Lower mileage or later model year?

[IPA]

Assuming similar options, condition, and maintenance history, which vehicle would be you be willing to pay more for?

An older 100 series - say, a 1999 or 2000, with low miles (125k, for instance)...................or a newer 100 series with higher miles, say, a 2006 with 250k miles?

Just curious what you cruiser guys think. I'm mainly a Jeep guy but I also love Toyotas (have owned several, though never a LC), and I browse the local LC ads quite a bit. Based just on local asking prices, it looks to me like a newer model year / higher miles is more valuable than lower miles on an older vehicle. Of course the older ones with low miles are less common, but I do see them occasionally.

 

[DDabs]

you say tomato i say tomato

 

[MarcFJ60]

As a general rule, I put less emphasis on mileage with Landcruisers. But with the 100 series, there are other factors to consider . . .

1998 and 1999 had the rear locker, but weaker front diff.
2000-2002 had the better diff, but I believe 2000-2001 have some tranny issues
2003 got the 5 speed transmission
2005+ got the VVTI engine with more power

When the miles start getting pretty high (250K), I start worrying about how much life is left in even a very well maintained vehicle. It may be in great shape, but how comfortable are you that you will get an additional 50-100K out of it? It is one thing if you put the first 250K on yourself, but if I am buying a 250K vehicle, I don't know if I could trust it going to 300K just based on my inspection. So while I am pretty comfortable buying a 200K vehicle that has been maintained, when it approaches 250K, what I am willing to spend really drops quickly.

Because of all the above, for me, it is hard to say a 1998 with certain attributes has a similar market value to a 2006 with other attributes. For those two values to match, they would have to be extreme outliers. So lets say I have $13K to spend - I'm not inclined to pay a premium for a 75K mile 1999 Landcruiser nor am I willing to buy a bargain 300K 2006 Landcruiser. However in less extreme cases, I would be willing to pay $10K for a really nice 1998/9 LC and pocket the change or stretch my budget to $17K for a 200K mile 2006. But where the two would actually meet - I don't think I would be interested in either.

A bit long winded, but hopefully I made my point. But in short, I would be willing to buy any Landcruiser as long as the value reflected the condition, maintenance, and generation. Since clean landcruisers are hard to find, having a flexible budget helps.