Land Cruiser Filter

July 10, 2006 9:24 AM

I'm thinking about buying a used, diesel, Toyota Land Cruiser to supplement my 1987 BMW 635csi mid-life-crisis car, which is much more fun than practical.

Since I want a diesel, I'm almost certainly going to have to buy an import, probably from Canada (which *did* get the diesel version). Does anyone have any useful information on a) things I should watch out for, b) places other than eBay that I might be likely to actually *find* the diesels, c) what years are good or bad, and d) how much I should expect to pay for a unit that I can just put on the street and drive (I'm not in the market for another project; that's why I'm buying a second car :-).

posted by baylink to travel & transportation (12 comments total)

The two people I have know who owned these things loved the idea of getting them, ended up hating them and could not wait to get rid of them. I'm sorry I can't be more specific about why, it was 6-7 years ago and all I really remember is the "told you so" moment when the second friend announced that he hated his. They both owned early 90's models.

I also remember them talking about $50 gas station stops when gas was still $1.50ish.
posted by 517 at 9:39 AM on July 10, 2006

I'd use Autotrader.com to find them but do alot of research on them before buying. I would highly recommend the Consumer Reports Car Buying Guide as a resource.

Why are you locked on a diesel? There are other alternatives that get great mileage and don't stink (which older diesels do tend to do and they smoke some too).
posted by fenriq at 9:44 AM on July 10, 2006

Not to snark, but it sounds like you will have two mid-life crisis cars and no transportation. What is it you like about the Landcruiser diesel? Isn't there a more practical alternative?
posted by LarryC at 10:00 AM on July 10, 2006

Well, I'm looking for something that will a) haul stuff around, b) get decent gas mileage (diesel TLCs are said to get upwards of 25 real world MPG in good condition), and c) be something with the proper design for me to open my own local branch of Telstar Logistics -- well, actually, probably its sister company in Florida: Telstar Recovery.

A quick look through what *is* on eBay suggests that, if I'm willing to go far enough into 4 digits, that I can find one in daily-driver condition.

A Jeep Cherokee would be a serviceable alternative, but I'm still sort of hung up on the diesel (my best friend is a diesel maven).

You're correct, Larry; I don't want to end up with two midlife crisis cars.
posted by baylink at 10:09 AM on July 10, 2006

Get a 10-year old 4Runner instead.
posted by unSane at 10:13 AM on July 10, 2006

1987 BMW 635csi ---- mid life crisis... really? hmmmm

Do you have to go old? There are hybrid SUV's and compact suv's that get better then 25 mpg, granted they are probably not nearly as rugged as the old toyota... not sure how tuff of a car you need..
posted by crewshell at 11:25 AM on July 10, 2006

"Telstar Logistics"


Wow, let methrow a flare in front of that ill informed idea train...

In Michigan (probably in your state too) there are two kinds of plates you can put on a car (assuming you are just a person). One is a private plate the other is a commercial plate. The cops or anyone who writes tickets knows the difference just by the syntax of the numbers and letter, hell, I know the difference just by the syntax. If you operate an obviously commercial vehicle without commercial plates, you pay A LOT in fines. Imagine what you'll pay when they find out it was all about fraud.

If you have commercial plates you don't need to worry about what your car looks like, the police will ignore its odd parking within reason but you also get to pay commercial insurance rates and follow a bunch of other safety regulations that open you up for more fines.

If you have an obviously commercial vehicle without commercial plates on it, you will be pulled over and fined in my state. You should probably check out how plates work in your state before doing this.
posted by 517 at 11:39 AM on July 10, 2006

Luckily, I don't live in your state, 517. :-)

Florida only issues commercial plates to semi-trailers, so far as I know.

@Crewshell: My max budget for this endeavour is probably about $5K; clearly, I'll be buying used.
posted by baylink at 12:43 PM on July 10, 2006

Are you looking for a BJ60 or an HJ60? HJ60 would probably be a better all-around vehicle since it has the 5-speed, but more expensive and rarer too. With a budget of $5K, you're probably going to end up with something that needs work. I can't find a decent gasoline FJ62 or FJ80 around here for less than $4K that isn't beat to hell.

A lot of the FJ60s around here (Colorado, with winter and salted/mag chloride roads) have rust problems around the wheel wells and door sills. It seems to be an issue with a lot of '80s Toyotas. I've also seen a lot of clear-coat failure from the amount of UV we get at high altitude.

If you want the Telstar Logistics look with high reliability and cargo capacity, let me recommend a Toyota Tacoma PreRunner pickup with either the double cab or extended cab. I've got a '99 that just passed 330,000 miles with nothing but routine maintenance. Plus the 2WD will save you some mileage, and with the e-locker TRD differential and an Old Man Emu suspension kit from Wheeler's there's few dry 4WD roads I can't tackle. Or, you could get a pre-'95 Toyota truck and put in a diesel.
posted by hackwolf at 3:23 PM on July 10, 2006

I was hoping for an FJ60 or 70 (yeah, I know; I'm an optimist). 4WD is kind of important to me, living in Hurricane Central, and if you have a truck, everyone wants you to help them move. :-)

If my inheritance -- my mom's house that my sis is living in -- finally sells, I may go after something like that Cummins conversion that's on eBay right now; as 14K will be within reason then.
posted by baylink at 6:43 PM on July 10, 2006

First, I'll say that if you're looking for practical and "Telstar Logistics", then a minivan or cargo-configured minivan is way more practical, unless you're four-wheeling. Landcruisers make excellent off-road vehicles, even stock. Minivans are much more likely to be mistaken for a company car. :) Landcruisers are often used in Central America, Africa, etc. by the locals when they want a capable, reliable vehicle.

If you're really not looking for practical as you say, and are instead looking for another crisis car, then by all means proceed.

FJ60s (possibly 70s) can be had for under $5k, obviously depending on condition, miles, and modifications. They're not selling terribly well right now with gas prices as they are. My FJ60 was $4k a year or so ago. It will need work, but the cars are amazingly reliable.

You may already realize that the FJ60 is not the diesel version. BJ/HJ60s are the diesels, and get roughly twice the gas mileage (low twenties instead of 12-14 MPG.) In California, I cannot import a diesel cruiser--they were never offered for sale in the states. Florida's rules may be and probably are different. There are a fair amound of people that have swapped a more modern gas or diesel engine in the FJ60, trading some degree of reliability/solid engineering for better performance and (somewhat) easier parts access.

70 series were not offered in the US; again this may have an impact on your local vehicle import regulations

ih8mud.com has a ton of info on these. There's a '86 HJ60 going for 6k at the moment in Washington and a '91 80 series (newer than youi mentioned) for $5k in Texas (a good deal!). Obviously there are other sources of for sale listings (read:craigslist).

If it's the same Cummins conversion, it's done by a guy that hangs out on that board (the auction's linked from there) and can definitely be trusted.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 9:54 PM on July 10, 2006

Thanks, Riki.

I did not, in fact, realize that the FJ specifically meant gas; it's a different crop on the Bay this week, but I could have sworn some of those diesels were FJ's.

I believe, but have not yet proven, that the Canada market cars are built to the same specs as the US ones.

And yes, that conversion vehicle is the one I was talking about.

Practical.

Practical has many meanings. Reliable and 4WD are on my list, as I've noted.

And to clarify for a couple people, this isn't a Toyota thing; it's a "goes 400K miles" thing; the alternatives would be Jeeps, Land Rovers, and the like.

And yes, I understand the Good, Fast, Cheap theory.
posted by baylink at 8:35 AM on July 11, 2006