Hello all, I've been lurking awhile and this is my first post. I have a little bit of a situation I would like your opinions on. I am trying to choose between two cruisers and I have no idea which way to go. Here is a little background on me. I have 3 kids (7, 3, and 16 months) 2 large dogs plus my wife and I. I need this truck to be my daily drive on days of bad weather when I don't ride my bike to work, commute is about 5 miles. I am active duty Army so the truck will need to be able to drive across the US in all different types of climate, which is one big reason I settled on the LC. And in a few years I will need it haul us around Arizona full time.
I want it to be drivable right away with no mods, I will make mods to it as time goes on but probably not for the first couple of years. I do a lot of hunting, mountain biking, family camping trips, and just plain exploring so I know this truck will be able to do that. So without further ado here is what I am looking at, I would like any and all's opinion on which you would consider if you were in my situation.
The first is a 1998 LC with a 2UZ-FE motor, and 141,xxx miles on it. My wife went and looked at it (I am currently in the big sandbox) and really liked it. It has all of the things she likes, but I see little issues that could come up if they quit working. It has a little rust underneath, we do live in the mid-atlantic so that's what you get from all this winter salt. But it has locking center and rear differential. Overall the vehicle seemed to be in very good condition, a local mechanic she took it to gave it a clean bill of health. It seems to have been well maintained and cared for.
The second is a 1991 LC with an I6 motor, not sure the size. Has 219,xxx miles on it and seems to be in immaculate condition. The interior has no rips or tears any where. The engine bay is very clean, and based off of pictures seems to be well maintained. My wife will be going to check it out this week and take it too a mechanic to get it checked out. It has a lot less of the electric features than the 98 but I don't mind that at all.
So anyways that both of them in a nutshell. Both seem to be very good vehicles and a good starting place for someone in my position. If you had to make this decision which way would you go. Price is not an option on either as I can pay for both cash outright but the 1998 is about $2500 more. Thanks everyone.
I want it to be drivable right away with no mods, I will make mods to it as time goes on but probably not for the first couple of years. I do a lot of hunting, mountain biking, family camping trips, and just plain exploring so I know this truck will be able to do that. So without further ado here is what I am looking at, I would like any and all's opinion on which you would consider if you were in my situation.
The first is a 1998 LC with a 2UZ-FE motor, and 141,xxx miles on it. My wife went and looked at it (I am currently in the big sandbox) and really liked it. It has all of the things she likes, but I see little issues that could come up if they quit working. It has a little rust underneath, we do live in the mid-atlantic so that's what you get from all this winter salt. But it has locking center and rear differential. Overall the vehicle seemed to be in very good condition, a local mechanic she took it to gave it a clean bill of health. It seems to have been well maintained and cared for.
The second is a 1991 LC with an I6 motor, not sure the size. Has 219,xxx miles on it and seems to be in immaculate condition. The interior has no rips or tears any where. The engine bay is very clean, and based off of pictures seems to be well maintained. My wife will be going to check it out this week and take it too a mechanic to get it checked out. It has a lot less of the electric features than the 98 but I don't mind that at all.
So anyways that both of them in a nutshell. Both seem to be very good vehicles and a good starting place for someone in my position. If you had to make this decision which way would you go. Price is not an option on either as I can pay for both cash outright but the 1998 is about $2500 more. Thanks everyone.