Hello from Germany!

[TMo]

Hello everyone,
I am currently in Germany and wondering if Europe is a reasonable place to find a good priced 80 series long wheelbase (correct term?) Landcruiser? What would be considered a reasonable price for a solid example? I initially was looking at a LC Defender but cannot deny the reliability of. Landcruiser so changed course. Any advice appreciated!

 

[Chris]

Morning. The 80 series Landcruiser seems to command ridiculously high prices in continental Europe. I'm not quite sure why but they do. So you might struggle unless you've very deep pockets. The UK has pretty much the highest spec 80 series anywhere in the world and prices are lower but hugely variable. With the salt used on the roads during winter, many are suffering now but there are still very clean examples to be found, still not as expensive as the EU equivalents. But of course they're right hand drive here.

All the 80 series are long wheel base and principally the choices are petrol 4.5, diesel 4.2. Petrols are automatic and strangely most early 12valve diesels were auto and all 24 valve versions were manual. Now this is a generalisation before my smart-alec colleuges start on about 24v auto imports from Japan etc. Yes yes we know. Jeez. It's a forum not a documentary!! Petrol 80s are fun to drive but quite thirsty.

At the end of the day, if it's in good condition and it's an 80 it really doesn't matter at all which variant it is. It's an 80 series Landcruiser. Just don't get one in that gold colour ha ha. What I am saying is that condition is more important than pretty much any other variable.

 

[TMo]

Thank you! What is considered high priced? I know there are a lot of variables so this may be tough to answer. I did find one that looks to be in good condition, non-restored, for 15kish euros.

 

[Chris]

I have seen an 80 over the channel go for 60,000 Euros. 15k sounds about right if it was clean and tidy. It's one of those things that you can only comment on individually. Would I buy one for 60k. Err no. Bit would I buy a wreck for 15k? Again, no. Some people advertise rubbis for ridiculous money. It's a crazy market with very little standard pricing. If you post a link to a vehicle on here we can certainly look and make comments from what we can see.

 

[TMo]

I’m not sure how to post a link from mobile.de (the app) but here’s a ss

 

[TMo]

Ok figured it out. Lol =)

https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/details.html?id=326713416&utm_campaign=socialsharing_parkedvehicle&utm_source=email&utm_medium=directmail&utm_content=desktop

 

[Chris]

That's quite a basic model but outwardly looks very tidy. I'd suspect (and I am not an overseas version expert) that this is the non turbo version (1HZ) which although will pull like a train all day long is less than exciting on the freeway and on hills you'll be overtaken by people on bicycles. Yes is SAYS tubo diesel in the advert, but I'd want to confirm that. Also you need to see underneath etc etc. But it's a good start and worth considering. It also says it's a BJ 80 whatever that is.

 

[Chris]

Very few clues in there. OK it's manual. It has AC and it's got centre diff lock. All good stuff. But we need some more Cruiser detectives on the case. Lads??


NOTE: In the advert it says 1HZ engine. It also says front air bags --- errr, nope. I don't think so.

 

[TMo]

It says 175 hp, in VW tdi world that is pretty good. But again I am new to these rigs. =) I am coming from an 02 VW Tdi 5sp. (90 hp) and it was plenty for me.

 

[Chris]

From experience, you can pretty much ignore anything that dealer adverts say. They just copy and paste in any old rubbish.

 

[TMo]

Aah good to know! He seems to be happy on announcing it has a 1HZ engine. Haha To your credit I don’t think those are turbo. Lol

 

[Chris]

Says it has ABS too. Good luck with that. Outwardly looks a decent solid truck and handy with the bench seats inside. Very utility spec inside with vinyl flooring etc. Make a good overlander vehicle if that's what you were looking for. If it's a daily drive, then OK as long as you don't live up a mountain and you're in a hurry. Price wise, possibly a little bit much but if it's really clean and solid underneath, you're buying peace of mind. Front axle will still probably need a rebuild though. No one looks at those once they're past 60k miles.

 

[TMo]

Great feedback thank you. I am here for a couple years so in no rush. I would prefer to get the best one available. Is there a list of things to look for off the bat in these?

 

[Chris]

If you go to the 80 forum section there are some sticky threads at the top that do exactly that

80 series mods and repairs FAQ (updated February 2018)

Below is a (growing) FAQ for the 80 series as well as some interesting posts people have made about it. If you have a write up on something, let us know and we'll add it to the list. What does a decent 80 look like? Part 1 What does a decent 80 look like? Part 2 12 volt starting conversion...

www.landcruiserclub.net

 

[TMo]

I should’ve known better danke! =)

 

[Jacob100]

Also check if it's eligible to register in Germany or for export only. I imagine it's not always straightforward.

 

[Jacob100]

If you're not on there already:

Marktplatz Fahrzeuge / Vehicles: Land Cruiser & FJ Cruiser

Das Buschtaxi-Forum

forum.buschtaxi.org