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Hi from England

megan4x4

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Jan 10, 2019
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england
Hello chaps, I'm single mum of 3 kids and two dogs n a cat! being an NHS, I don't earn enough to have a luxury of buying new cars but I want a safe reliable car for my mum family especially my lives in inverness. My friend from work told me that yota land cruiser is the car for my budget of £7500. So here I am joining your lovely club to see if guys can give me some advice on buying a land cruiser! thanks x

Your name: Meg
Your Cruiser: need to buy one
 
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Welcome! Your budget is a good start, but a lot depends on your intended use. :)
 
i live in muddy locality and will go to mums in scotland every month
 
Welcome Meg

I'm sure you'll tell us more but I'd think that with that budget you'd be looking at either a late model Colorado or an earlier 120 series. As a family vehicle that's capable of getting where you'll need to and when, with comfort and reliability and relative economy too, the 3.0 Cruiser should certainly suit. Now if you're planning on crossing the Andes .....

So you can see what I'm talking about here's a couple of quick examples.

Screenshot 2019-01-11 at 01.04.52.jpg
Screenshot 2019-01-11 at 01.05.58.jpg
 
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Welcome Megan. I’d rather own a 20-year-old Land Cruiser than lease or take finance out on any new car on the market. Find a good one - which is 100% possible with your budget - and you’ll never look back.

The 120 is a good choice. I’ve only ever driven one for five minutes but it’s noticeably car-like in handling and feel. Another bonus is that most of them have eight belted seats whereas the bigger models generally only come with seven.

As has been said above, rust is the big one. The 120 is considered fairly modern by most people on this forum but that’s no guarantee that it’ll be acceptable underneath. Andy on here looked at ten of them before finding a good one.

With the one on AT, on top of MoT history and mechanical checks I’d carefully inspect any of his modifications to the vehicle.
 
Meg, it sounds like a 120 would be ideal. Now, they made thousands of these and there's one out there with your name on it. But you need to be patient and thorough or you could end up with something that you regret. Now, don't be put off, they are no worse than any car of that age whether it be a Ford Focus or a Kia Sedona. But you have to go into this with your eyes open. You're buying an old car. But for the money you have, remember you are buying a £28,000 (min) Toyota. There are ones out there which are still one owner, dealer serviced, rust free examples. Some of the very early ones had a few issues but we're here to guide you through the maze and hopefully get you into one. There were three levels of trim of which, the LC3 was still loaded with stuff and supremely comfortable. You'll find that most are automatic. Don't be put off, the auto is fantastic and superb to drive. Also don't worry too much about miles. Most of us on here drive even older Cruisers than this and travel across the world in them. Mine is 1995 and has 250,000 miles on it. It starts with the touch of a key.

The trick is to look at as many as you can. However, the market for these tends to be strongest around this time of the year. With snow likely, suddenly people go looking at 4x4s. Be aware that most forecourt owners selling these won't have a clue about them and there'll be things that they'll gloss over and tell you that simply aren't true. Just remember they aren't interested in you, just your money.

I think that it will surprise most sellers when you get out a mat and lie down to look underneath! Avoid thick scaly rust but also avoid anything that looks like it's been dipped in a bucket of tar. One of the problems with Landcruisers is that they very rarely leak any oil. And that's a problem? Yes, because it makes the underside very dry and rust can form. Leaky old Landrovers look much better because they self underseal themselves.

Go look, take pictures, we can help.
 
Welcome aboard Meg, I like your intro and the members here will do all they can to help you find what’s best for your needs and to avoid the “pup” out there that shouldn’t have your name on it.

Rust is the big issue, surface rust can be treated, but when it developed into rot, that is the killer.

When looking at a potential vehicle, you or your helpers have to get underneath and assess whether the rust is treatable or whether it’s already developed into rot.

Underfloor body, chassis, and axle mounting components are the prime areas to look.

Don’t be in a rush, almost all of them you’ll look at will be lovely on the outside, and the interior, so don’t be charmed by the way it looks ad feels when you sit in it. Some of them underneath will be terrible, and you need to avoid them like the plague.

Never go alone, car salesmen are rarely interested in anything except moving it off the forecourt, once sold, they don’t give a damn.

The very best of luck in your quest :thumbup:
 
Hi thank you so much everyone. I'm so glad I joined this website. Thank you Chris for the advice. I really like what you guys 120! Do you RAC inspection would be ok. I can find one former owner but not one owner! I found out that in London because of new tax they will be selling. So I'm not in rush. I've learnt hard lessons in the past.
 
Do you mean rust on all of these or just this one.
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
 
Hi thank you so much everyone. I'm so glad I joined this website. Thank you Chris for the advice. I really like what you guys 120! Do you RAC inspection would be ok. I can find one former owner but not one owner! I found out that in London because of new tax they will be selling. So I'm not in rush. I've learnt hard lessons in the past.


Hi,

The ULEZ coming in will mean that 120s can't go into the centre of town , but there aren't a whole a lot of them left around here. You are onto something though.
 
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)
 
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.
 
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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