LC80 opinions?

[musicmaan]

Greetings all,

we, (wifey and I) currently have a low mileage 2000 4runner for our family vehicular unit, but we feel that our family has out grown it. I am a long time fanatic of the 80 series landcruiser and still really want one. The one I currently have in mind is a 1996 with 126,000 kms (140,500 miles), and from the pictures looks to be in excellent shape. (Of course I wouldn't buy it before test driving it)

What I would like is opinions from LC80 owners and others alike as to weather or not this would be a good move... going to an older and possibly harder on gas vehicle. And how much harder on gas would it be?

Thank you kindly in advance.


Steve

 

[Root Moose]

Isn't the wet coast lousy with JDM diesel 80s and the shops to keep it maintained?

I'd take a good hard look at one of them before buying a gasser.

 

[musicmaan]

yep, you're right, but twice the dough for a 91 Diesel, and wifey won't have the RHD. But I hear ya.

 

[hieronymus]

I guess it's 226.000km's....

 

[Root Moose]

Or is it 78000 miles?

 

[hieronymus]

 

[musicmaan]

oops.... yes it is 226,000 kms

 

[UCBerzerkeley]

i'd reckon 11-14 mpg. i get 12 maybe. big hit on gas mileage

 

[hieronymus]

Mine does 18mpg....on diesel

 

[RocKrawler]

Just bought & love ours!

 

[MarcFJ60]

What I would like is opinions from LC80 owners and others alike as to weather or not this would be a good move... going to an older and possibly harder on gas vehicle. And how much harder on gas would it be?

That's exactly what I did. But I switched from an 02 Ford Explorer w/ 88K miles to a 95 FZJ80 with 129K. But you don't have a POS Explorer, you have a 4Runner.

I think it's a wise move if you really want an 80. On the plus side, the 80 is a bit bigger, drives more comfortably (I believe), and will likely have similar reliability (and probably better durability).

But it will have 140K and be 4 years older. So things will come up that need to be fixed. Might be a bit more expensive to fix as well.

Nobody can say whether it would be better/worse/same reliability wise. But if maintained, it should be a plenty reliable as a daily driver. For me, I decided I would rather put money into a vehicle I really liked (FZJ80) than continue to put money into a vehicle I hated. But if I had a 4Runner rather than the Explorer, the choice would have been tougher.

 

[35thAV]

We love our 80 ('96 LX450), after we bought it we almost stopped driving the wifes 4-runner completely when we only need to take one car.
I get 16-18mpg and plan on keeping this thing for a long time because it's what I want - I got tired of driving cars I didn't really want. Plus the LC is a lot more fun to play around with since there's a million parts & mods out there for them

 

[d0ubledown]

Greetings all,

we, (wifey and I) currently have a low mileage 2000 4runner for our family vehicular unit, but we feel that our family has out grown it. I am a long time fanatic of the 80 series landcruiser and still really want one. The one I currently have in mind is a 1996 with 126,000 kms (140,500 miles), and from the pictures looks to be in excellent shape. (Of course I wouldn't buy it before test driving it)

What I would like is opinions from LC80 owners and others alike as to weather or not this would be a good move... going to an older and possibly harder on gas vehicle. And how much harder on gas would it be?

Thank you kindly in advance.


Steve

if youre more concerned with fuel milage, dont upgrade to an 80. if you an live with a few more L/100kms..definitely step up. i did trade up last year and have absolutely no regrets. however, we did just have our third child, so more room was the biggest factor. 3 wide in the runner was too tight with kids seats. 3 wide in the 80 is a breeze, plus the option of the 3rd row. its just a completely different beast in every which way. a bit more higher maintenance...but they're solid. fr/rr lockers also available if thats important to you. i was also shopping an HDJ81, but the fact that the diesels never came with 3rd row seats really turned me off. plus they were still a bit out of my budget when i was looking last year.

if you're into wrenching on your own...then chalk another one up for the 80. as i mentioned its a bit more high maintenance, and you'll save big and have less headaches wrenching yourself and getting assistance from the 80 gurus on 'mud.

of course if you're completely satisfied with the runner, stick with that. test drive the 80...it wont feel as nimble..well since it isnt. but you'll have nothin but smiles when you're behind the wheel...

 

[alia176]

I have two 80's and love them. However, lately I am questioning the wife's 80 as it's the family long hauler. We usually pull a 1400 Ib Kamparoo camper behind it and the fuel bills really hurt the vacation fundage if you know what I mean. So make sure you consider this before going forth with the purchase. I've been eyeballing the 4th Gen 4Runners myself (but don't tell the wife's 80!) due to the extra HP and better MPG and perhaps a change of scenery. BTW, I have a family of three plus a Border Collie. Now that the Rottweiler has passed on, a smaller vehicle is not out of the realm of possibility.

Cheers.

 

[MoGas]

If you have any questions about fuel economy, they aren't for you.

Otherwise they are a world platform vehicle that country to country are basically unchanged. In Canada, you would be best served to shop in the US in Southern California, Nevada, Texas, New Mexico and other rust free states.

There are great pre purchase and Cruiser soul searching threads here.

You can usually find a Cruiser Head in the area that you are looking in to look over the vehicle for you. That is always a good idea because it takes your emotions out of the purchase.

Fear not miles. I just turned 227,000 miles on my 80 and it is still going strong. With proper maintenance, I am confident to at least 300k before I do a rebuild on the drive train or power plant.


Hope I helped,
Dave