eBay great spec cruiser

[Michael Montgomery]

Hi guys......Not sure if I've seen this for sale before but it's a fully loaded cruiser for the money.
Anyone looking to buy & upgrade would benefit having this truck ready prepared.

eBay: 111944656290

All thoughts welcome [emoji4]


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[MarkW]

Over priced IMHO

 

[Chas]

Hmm! bit pricey I think. Description not too accurate, says 80 litre fuel tank (total 150 litre) if that is extra tank plus the standard tank total would be approx. 175 litre.

 

[Chris]

I've actually seen this vehicle in the flesh as it were. It is well built. I disagree on the prices in some respects though. I have kept a running total on my build which frankly isn't as professional as this and you you couldn't even get close to this with a £20k budget. If you had nothing and wanted something like this, I'd say make an offer, sure, but £20k would be a very easy way to be sorted in an instant.

HOWEVER. Do I think that all of that kit is necessary? It looks a great deal in part because of all of the kit. To me it does look a bit like a stall at a 4x4 show. I wouldn't drag half of that kit with me. And therefore I wouldn't really want to buy it. But you could sell it or use it at home. Decent awning, good roof tent, great rear storage and cooking etc. I think it;s a little over the top with all it's panels and switches etc but it struck me as being very well put together. But that all being said, it's the vehicle that you are buying and you mustn't be distracted from that. Good engine, sound mechanicals and rust free body first - THEN look at the add ons. If those three things are tip top, then I'd say that £20k is that far away.

 

[MarkW]

Whether you could build one for that price is not the point, its the fact that once you bolt your £1000 accessory part onto the vehicle it loses 60% of its value as a second hand part. Its a very common mistake Overlanders make when pricing second hand vehicles.

You could spend £20k on the 80 or you could spend £4k on the Collie on ebay and still have funds to travel round the world.

 

[Chris]

Well it IS the point Mark. If you want o do travel on a budget, buy a Twingo, stick a mattress in the back and a Halfords cooler and book the ferry.
If you want to build an overland vehicle because that is actually a goal on itself, then crack on and build it. But built to top spec it will cost you a fortune.
If you WANT a top spec cruise but can't or don't want to build one then you only choice is to buy one ready made. But it won't be cheap.
The thing about parts is that you can have something like a fridge that cost you £1000. Take it off the vehicle and sell it separately and I can guarantee that you'll get very close to that back. You will NOT lose 60%. But leave it IN the vehicle and you simply cannot add that value onto the price of the car. I agree there. People just won't stand it.

You could try to sell a cruiser for £7k with a winch and bumper. It won't sell. Take the winch and bumper off and sell if for £5500 and it will. When the buyer arrives, they'll see the winch and bumper in the garage and happily offer you £1500 for it.

The question here is, is the vehicle worth in the region of £20 and from my experience I am saying yes. Does that mean someone should buy it? That's up to them and what they want. Twingo or tricked up Cruiser on their drive. Some clearly don't and have travelled with the basics. But that's not the only option.

 

[Shayne]

I think time is the incalculable factor , I have thought a lot about it done the math and i know my 80 if i were to get one would cost me 20k by the time i made it my own .

Chris spent about 2 years turning his truck into exactly what he wanted and i doubt he would have it any other way . I'm not as patient as Chris so if the truck for sale fit with the picture in my head the price would include a 2 year shortcut and (if the provenance was there) peace of mind that the work has been done by some well respected experts in Cruiser modification .

The kit does look a bit cartoonish , maybe it was built as a showpiece ?

 

[Chris]

You're spot on Shayne. If I'd have bought one, new and done by a business that sells these then £50k+ is what it would have cost me. Doing it myself has saved me the cost on time, but taken 2 years as you say. If I was a millionaire, I think I'd have still built mine myself because that's what I enjoy. (at times). But I'd have had lots of bits made for me to a super high standard. I would not have just got Alucab to make one for example. But if you don't have the skills, the best option is to buy someone else's and as Mark says, reap the benefits of depreciation.

Now here's something I learned. I always looked at used ones and thought Ooh, not sure I like the edges being worn off. I want something shiny. Well let me tell you, one trip to Morocco and mine looks just as used as all the ones I have seen that have been round the world. So forget the fact that it looks a bit used because your brand new German built sleeper black pop top conversion will look as shagged as mine in not time at all.

Shayne, I think the 2 year short cut phrase really nails it. But you don't HAVE to spend any more than a good service, decent tyres and a bunch of maps plus a ferry ticket.

 

[Shayne]

Agreed there is no need a transit van will do a lap of the world but wheres the fun in that

 

[Chas]

Agree with all said by Chris and Shayne, it's the making it your own by doing bits yourself. Of all the cars and trucks I've owned they've never felt mine until I carried out some form of, however small, customisation even if it's only putting a sticker on it.

 

[StarCruiser]

That is very very nicely done and there has obviously been plenty of cash spent on that. You could still make that your own if you wanted to go exploring (which i do) and have the cash (which I don't) then that would be a very wise purchase indeed.

I wonder if the new owner would like some Gullwing doors for it…[emoji11]

 

[frank rabbets]

An easy valuation is one which involves the subject being common with many identical ones having been sold recently. When you have a highly modified Land Cruiser you have no comparables and your potential purchasers are cut down to perhaps a handful. Time may be needed to a achieve a sale. I sold such a car in 1985, very rare and very expensive. I had just one phonecall from Switzerland and the purchaser came and drove it back there ! It was just a guess as to what the car was worth. Then another in about 2014. First advert no calls. Second advert just one call and the purchaser just came and bought it with no test drive nor even starting the engine and drove it home ! The latter I built over 12 months and even with free labour I made a loss. I built it because of the challenge so I'm still happy.

 

[Dave2000]

So forget the fact that it looks a bit used because your brand new German built sleeper black pop top conversion will look as shagged as mine in not time at all.

I too like mine to look nice and shiny, but recognise that where I take it and what I do with it means it will have some battle scars, they are simply inevitable.

Re the ad, it is overpriced IMO UNLESS, you are able to do the mods yourself. The list of 'goodies' looks impressive at first glance until you see 'centre diff switch' and 'spotlights', and snorkel, something I get the impression most on here could do on a Sunday morning before lunch. This is aimed IMO at people who have the 'want' for something like this but do not have the ability (or the time) to do it themselves.

regards

Dave

 

[Lorin]

Compared to buying a nice 97 GS in stock condition, doing the necessary mechanical remedials and then buying all that kit, I think it is a relative bargain. I spent approx £12k on parts alone and around £5k on labour to fit/fix what I couldn't (most). If I'd bought some of the items on that truck instead of my lower cost versions, such as the tent, winch and fridge, and then included an awning, recovery gear and some of his other bits, I'd easily get north of £20k and that's before you've even bought a truck..... Even if I'd done all my own labour, with buying a truck you'd still get north of £20k. Whether someone will pay it though is another matter. If I knew what I know now, before I built my first 80, I'd seriously consider buying it.

 

[froggy Steve]

if I had 20k sitting there doing nothing, I would buy it! But I dont, so I have to do bits when I have some €'s that the tax man doesnt want (or know about!)

 

[Towpack]

73 watchers so far so someone somewhere must be interested? If my experience with selling expensive vehicles on Ebay is anything to go by, he'll probably get no firm interest while the ad is running, then get contacted with cheap offers from people wanting to make a killing. I have no real interest in 4 wheel over landing/offroading or idea of the parts cost so can't really comment on value. Chris made a very good point about the condition of the base vehicle and the importance of checking that out first. It would be very easy to be distracted by all the overlanding bling. JMO

 

[Michael Montgomery]

Interesting views & comments from all you guys..... Thank you [emoji106]
I must say that's on paper it seems a great deal to have a cruiser ready & professional set up. For sure for someone who will make use of the vehicle specifically for trips.
To even a find a clean 80 is ever becoming I increasingly more difficult the world over.
I believe the vehicle will sell to someone abroad as these vehicles are more expensive even in stock form & highly regarded & used off road more often then in the uk.



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[moggy1968]

If you want a cruiser for an expedition, it would cost a lot more than that to do one, if you don't then it's an expensive way to get a landcruiser.
value is in the eye of the buyer, if I had 20k to invest in an overlander I would certainly look at this, but you can't price up a vehicle on the basis of what you've spent on it, only on what it's worth on the market. It's a common mistake people make is thinking they will in any way get back the money you've spent on a vehicle but unless your into restoring Aston Martins, you won't.

As above, it's often better to strip off the parts and sell them separately, people are always wary of modified vehicles because you don't know how well the work has been done. You can actually end up with a vehicle that you've sunk thousands into and is worth less than stock!

 

[mettisse]

Great response and very relevant comments, I only have these, if you were compare the price of this truck to other makes on offer of similar spec, how does it stand? I think excellent, is it value for what is is ( quality assumed A1) ? Again I think excellent, it is relatively low mileage, I see £20k of fun and adventure here, ready out of the box, I'm old now so I can eke out 5 years in my own truck, but if you can see 10 years in this one, it might be the one!! Best regards to all, Bill Westley

 

[wobbly]

I'd buy it, if I had the money!

I think its cheap tbh, I'm buying bits for my hilux and Ive spent £30k so far, and I have a hilux, bfg at's and a pedders lift kit and a few trinkets!

Pete