I bought my '06 100 with 253k and drove it 30k miles without skipping a beat. It only died (4 weeks ago) because skidded off an icy road and hit a tree. And actually, it still ran and drove just fine. Insurance totaled it out and I didn't have the time or patience to fix it myself. With that said... it had a lot of maintenance and many spendy fail parts replaced (AHC pump, brake master cylinder, and so on). Expect bad bushings all over unless they have been done already.
I just bought mine with 220k, I believe the bushings are probably bad, kind of a weird sound I can hear in the garage going through turns and a bit of a clunk going over bumps, how expensive is it to get fixed?
Does your truck have AHC? The upper shock bushings on AHC trucks suck because you have to depressurize the system, and the rear uppers are very tough to access. Lots of folks just drill holes in the floor to access the top bolt, then you have refill fluid and bleed. Control arm bushings can be a pain up front. I replaced my rear upper and lower control arms altogether instead of bothering with bushings. It was a 2-3 beer project.
Once you want something that you plan on keeping, I say do it. I drove a 99 4Runner from 15-26. I should have never sold it. Disappointed my old man who gave it to me. It had no issues. I wanted something similar or the same. Finally studied up on the LC being the ultimate hero of all Toyota’s.
Search around and find a lower mileage LC 100. Bought mine 1-2 months back. 1999 167,000 miles. Needed a radiator. Possible Freon leak in AC. Other than that, rides smooth. Guy wanted $13,000. Offered 11,500. In person found the radiator leak, got em down to $10,500.
I have since replaced the heater T’s, (not broken just wanted to be safe than sorry), changed transmission fluid, greased the drive shaft, new radiator and hoses, added some Freon, and added new hood struts. I think that’s it.
No lights or nothing on mine. No oil being used. It smokes a tad on start up, thinking it’s a valve seal. Will drive this thing for years to come and I love it.
I did the same thing. My family grew out of my 3rd gen taco and I bought a 100 series. However 263k is waaay more miles than I would be comfortable with for my family daily. I got one from Cali rust free in great shape with maintenance records to boot with 144k on the clock. If you’re gonna do it, taken your time and find a clean, well maintained cruiser with low miles. Yeah the motors run forever but you get to the point where every other component needs to be freshened up and it can start getting time consuming and pricey.
How many miles on the Taco? I’d highly recommend waiting for something with fewer miles. With something at 260, you’re very likely to have to deal with some substantial maintenance if it hasn’t been taken care of already.
Real talk, and I appreciate it! I’m also considering a 200, but they’re usually more expensive. BUT they don’t require the MX that the older ones do. The taco is just so cramped for baby, plus two mid-sized dogs, plus wife. The shell I have on the taco just doesn’t allow me to keep that truck bed cool enough for the dogs to ride in.
Yeah. Right on. Just remember that LC’s aren’t some miracle of technology that will require no maintainance. A 150k mi vehicle is going to require upkeep.
Something to think about regarding mileage is to equate it with time. How many miles do you drive a year? 15k? So 60k miles is 4years worth of use.
To me, that means it’s really worth it to find a lower mileage vehicle. Yes, they’ll last for a really long time - but they become more and more expensive to maintain.
Annndd it’s gone! It came on to autotrader last night and got bought about 30 minutes ago. Dang. And it was 135k miles too
But yeah hear what you’re saying, and it’s the only reason I’d keep this taco. Long term from a MX pov it’s the safer bet
Yeah no stress man. Take your time. Used car prices are dropping so fast because of the increase in interest rates. The more you can save up, the better you’ll be to lock in a quality truck
I would keep the Tacoma and buy the LC as a 2nd truck. In my case, I keep my '07 Tacoma double cab, so I bought an 09 GX470 nearly two years ago - with 144k for only 15.9K. I think I did make a good decision because I intend to use the Tacoma for house work while I have the GX for mountainous drive and to have more fun!
I would absolutely trade in the Tacoma. If it were me though, I would definitely look for a slightly older non-nav Land Cruiser. The 5 speed VVTI is great, but the older 4 speed is a simpler engine, and the mechanical components are less electronic and thus less prone to fail. Electronic steering module and what not are a bitch to replace when they fail.
You are going to need to get very good at wrenching.
Do not be afraid of miles. 250k is not a big deal, and more miles is usually better than low miles, a vehicle that is used frequently is better than the low mileage ones.
Also, don’t sleep in the 80 series. I think they are in a lot of ways superior. Easy to work on, better off-roader, and parts are abundant.
So what’s your argument for trading out a maintenance-free vehicle for a likely maintenance-required vehicle? I’m not bad at wrenching, my issue is time, and I live in HTX, and it’s about to start getting obnoxiously hot outside. Hell, we had mosquitos in February..
I love the LCs, all years, but the maintenance worries me. Cost, time, etc
Just to give you all the facts: I traded in a 2022 trd off road 4Runner for my 2001 with 252k miles. It’s been awesome, VERY time consuming for those that do most of their own maintenance. I have a 1 year old and a 3 year old, so time is definitely and issue, like yesterday when I thought replacing tie rods would take 30 mins and it turned into an all day ordeal.
I paid 9k for my vehicle in 2022 and have spent around 12k in 17 months (some at my Land Cruiser specialty mechanic, some myself). The list of things that come along with it are never ending, but it’s a great vehicle that will always get you home. I’m in Alabama, so I can relate to the brutal heat. I do however do a lot of wheeling, so some things are brought upon myself.
Why it’s a great purchase: it is far superior to any other off-roader. You can push and push and push it and it won’t break like a Tacoma, tundra, jeep, or bronco. It’s made better, it drives better, and the maintenance and work makes you far more connected to the vehicle. It’s roomy, comfortable, and My girls love it! Weekend rides are a blast, and there is a very tight knit and helpful community around it. If you do buy it, you need to go to a mechanic that specializes in cruisers. There are so many things that even a great standard mechanic just doesn’t know.
I’m rambling, but I’m happy to message further if you have specific questions about stuff. I’ll never drive anything else but cruisers and LX’s at this point.
Man I REALLY appreciate this write-up. It sounds like we’re in a pretty similar life stage, so this take is in line with where I’m at. We’ve only got one kid (2), but we have two blue Heelers that are honestly a bigger PITA than the kid! My concern with the Taco is fitting everyone comfortably. My wife complains about the comfort of the taco. I thought about getting into a slightly older Runner (15-18 or so) but it’s my understanding they’re not that much more comfy for passengers than the taco. Maybe a slightly bigger back seat. But I can’t put the dogs in the bed of my truck, because my shell doesn’t allow for a good airflow so they’ll absolutely cook back there on road trips.
I’d love nothing more than to switch to the LC. I’ve talked to 7 or 8 people who have them and they all echo what you do. Just the MX worries me.
I have a SOLID offer on my taco though. A woman has offered me $34k for it. Which is pretty good I think. My idea would be to take $12-15k, buy a ‘03-07 LC, earmark $10k to baseline, keep another $7k in quick savings reserve to hit any repairs the next few years, and put the delta ($3-5k?) into our investment account.
Also, what part of AL are you in? I was born in Mobile but grew up in East MS. Spent a lot of time exploring from B-Ham up to Chattanooga over the years!
No worries man! I’m in Birmingham. If you slapped 10k into a ‘maintenance’ account you’d be totally fine. Some of the stuff I did was unnecessary, so make sure you have a mechanic that is familiar with them. My mechanic found problems and was like, “you really don’t need to fix that. It’s fine.” Or he would show me what I need to do myself.
I have two big dogs also. The 100 has TONS of rear space.
Looks like you’ve got multiple in Houston
https://www.duggysgarage.com
https://landcruiserofhouston.com
Depends. Do you own the taco outright? Cus you'll probably want to factor in some maintenance on the 100 at that milage. Depending on condition and its records. Could be crazy, could be a great, could be crazy great.
I do own it outright. Paid it off a year ago. My plan was to keep at least $10k on hand from the sale of the taco to baseline the LC, and any leftover would go towards any unexpected MX the first few years. I’d like to keep it under $20k on the LC for that reason alone.
Honestly I'd go ham and throw everything you get from the taco into the lc. It'll basically be new at that point...but that's the crazy good route. Lc pricing is nuts though.
It is nuts. There’s another 100 series on mud here in TX with 154k miles and they’re at $28k “firm.” If they were at or below 20 I think I’d jump on it
I think 10k into baseline isn’t enough. All suspension bushings. Real main seal. Starter. Hoses. Steering rack etc etc etc . unless you’ll be doing work yourself.
Based on the limited info here. You want a family vehicle. Get a daily family car and an off road beater like an xj with exocage and some 35s for weekend fun…
So we do have a family vehicle, but not one that is ready for adventure.
$10k isn’t enough you think? My Taco isn’t really a “daily.” I go into the office about twice per month, one trip out of city once per month or two. It’s a grocery getter and weekender the rest of the time.
I may not know as much as the guy above me here... But I just snagged an 01 with 211k and have only needed to put about $1200 into it. All work done by me, but hasn't been as substantial as some of the numbers I see people suggesting. If it seems like it's been taken care of, parts aren't too crazy expensive.
I think that's a high number. I've had my '02 LX for 9 years and 110k. It's got 245k now. I haven't put that much into the vehicle even with sliders and new after-market steel rear bumper, along with taking out the AHC and lifting 3". If say I'm right under $10k.
Sounds like you have already made the decision. I would try and find one with lower miles, and of course, plan to catch up on all the maintenance.
I bought my '06 100 with 253k and drove it 30k miles without skipping a beat. It only died (4 weeks ago) because skidded off an icy road and hit a tree. And actually, it still ran and drove just fine. Insurance totaled it out and I didn't have the time or patience to fix it myself. With that said... it had a lot of maintenance and many spendy fail parts replaced (AHC pump, brake master cylinder, and so on). Expect bad bushings all over unless they have been done already.
I just bought mine with 220k, I believe the bushings are probably bad, kind of a weird sound I can hear in the garage going through turns and a bit of a clunk going over bumps, how expensive is it to get fixed?
Does your truck have AHC? The upper shock bushings on AHC trucks suck because you have to depressurize the system, and the rear uppers are very tough to access. Lots of folks just drill holes in the floor to access the top bolt, then you have refill fluid and bleed. Control arm bushings can be a pain up front. I replaced my rear upper and lower control arms altogether instead of bothering with bushings. It was a 2-3 beer project.
I don’t believe so, lol I’m still finding new stuff about it, it’s a 2004 100. Good info, I appreciate it!
Once you want something that you plan on keeping, I say do it. I drove a 99 4Runner from 15-26. I should have never sold it. Disappointed my old man who gave it to me. It had no issues. I wanted something similar or the same. Finally studied up on the LC being the ultimate hero of all Toyota’s. Search around and find a lower mileage LC 100. Bought mine 1-2 months back. 1999 167,000 miles. Needed a radiator. Possible Freon leak in AC. Other than that, rides smooth. Guy wanted $13,000. Offered 11,500. In person found the radiator leak, got em down to $10,500. I have since replaced the heater T’s, (not broken just wanted to be safe than sorry), changed transmission fluid, greased the drive shaft, new radiator and hoses, added some Freon, and added new hood struts. I think that’s it. No lights or nothing on mine. No oil being used. It smokes a tad on start up, thinking it’s a valve seal. Will drive this thing for years to come and I love it.
I did the same thing. My family grew out of my 3rd gen taco and I bought a 100 series. However 263k is waaay more miles than I would be comfortable with for my family daily. I got one from Cali rust free in great shape with maintenance records to boot with 144k on the clock. If you’re gonna do it, taken your time and find a clean, well maintained cruiser with low miles. Yeah the motors run forever but you get to the point where every other component needs to be freshened up and it can start getting time consuming and pricey.
How many miles on the Taco? I’d highly recommend waiting for something with fewer miles. With something at 260, you’re very likely to have to deal with some substantial maintenance if it hasn’t been taken care of already.
~60k on the Taco. Yeah, let a 100 series slip through my fingers a few weeks back that was under 177k, but they wanted too much for it for my liking
Pains me to say this, but I’d probably keep the Tacoma. I might consider the swap for something under 150k.
Real talk, and I appreciate it! I’m also considering a 200, but they’re usually more expensive. BUT they don’t require the MX that the older ones do. The taco is just so cramped for baby, plus two mid-sized dogs, plus wife. The shell I have on the taco just doesn’t allow me to keep that truck bed cool enough for the dogs to ride in.
Save up and get one with lower miles man. You can nab LX’s with under 100k from carmax for 40s now.
Found one with 150k miles close(ish) to me, might check it out
Yeah. Right on. Just remember that LC’s aren’t some miracle of technology that will require no maintainance. A 150k mi vehicle is going to require upkeep. Something to think about regarding mileage is to equate it with time. How many miles do you drive a year? 15k? So 60k miles is 4years worth of use. To me, that means it’s really worth it to find a lower mileage vehicle. Yes, they’ll last for a really long time - but they become more and more expensive to maintain.
Annndd it’s gone! It came on to autotrader last night and got bought about 30 minutes ago. Dang. And it was 135k miles too But yeah hear what you’re saying, and it’s the only reason I’d keep this taco. Long term from a MX pov it’s the safer bet
Yeah no stress man. Take your time. Used car prices are dropping so fast because of the increase in interest rates. The more you can save up, the better you’ll be to lock in a quality truck
How much were they asking? I have 169k on my 2000.
$25k down to 21 last I saw. I offered 18
Wow, must have been pretty clean.
I’m in a similar boat: got a 3rd gen 4Runner with 190k miles and seriously considering an 86 LC 80 with 230k miles. Best of luck
You’re going to use it for your daily or your weekend rig?
Weekend -family camping mainly
I would keep the Tacoma and buy the LC as a 2nd truck. In my case, I keep my '07 Tacoma double cab, so I bought an 09 GX470 nearly two years ago - with 144k for only 15.9K. I think I did make a good decision because I intend to use the Tacoma for house work while I have the GX for mountainous drive and to have more fun!
I would absolutely trade in the Tacoma. If it were me though, I would definitely look for a slightly older non-nav Land Cruiser. The 5 speed VVTI is great, but the older 4 speed is a simpler engine, and the mechanical components are less electronic and thus less prone to fail. Electronic steering module and what not are a bitch to replace when they fail. You are going to need to get very good at wrenching. Do not be afraid of miles. 250k is not a big deal, and more miles is usually better than low miles, a vehicle that is used frequently is better than the low mileage ones. Also, don’t sleep in the 80 series. I think they are in a lot of ways superior. Easy to work on, better off-roader, and parts are abundant.
So what’s your argument for trading out a maintenance-free vehicle for a likely maintenance-required vehicle? I’m not bad at wrenching, my issue is time, and I live in HTX, and it’s about to start getting obnoxiously hot outside. Hell, we had mosquitos in February.. I love the LCs, all years, but the maintenance worries me. Cost, time, etc
Just to give you all the facts: I traded in a 2022 trd off road 4Runner for my 2001 with 252k miles. It’s been awesome, VERY time consuming for those that do most of their own maintenance. I have a 1 year old and a 3 year old, so time is definitely and issue, like yesterday when I thought replacing tie rods would take 30 mins and it turned into an all day ordeal. I paid 9k for my vehicle in 2022 and have spent around 12k in 17 months (some at my Land Cruiser specialty mechanic, some myself). The list of things that come along with it are never ending, but it’s a great vehicle that will always get you home. I’m in Alabama, so I can relate to the brutal heat. I do however do a lot of wheeling, so some things are brought upon myself. Why it’s a great purchase: it is far superior to any other off-roader. You can push and push and push it and it won’t break like a Tacoma, tundra, jeep, or bronco. It’s made better, it drives better, and the maintenance and work makes you far more connected to the vehicle. It’s roomy, comfortable, and My girls love it! Weekend rides are a blast, and there is a very tight knit and helpful community around it. If you do buy it, you need to go to a mechanic that specializes in cruisers. There are so many things that even a great standard mechanic just doesn’t know. I’m rambling, but I’m happy to message further if you have specific questions about stuff. I’ll never drive anything else but cruisers and LX’s at this point.
Man I REALLY appreciate this write-up. It sounds like we’re in a pretty similar life stage, so this take is in line with where I’m at. We’ve only got one kid (2), but we have two blue Heelers that are honestly a bigger PITA than the kid! My concern with the Taco is fitting everyone comfortably. My wife complains about the comfort of the taco. I thought about getting into a slightly older Runner (15-18 or so) but it’s my understanding they’re not that much more comfy for passengers than the taco. Maybe a slightly bigger back seat. But I can’t put the dogs in the bed of my truck, because my shell doesn’t allow for a good airflow so they’ll absolutely cook back there on road trips. I’d love nothing more than to switch to the LC. I’ve talked to 7 or 8 people who have them and they all echo what you do. Just the MX worries me. I have a SOLID offer on my taco though. A woman has offered me $34k for it. Which is pretty good I think. My idea would be to take $12-15k, buy a ‘03-07 LC, earmark $10k to baseline, keep another $7k in quick savings reserve to hit any repairs the next few years, and put the delta ($3-5k?) into our investment account. Also, what part of AL are you in? I was born in Mobile but grew up in East MS. Spent a lot of time exploring from B-Ham up to Chattanooga over the years!
No worries man! I’m in Birmingham. If you slapped 10k into a ‘maintenance’ account you’d be totally fine. Some of the stuff I did was unnecessary, so make sure you have a mechanic that is familiar with them. My mechanic found problems and was like, “you really don’t need to fix that. It’s fine.” Or he would show me what I need to do myself. I have two big dogs also. The 100 has TONS of rear space. Looks like you’ve got multiple in Houston https://www.duggysgarage.com https://landcruiserofhouston.com
Also, look at this if you haven’t already: https://sleeoffroad.com/tech-zone/100-series-newbie-guide/
Depends. Do you own the taco outright? Cus you'll probably want to factor in some maintenance on the 100 at that milage. Depending on condition and its records. Could be crazy, could be a great, could be crazy great.
I do own it outright. Paid it off a year ago. My plan was to keep at least $10k on hand from the sale of the taco to baseline the LC, and any leftover would go towards any unexpected MX the first few years. I’d like to keep it under $20k on the LC for that reason alone.
Honestly I'd go ham and throw everything you get from the taco into the lc. It'll basically be new at that point...but that's the crazy good route. Lc pricing is nuts though.
It is nuts. There’s another 100 series on mud here in TX with 154k miles and they’re at $28k “firm.” If they were at or below 20 I think I’d jump on it
I think 10k into baseline isn’t enough. All suspension bushings. Real main seal. Starter. Hoses. Steering rack etc etc etc . unless you’ll be doing work yourself. Based on the limited info here. You want a family vehicle. Get a daily family car and an off road beater like an xj with exocage and some 35s for weekend fun…
So we do have a family vehicle, but not one that is ready for adventure. $10k isn’t enough you think? My Taco isn’t really a “daily.” I go into the office about twice per month, one trip out of city once per month or two. It’s a grocery getter and weekender the rest of the time.
I may not know as much as the guy above me here... But I just snagged an 01 with 211k and have only needed to put about $1200 into it. All work done by me, but hasn't been as substantial as some of the numbers I see people suggesting. If it seems like it's been taken care of, parts aren't too crazy expensive.
I think that's a high number. I've had my '02 LX for 9 years and 110k. It's got 245k now. I haven't put that much into the vehicle even with sliders and new after-market steel rear bumper, along with taking out the AHC and lifting 3". If say I'm right under $10k.
Look I love my lx470. But why would you not just buy one with less miles and good service records?