Alright, so you are probably thinking what could have made me sell my favorite car so far. Well, it’s the car that I almost bought instead of the 2010 S80 V8. At this time, I did not know that the S80 was so great until I did not have it. To this day I still wish I had that car back, and had never sold it. Anyway, after I sold my S80, I had my sights on a Land Cruiser (LC). I knew exactly what I wanted, a 2005+ LC with navigation. I could care less about the color, wheel choices or really even miles. I knew that LC’s lasted for forever, just like my 4Runners, just as long as it was taken care of.
I began my search like usual on Craigslist, but could not come up with anything that really intrigued me. I knew that I wanted at least a 2005 because it came with the backup camera. I also knew that I did not want to get into the 2007’s air suspension, as I knew it would eventually leak. I found a few that I liked, but they were either too high priced, or sold fast. Surprisingly enough, a lot of these older LC’s are sought after by used dealers because they can sell them fast. They hold their value very well, last a long time, and have a big following. On top of all that, dealers that take them on trade often don’t have to do a lot of work to them, mainly because the people who own them tend to care for them and things don’t break on them.
A few months into the search I finally found one that I was looking for, a 2005 with 150,000 miles that was a 1 owner car. The only thing was, it was in Denver. I still called up the seller who had it, and he said he bought it new in 2005, and was just looking for something different. All the maintenance had been done on the car at Toyota, and he had kept all the service records, music to my ears. I got the seller down to $12,500 for the car, but I still had to have it shipped. I used the same shipping company that I had in the past with a few of my older Volvos, and had the car in about 2 days after sending the money.
The car was scheduled to make it to my house on a Monday, but the Saturday before I got a call from the shipping company telling me that the driver was in my area, and could drop the car. I was not able to make it to the phone, so when I called the shipper back, they had informed me that the driver just left the car in my driveway with the keys in it. The only issue was, I was not home. We had gone camping for the weekend; this was frustrating to begin with. On top of that, I was supposed to pay the driver when he dropped the car off, but he was MIA. To make a long story short, the shipping company got an ear full from me, but I also knew that the shipping company was just a broker, and brokered out these car shipments, but still.
When I got the car it was filthy, the car was the top car on the trailer, and was getting all the exhaust soot from the truck pouring onto it. After giving it a bath, the car was still nasty inside; I suspect the seller had kids or grandkids. I got to work cleaning everything in it. The hand brake was set by the shipping company, and kind of stuck so I had to do some adjustments on it really before I could drive it. Once it was shiny and clean I took it out for a spin. It soon became apparent that it needed tires pretty bad, as the ones on it were more aggressive and very loud. I have someone in town that I can get good deals on tires, and he was able to set me up with a set of name brand tires for $700. That was about the only thing that I ever had to do with the car.
My car had the legendary 4.7 V8 that is just about bulletproof. This was at the time, and I think still is, the only engine that you can get in a LC. Speaking of options, Toyota did not really give you a lot to choose from. You always got leather in 2005, and most of the time it was tan, but I think you could opt for a darker color. The rims were all the same, color choices were limited, and 3rd row seat standard. You could choose to get navigation, and a rear seat entertainment center. Also, your choice of fake wood trim, but mine had the basic trim. I really did not care about the options; I just was excited to get a LC that I thought I always wanted.
The longer I drove the car as my daily, the faster I realized that these cars are not what they are all cracked up to be. LC’s have a big cult following, almost bigger than the 4Runner community, and they are looked on like the almighty Toyota. This is one of the reasons that I really wanted one. I test drove several of them before I bought it, but having the car longer, I realized that maybe this was not the car. The main thing that really bothered me about this car was how incredibly slow it was. You could really lay into the pedal and it would just cruise. Another thing that drove me crazy was the rattling. I thought that these were supposed to be really well made, and attention to quality, but the split tailgate rattled to no end. I never had an issue with the split tailgate in any of my XC90’s, so I am not sure what happened there.
The car though was so incredibly smooth. The engine might be slow, but it was like silk. The transmission was like a big Caddy shifting through gears. The ride was decent, but I drove it mainly on well paved roads. The car was so comfortable, the seats were almost as comfy as my Volvo’s… almost. It really did drive like a new car in that regard. The doors would close with a firmness that made you think you were closing a S-Class’s doors. It was a really nice car, but I had plans for this car before I even bought it.
My dad has always wanted a LC of this era. I knew that he would not buy himself one ever because he very tight with money. I knew that I wanted to buy one for a decent price, drive it a bit, and then put a bug into his ear about selling it to him. I also knew that if I bought one, he would be more comfortable in buying it from me. I think he really trusts me on car decisions, so if I bought it, it must be good. Once I got the car, he was over at my house the same day wanting to check it out. He loved it the first time he saw it. I began to ask him if he would want to buy it from me. At first he was against the idea, but the more he saw the car the more he was coming around to the idea. Eventually he asked me what I had in the car, and I told him and knew that he was thinking about it.
My dad did end up buying it from me, and he drove it quite a bit. He has a long commute, and wanted something that he could throw a bunch of miles on. He did end up selling the car after he went a different route in his cars altogether. He still talks about getting another one, but I don’t know if he ever will. In the end it was a great car, but not something I would sell the S80 again for. Now I can say that I owned one, and move on, but I don’t know that they are all what they are cracked up to be. Now on to the next.
Toyotas in general are not all their cracked up to be.When I turned wrenches at the used car lot, they needed work just like any other used up car. Somebody needs to pop that company’s balloon. But they were easy to sell.
We had a Land Cruiser of this generation. While build quality was incredible and it felt heavier and more solid than any other Toyota, it did feel a bit slow, likely due to the lazy shift quality a well as the weight. That said who buys an LC to race from stoplight to stoplight? It’ll easily top out well over 100mph the freeway and has no problem keeping up.
Ours had an O2 sensor go out (a wear item), and for some reason LCs of this generation are curiously susceptible to burning out various of their tail light bulbs. Other than that great truck, and they easily and often surpass 300 and even 400k. Very expensive when new (and used) they get taken care of and issues usually attended to. Zero rattles in ours, right as a drum. Likely someone replaced a tail light bulb and dropped one of the 10mm bolts into the tailgate after removing the access plate under the carpeted panel.
While they do show up in self-serve junkyards, it’s almost always due to a decent sized collision and they get stripped to the bone very quickly. The last one I saw there had 350k miles on it, a Laramie high school parking lot sticker on it, lots of beads on the rearview and was the victim of a frontal collision. Beyond that it seemed in better visual condition inside and out than most cars with half or a quarter of the mileage.
Toyotas do eventually need repairs and like any other car have a maintenance schedule yet they somehow manage to rarely leave their owners stranded at the side of the road and can continue to function extremely well and for a long time even with some serious neglect.
I think the main issue I had with mine was how slow it was. No, I was not looking to win any races, but it just didn’t feel like it got anywhere. I guess this could also be because I came from a V8 4Runner which was lighter and a bit more quick.
Funny you mention wrecked ones. We have family friends here in Arkansas who own a jewelry store, and all they drive in the family are Land Cruisers. New, old, doesn’t matter. One of the older LC’s were handed down to a grand daughter who drove it as her first car. She was on the interstate and had to swerve to avoid something. It was bad enough for it to go up on 2 wheel briefly. The car thought it was going to flip and deployed the side curtain airbags. Needless to say that was an expensive repair bill.
I feel like I have that problem with the taillamps on my 2004 Avalon.
I owned the previous 80 Series Land Cruiser for many years. Yes, it wasn’t the ultimate SUV that the Internet forum fans would have you believe; in fact it has several design flaws (axle seals, head gaskets, window leaks, etc) though my split tailgate never rattled. However, these vehicles shouldn’t be judged on highway refinement or straight line performance (though the 100 is a rocket compared to a 4.5 liter six cylinder 80, let alone the previous pushrod six 80’s). What they are, is they’re pretty much unbeatable offroad. Probably the only SUV other than perhaps an old Land Rover 109/110 wagon or a G Wagen that can do the Rubicon Trail on the weekend and haul seven kids plus driver on a field trip on Monday; my 80 did both.
In 2008 the 4.7 was replaced by the new 5.7 liter v8 still used in these and tundra/Sequoia. It lopped something like three seconds off the 0-60 run, bringing it down to 6.5 seconds. I don’t think much is given up in fuel economy or durability for the new ability to outrun a 10-year old Corolla.
Did this replace your 2016 4Runner Limited? As legendary as these LC’s are, I think I’d rather have the loaded 4R.
At the time I still had my 2016, so it was kind of cool to see the contrast between the 2. Although not comparable, but a way to see the similarities in build. I am with you, I would take my 4Runner over this any day.
What a beast, very nice! The picture with the boat is brochure-worthy, that kind of work is what these are supposed to do.
They were marketed here as the Toyota Land Cruiser 100. The others were the 70, with the classic off-roader looks, and the 90 (Prado).
Of course, the norm was the 4.2 liter inline-6 turbodiesel. And many got a van-conversion for a registration as a commercial vehicle. I found this 2001 LC 100 4.2 td van for sale, 934,000 km on the clock (583,750 miles). A typical former ride of a cattle dealer, market vendor, building contractor or anyone else who needed a capable and durable trailer tower.
These work horse have a great reputation also in Europe. My father got one back in 2001? with good story. First owner returned it to the dealer after few days once he find out its gasoline model with 4.7V8 as he though its diesel version, believe it or not. Then was available with huge discount. Around 13 mpg was the norm, loaded or not but was quick for its size and V8 roar before any European manufacturers heal their SUV from diesel mallary to V8 gas medicine. In 60k mile the transmission was toast and replaced by the dealer under warranty. Then no more transmission issues. When the time come for replacement, my brother acquire it, convert it to LPG to be more gentle on his wallet and have it still in his fleet. Sure it needs some repairs, address the air suspension and even some rust around the front window. But it’s his favorite RV tow vehicle and remain in his possesion despite BMW X5 and Audi Q7 join his fleet. None come close when its tow time! 🙂