Highlander
The Strong, Silent Type
Undergroundroot
What is size of the tires?
What is size of the tires?
Land Cruiser converts, please weigh in on your post-conversion thoughts
- Thread starter Arya Ebrahimi
- Start date
Undergroundroot
Member
When i had my 03' G500 it was great when it was not in the shop for various stuff... we also had a LC100 at that point to bail out to..
that said my wife wants another G - and i'm fine with that since i'll take the 200 series and when needed bail out to the Defender (which is my daily driver now).
A modern Gas G-wagon is going to be a bit of work, a nice <Edit> Turbo </> Diesel earlier one would be more reliable IMHO..
depends on what you want to do..
if it were me, i'd buy a 200 series LC and not think about it for a couple of hundred thousand miles other than normal maintenance.
that said my wife wants another G - and i'm fine with that since i'll take the 200 series and when needed bail out to the Defender (which is my daily driver now).
A modern Gas G-wagon is going to be a bit of work, a nice <Edit> Turbo </> Diesel earlier one would be more reliable IMHO..
depends on what you want to do..
if it were me, i'd buy a 200 series LC and not think about it for a couple of hundred thousand miles other than normal maintenance.
Last edited:
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Bit of work how on a modern G?
For the prices of the LC200's still(used), you can get a clean G500 and pocket some money.
Sempertoy
Explorer
said from experience or here say?You can pocket cash but not the time you will spend dealing with a g. I do want a 250GD wolf as my second 4x4.
uzj100
Adventurer
15+ Years of reading the g stories on the internet. Never owned one. Would like to just don’t have free time to deal with possible down time. Maybe one day I will take the leap. We have a had a 2000 MB Wagon and have 2008 MB Wagon and they have been alot of work to keep on the road.
Which one are you buying? Are you going to wheel it? I want a 1991 250GD Wolf.
What year UZJ100 are you coming out of?
Last edited:
Sempertoy
Explorer
I am going to buy whatever I can afford when the time comes. I am still a couple years out, as we just bought a new Sienna for our growing family and the 100 is paid off.
I plan to "wheel" it but not like I did my 80. The 80 was a great platform but jack of all trades. In the future I will probably buy a capable daily and maybe build a crawler for those needs. Additionally I founded and run a non profit that currently focuses on taking veterans mountain biking, but plan to expand several years down the road to all types of outdoor activities, so I don't need anything ridiculous. I don't even know if it would be a long term rig, I kind of just want to own one for a bit, and then get back to Toyota in a 200.
I am coming from a 2000 UZJ, '97 80 on 37"s before that, tacoma etc etc.
ekapel
Member
I sold my LC 60 in 2007 and bought a new G500. I loved the G500 and it was very capable in all conditions. Owning it for 10 years, it only needed a LR window regulator replaced ($930) which seemed expensive. The other issue was routine dealer service (every other service) was $900.00. The reason I went back to a LC (100) was the tailgate on the LC which I really missed while traveling/camping. The lack of a tailgate on the G500 was a constant annoyance. One other thing that I noticed was that the LC is much better received by most people who often were obviously envious/resentful of a "wealthy" G500 owner.
Attachments
The Gs are built like tanks. Remove the bling and lift 2-3 inches and they're absolutely amazing. Smaller form factor than a 100 cruiser too. I had a 2001LX 470 for several years before going to a G500 about 10 years ago and never thought twice about the switch. I do all my own mechanic work so cost to maintain isn't really an issue for me. Parts have been easy to get as well. Reliability on the early us spec Gs is extremely strong. I would try to avoid AMG models but you can work around some of their issues as well. Honestly a G with some minor mods (bling removed and proper wheels/tires/suspension) is going to be a much better offroading truck with tons more character than a modern Toyota LC in my opinion. Also I'm 6'4 so I'm not sure what the other guy was complaining about on tall people comfort. In my 14 550 I did get ORC seat extensions and now it fits me perfectly. My 05 G500 has always had enough legroom.
Great thread,
My background; I have a 2017 200 series (wife's now) and a 2002 100 series and an Scout ii that I just did frame off with LS conversion ...
(years ago I had a built NAS 90 and I built a 300tdi 110); I find myself not seeking out the wheeling as much as I did, but more the overland style: I wheel when needed to get to where I am want to go.
I plan to give the 100 to my 14-year-old son when he turns 16. So, I am searching for my next vehicle
I am looking hard into a g550 (thought about the g63, but realized there will be extra costs to maintain and I don't want the side exhaust), I considered a new g550 (I went by the dealer, spec'd it out and they have a slot for me) but I would most likely trade in my AMG GTS to practically make that work.
I am trying to decide if the newer style is worth the price jump; a bit out of context in this thread but it will become relevant before too many years as the price comes down in the new body style)
The new ones are probably more complex electronically but are a bit wider and the steering is upgraded, but they lose the solid axle in the front. It seems a bit more daily driver friendly; but all that comes at a cost; and would you really take a 2021 G550 to the farm to get all muddy and have trees branches rub-down the side?
As a surprising aside- I spoke with a friend that had a 2018 g63 and went into a 2020 g63; he said he actually missed his older one for 6 months as it had a "tighter, military feel" vs the softness of the new model.
I can't figure out where the sweet spot is for me on a g550 as far as miles/age/cost. A new g550 seems so appealing in some ways (the vision of buying a new g550 and keeping it forever comes to mind, but that never seems to happen)
As I get closer to the new body style in years, the cost approaches a point where it seems silly to purchase the older model out of warranty and I think the new model might hold its value strong for a long time.
I am driving the 100 as my daily now, we did the OME 2"-ish lift/Upper control arms and run 33's. She drives really well around town, better than the 200. Except she is a bit sluggish if one needs to get up to speed quickly.
I assume the 2013-ish era g550s are a bit quicker?
Anyone happen to have some seat time in an older and a new model to contrast the two models?
I think If I plan to mod and go into the woods, I need to get a decent used g550; but as daily driver, knowing we also have a LC100 in the driveway, it seems appealing to hold out for a new body style
My background; I have a 2017 200 series (wife's now) and a 2002 100 series and an Scout ii that I just did frame off with LS conversion ...
(years ago I had a built NAS 90 and I built a 300tdi 110); I find myself not seeking out the wheeling as much as I did, but more the overland style: I wheel when needed to get to where I am want to go.
I plan to give the 100 to my 14-year-old son when he turns 16. So, I am searching for my next vehicle
I am looking hard into a g550 (thought about the g63, but realized there will be extra costs to maintain and I don't want the side exhaust), I considered a new g550 (I went by the dealer, spec'd it out and they have a slot for me) but I would most likely trade in my AMG GTS to practically make that work.
I am trying to decide if the newer style is worth the price jump; a bit out of context in this thread but it will become relevant before too many years as the price comes down in the new body style)
The new ones are probably more complex electronically but are a bit wider and the steering is upgraded, but they lose the solid axle in the front. It seems a bit more daily driver friendly; but all that comes at a cost; and would you really take a 2021 G550 to the farm to get all muddy and have trees branches rub-down the side?
As a surprising aside- I spoke with a friend that had a 2018 g63 and went into a 2020 g63; he said he actually missed his older one for 6 months as it had a "tighter, military feel" vs the softness of the new model.
I can't figure out where the sweet spot is for me on a g550 as far as miles/age/cost. A new g550 seems so appealing in some ways (the vision of buying a new g550 and keeping it forever comes to mind, but that never seems to happen)
As I get closer to the new body style in years, the cost approaches a point where it seems silly to purchase the older model out of warranty and I think the new model might hold its value strong for a long time.
I am driving the 100 as my daily now, we did the OME 2"-ish lift/Upper control arms and run 33's. She drives really well around town, better than the 200. Except she is a bit sluggish if one needs to get up to speed quickly.
I assume the 2013-ish era g550s are a bit quicker?
Anyone happen to have some seat time in an older and a new model to contrast the two models?
I think If I plan to mod and go into the woods, I need to get a decent used g550; but as daily driver, knowing we also have a LC100 in the driveway, it seems appealing to hold out for a new body style
Despite being both longer overall and wider than the older style G, the new style has less cargo space behind the 2nd row seats (I measured both with a tape measure as it was a factor in my decision on keeping my 2017 G63, buying a new G550/G63, or moving on to something else), especially when you factor in the much higher wheel wells that remove a lot of potentially useful space. The new style definitely makes it more daily driver friendly but also takes away a good amount of the appeal the G had for me. It also has moved so far toward the luxury side of the spectrum that I can see a lot of people being very uncomfortable with getting them dirty; they have a far less utilitarian feel. I had built a platform that essentially sat on the wheel wells with a square aluminum tube frame underneath that was the same height as the 2nd row seats when folded. This gave me an extremely useful cargo setup with about 10 or so inches of storage height underneath and then storage on top that extended pretty much level all the way to the front seats with the rear seats folded. A similar setup won't work nearly as well in the new style IMO.
I had an issue with both tail lights being cracked, which was covered by the warranty because it looked like they were over tightened at the factory. It took the dealer 9 months to get both in stock (the wait started last September, so long before Covid could be used as a reason for the long wait). If these had not been covered by the warranty, the cost at the dealer would have been around $750 for each one. I had another wait of about 6 months for a part to fix a dome light issue (which turned out to be a shorted wire in the end). So if you buy a G, be prepared for the potential of very long waits for parts and VERY expensive parts once you're out of warranty. I really loved the G and it was my 3rd one, but I decided that with the warranty expiring at the end of this year and a desire to retire at some point, I needed to make some decisions.
If you just want a daily driver, the new style G is probably the better option, but if you want to actually put it to use, my feeling is that the old style is the better choice. Just keep in mind that I've formed my opinion after owning 3 older style G's (2014 G550, 2016 G550, and 2017 G63) and only sitting in (not driving) a 2019 G550. The MSRP for a comparably configured new style G is about $25-30K more than the older style and that put the price of a new G out of my comfort zone.
If the finances aren't a concern, a G is a ton of fun to own and drive for what it is, especially if you opt for the AMG.
Ultimately, I decided to trade the G63 in for a 2020 Land Cruiser Heritage Edition and am pleased with my decision. Some parts for the Land Cruiser will also be expensive, but I'm expecting the level of reliability to be much better and the overall cost of ownership to be quite a bit less over time. It doesn't have the same head turning effect that a G has and the V8 doesn't have the power that the G63 AMG engine has, but sometimes something a bit more stealthy is a good thing. I feel like I'm enjoying my time with the Land Cruiser just as much as the G, just in somewhat different ways.