Question to Land Cruiser owners

[Grouseman]

SNAKE EATER

Apart from the legendary off road history and the fact that parts are readily available anywhere in the world, there are many reasons why I chose my 97 TLC

1) Rock solid reliability
2) Live front Axle
3) 3-way factory locking diffs
4) Everything overbuilt to last
5) Bigger than a 4-Runner, smaller than a Full Size SUV
6) 3rd row seating
7) Luxurious interior without overwhelming electronic dash crap
8) Unlimited aftermarket accessories

She now has 334,xxx miles and I regularly make long distance trips with her at a drop of a hat without a care in the world

In fact, I'll be driving down from NYC to Orlando tomorrow morning

WOW What a great looking Truck.....

I have a 96 and have driven it 140K miles. Most reliable truck I will ever have... I have a runner also, but the Cruiser is AWESOME>>>>>>>>>

 

[abruzzi]

Yeah, Landcruisers cover a very wide range, from the 40 to the current 200. I see some discussing $40k vs. $70k, and realistically, I've never spent more than $5k for a 4 wheel vehicle. (I have spent more than that for several motorcycles.) So when you look at a lower price, the expensive item tends to drop a lot quicker. I paid $4500 for my '97 LX450. A '97 4runner would cost about the same here. So when I'm looking for $5k SUV/offroader, the LC usually gets me a lot more for the money. On the negative side, during ownership, I spend more for gas and parts for the LC than I would with a 4runner, but mine has been rock solid reliable so far, and those are still reasonable tradeoffs.

On top of that basic calculation, I've owned LCs for 10-15 years. I've had a 40, 60, and 55. Every one of them was sitting abandoned in a yard for years--the 55 for decades. Every one of them started right up with with new battery, oil change and clean fuel. I would say that it is impossible to kill the engine, but my first experience of Landcruisers was a girlfriend who had a 40 and managed to kill the engine. It had a slow oil leak that she forgot to keep track of. One day she was out with me and the engine seized. Her father came out to get us, and loaded up the truck. When he got it home and started tearing it down, he found it had 1 quart of oil in it--i.e. 7.5 quarts low. Considering the leak was slow and didn't leave puddles, its likely it ran for a long time with very little oil. That kind of sold me on their reliability.

Geof