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Hi from England

TonyP said:
From a age perspective look at 55 playred (2005) 120's as these are in a lower road tax bracket than 2006 models.

Also from a spec perspective look at LC4 over lc5, main difference is LC4 does not have the air suspension or touch screen sat navigation. Good luck, I'm sure you will find a good one.

I've had mine from new and have had a few issues .. Replaced water pump, alternator, some high pressure fuel lines, aircon pump, and then maintenance items like brake pads and discs, tyres.
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Great advice Tony, thats exactly what I did.
 
TonyP said:
From a age perspective look at 55 playred (2005) 120's as these are in a lower road tax bracket than 2006 models.

Also from a spec perspective look at LC4 over lc5, main difference is LC4 does not have the air suspension or touch screen sat navigation. Good luck, I'm sure you will find a good one.

I've had mine from new and have had a few issues .. Replaced water pump, alternator, some high pressure fuel lines, aircon pump, and then maintenance items like brake pads and discs, tyres.
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thank you thats very helpful :)
 
Chris said:
Megan, where abouts are you in the country? I'm guessing somewhere north of the wall? There's bound to be someone closeish who would hold your hand on this. Failing that, take pictures. It's really under the back end and rear axle that are what we need to see.

The LC3 came with good equipment levels but very standard suspension. Typically on an LCS the spare wheel is on the back door. The LC4 and LC5 got increasing levels of equipment including fancy suspension and traction control (ATRAC) as well as leather, sat nav etc. The spare wheel is usually underneath, but there was a factory option to move it, but most people didn't.
LCs are incredibly reliable as are all Toyotas, but at this age, there's always going to be the chances of failure on tricky little motors and sensors etc. Because there no original warranty left, this might get expensive. Don't be put off, they are reliable, but the LC3 has significanty less of this to worry about. Plus I think the rear wheel is very useful for putting things on, not least your cuppa!

Depending on what you get, one thing to save some money for might be tyres. OK so it might come with some brand new ones on - great, but to really see the benefits of this vehicle especially in winter driving is decent tyres. A set of something like BFG ATs would not only give you all the grip you'd want in snow, you'll be pulling other cars out of hedges. They're quiet, hard to puncture and you'll most likely get something like 70k miles out of them. Failing that then the Cooper AT3 Sport is another good, cheaper, choice.

Once you have bought one, we'll talk you through the four wheel drive setting so that you're never stuck again.
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thank you. I was thinking thinking of asking RAC for inspection. :)
 
Shayne said:
Most of us drive 20+ year old cruisers Megan because we know mileage on a well maintained cruiser is irrelevant but we buy knowing what parts we will need to replace because everything suffers with age . What we look for is how well preserved the car is when we crawl underneath it .

Your looking for a much newer vehicle that shouldn't need anything replaced but while it will likely look brand new on top it might have been driven into the sea to launch a boat one a month and so under the bling is a rust bucket .

Has it been maintained with regular servicing is always an open question , personally i'm always suspicious when the service book is stamped on the last 5 pages by the garage that is selling the car , did they buy it at an auction and just stamp the missing bits in the book ? hence the fewer previous owners the better because few who buy from new will not bother with oil changes and stuff when they get it for free the first 3 years anyway .

They will all show rust but surface rust and penetrating rust are two very different things , the first can be treated and stopped for about £350 (which is only the cheapest option Krown)
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thanks Shayne. :)
 
Higgy said:
It was just an answer to your Question.. 'What should i look for'... when viewing a second hand Toyota.. And the answer is RUST... Especially round that 2004/2005 Era... In fact anything over 5yrs old really.... Like most of the posts state.. Its rust thats the Problem, Especially when its hidden away underneath.. Take someone with you and have a good look... Good luck
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thanks but RAC chap should do thatx
 
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Megan i bought my first cruiser 6 years ago and joined this forum then , in that time i've learned lots , met many of the forum members and enjoyed or witnessed many favours from complete strangers because we all share the same interest . Here you have found a community of sorts and i hope the odd RAC man who is actually a member won't mind me saying you are being offered "someone to hold your hand" by people undoubtedly knows more about cruisers than i or the vast majority of RAC men ever will .
 
No offence to the RAC but they're going to look at completely different things to us. I'd love to see them given an opinion on an 80 series. Manchester is pretty central, we should be able to lend a hand with a area drawn around that. You could do RAC too as a back stop, but the chances of them even thinking about checking a rear diff lock on an LC3? Somewhere close to none and zero.
 
Hi Megan,
A hilux doublecab with a canopy for the back may also be a contender? Depends how you wsnt to use it.
Just bought one for the wife to replace her Rav4 that has been written off.
Welcome to the group
 
Hi Megan and welcome to the forum. As has been said, this is a most friendly forum with many very knowledgeable helpful folks that are only too happy to lend a hand. As said, take someone who knows cruiser’s with you and if they come out from underneath with a smile on their face then you’re half way there. Forecourt one’s are likely to be there for a reason, private sales from long time owners or their family are the best. Rust underneath is the deal breaker. It’s worse if it’s been poorly treated and covered up. There’s possibly stuff the RAC man would know but guys on here know just as well or better.

I’ve never owned a vehicle that attracts so much praise from people in the trade.

Buy well and let us see photos when you’ve found the one that gives you your cruiser grin.

Best wishes
Rich
 
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Ben Stratford said:
Hi Megan,
A hilux doublecab with a canopy for the back may also be a contender? Depends how you wsnt to use it.
Just bought one for the wife to replace her Rav4 that has been written off.
Welcome to the group
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Hi sorry been quite a weekend! i only want the silver one in the pictures above.
 
Basically the guy won't come any less than 8500. So I'm leaving it at the minute. hoping that price would go down as we get closer to diesel tax down south :)
 
Chris said:
No offence to the RAC but they're going to look at completely different things to us. I'd love to see them given an opinion on an 80 series. Manchester is pretty central, we should be able to lend a hand with a area drawn around that. You could do RAC too as a back stop, but the chances of them even thinking about checking a rear diff lock on an LC3? Somewhere close to none and zero.
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thank you so much :) Well I've let this one go because gran Pete won't come any lower than 8500. :(
 
Shayne said:
Megan i bought my first cruiser 6 years ago and joined this forum then , in that time i've learned lots , met many of the forum members and enjoyed or witnessed many favours from complete strangers because we all share the same interest . Here you have found a community of sorts and i hope the odd RAC man who is actually a member won't mind me saying you are being offered "someone to hold your hand" by people undoubtedly knows more about cruisers than i or the vast majority of RAC men ever will .
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gd ty :) But do you think 2006 land cruiser would be reliable or shell I save up for a better one. My mum keeps saying get newer one and she'll let me use her money which even worries me more! I really dont wanna use her monies :-0
 
megan4x4 said:
gd ty :) But do you think 2006 land cruiser would be reliable or shell I save up for a better one. My mum keeps saying get newer one and she'll let me use her money which even worries me more! I really dont wanna use her monies :-0
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Reliable:laughing-rolling:

Generally Toyotas are excellent reliable cars. Land cruisers are some of the best of those. The newer electronic managed vehicles generally are less reliable than older ‘standard’ cars but we get very few instances of breakdowns on here apart from one or two simple fixes. There’s things like batteries and alternators, though reliable, can let any car down but very rarely. Rust as mentioned is the major problem. I’m not sure if @Higgy has still got a 120 he couldn’t get on with. Sorry Mum but newer isn’t necessarily better when it comes to cruisers as they will all do stellar mileage. The key is finding one that’s been looked after.
 
StarCruiser said:
Reliable:laughing-rolling:

Generally Toyotas are excellent reliable cars. Land cruisers are some of the best of those. The newer electronic managed vehicles generally are less reliable than older ‘standard’ cars but we get very few instances of breakdowns on here apart from one or two simple fixes. There’s things like batteries and alternators, though reliable, can let any car down but very rarely. Rust as mentioned is the major problem. I’m not sure if @Higgy has still got a 120 he couldn’t get on with. Sorry Mum but newer isn’t necessarily better when it comes to cruisers as they will all do stellar mileage. The key is finding one that’s been looked after.
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LOL.. I dont think Megan wants my opinion on the 120.. Im Still waiting for some crazy person on ebay who wants to swap an 80 series for a 120....:lol:
 
Hello again Megan , it might help if you look for the cheapest possible cruisers you can find on the internet and at the price they demand even with quarter of a million miles or more on the clock . These are tough vehicles .

Buying the best you can afford is wise but being more expensive is no indication of it being better than the last you viewed . If i forum member had one like you need for sale like as not you would laughing regardless of the trucks age because you would know its been cared for .

In my view the newer they get the more complicated they get and so there are more things to go wrong , but that's just me .

I know how it is when you've decided to buy and you can't find exactly what you want , it becomes an obsessive necessity to search the web constantly , we lower our expectations , start thinking maybe if i upped my budget , Rose tinted goggles syndrome .

Be sensible , set your budget , find a car , show it to us , if a forum member offers to view it for you accept . If it was the best you could find and its not the one , another will come up for sale in the next 2 weeks . You don't need it right now do you .
 
Going back to the original post... I'm not really sure you need/want a cruiser to be completely honest. There are a lot of decent, solid reliable vehicles around in your price range. Example: a nice Toyota Rav4 or Zuki Vitara will do anything you are likely to want, with better fuel economy. Unless you need to offroad, overland, or tow a 3.5t horse box, then maybe revisit why you think you need/want a cruiser? Just a thought...
 
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