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Hello there, advice sought on 100s, rust, imports

ManOfTheWest

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Hello everybody, my name is Dan and I'm in North Pembrokeshire. I lived in Japan for about 20 years and returned to the UK a few years ago. This is not my first post but I have belatedly realized that I should have introduced myself, so here goes.

I am not an LC owner, but I could certainly use one given that I live in an old smallholding set at the end of a long, badly rutted track with a ford halfway along it. The ford regularly floods to a couple of feet deep in the winter, which is a problem given that the kids need to get to school.

I have a Defender Hi-cap pickup, but that won't seat the family, and whatever I buy needs to have an automatic gearbox because the wife can't drive a manual, which rules out a larger Defender. I have heard too many horror stories and seen too many terrible reliability rankings to contemplate a modern Land Rover.

The obvious LC choice is a 120 series, which is achievable given that I can stretch to about £10k once I have got my budget together. It must be reliable (my wife's Toyota Vitz, which came back with us from Japan has been literally faultless), so I would be looking for a relatively recent vehicle with less than 100,000 miles. I would use the LC as my local runabout and for the occasional long journey with the family on board. Probably 5,000 to 10,000 miles a year, with occasional pulling of a trailer.

Nevertheless, I am strangely attracted to the 100 series, and owners seem to love them. I have been researching for a little while and this has led to a few questions.

1) Do the 100s actually feel that much bigger than the 120s to drive? The first time I drove my Defender it felt enormous and ponderous but now I think nothing of it, though on the other hand it is narrower than a 100.

2) Reading about rust in 100s has left me with the impression that buying one in the UK is a lottery and sellers don't seem to give pics of the underneath of the vehicle (nathanrobo's beautiful 50th excepted). I notice that there are many 100s in Japan (albeit petrol 4.2) that do offer pics of the underside, that seem to be rust-free and for the most part reasonably priced even after import costs. Has anyone tried importing one?

3) I'm a bit puzzled by the dramatic variation in UK prices for 100 series vehicles on eBay from £5,000 to nearly £20,000. I thought it was mostly mileage, but this one is nearly 19 grand at 133,000 miles, while this one also looks nice at similar mileage and is £10,000 cheaper! Unfortunately, the cheaper one is over 250 miles and nearly 5 hours drive from me, which means an entire day of work and possibly an overnight stay just to look at the car. Perhaps unwisely, I would probably buy a 120 series (with service history) sight unseen if it cleared HPI and other checks. Is buying a 100 unseen an absolute no-no?

In the end I'll probably chicken out and buy a 120, but my heart is trying to persuade my head that a 100 might make sense. I'm open to being persuaded!

Dan
 
I notice that there are many 100s in Japan (albeit petrol 4.2) that do offer pics of the underside, that seem to be rust-free and for the most part reasonably priced even after import costs. Has anyone tried importing one?

Having spent some time talking to various companies involved in this business, I now have a better idea of what it would cost to import a Land Cruiser from Japan. I do have some experience of importing a vehicle from Japan, but only my own car (see my previous post).

It turns out that the cost implications of importing a vehicle that you bought in Japan from an overseas location like the UK makes it a very different kettle of fish. Here's a fully (I think) worked example, assuming an exchange rate of 143 yen to the pound.

In Japan
Vehicle: 661,000 yen (a 2001 LC)
Shipping to UK port: 288,900 yen
Total: 949,900 yen
Exchange rate, in yen to the pound: 142.74
Total in pounds: £6,654.76 (so far it looks quite promising)

In the UK, shipping agent-related costs
Terminal handling: £45
Shipping line documentation: £40
Customs clearance/fee: £75
Total: £160 (fairly painless)

Total cost so far: £6814.76

Now for the painful bit
HMRC duty at 10%: £681.48
Subtotal: £7,496.23
HMRC VAT at 20%: £1,499.25
Total after duty and VAT: £8,995.48 (ouch)

Note that the VAT is applied to ALL costs incurred so far, including the various costs related to getting the vehicle off the dock and duty. So effectively, you pay tax (VAT) on tax (duty). However, the vehicle is still not ready for the road. It needs to have some things like fog lights converted and must be made ready for the MOT.

Local garage
Import conversion: £720.00
First registration fee and road tax: £290.00
Delivery: £210.00
Total costs to put it on the road: £1,220.00

Grand total: £10,215.48.

A few comments on the above. When I imported my own car from Japan i.e. a vehicle I had already been driving for several years, I didn't have to pay either duty or VAT. That makes a difference of well over £2,000. Second, delivery of the vehicle to your home is not, of course, a compulsory part of the process. Finally, note that the cost of the vehicle itself is only 45% of the total! That is, only £4,630 out of £10,215.

Is it worth paying 10 grand to get a thirsty (V8 4.7L) petrol-engined vehicle, probably no later than 2001 or 2002 model year, albeit in good condition and with very little if any rust underneath? I think the answer has to be "perhaps". If you see a vehicle you really like, it might be worth it. Personally, I quite like the big, glossy Japanese market Land Cruisers, but they are not to everybody's taste - I certainly wouldn't want to off-road one. In addition, looking at eBay, a lot of sellers are asking for £12k or £15k for a UK market Land Cruiser that doesn't have all the bells and whistles and that may have lots of hidden rust. Put in that light, a decent 100 series with less than a hundred thousand miles on the clock for £10k imported doesn't look so bad, even if you then pay £2,000 to have it converted to LPG. The risk is that, because you don't get to inspect it, you're unlucky enough to get a lemon.

You also need to bear in mind that this whole process will take two or three months (in my case, when I imported my own car, it took longer because we missed the first car transporter out of Yokohama) and that insurance is more difficult to get for imports. I know many insurance companies will not insure you, because I have phoned around an awful lot over the past three years.

So there you have it. It seems that one reason that people don't talk much about importing Land Cruisers is that, if you haven't already owned the vehicle in Japan (I think the minimum period is three months?) then it costs an awful lot of money to get one over to the UK and on the road.

As for me, I will probably look closer to home for a Land Cruiser if I do go for one.

Thanks,
Dan
 
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Dan, welcome to the forum, can't help you on the 100s, but would not an 80 or 90 do, or have you got the itch for a 100:D
 
Is a 100 big ? Yup
Will you feel it? Yup
Will you not care anymore soon ? Yup
Will it fit into a sainsburys parking bay? Yup


Secondly, with the breakdown on import - i would think you are better off just getting something far newer... otoh, unless you plan on spending a lot of time in Japan i suspect you will see and feel a lot more vehicles here. Better idea on what you are getting, and a fantastic idea about what will happen to it and how to protect / maintain it.

Just my 2bits.
 
Get a d4d Colorado, put aside a couple of £k for mods and repairs (a "full" service, perhaps new suspension etc.) and that will still leave you with a few £k from your £10k budget to spend on a nice holiday/break for you and your family. :thumbup:
 
Will it fit into a sainsburys parking bay? Yup

Well, this is vital information. :icon-biggrin: Whatever I get will be driven by the wife at least some of the time. If it doesn't fit in a supermarket parking bay then I'm in trouble.

My problem as far as the 100 goes is simply budget. Most of them seem to be clustered at £6000-£8000, £12-£13,000, or about £18,000. It's very hard to tell them all apart. Sellers seem to be charging pretty high prices for pretty high-mileage vehicles in some cases...

Then you've got ones like this one, which seems a bit too cheap.

Dan
 
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but would not an 80 or 90 do, or have you got the itch for a 100:D

Get a d4d Colorado, put aside a couple of £k for mods

I see we have some fans of the earlier series here!

I'm leaning towards either a 120, which is clearly the sensible choice, or a 100, which is looking like the "I'm mature and responsible 99.9% of the time, sometimes I just want to do something irresponsible and fun for a change, dammit" choice.

It seems to me that the risk of buying a money pit with the 100 is far greater, but the upside is you get a bit more of a special experience. At least, that's the way I interpret it?

Dan
 
Thinking finding one under 100k miles might be a struggle. The range is price for landcruisers in general is because they tend to be either in really bad condition, or pretty good. The 120 does sound like a good choice as finding a decent 100 series for your budget in good nick might be more of a struggle.

Also regarding the import cost, I know one way around it is owning the car 6 months (in japan), as well as proving residency there for up to a year as well. I'm guessing in your situation it may be a little too late to get this exemption? Did you get this exemption with your other Toyota you imported?
 
Or this one: http://www.japanmotorauction.com/stocklist/details/2897
What I'm trying to say is: The 80 series is the best looking cruiser ever, but why is it often "destroyed" by "attachments" that don't fit esthetically.

And, re choice of series: If it's not an 80, 100 or 200 (or one of those australian 78), you might just as well get a rav4 (or a yeti or kodiaq :) )
 
What I'm trying to say is: The 80 series is the best looking cruiser ever.......

And, re choice of series: If it's not an 80, 100 or 200 (or one of those australian 78), you might just as well get a rav4 (or a yeti or kodiaq :) )

I'll let you off on the first comment - as I would tend to agree with you.

However that second comment is just......Well that's just fighting talk!! :angry-screaming:



:lol: :thumbup:
 
Then you've got ones like this one, which seems a bit too cheap.
Now the seller has got back to me saying that, yes, everything is perfect condition and not only that, but they're happy to pay delivery charges to me at their own cost.

Really? Just like that? Given the need to cross the Irish Sea, that would have to be several hundred pounds at least from Northern Ireland, which is where the sellers claim to be. (Except in the advert, it mentions Rochdale. And a few days ago, the same advert, before it was relisted, it said London.)

Time to make my excuses and leave, I think.

Conclusion: be very careful with apparent bargains on eBay.
 
Importing is expensive plus the added stress & time involved. Better to find one in the UK or pay a little more to bring about more choices.

2004 facelift 5 speed auto 100's are good value now around £13,000 with some looking clean one owner from new. FSH etc
 
Time to make my excuses and leave, I think.

Good move, and wise words. It always pays to have a proper look in person, especially underneath. Whatever you go for, allow for a bit of extra expenditure to bring it up to scratch. Will you be doing your own maintenance ? I'm in a similar situation regarding where I live and my Colorado (I'll regret saying this) has never let me down and copes with most things thrown at it ......within reason.


ps does this email address look familiar, ebay item 152450137939 ? Gone phishing ?
 
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2004 facelift 5 speed auto 100's are good value now around £13,000 with some looking clean one owner from new. FSH etc
Yes, that's what I'm seeing too. Unfortunately, that's well outside my budget so I guess I will have to aim for a 120 series instead.

EDIT: Which is actually not as big a deal as I thought, as in functional terms what interests me about the 100s is their luggage space and ground clearance. Having taken a closer look, the 120 series seems to have only about 15% less loading space and if anything better ground clearance so maybe it would be for the best.
 
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2004 facelift 5 speed auto 100's are good value now around £13,000 with some looking clean one owner from new. FSH etc

How about this 1999 Amazon, 96k miles, FSH, looking a bit tired but worth a punt perhaps? Or maybe it's been clocked and the miles are much higher than 96K... :think:
 
^^^
Not sure about the Cruiser but that eBay user only has 1 positive feedback as a seller - and even that was for a set of Range Rover* wheels for less than £500 over a year ago. Now seems to have several vehicles for sale....make of that what you will.

* I won't hold the fact that they were RR wheels against him! ;-)

Add: I'm not that mechanically savvy, so would not always be able to spot if things were not quite right. Therefore I need to trust the seller - "Buy the seller" as much as inspecting the vehicle, is my motto when looking myself.
 
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They hack peoples accounts that have been inactive for a while. I won a log processor. They would deliver it for 200. Bank transfere only. I traced the pictures to a log processor for sale in the usa!
 
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