patiotuerca.com/vehicle/autos-toyota-land_cruiser_fj40-quito-1979/1631580?owt=d